The papers of artist Jesse Amado measure 1.3 linear feet and date from circa 1970 to 2016. The collection is comprised of biographical material, writings and notes, professional files, printed material, photographic material, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist Jesse Amado measure 1.3 linear feet and date from circa 1970 to 2016. The collection is comprised of biographical material, writings and notes, professional files, printed material, photographic material, and artwork.
Awards, greeting cards, license, and a resume are found in biographical materials. The papers also include early writings, notes, and fifteen notebooks. Professional files consist of agreements, exhibition and project files, a teaching file, and source material.
Printed materials consist of clippings, ephemera, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and an exhibition wall description. Photographs and negatives are of Amado, works of art, and personal subjects. Artwork includes a few drawings, a sketchbook, and portraits of Amado drawn by his students.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1983-2011 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 2: Writings and Notes, circa 1970-2016 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Professional Files, 1990-2016 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1983-2016, undated (Boxes 1-2; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographic Material, circa 1970-circa 2000 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Artwork, circa 2010-2015 (Boxes 1-2; 3 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Jesse Amado (1951- ) is an artist active in San Antonio, Texas.
In his youth Amado had aspirations to become an architect but lost interest later in high school. Amado joined the Navy at 17 becoming an east coast communications operator. He left the Navy after five years and moved to New York City. There, he visited art museums and became interested in art though he did not consider a career as an artist at this time. Instead, he studied English in college and graduated in 1977 from the University of Texas in Austin. He returned to San Antonio and became an English teacher in the public school system, but left this position a short time later. Following the suggestion of a friend, Amado joined the San Antonio fire department where he worked until retiring in 2002. Upon gaining a steady income, Amado began taking art classes at San Antonio College studying under Chicano artist Mel Casas. Amado continued to study fine art at the University of Texas in San Antonio in the 1980s. He earned another bachelor's degree as well as a master's degree in fine art in 1990. During this time he began exhibiting his artwork. He has since held numerous solo and group exhibitions of his work.
Amado completed residencies at San Antonio's Artspace, South Korea's City Gallery of Kwangju, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, N.E., and for the National Endowment for the Arts' Visual Arts Organization Grant at the Fabric Workshop and Museum of Philadelphia. His major projects include memorials for the San Antonio fire department and Days, an art installation in honor of Linda Pace at the San Antonio Central Library.
Related Materials:
Also at the Archives of American Art is an interview of Jesse Amado conducted May 31 and June 7, 2004 by Cary Cordova at the artist's studio, in San Antonio, Texas.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Jesse Amado in 2017.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
