The collection is arranged as 9 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, 1943 (Box 1; 1 folder) Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1981 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet) Series 3: Writings, circa 1940-1980 (Box 1-2; 1.0 linear foot) Series 4: Artwork, circa 1961-1969, 1975 (Box 2, OV 5; 4 folders) Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1934-1963 (Box 2; 3 folders) Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1932-1982 (Box 2, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet) Series 7: Photographs, 1930-1976 (Box 2-3, OV 4; 1.2 linear feet) Series 8: Audio-Visual Recordings, 1954, circa 1965 (Box 3, FC 6-7; 0.2 linear feet) Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1950-1980 (Box 8, OV 9; 0.3 linear feet)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Summary:
The papers of California ceramicist and educator Marguerite Wildenhain measure 3.7 linear feet and date from 1930 to 1982. Found within the papers are biographical sketches; correspondence with patrons, students, and colleagues, including Eugene Anderson, T. S. Eliot, and Gerhard Marcks; writings by Wildenhain and others; designs for pottery and other artwork; one scrapbook; news clippings, exhibition catalogs, and scattered printed material. Also found are photographs of Marguerite and Frans Wildenhain, Pond Farm, workshops, exhibitions,and artwork, as well as two film reels depicting Wildenhain lecturing and in her studio. There is a 0.3 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes photographs and negatives of Wildenhain's works of art, circa 1960-1970, (many in the collection of Forrest L. Merrill or Luther College) taken by David Stone and photographs at Pond Farm, circa 1980. Additional photographs are of Wildenhain and her works of art, circa 1950 (possibly taken by Otto Hagel).
Citation:
Marguerite Wildenhain papers, 1930-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
A portion of the collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 5045-5048 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Use Note:
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.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are the Marguerite Wildenhain exhibition records, 1977-1981, donated by the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art; an oral history interview of Marguerite Wildenhain conducted 1982 Mar. 14, by Hazel Bray; and the Frans Wildenhain papers, 1890-1986. Additional Marguerite Wildenhain letters to Gerhard Marcks are located at the Archiv fur Buldende Kunst of the Germanisches Museum, Nurnberg, Germany.
Biography Note:
Marguerite Wildenhain (1896-1985) was a ceramicist and educator in Guerneville, California. Born Marguerite Friedlaender in Lyon, France, Wildenhain received training in sculpture at the Berlin School of Applied Arts. She later worked as a designer for the Royal Berlin Porcelain Factory, leaving in 1919 to apprentice in pottery at the Bauhaus, under Max Krehan and Gerhard Marcks. After receiving her degree as master-potter, she was employed at the Municipal School for Arts and Crafts in Halle Saale, Germany. Fleeing the Nazis in 1933, she and her husband, potter Frans Wildenhain, operated a workshop in Holland before immigrating to the United States in 1940. In 1942 she settled near Guerneville, California, and established an artist colony known as Pond Farm. Following her divorce, she remained at Pond Farm and operated a summer school which lasted until 1980, training approximately 25 students each summer.
Language Note:
Collection is in English and German.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Marguerite Wildenhain in 1973-1981. Additional material was donated in 2020 by David Stone, a student of Wildenhain.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
