Alvena V. Seckar, Author and Artist, Writings, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Other Material A&M 4204

Alvena V. Seckar, Author and Artist, Writings, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Other Material A&M 4204


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West Virginia and Regional History Center

1549 University Ave.
P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown, WV 26506-6069
Business Number: 304-293-3536
wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com
URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

Staff of the West Virginia & Regional History Center

Repository
West Virginia and Regional History Center
Identification
A&M 4204
Title
Alvena V. Seckar, Author and Artist, Writings, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Other Material 1927-2005
URL:
https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/ark:/99999/205414
Quantity
8.3 Linear Feet, 8 ft. 3 1/2 in. (3 record cartons, 15 in. each); (1 record carton, 17 in.); (6 document cases, 5 in. each); (3 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each)
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Alvena V. Seckar, Author and Artist, Writings, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Other Material, A&M 4204, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.


Biographical / Historical

Alvena Seckar was born in McMechen, West Virginia to first-generation immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia in 1915. Her father was a coal miner and the family moved frequently around the coal fields of West Virginia and Pennsylvania during her childhood.

Seckar's artistic talents were recognized while she was in school and she was able to attend college, first studying at the University of Pennsylvania. She then transferred to the Institue of Fine Arts, New York University. She earned her Bachelor's Degree there in 1939 and her Master's Degree in the History of Fine Arts in 1949.

Seckar's artwork drew inspiration from her coal field childhood, depicting working class people and landscapes with sympathy by without any attempt to "prettify" her subjects. She was also inspired by her travels in post-World War II Europe, where she visited the Eastern Europe of her parent's heritage. Seckar considered herself a politically conscious artist and took part in the Civil Rights Movement, anti-nuclear movement, and other causes.

Seckar came to her second career as a writer almost by accident. She was initially interested in illustrating children's books, but after receiving several rejections, decided to write a book of her own. Like her artwork, her books drew from her childhood experiences living in the coal fields. "Zuska of the Burning Hills" and "Mischko" tell stories of children living in coal towns from Eastern European immigrant families, while "Trapped in the Old Mine" is a science-fiction story for young readers.

Seckar continued to write, paint, and exhibit her artwork throughout her life. Even when, later in life, she developed multiple sclerosis, which crippled her right hand, Seckar continued to paint and write, even teaching herself to paint with her left hand. Seckar had been working on a novel regarding the lives of her grandmother, mother, and herself -- tentatively titled "Jewels of Memory" -- which was not published before her death. Seckar passed away on 7 March 2012 in her long-time home of Pompton Lakes, New Jersey.

Scope and Contents

Papers of artist and author Alvena Seckar, who spent much of her early life in West Virginia. Includes writings by Seckar, including both autobiographical and fictional writings; photographs, mainly of Seckar, her family, and her artwork; family documents; correspondence; scrapbooks; and other material. Please be aware that parts of the collection have been minimally processed and therefore remain in their original physical and intellectual arrangement.

Related Material

556, 903, 2002, 4204, 4428

Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Art and artists
  • Authors -- Letters and papers
  • Travel accounts.
  • Women's history -- 1929-1950
  • Women's history -- 1951-present
  • Women's history -- Education and arts
  • Women's history -- Emigration and immigration

Container List

Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1
Copies of correspondence from Seckar to her parents
1941–1946
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 2
Copy of letter introducing Seckar to Random House Publishing
1944
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
Copies of outgoing correspondence
1958–1990
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4
Correspondence regarding typing and editing of Seckar's writing
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 5
"Outline/Preface I" and various partial typescripts
ca. 1980s
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 6
"Outline/Preface"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 7
"First Chapter"
ca. 1993
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 8
"1981 Version/Notes"
ca. 1981
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 9
Partial typescripts re: Seckar's mother
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 10
"Jewels of Memory - My Mom"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 11
"Jewels of Memory" draft fragments re: mother and "non-fathers"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 12
"My Mom," "My Step-father," "My Brother," et al.
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 13
Fragments re: Seckar's father
ca. 1980s
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 14
"Jewels of Memory" drafts (typed and handwritten)
ca. 1980s
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 15
Partial typescripts and handwritten notes
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 16
Fragments re: step-father, travel, politics, review of Polish film "Last Stop"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 17
Notes and fragments (typed and handwritten)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 18
Partial typescripts
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 19
Partial typescripts, correspondence; et al.
ca. 1990
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 20
Partial typescript
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 21
Partial typescripts
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 22
"Some Additional Manuscripts" partial typescripts
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 23
Partial typescripts
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 24
Profile and autobiographical fragments
1999, undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 25
"Autobiography"
1990
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 26
Typescript re: Americanizing name
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 27
Typescript re: family and coal country economic conditions
1946
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 28
"Houses I Have Lived In" typescript
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 29
"My Education" typescript
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 30
Partial typescripts "My Planned Career" et al.
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 31
Typescript "Near Misses"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 32
Typescripts and handwritten notes re: "Personal Experience - Boyfriends" and divorce
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 33
Typescripts and handwritten notes "Other People in My Life" and "Apartment - All People Who Lived Here"
ca. 1980s
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 34
Typescripts "The Prison's Song" and "People" (re: friends of Seckar)
ca. 1980s
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 35
Typescript "Multiple Sclerosis"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 36
Partial typescripts "Little Boxes", Backyard in Front", "Nigerian Paintings"
ca. 1980s
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 37
Fragments re: Vietnam
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 38
Typescript "Peacock Feather"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 39
Typescript "Outhouses and Bathroom Facilities"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 40
Typescripts "Lawnshows, Central America, Allentown - Beginnings, Baum Art School, Pittsburgh Art Show, Coal Mine Painting, Prague 1947 Youth Festival"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 41
Notes re: "Paintings and Exhibits"
1957–1963
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 42
"Unused Photos"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 43
"Acknowledgements"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 44
Manuscript
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 45
List of edits to be made
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 46
Partial typescripts "NY #2 1943" and "New York"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 47
Diary Pittsburgh and West Virginia
1946
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 48
Travel - overview
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 49
"Introduction to Travel and 1939 Trip"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 50
"Canada - Travels in this Hemisphere"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 51
"Europe 1947 - General Observations"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 52
"Czechoslovakia 1947 Trips"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 53
"Nigeria - 1958"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 54
"Around the World 1959"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 55
"German Democratic Republic 1965"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 56
"Wheeling Around the World 1984"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 57
Empty folders retained for their labels
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 2
Photographs of Seckar and her family, organized by subject (these photographs have been retained in their original filing system)
1932–2004
Mixed Materials Box: 2
Address books
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 2
Small artworks and ephemera
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 3a Folder: 1-7
Drawings from small album
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 3a Folder: 8
Manuscript of "Misko and the Moving Hills"
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 3a Folder: 9
Notes from summer lectures at the Institute of Fine Arts
1936
Mixed Materials Box: 3a Folder: 10
Press release and correspondence between Seckar and West Virginia University regarding her artwork
1967, 1997
Mixed Materials Box: 3a
Journal recording a trip to Chicago taken by Seckar, including photographs
1945
Mixed Materials Box: 3b Folder: 1
Photographs of paintings and news clippings
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 3b Folder: 2
Photographs of paintings
1960s
Mixed Materials Box: 3b Folder: 3
Photographs of paintings
1970s
Mixed Materials Box: 3b Folder: 4
Photographs of paintings and news clippings
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 3b Folder: 5
Photographs of paintings
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 3b Folder: 6
Printed copies of webpages regarding Seckar
2001–2002
Mixed Materials Box: 3b Folder: 7
Publications, news clippings, and other items regarding Seckar's travel to Eastern Europe
1944–1950
Mixed Materials Box: 3b
Slides of paintings by Seckar (the slides are stored in their original metal carrying case)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 1
Family documents
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 2
Naturalization papers of Seckar's parents
1934, 1938
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 3
Birth, marriage, and death certificates for Seckar's parents
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 4
Seckar's birth certificate and copies
1916
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 5
Seckar's certifcates of marriage and divorce
1946, 1956
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 6
Financial assets of Seckar's mother at her death
1977
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 7
Document regarding Seckar's will and a related lien
1977–1992
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 8
Documents regarding a deed and agreement of occupancy
1980–1985
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 9
Document regarding property in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey
1937–1946
Mixed Materials Box: 5 Folder: 1-2
Typed manuscripts regarding art history, Eastern Europe, and other topics
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 5 Folder: 3
Copies of "People's Newspaper" and other publications
1945–1946
Mixed Materials Box: 5 Folder: 4
Art-related publications
1934, 1959
Mixed Materials Box: 5 Folder: 5-6
Family photographs
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 5 Folder: 7-18
Scrapbook "90s to Present" (contents removed, original order retained)
ca. 1990-2005
Mixed Materials Box: 6 Folder: 1-12
Photographs of paintings by Seckar (these were in a binder labeled "paintings, Bratislava, etc.")
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 7 Folder: 1-19
Photographs of paintings by Seckar (these were in a binder labeled "paintings, I")
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 1-23
Photograph album
ca. 1940s
Mixed Materials Box: 9 Folder: 1-21
Scrapbook (contents removed, original order retained)
1947–1954
Mixed Materials Box: 9 Folder: 22-30
Scrapbook (contents removed, original order retained)
1954–1957
Mixed Materials Box: 10 Folder: 1-8
Scrapbook (contents removed, original order retained)
1956–1957
Mixed Materials Box: 10 Folder: 9-21
Scrapbook (contents removed, original order retained)
1957–1961
Mixed Materials Box: 10 Folder: 22-40
Scrapbook (contents removed, original order retained)
1960–1969
Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 1-15
Scrapbook "70s" (contents removed, original order retained)
1969–1979
Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 16-38
Scrapbook (contents removed, original order retained)
1980–1989
Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 1
"Diary 1959" (includes original copies of letters authored by Seckar, with associated envelopes and hotel stationary, from India, Singapore, and Hong Kong)
1959–1961
Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 2-6
Photographs of Seckar, her artwork, her travels, and other subjects
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 13 Folder: 1-5
Small black binder (contains exemplars of Seckar's work as a graphic artist, including designs for greeting cards, stationary, etc.; contents of binder removed, original order retained)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 13 Folder: 6-26
Scrapbook (contents removed, original order retained)
1929–1947
Mixed Materials Box: 13 Folder: 27-42
Photograph album (contents removed, original order retained)
ca. 1940s-1960
Mixed Materials Box: 14 Folder: 1
Oversize artwork
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 14 Folder: 2
Oversize photograph and newspaper article
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 14
Oversize scrapbook (documents trip by Seckar to France funded by a scholarship to attend the Institute of Art and Archaeology in Paris; includes ocean liner memorabilia for her trip to and back from Europe; includes ephemera from Paris, Leningrad, and other places; also includes a few letters authored by Seckar, some of which discuss the war in Europe [WWII], her safety, and finding a steamer to cross the Atlantic in order to return home)
May 1939-January 1940