Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, Calif.) Search this
Type:
Notebooks
Visitors' books
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Paintings
Sketches
Collages
Diaries
Illustrated letters
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
18 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1964-2009 (Box 1, 18; 1.4 linear feet) Series 2: Diaries, 1957-1962 (Box 2; 6 folders) Series 3: Morning Journals, 1998-2008 (Box 2; 0.6 linear feet) Series 4: Art Journals, Artist Books, Notebooks and Sketchbooks, circa 1973-2009 (Box 3-15, 17-20, 22; 14.2 linear feet) Series 5: Printed Material, 1974-2009 (Box 15-16, 20; 0.5 linear feet) Series 6: Photographs, 1965, circa 1980s-2000s (Box 16, 20; 4 folders) Series 7: Teaching Files, circa 1989-2008 (Box 20-21; 0.5 linear feet)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Summary:
The papers of collagist and painter Janice Lowry measure 18.0 linear feet and date from 1957 to 2009. Lowry's career as an artist in Arizona and California is documented through biographical material, printed material, teaching files, and photographs. The bulk of the papers consist of six diaries; thirteen morning journals; 126 art journals which include both written text and artwork in the form of sketches, paintings, and collages; hand-made artist books; nine notebooks with sketches; and one sketchbook.
Citation:
Janice Lowry papers, 1957-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Biography Note:
Janice Lowry (1946-2009) created paintings, collages, and assemblages in Arizona and California. She is known for her box creations of homemade frames filled with found objects that often questioned and commented on life, death, journeys, and rites of passages.
Lowry was born in 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona. She started writing diaries when she was 11, and, with the exception of a decade, continued journaling until 2007. She married Jan Gilbert in 1965 and had two sons, Brandon and Kevin. During this period Lowry also set up a studio and started showing her artwork. In 1973, the family moved to California. Shortly after, she began her long battle with depression, and she divorced Jan in 1976.
Remaining in California, Lowry attended Art Center College of Design where she earned a BFA with honors in 1979 and a MFA in painting in 1980. She married Jon Gothold in 1983, and had another son, Brent. Her work sold well in the 1980's, but after her studio was destroyed in an earthquake in 1987, she took a break from making art.
Janice Lowry's first solo show was at Art Space in 1980, and the gallery continued to showcase and sell her work for many years. She taught at Art Center, Cypress College, and Oakridge Private School. Among other shows, she was part of an exhibition about 9/11 at Legacy Arts Gallery in 2001. In 2007, she was named the region's "Best Visual Artist" by the Orange County Weekly. After several health issues, Janice Lowry died of liver cancer in 2009.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
Donated 2007 and 2009 by Janice Lowry and in 2014 by Jon Gothold, Lowry's widower and executor.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001