Tracy Sugarman Drawings

Collection

Identifier: MSS-915

Staff Only

Content Description

Group of original illustration art from Sugarman's book STRANGER AT THE GATES: A SUMMER IN MISSISSIPPI. Includes 9 original ink, pencil, and wash drawings in various sizes and 10 printed pieces.

Among the sketches are a full-length portrait of James Forman wearing his SNCC nametag; an Indianola streetscape; discussion groups; Maynard Omerberg, an activist and Los Angeles attorney; and a police cruiser with a police dog.

Seven illustrations are 16 3/4 x 13 1/2 inces, taken from a sketchpad, with small printed labels, presumably noting their placement in the book. Two additonal sketeches (smaller in size) are not numbered. Ten printed art pieces from the original book production as well as a mockup of the title page is also included.

Dates

1964 - 1966

Creator

Sugarman, Tracy, 1921-2013 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

None.

Biographical Note

Tracy Sugarman was born on November 14, 1921, in Syracuse, New York. While he was a World War II Navy veteran, serving at D-Day, Sugarman was probably best known for his career as a book illustrator.

In 1964, Sugarman joined the Freedom Summer Project and traveled to Mississippi to help register Black voters. Sugarman created illustrations of what he witnessed during this time and eventually published a memoir, STRANGER AT THE GATES, about working as a Freedom Summer volunteer. Fannie Lou Hamer provided the introduction to the 1966 edition, and in 2014, the book was republished with an introduction by Congressman John Lewis.

Sugarman worked for more than 50 years as an illustrator. He died on January 20, 2013 in Westport, Connecticut.

Extent

.8 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

System of Arrangement

Materials are grouped by like mediums. Folder one contains book layouts; folder two contains printed art; and folder three contains original drawings.