| Description |
67 linear feet (161 boxes). |
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Eight series: I. Correspondence; II. Artwork; III. Photographs; IV. United States Navy and Discharge Case; V. Writings; VI. Subject Files; VII. Audio and Video Recordings; VIII. Printed Material and Ephemera. |
| Summary |
The Copy Berg Papers document the military service, artistic career, family background and personal history of the artist and gay rights activist. |
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The papers date from the 1890s-1998 with the bulk of the material being from the period 1970-1998. Included are personal and professional correspondence; drawings, sketches and sketchbooks; photographs; records of Berg's military service and his legal battle against the Navy; editorial and administrative papers concerning the production of Get Off My Ship; notebooks and writings; audio and video recordings of Berg, his friends and his family; news clippings, printed material and ephemera. The Copy Berg Papers are an important resource for the study of gays in the American military, the New York art scene and the impact of the AIDS epidemic on gay culture. |
| Access |
Advance notice required. Apply at http://www.nypl.org/mssref |
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Original postage stamps contained in Box 158 unavailable for research use for preservation reasons, as of February 2001. |
| Biography |
Copy Berg was an artist and gay rights activist noted for his legal challenge of a United States Navy discharge issued because of his sexual orientation. |
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Copy Berg was born Vernon E. Berg, III on July 10, 1951. He attended the United States Naval Academy from 1970-1974 and then served with the U. S. Navy Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. In 1975 the Navy sought to release him by General Discharge on grounds of homosexuality. Berg fought a highly publicized legal battle against the Navy but lost the case and was released in 1976. He settled in New York where he studied at Pratt Institute and launched a career as an artist. Berg collaborated with E. Lawrence Gibson to produce Get Off My Ship, an illustrated account of his Navy discharge case published in 1978. He worked for several years as an assistant to photorealist painter Charles Bell. In 1986 Berg was diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). His subsequent artwork explored the social response to the AIDS epidemic, sexual politics and sadomasochism. Copy Berg died of an AIDS-related illness in New York City on January 27, 1999. |
| Finding Aids |
Finding aid available in repository and on the Internet. |
| Subject |
Bell, Charles, 1935-
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Berg, Vernon E. (Vernon Edward), 1951-
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Gibson, E. Lawrence (Edward Lawrence), 1935-
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United States Naval Academy -- Students.
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United States. Navy -- Chaplains.
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AIDS (Disease) and the arts.
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AIDS (Disease) in art.
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Gay activists -- United States.
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Gay liberation movement -- United States.
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Gay men -- United States.
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Gay rights.
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Gays -- United States.
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Gays in the military.
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Sadomasochism.
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Chaplains.
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| Genre/Form |
Cartoons (humorous images).
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Correspondence.
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Color transparencies.
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Drawings.
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Faxes.
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Photographs.
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Sketchbooks.
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Sound recordings.
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Video recordings.
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| Occupation |
Artists. |
| Call No. |
MssCol 3444
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| Research Call Number |
MssCol 3444
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