The papers of jeweler and educator Ramona Solberg measure 8.3 linear feet and date from 1926 to 2007. The collection documents Solberg's career through biographical materials including interview transcripts, correspondence between Solberg and friends and colleagues including Russell and Marjorie Day and Malathi Ramswarthy, organizational and professional files, printed materials, artwork including jewelry sketches, photographs of Solberg and her work, and motion picture films containing footage of artwork and travel.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of jeweler and educator Ramona Solberg measure 8.3 linear feet and date from 1926 to 2007. The collection documents Solberg's career through biographical materials including interview transcripts, correspondence, organizational and professional files, printed materials, artwork including jewelry sketches, photographs of Solberg and her work, and motion picture films containing footage of artwork and travel.
Biographical materials contain Solberg's Women's Army Corps records, student records, awards and diplomas, material for Solberg's memorial service, a Christmas newsletter by Solberg, interview transcripts and notes, and a detailed chronology of Solberg's life events and career accomplishments.
Correspondence is between Solberg, various friends and colleagues including Russell and Marjorie Day, Malathi Ramswarthy, and others, and with her nephew's partner Sharon Dwinnell-Smith, who served as the point of contact during Solberg's hospitalization in 2004 and after her death in 2005.
A set of organizational files includes correspondence, agreements, printed and photographic materials, sales information, loan forms, and other material regarding exhibitions, workshops, and other events. Solberg's professional files include annotated calendars, workshop material, files containing personal letters and material concerning a film project on Solberg by Jack Stoops, drafts and photographs for Solberg's book Inventive Jewelry-Making, instructional material, research and notes on beads, a few exhibition files, and teaching and travel files.
Printed materials include booklets, brochures and pamphlets, clippings, announcements and catalogs for Solberg's exhibitions, flyers, and a poster. Artwork includes Solberg's childhood drawings, jewelry sketches, and a few other items. Photographic materials include photos of Solberg, travel, and works of art, in addition to approximately 40 motion picture film strips containing footage of artwork and travel.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1939-2007 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, OV 9)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1966-2007 (0.7 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Organizational Records, 1955-2007 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1955-2006 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, OV 10)
Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1957-2006 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)
Series 6: Artwork, 1926-circa 2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 5, OV 11)
Series 7: Photographic Materials and Motion Picture Film, circa 1940-circa 1990s (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 5-8, FC12)
Biographical / Historical:
Ramona Solberg (1921-2005) was a jeweler and educator in Seattle, W.A.
Solberg was born in Watertown, S.D. but moved to Seattle as a baby. She enlisted in the Women's Army Corps in 1943 and served until 1950. Over the course of her service, she had the opportunity to travel around the United States, as well as abroad to Heidelberg and Stuttgart. After leaving the Army, Solberg used her GI benefits to study jewelry making and textiles in Mexico at Bellas Artes and the University of Michoacan. She received both her Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degrees from the University of Washington in 1951 and 1953. Solberg taught high school before becoming an associate professor at Washington State College from 1956 to 1967. She returned to her alma mater, the University of Washington, in 1967 to teach until her retirement in 1983. In 1972, she published, Inventive Jewelry-Making, a book for beginners. She became a fellow at the American Craft Council in 1975 and won the Washington State Governor's award in 1987.
Solberg died in 2005.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives of American Art is an interview of Ramona Solberg conducted on March 23, 2001 by Vicki Halper for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Solberg's apartment, Seattle, W.A.
Provenance:
The Ramona Solberg papers were donated in 2003 by Ramona Solberg and in 2008 by Ramona Solberg's estate via Larry Metcalf, executor, as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The series consists of photographic prints, digital prints, negatives and transparencies, motion picture film strips, and a large quantity of slides. The majority of the series documents Solberg's extensive travels and works of art by Solberg and other craft artists. Some sets of slides were collected by Solberg for use during talks and lectures, as well as for her book Inventive Jewelry-Making and other projects. Other photographic materials are personal snapshots, portraits of Solberg, Solberg in her studio, and Solberg in her Women's Army Corps uniform. Also included in the series are approximately 40 film strips containing footage of travel in various countries and works of art.
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Ramona Solberg papers, 1926-2007. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The series includes 22 annotated calendars documenting Solberg's appointments and activities for nearly 30 years, artist statements, donations of artwork, jury panel files, lecture and workshop material, letters of recommendation written by Solberg, material on Solberg collected by Vicki Halper, teaching material, and 2 books of weaving samples.
Also included is a file for Jack Stoops Film Productions containing project material for a film on Solberg and personal correspondence between Stoops, Solberg, and Dwinnell-Smith; drafts, photographs, a proposal, correspondence, and other related material for Solberg's book Inventive Jewelry-Making; and a general business file containing price lists, receipts, and other material. There are files for the exhibitions Findings: The Jewelry of Ramona Solberg, Objects: USA, and the Philadelphia Craft Show, and research material on beads that includes a paper by Solberg, writings on jewelry as personal adornment, and notes on beads of different cultures. Instructional materials consist of instructions on jewelry making along with illustrations. Travel files contain printed material on local arts, travel ephemera, and some photographs.
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Ramona Solberg papers, 1926-2007. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Design drawings, catalogs and information relating to custom jewelry design in Rhode Island.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Provenance:
Collection donated to the Archives Center in 2010 by Rosemary Pacheo and Estelle N. Borino.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Jay DeFeo, 1975 June 3-1976 January 23. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
School of Industrial Design (Trenton, N.J.) Search this
University of California, Berkeley. Department of Art Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Merry Renk, 2001 January 18-19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The scattered papers of Alexadra Solowij Watkins regarding Miye Matsukata date from 1973 to 1980. Found are slides of works by Matsukata and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The scattered papers of Alexadra Solowij Watkins regarding Miye Matsukata date from 1973 to 1980. Found are slides of works by Matsukata and printed material.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Amanda Solowij Watkins (1933-) is a jeweler and goldsmith in Boston, Massachusetts, who headed jeweler Miye Matsukata's workshop for many years and photographed pieces as they were returned from cleaning or repair.
Miye Matsukata (1922-1981) was a Japanese American jeweler and metal-worker based in Boston, Massachusetts. She designed and made jewelry at her firm Janiye in Boston from 1950 to her death.
Provenance:
Donated 1985 by Alexandra Solowij Watkins.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Biographical material; general correspondence file, ca. 1902-1947; project file, 1917; writings by Rose and others describing techniques and styles in jewelry and other metal works, ca. 1906-1938; speeches, 1945 and undated; Rose's recipes for metals and finishes, undated; notes, sketches and studies by Rose done as a student, ca. 1895-1945; teaching notes, 1906; and clippings, ca. 1916-1990, school bulletins, and other printed material. Also found are photographs of Rose, his family and associates, ca. 1914-1945 and undated; 4 phonographs of a lecture given by Rose, 1932; a subject file on the Rhode Island School of Design, ca. 1907-1931; and miscellany, ca. 1912-1928.
ADDITION: Notes, lectures, and writings on various aspects of metalsmithing and jewelry making; reference clippings; tearsheets; and published technical material; photographs of metal work; manufacturers and refiners brochures; and museum publications. and invitations and exhibition catalog for "Masters of American Metalsmithing," organized by the National Ornamental Museum, Memphis, Tenn., 1988.
Biographical / Historical:
Metalworker, jewelry designer, instructor. Taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and in the Rhode Island public school system.
Provenance:
Donated 1994 and 1997 by Margaret and Elizabeth Rose, the daughters of Augustus Foster Rose.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Arline M. Fisch. Danish student and Karen Strand at exhibition in Copenhagen, 19--. Arline M. Fisch papers, 1931-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.