Miklos Suba collection
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Abstract
The collection consists of items related to artist Miklos Suba. The bulk of the collection relates to work depicting barber shop poles in Brooklyn, including drawings and scale models of barbershop poles. It also includes gallery exhibitions catalogs, three photographs, one book, and clippings related to Suba and barber poles.
Biographical note
Miklos Suba was an Hungarian-American artist, born in Szatmar, Hungary, on April 1, 1880. He studied architecture at the Royal Hungarian Technical University of Budapest, graduating in 1902. In 1903, he studied painting at the Vienna Academy, before returning to Budapest to work as an architect. In World War I he served in the Astro-Hungarian army. He married an American woman, May, and in 1913 fathered a daughter, Susanne. The Suba family immigrated to the United States in 1924, settling in Brooklyn, New York. Inspired by his new surroundings, he began painting in what would become known as the Precisionist style. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Brooklyn Museum. He died on July 18, 1944.
Sources
- Miklos Suba obituary. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 20 July 1944
- Various exhibition catalogs, 1967-2007
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of items related to artist Miklos Suba. The bulk of the of the collection relates to work depicting barber shop poles in Brooklyn, including 12 scale models of barbershop poles and corresponding sketches and working drawings for the models; sketches and renderings without corresponding models; and newspaper clippings about barbershops and barbershop poles in Brooklyn. All drawings and models were created circa 1940 to 1942.
The collection also contains items relating to gallery exhibitions of Suba's art, including exhibition catalogs, advertisements, and clippings (1967-2007). It also includes one copy of Images of America: Precisionist Painting and Modern Photography, by Karen Tsujimoto (1982).
Finally, the collection contains three photographs: one of Suba with his daughter Susanne, in Budapest, 1915; a portrait of Suba featuring his artwork and his pet cat, 1943; and a photograph of Suba and two women holding a barber pole, circa 1940s.
Inventory of barber pole models and drawings, by street:
44 Ashland Place; model and drawings; 2009.014.10a-d
195 Boerum Street (J. Ferrante, Joe's Barber Shop); model and drawings; 2009.014.06a-d, and 2009.014.08b-c
103 Bridge Street (Thomas Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.14b-c, and 2009.014.22
Broadway, at Walker Street (Manhattan); model and drawings; 2009.014.18b-d
55 Columbia Street (Columbia Barber Shop); drawing only; 2009.014.20
284 Columbia Street (Majestic Barber Shop); model and drawings; 2009.014.03.a-e
47 Fleet Place; model and drawings; 2009.014.09a-d, and 2009.014.10c
359 Flushing Avenue (A. Pitti, Sanitary Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.01b, 2009.014.21, and 2009.014.26
426 Flushing Avenue; drawing onlys; 2009.014.01b, and 2009.014.21
33 Fulton Street; model and drawings; 2009.014.17a-e, and 2009.014.10c-d
1100 Fulton Street; drawings only; 2009.014.10d, 2009.014.11c, and 2009.014.23
224 Hamilton Avenue; model and drawings; 2009.014.02a-b, and 2009.014.03d-e
155 Harrison Avenue (Sanitary Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.05d-e, and 2009.014.15
590 Henry Street (P. Campione and G. Favorito, Sanitary Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.01b, and 2009.014.21
62 Hudson Avenue (Louis Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.14b-c, and 2009.014.19
166 Hudson Avenue (F. Limone Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.14b-c, and 2009.014.19
140 Johnson Avenue; model and drawings; 2009.014.08a-c, and 2009.014.06d
192 Johnson Avenue; model and drawings; 2009.014.04a-b; and 2009.014.08b-c
62 Main Street (P. Pennachio, Pete's Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.13, and 2009.014.03d-e
456 Myrtle Avenue; drawings only; 2009.014.11c, and 2009.014.24
578 Myrtle Avenue (The Barber Shop); model and drawings; 2009.014.11b-c
906 Myrtle Avenue (F. Medina, La Favrita Barber Shop); drawings only; 2009.014.05e; 2009.014.25b-c
Nostrand Avenue; drawing only; 2009.014.22
101 Nostrand Avenue; drawing only; 2009.014.11c
23 Putnam Avenue; model and drawings; 2009.014.12a-c, and 2009.014.10c
106 Skillman Street (Salvatore DiSarra); model and drawings; 2009.014.05a-e
67 South 8th Street (Louis Fornace, Eagle Barber Shop); model and drawings; 2009.014.01a-c, and 2009.014.05d-e
141 Varet Street; drawings only; 2009.014.05d-e, and 2009.014.15
123 Washington Street (Leo Basile, Tonsorial Parlor); drawings only; 2009.014.14b-c, and 2009.014.22
York Street; drawing only; 2009.014.16
64 York Street; drawings only; 2009.014.03d-e
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
See library staff for information regarding rights and reproductions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Miklos Suba collection, 2009.014, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Kenneth Moser and Suzanne Suba, 2009, 2014.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level by Nicholas Pavlik in November 2011. An additional acrual of files (consisting of gallery exhibitions catalogs, three photographs, one book, and clippings) were received in November 2014. These files were added to the collection and the finding aid was subsequently revised by John Zarrillo in January 2015.
