A featured event of Archives Month Philly, Amie Potsic Art Advisory presents an Open House to engage with The Alexander Artway Archive. See the historic black and white photography of Alexander Artway from the 1920’s - 1940’s, meet the stewards of the collection, and learn about methods for creating archives and preserving artwork for future generations.
Date and Time: Saturday, October 17, 2026, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Free and open to the public.
Location: Devon Photography Loft
Devon Design Center
111 Lancaster Ave, 2nd Floor, Devon, PA 19334
Free parking available and located steps from the Devon Train station on the SEPTA R5 line
RSVP: info@amiepotsicartadvisory.com
For more information: https://archivesmonthphilly.com/
Amie Potsic Art Advisory presents an Open House to engage with The Alexander Artway Archive. See the historic black and white photography of Alexander Artway from the 1920’s - 1950’s, which spans the architectural heyday of New York, naval adventures of the Merchant Marines, Eastern Europe, and the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas after World War II. The open house will share photographs, film, memorabilia, and publications. Meet the stewards of the collection, engage in conversation with the family of the artist, and learn about methods for creating archives and preserving artwork for future generations.
Born in Gomel, Belarus in 1903, Alexander Artway’s life reflects resilience, reinvention, and the immigrant experience. A soldier in the White Army before fleeing Europe, Artway arrived at Ellis Island in 1922 and immersed himself in the vibrant, ever-changing cityscape of New York. He photographed its rising skyscrapers, bustling streets, and quiet corners with a discerning eye, later expanding his vision across the world as a captain in the Merchant Marines.
His archive—meticulously preserved by his daughter, Jeanette Artway Jimenez—contains over 3,000 vintage prints and 4,000 negatives, many hidden for decades in a battered suitcase that became a vessel of family history and cultural memory.
Remembering the harrowing moment she acquired his photographs, Jimenez recalled, “My father died suddenly of a heart attack on August 25, 1963 at the age of 60. I was twenty-one and living on my own at college. I had one hour to return home and take a few of his possessions. I picked a battered suitcase filled with photographs he had taken and his camera. I have kept this suitcase with me throughout my life, moving it from apartments to houses, across the country and back. The suitcase contained all that I knew of my extended family.”