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Himalayan art in one hundred eight objects

Editor:
Debreczeny, Karl  Search this
Pakhoutova, Elena  Search this
Author:
Rubin Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Physical description:
503 pages illustrations (some color), color maps 31 x 24 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
Himalaya Mountains Region
Himālaya
Date:
2023
Topic:
Art  Search this
Material culture  Search this
Culture matérielle  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1164492

フジター色彩への旅

Artist:
Foujita, Tsugouharu 1886-1968  Search this
Editor:
Imai, Keiko  Search this
Uchiro, Hiroyuki  Search this
Host institution:
Pōra Bijutsukan  Search this
Author:
JAC Project  Search this
Subject:
Foujita, Tsugouharu 1886-1968  Search this
Foujita, Tsugouharu 1886-1968 Travel  Search this
Physical description:
223 pages illustrations (chiefly color), maps, portraits 27 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
2021
Call number:
ND1059.F6 A4 2021
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1165788

Allan Randall Freelon papers, 1830-2018

Creator:
Freelon, Allan Randall, 1895-1960  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Drawings
Citation:
Allan Randall Freelon papers, 1830-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American educators  Search this
Impressionism (Art)  Search this
Theme:
African American  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)21719
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)398577
AAA_collcode_freealla
Theme:
African American
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_398577

Oral history interview with Lois A. Bingham, 1981 April 16

Interviewee:
Bingham, Lois A., 1913-1996  Search this
Interviewer:
Pennington, Estill Curtis  Search this
Subject:
Adams, Ansel  Search this
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Lois A. Bingham, 1981 April 16. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11724
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212541
AAA_collcode_bingha81
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212541
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Annemarie Pope, 1981 Apr. 21

Interviewee:
Pope, Annemarie Henle, 1910-2001  Search this
Interviewer:
Pennington, Estill Curtis  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Annemarie Pope, 1981 Apr. 21. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Arts administrators -- Washington (D.C.) -- Interviews  Search this
German Americans  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13168
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213027
AAA_collcode_pope81
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213027
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Lois A. Bingham

Interviewee:
Bingham, Lois A.  Search this
Interviewer:
Pennington, Estill Curtis  Search this
Names:
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this
Extent:
36 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1981 April 16
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Lois A. Bingham conducted 1981 April 16, by Estill Curtis "Buck" Pennington, for the Archives of American Art. Topics discussed include her time with the National Collection of Fine Arts; the USIA (United States Information Agency) politics in art; McCarthyism and censorship in art in the 1950s; traveling exhibitions; art transportation and crating; and working with Ansel Adams on a photography exhibition, among other topics.
Biographical / Historical:
Lois A. Bingham (1913-1996) was an art historian from Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded 2 sound tape cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 46 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.bingha81
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9eedf9aa3-5ae1-4419-835b-41545542e856
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bingha81
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Annemarie Pope

Interviewee:
Pope, Annemarie Henle, 1910-2001  Search this
Interviewer:
Pennington, Estill Curtis  Search this
Extent:
34 Pages (Transcript)
Culture:
German Americans  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1981 Apr. 21
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Annemarie Pope conducted 1981 April 21, by Estill Curtis "Buck" Pennington, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Annemarie Henle Pope (1910-2001) was an art administrator from Dortmund, Westphalia, Germany, who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. Topics discussed include growing up in Germany; art education; relocating to the United States; world travels; managing art exhibitions for the Smithsonian Institution; politics in art; and international traveling exhibitions, among other topics.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 23 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Arts administrators -- Washington (D.C.) -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.pope81
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d349ceb8-dccb-4307-844f-061908c33e0e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-pope81
Online Media:

Allan Randall Freelon papers

Creator:
Freelon, Allan Randall, 1895-1960  Search this
Extent:
4.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Drawings
Date:
1830-2018
Summary:
The papers of African American painter and educator Allan Randall Freelon, who was based in Pennsylvania, measure 4.4 linear feet and date from 1830 to 2018. The collection contains biographical material, including appointment books and family history material; correspondence; writings; material related to professional activities, including exhibitions and school visits; personal business records, including estate records; printed material; scrapbooks; photographic material; and artwork and artifacts.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of African American painter and educator Allan Randall Freelon, who was based in Pennsylvania, measure 4.4 linear feet and date from 1830 to 2018. The collection contains biographical material, including appointment books and family history material; correspondence; writings; material related to professional activities, including exhibitions and school visits; personal business records, including estate records; printed material; scrapbooks; photographic material; and artwork and artifacts.

Biographical material include address lists, certificates, appointment books, and family history material.

Correspondence includes a mixture of personal and professional correspondence with families, friends, galleries, museusm, and and Philadelphia area schools.

Writings consist of Freelon's MFA thesis, notes and notecards. There is also a fair amount of writings by others, such as essays, poems, reports, and even a travel diary from 1879-1880 by someone with the initials "I. J. G."

Materials related to professional activities include exhibition, project, and committee files. There are also assorted materials related to Freelon's work as the Art Director for Philadelphia public schools.

Also included are personal business records, which contain estate records (which includes a audiovisual recording), auction records, condition reports, inventories, property records, and sale records.

Printed material consists of clippings, magazines, newsletters, and exhibition catalogs and announcements.

There are three scrapbooks, which primarily contains a mixture of photographic material, correspondence, and printed material.

Photographic materials include slides, photographs, and negatives of Freelon, his paintings, studio, friends and family, and various other location.

Artwork and artifacts include sketchbooks, sketches, and one souvenir spoon from the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition of 1926.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as nine series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1919, circa 1938-2001 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1878-2010 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1879-1880, 1922-1959 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Professional Activities, circa 1935-1957, 2000-2005 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1856-1957, 1995-2018 (Boxes 1-2, OV 6; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1849-2015 (Box 2, Box 4; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1923-1960 (Box 2, Boxes 4-5; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographic Material, circa 1880-circa 2006 (Boxes 2-3, Box 5, OV 6, MGP 6, Box 7; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Artwork and Artifacts, circa 1912-circa 1960 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Allan Randall Freelon Sr. (1895-1960) was painter and educator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for his impressionist paintings.

Freelon studied at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts), the University of Pennsylvania, and the Tyler School of Art of Temple University. He also spent summers studying painting with Hugh Breckenridge in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

His work was included in exhibitions at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, traveling exhibitions with the William E. Harmon Foundation, the Albright-Knox Gallery, the National Gallery of Art, the Howard University Gallery of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He was also one of seven Black artists included in the exhibition Art Commentary on Lynching, organized by the NAACP.

Freelon married Marie Cuyjet in 1918 and they had one son Allan Randall Freelon Jr. Freelon and Cuyjet eventually divorced and Freelon married Mary Kouzmanoff.

Freelon taught art in the Philadelphia public school system and in 1921 was appointed as assistant director of art education. In 1939 he was named the special assistant to the director of art in the Philadelphia public schools. Freelon also taught painting at Windy Crest, his studio in Telford, Pennsylvania, where he passed away in 1960.
Provenance:
The Allan Randall Freelon papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2019 by Nnenna and Maya Freelon as part of the Archives' African American Collecting Initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Nnenna is the widow of Phil Freelon, Allan Randall Freelon's grandson. Maya Freelon is Nnenna and Phil's daughter.
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.

Access to nitrate negatives is restricted. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Educators -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American educators  Search this
Impressionism (Art)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Drawings
Citation:
Allan Randall Freelon papers, 1830-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.freealla
See more items in:
Allan Randall Freelon papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw97f25a9d8-30fc-4ede-a04a-ff439b2e418d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-freealla
Online Media:

Woman's Building records

Creator:
Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Names:
Feminist Studio Workshop  Search this
Women's Graphic Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this
De Bretteville, Sheila Levrant  Search this
Raven, Arlene  Search this
Extent:
32.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides
Artists' books
Date:
1970-1992
Summary:
The records of the Woman's Building feminist arts organization in Los Angeles measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1970-1992. Originally founded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven in 1973, the Woman's Building served as an education center and public gallery space for women artists in southern California. The records document both the educational and exhibition activities and consist of administrative records, financial and legal records, publications, curriculum files, exhibition files, grant funding records and artist's works of arts and prints. A significant portion of the collection documents the Women's Graphic Center, a typesetting, design, and printing service operated by The Woman's Building.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the Woman's Building measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1970 to 1992. The organization played a key role as an alternative space for women artists energized by the feminist movement in the 1970s. The records document the ways in which feminist theory shaped the Building's founding core mission and goals. During its eighteen year history, the Building served as an education center and a public gallery space for women artists in Los Angeles and southern California; the records reflect both functions of the Building's activities.

The Administrative Files series documents the daily operations of the Building, with particular emphasis on management policies, budget planning, history, cooperative relationships with outside art organizations and galleries, special building-wide programs, and relocation planning. Included in this series are the complete minutes from most Building committees from 1974 through closing, including the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council. The General Publicity and Outreach series is particularly complete, containing publicity notices from most events, exhibits, and programs held at the Woman's Building, including brochures, announcements, programs, invitations, press releases, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles.

The Woman's Building's educational programs centered on courses offered by the Feminist Studio Workshop and the Extension Program. While the Workshop provided a two-year program for women interested in fully developing their artistic talent, the Extension Program offered a broad range of classes, specifically oriented to working women interested in art and art vocations. The records fully document both programs, focusing on the course development and descriptions, teacher contracts, class evaluations, budget planning, and scholarship programs. Although the Archives does not have the entire slide library, there are files concerning the establishment and administration of the library, as well as a few folders of slides.

The Gallery Programs series houses the records of the visual, performing, literary and video arts events held at the Woman's Building. Administrative files detail the daily operation of the gallery spaces. The files in the remaining subseries are primarily arranged by event and contain proposals, announcements, publicity, and artist biographies.

The Women's Graphic Center became a profit-making arm of the Woman's Building in 1981 but the typesetting and design equipment had been used by staff and students since 1975. The records in this series focus on the work produced at the Center, including general projects and artist designs and art prints. Many of the design and printing examples were produced for Woman's Building events and programs.

The Artist's Works of Art series includes artist books, resumes, correspondence, postcards, and samples of art in the form of sketches, drawings, and prints. There is also material related to Woman's Building projects. Especially noteworthy is the "What is Feminist Art?" project where artists gave their responses in various formats and mediums from text to pieces of artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, circa 1970-1991 (Box 1-9, 32; 9 linear feet)

Series 2: Educational Programs, 1971-1991 (Box 10-14; 4.9 linear feet)

Series 3: Gallery Programs, 1973-1991 (Box 14-20, OV 54; 5.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Women's Graphic Center, circa 1976-1989 (Box 20-23, 32, OV 33-50; 5.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Artists' Works of Art, circa 1972-1990 (Box 24-25, OV 51-53; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 6: Grants, 1974-1992 (Box 25-30; 5.3 linear feet)
Historical Note:
In 1973, artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven founded the Feminist Studio Workshop (FSW), one of the first independent schools for women artists. The founders established the workshop as a non-profit alternative education center committed to developing art based on women's experiences. The FSW focused not only on the development of art skills, but also on the development of women's experiences and the incorporation of those experiences into their artwork. Central to this vision was the idea that art should not be separated from other activities related to the developing women's movement. In November of 1973 the founders rented workshop space in a vacated building in downtown Los Angeles and called it The Woman's Building, taking the name from the structure created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The FSW shared space with other organizations and enterprises including several performance groups, Womanspace Gallery, Sisterhood Bookstore, the National Organization of Women, and the Women's Liberation Union.

When the building they were renting was sold in 1975, the FSW and a few other tenants moved to a three-story brick structure, originally designed to be the administrative offices of the Standard Oil Company in the 1920s. In the 1940s, it had been converted into a warehouse and consisted of three floors of open space, conducive to publically available extension classes and exhibitions offered by the Woman's Building staff and students. By 1977, the majority of the outside tenants had left the Woman's Building, primarily because they were unable to sustain business in the new location. The new building was more expensive to maintain and the FSW staff decided to hire an administrator and to create a board structure to assume the financial, legal, and administrative responsibility for the Building. The funds to operate came from FSW tuition, memberships, fund-raising events, and grant monies.

In 1981, the Feminist Studio Workshop closed, as the demand for alternative education diminished. The education programs of the Building were restructured to better accommodate the needs of working women. The Woman's Building also began to generate its own artistic programming with outside artists, including visual arts exhibits, performance art, readings, and video productions. That same year, the Woman's Building founded the Women's Graphic Center Typesetting and Design, a profit-making enterprises designed to strengthen its financial base. Income generated from the phototypesetting, design, production, and printing services was used to support the educational and art making activities of the Building.

When the graphics business closed in 1988, the Woman's Building suffered a financial crisis from which it never fully recovered. The Building closed its gallery and performance space in 1991.
Related Material:
Among the other resources relating to the Woman's Building in the Archives of American Art is an oral history with Suzanne Lacy on March 16, 1990, March 24, 1990, and September 24, 1990. While not credited as a founding member, Lacy was among the first group of staff of the Woman's Building which she discusses in her interview.

The Getty Research Institute also holds a large collection on the Woman's Building which includes a wide range of material relating to its exhibitions, activities, and projects.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art donated 5 boxes of video tape from the collection to the Long Beach Museum of Art, Video Annex in 1994. According to documentation, this was the desire of Sandra Golvin and the Board of Directors of the Woman's Building. Printed material collected but not produced by the Woman's Building regarding feminism was transfered to Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
Provenance:
The Woman's Building records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1991 by Sandra Golvin, President of the Board of Directors. An small addition of a set of "Cross Pollination" posters was donated in 2019 by by ONE Archives at University of Southern California Libraries via Loni Shibuyama, Archives Librarian.
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Function:
Nonprofit organizations -- California
Arts organizations -- California
Genre/Form:
Slides
Artists' books
Citation:
Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.womabuil
See more items in:
Woman's Building records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw938796dfe-5dbf-49e9-96e7-5a8745391f13
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-womabuil
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Online Media:

Eugene Irving Knez papers

Creator:
Knez, Eugene I. (Eugene Irving), 1916-2010  Search this
Names:
East China Seas Program  Search this
Korean National Museum of Anthropology  Search this
National Folk Museum of Korea  Search this
National Museum of Korea  Search this
Extent:
57.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Korea
Tibet
Bhutan
East Asia
Nepal
Date:
circa 1920–2000, With Information Dating Back to 1481
Summary:
The Knez papers include material concerning many aspects of his career up to the time he retired from the Smithsonian. Of particular strength is the documentation of Asian exhibits, both temporary and permanent ones installed during his time at the Institution. There is also considerable material concerning specimens and collections acquired earlier. Material concerning Knez's work as a field researcher, bibliographer, and editor are also among the papers. After his retirement, Knez became involved in a study of Buddhism among the Tibetans living in India. Copies of film made for this study have been deposited in the Human Studies Film Archives. It should be noted that the papers represent only a portion of the Knez papers, for he has retained some of them.
Scope and Contents:
Knez was not a prolific writer. Though his research encompassed East and Southeast Asia, his field expeditions for collections and his charge to establish the first permanent Asian halls while at the Smithsonian limited his scientific writings to documentation required for Smithsonian exhibitions and his ongoing interest in the material culture of Sam Jong Dong and The Three Ministries, located in the Kimhae region of southeast Korea. To overcome Asian language barriers, Knez had to utilize informants, Korean scholars, and translators in order to carry out his research. The materials that he collected or were forwarded to him about Asia, however, represent an impressive body of information that researchers of Southeast Asia would want to review for general studies. Of special importance would be the information about culture around the South China Sea, and especially studies about Korean and Japanese ethnology and anthropology, the pre-colonial and colonial period, the period right after World War II, the Korean War, and changes in Korean agricultural farming life, from the early 1900s through the 1980s. A knowledge of Chinese calligraphy, Korean Hangul, and pre-World War Two Japanese (Taisho and Showa Periods) are required to understand the complete record documenting Korean history.

These papers contain detailed correspondence and memoranda, documenting Knez's professional life as a curator of anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. Visual images, photographs, slides, videotapes, film, and sound recording as well as research information and correspondence provide a complete record of the exhibitions that Knez established at the Smithsonian. Correspondence, memoranda, and photographs provide a less complete picture of Knez's activities before his appointment as curator. There is a very strong and complete record of his activities while stationed in Korea after World War II and during the Korean War. This material includes correspondence, photographs and film footage. Knez also brought out of Korea photographs that were taken by the Japanese during the colonial period. There is also film footage taken around 1946 on Cheju Island. In addition, there are postcards and photo cards that contain a rich visual image of Korea dating back before the 1920s.

The largest series within these papers contains Knez's material culture research on Korea. This series includes field notes, interviews, transcriptions, correspondence, photographs, publications and translations about Korean history dating back to 1481, Japanese publications and translations regarding anthropomorphic and agricultural studies of Koreans and Korean agricultural life, and Knez's draft publications. There is a large series of photographs and slides documenting Asian art collections as well as Asian cultures. The Knez Papers also includes a phonograph record collection which is not dated and contains Korean and Japanese opera and folk songs. In addition, there is a collection of Confucius teachings, school books, and genealogy written in Chinese calligraphy and Hangul.

The arrangement of these papers and the file folders within the series are not always well ordered. Multiple accessions were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives. Where subject information was the same, folders were filed into existing series developed in the 1970s and 1980s. In similar fashion, individual items that were not within folders were interfiled in existing folders that contained the same information.

The research series (series six), which primarily documents Knez's research activities and information he received or collected on Korea has some provenance. The material was reboxed several times, but there remains segments of information that are completely related. At other times, there is no logical relationship between one group of files and the next. Most of the folders were never dated. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the different periods in Knez's life when he worked on his Korean studies, without going through the entire series. Photographs are not always dated. Only a very small number were used in Knez's 1997 publication (where they are dated), The Modernization of Three Korean villages, 1951-1981 (Smithsonian Institution Press).

Most of the series within these papers contain different aspects of Knez's interest in Asia, and in particular, his focus on Korea. For example, correspondence regarding Knez's activities during his stay in Korea after World War II and during the Korean War will be found in series two, Subject File; photographs documenting the same time period will be found in series six, Research Projects, and series thirteen, Biographical and Autobiographical Material. And, series ten, Motion Picture Film and Sound Recordings, contain visual images of Knez's activities in Korea during 1946, 1950-1951.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into fourteen (14) series:

SERIES 1.Accession Correspondence and Information and Examination and Reports of Collections, 1959-1977 and undated, with information dating back to 1893, boxes 1-4

SERIES 2.Subject File, 1937-1999 and undated, with information dating back to 1852, boxes 4-32

SERIES 3.Professional and Non-Professional Association Material, 1955-1980, with information dating back to 1896, boxes 33-36

SERIES 4.Exhibitions, 1960-1977 and undated, with information dating back to 1876, boxes 36-43

SERIES 5.Research Grants, 1963-1981 and undated, with information dating back to 1884, boxes 43-46

SERIES 6.Research Projects, 1909, 1929-2000 and undated, with information dating back to 1481, boxes 47-115

SERIES 7.Geographical and Publications Files, 1929-1977 and undated, boxes 116-139

SERIES 8.Korean and Chinese Writings, boxes 140-141

SERIES 9.Collection and Research Photographs, 1946-1977 and undated, boxes 142-161

SERIES 10.Motion Picture Film and Sound Recordings, 1946-1978 and undated, boxes 162-164

SERIES 11.Phonograph Recordings, 1959- and undated, with recordings possibly dating back to the 1940s, boxes 165-170

SERIES 12.Invitations and Greetings, box 171

SERIES 13.Biographical and Autobiographical Material, Family Photographs, and Notes, circa 1920s-1997 and undated, boxes 172-174

SERIES 14.Oversize, 1952-1971 and undated, box 175 and oversize map case drawers
Biographical / Historical:
Eugene I. Knez was born Eugene Irving Knezevich on May 12, 1916, in Clinton, Indiana, where he graduated from high school in 1935. His mother and father, Ida and Sam Knezevich, were divorced in 1932, and in 1936, his mother married Edward P. Pearson. The family moved to California where Knez enrolled in pre-medical studies at Los Angeles City College. Knez transferred to the University of New Mexico (UNM), but before completing his studies, returned to Indiana to be with his father, who was ill. There, Knez enrolled at Indiana University. Since Indiana University did not offer courses in anthropology, Knez took classes in sociology and psychology so that he could fulfill the requirements of UNM. Upon completion of his course work at Indiana University, UNM awarded Knez a B.A. in 1941.

While attending the University of New Mexico, Knez was primarily interested in the Native American Indian. During the summer of 1939 he was appointed Park Ranger-Historian in the National Park Service at Coolidge, Arizona. When he returned to Indiana to be with his father, Knez found a summer job as an assistant to a psychologist, who was testing inmates at the Indiana State Farm.

Knez was drafted as a private in the United States Army in 1941. He was promoted to sergeant in 1942 and during that same year was selected for Officer's Candidate School. Knez graduated OCS as a second lieutenant. Knez was trained and later moved into personnel classification and assignment sections in various divisions before and during World War II. In 1945, he was promoted to captain while in a combat support unit on Saipan.

At the end of the war Knez was assigned to Korea. This assignment began a pivotal sequence of events in his life. With his background in anthropology, Knez was placed in charge of the Army's Bureau of Culture, National Department of Education, United States Military Government in Korea headquartered in Seoul. His responsibilities included the restoration of cultural and religious activities, including museums. At the Bureau, Knez developed a sensitivity towards Korea and her people in the aftermath of Japanese colonialism. Knez undertook the restoration of Admiral Yi's large inscribed boulder and a Buddhist pagoda that had been partially dismantled by the Japanese. He established The National Museum of Anthropology (which became the National Folk Museum). In 1946 Knez sponsored an expedition to Cheju Island to collect ethnographic artifacts and record music for the Museum. During that year he also received permission to excavate two royal Silla Tombs at Kyonju with staff from the National Museum of Korea (NMK). This was the beginning of an endearing association with Korea and her people, which culminated in Knez receiving the award of The Order of Cultural Merit (gold medal) in 1995 from the Republic of Korea.

Knez was discharged from the United States Army in 1946. From 1947 to 1948, he attended Yale University as a research assistant in anthropology and worked at the Peabody Museum. He then joined the federal government and from 1949 to 1953 Knez served as a Cultural Affairs and Public Affairs officer at the American embassies in Korea and Japan. From 1949 to 1951, Knez was chief of Branch Operations, United States Information Agency, first headquartered in Seoul and then moving from Seoul to Pusan with the invasion by North Korea.

During his assignment in Korea, Knez undertook several major activities that had a profound effect on his life. With the approaching North Korean forces getting ready to invade Seoul for the second time, Kim, Chewon, director of the National Museum of Korea, approached Knez and made a personal request to help save the Museum's treasures. Though Knez was a war time member of the American Embassy he undertook the task without receiving official permission. He coordinated the movement of the Museum and Yi dynasty collections and some of the Museum staff by having them shipped by railroad boxcar from Seoul to Pusan.

During the fighting Knez began his ethnographic material culture research at Sam Jong Dong in the Kimhae region north of Pusan. When it appeared in 1951 that the United Nations was losing the war, Knez received permission to spend two months of his home leave to stay in Korea to continue his research. This study was to continue into the 1990s.

While in Pusan, Knez recommended that two dinners be held to help the morale of Korea's cultural leaders, those who were refugees from Seoul. One dinner was to be for the older generation and the second for younger Korean scholars and members of the cultural community. At the second dinner, Knez met his future bride, Choi, Jiae, a highly regarded Korean actress.

During 1951, Knez was transferred to Tokyo as Policy and Program officer for the United States Information Agency. In 1952 he was assigned as the USIA regional Public Affairs officer in Fukuoka.

In 1953, Knez left the USIA and joined the staff at Hunter College, located in the Bronx, New York, first as a lecturer and then as an instructor. While teaching at Hunter, Knez attended graduate school at Syracuse University. In 1959, he received a Doctor of Social Science Degree in anthropology from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Knez's thesis was Sam Jong Dong: A South Korean Village. During the school year 1968-1969, the Maxwell School went from awarding the D.S.Sc. degree to the Ph.D. In 1970, Knez successfully petitioned the School to have his degree changed.

In 1959, Knez was appointed Associate Curator of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. He was given the responsibility for Asian ethnology and was assigned the task of establishing the first permanent Asian exhibitions in two halls at the United States National Museum (later, the National Museum of Natural History). At the time, the Asian collections available for the halls were poor or non-existent. Knez began his first of several field expeditions to augment the Museum's artifact and cultural collections. Almost all of the Asian exhibitions that he planned had to have collections taken directly from the field.

The first permanent exhibition was opened in 1961 and contained information on the South Asian World in Miniature, India and Pakistan. During the year two more exhibitions were completed, documenting India, Pakistan, and Thailand. In 1962, Knez completed fifteen more exhibitions; he completed eight in 1963 and 1964; one in 1965; and one in 1967. The themes for the exhibitions included China, Japan, Iran, Korea, Tibet, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Pakistan, India, East Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, Islam, and Buddhism.

From 1963 through 1973, Knez put together additional temporary exhibitions, which included themes on Korea, China, India, Japan, Bhutan, and acquisitions of Hindu and Buddhist sculpture. In 1967, Knez provided the objects and created the documentation for the United States Department of State exhibition honoring the visit of the King and Queen of Thailand. Knez developed an exhibition about Korea, which went on display between 1977 and 1979 and was coordinated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

Knez retired from the Smithsonian in November 1978 and was appointed Anthropologist Emeritus in 1979. Knez moved to Hawaii and developed ties with the University of Hawaii as a visiting scholar at the Center for Korean Studies. Knez continued his research on the Kimhae region, and in 1993, published his revised, The Modernization of Three Korean Villages, 1951-81: an Illustrated study of a people and their material culture.

May 12, 1916 -- Born

1935 -- Graduated High School

1941 -- Drafted, Private, United States Army B.A., University of New Mexico

1942 -- Officer's Candidate School, 2nd Lieutenant, United States Army

1945 -- Promoted to Captain, United States Army

1945-1946 -- United States Army, In charge, Bureau of Culture, National Department of Education, Seoul, Korea

1946 -- Excavation, National Museum of Korea, Royal Silla Tomb, Kyongju Ethnographic and Geographic Survey, National Folk Museum of Anthropology, Korea, Cheju Island

August 1946 -- Honorable Discharge, United States Army

1947-1948 -- Yale University, Peabody Museum, Research Assistant in Anthropology

1947 -- Study of American Indian Shaker cult, Washington State Museum, Seattle

1949 -- Changed Name from Knezevich to Knez

1949-1951 -- Wartime Center Director, United States Information Service, Pusan, Korea

1951 -- Shipment of National Museum of Korea Collections and Staff from Seoul to Pusan

1951-1952 -- Ethnographic Study of Kimhae Area, Korea, towards a dissertation

1952-1976 -- United States Army Reserve (retired as Full Colonel)

1953-1959 -- Lecturer and Instructor, Hunter College, New York

1959 -- Fellow, American Anthropological Association D.S.S.C. (later, Ph.D.) Syracuse University Anthropologist, Smithsonian Institution

1961-1962 -- Overseas Collecting Trips to Asia

1961 -- First Asian Exhibition Installation

1962 -- Letter of Appreciation, Republic of Korea

1965 -- Smithsonian Special Act (Development of Asian Collections) Award

1966 -- Member of the United States Museums Advisory Delegation Planning Meeting for the Establishment of a Korean National Science Museum Center, Seoul

1970 -- Award, Korean Village Study, Smithsonian Institution, Secretary's Fund

1971 -- Exhibition, A Korean Village: Its Changing Culture, which was later adapted as a traveling exhibition in the United States and Canada

1974 -- Exhibition, Bhutan: The Land of Dragons

1975 -- Invited Participant, Pakistan-Sind Government International Seminar

1977 -- Exhibition, Arms and Armor of Japan

1978 -- Retired, Smithsonian Institution Fellow, The Explorers Club, New York

1979 -- Anthropologist Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution Award, Himalayan Project, Tibetan Buddhism and Its Role in Society and State, National Endowment for the Humanities, which led to a publication by Knez with Franz Michael

1981 -- Award, Fulbright Senior Scholar, Korea, Council for International Exchange of Scholars

1995 -- Presentation of The Order of Culture Merit (Gold Medal), Republic of Korea
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds Franz H. Michael and Eugene I. Knez photographs and sound recordings relating to Tibetan Buddhism in northeastern India (NAA.PhotoLot.80-13).
Separated Materials:
The motion picture film was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives in 2002 (HSFA.2002.09).
Provenance:
Most of the papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Dr. Knez in 1978. There have been additional accretions since then.
Restrictions:
The Eugene Irving Knez papers are open for research.

Access to the Eugene Irving Knez papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Village life -- Korea  Search this
Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this
Citation:
Eugene Irving Knez papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.1980-22
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw35632d487-40c6-4e14-9b21-bab85debd8dd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-1980-22

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