Search Results

Artist:

Whitney Warren Jr., American, 1864–1943  Search this

Medium:

Brush and watercolor, graphite on thick cream wove paper tipped into binding with fabric

Type:

architecture

Album page

Object Name:

Album page

Made in:

Cremona, Lombardi, Italy

Place depicted:

Cremona, Lombardi, Italy

Date:

October 4, 1887

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. William Greenough

Accession Number:

1943-51-15

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1943-51-15

Artist:

Whitney Warren Jr., American, 1864–1943  Search this

Medium:

Brush and watercolor, graphite on thick white wove paper, adhered to a sheet of thin, white wove paper tipped into binding with fabric

Type:

architecture

Album page

Object Name:

Album page

Made in:

Venice, Italy

Date:

October 23, 1887

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. William Greenough

Accession Number:

1943-51-3

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1943-51-3

Creator:

Smithsonian Magazine  Search this

Type:

Blog posts

Smithsonian staff publications

Blog posts

Published Date:

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 15:29:04 +0000

Topic:

Custom RSS  Search this

See more posts:

Smithsonian Article Database

Data Source:

Smithsonian Magazine

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:posts_31799334884e2daa7d4f59e62bf11d52

Provenance:

Cambridge Plant and Garden Club  Search this

Former owner:

Howard, Emily  Search this

Nichols, Abbie  Search this

Sculptor:

Seamans, Beverly Benson  Search this

Donor:

Child, Julia, 1912-2004  Search this

Nurseryman:

Haskell, Allen C.  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Digital images

Place:

Brown Street Green Garden (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Middlesex -- Cambridge

Scope and Contents:

1 folder and 20 digital images.

General:

The owner's first project after obtaining the one-third acre garden in 1951 was to create a private space with tall wooden fences in back and trees: hemlock, spruce, pine, kousa dogwood, holly and amur cork. The front yard lawn has a granite boulder set in one side of a wide brick walk with hawthorn and cork on the other side, spreading yew mixed with pink and white azaleas in the foundation bed of the gray stucco Cape Cod house, and antique lead containers with seasonal planting. Alongside and behind the house there are three areas: the entry borders, the terrace and lawn, and the wildflower garden. A decorative gate painted yellow-green opens to the entry garden with mixed borders: yew and holly foundation plants, witch hazel, crabapple and Cornelian cherry dogwood for late winter and early spring bloom, mixed spring bulbs and a white Japanese tree peony, and hosta and colorful annuals in summer. A low mound of Japanese maple marks off the corner granite terrace added in 1960 that is surrounded by beds of flowering shrubs, spring bulbs, black-eyed Susan and verbena in summer, shaded by kousa dogwood and hemlock. Climbing hydrangea and akebia have grown up the cedar stockade fence. There is a bench copying one seen in Denmark made from a thick teak plank set between two granite cubes and other decorative features.

A stretch of lawn leads to a shady wildflower garden planted with ferns, Solomon's seal, European ginger, many bulbs including scilla, fritillary, trout lily, trillium and narcissus; spring flowering shrubs and white oak-leaf hydrangea, and yew, hemlock, holly and a very tall ash for shade. There are two beehives behind the house that provide honey for the owner. Additions to the house include a deck and bluestone patio where there are two sculptures by Beverly Seamans: Walter the Poodle and Roger the Red, a Rhode Island red rooster. Trees and shrubs are the mainstays of this garden and provide changing colors each season, from flowering white and yellow in spring and summer to red and yellow leaves in autumn. The owner has employed knowledge about gardening gleaned from guided walks through the Arnold Arboretum with Dr. Donald Wyman and her certification from Radcliffe in landscape design in her plant selection, color coordination, placement and maintenance for a garden that is naturalistic yet elegant. She has been a professional landscape consultant for private and larger civic and commercial gardens and has instigated beautification projects in Cambridge.

Persons associated with the garden include: Emily Howard (former owner, 1914-c.1928); Abbie Nichols (former owner, c.1928-1951); Beverly Benson Seamans (1928-2012) (sculptor, no dates available); Julia Child (donor of garden decorations, 2001); Allen Haskell (nurseryman, no dates available).

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Gardens -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge  Search this

Genre/Form:

Digital images

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File MA640

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Massachusetts

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref32891

Maker:

Whitehead & Hoag Company  Search this

Physical Description:

cellulose nitrate (overall material)

metal (decoration material)

Measurements:

overall: 3.6 cm x 5.5 cm; 1 7/16 in x 2 3/16 in

overall: 1 1/4 in x 2 1/4 in x 3/16 in; 3.175 cm x 5.715 cm x .47625 cm

Object Name:

Watch Fob

Place made:

United States: New Jersey, Newark

Associated Place:

United States: New Jersey

Date made:

after 1906

ID Number:

2006.0098.0714

Accession number:

2006.0098

Catalog number:

2006.0098.0714

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Chemistry

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-401e-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1325884

Creator:

Packard, Emmy Lou, 1914-1998  Search this

Names:

American Civil Liberties Union  Search this

Public Works of Art Project  Search this

Covarrubias, Miguel, 1904-1957  Search this

Edmunds, John, 1913-  Search this

Kahlo, Frida  Search this

Lange, Dorothea  Search this

O'Gorman, Juan, 1905-  Search this

O'Higgins, Pablo, 1904-  Search this

Refregier, Anton, 1905-  Search this

Reynolds, Malvina  Search this

Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957  Search this

Extent:

9.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Photographs

Interviews

Diaries

Date:

1900-1990

Summary:

The Emmy Lou Packard papers measure 9.4 linear feet and date from 1900 to 1990, and focus on the career of painter, printmaker, muralist, and sculptor Emmy Lou Packard. Also found are extensive materials relating to Packard's personal and professional relationship with muralist Diego Rivera and painter Frida Kahlo, with whom Packard lived for one year in Mexico. Papers include correspondence, financial records, notes, writings, exhibition files, photographs, and printed material.

Scope and Contents note:

The Emmy Lou Packard papers measure 9.4 linear feet and date from 1900 to 1990, and focus on the career of painter, printmaker, muralist, and sculptor Emmy Lou Packard. Also found are extensive materials relating to Packard's personal and professional relationship with muralist Diego Rivera and painter Frida Kahlo, with whom Packard lived for one year in Mexico. Papers include correspondence, financial records, notes, writings, exhibition files, photographs, and printed material.

Biographical materials include resumes, personal forms, and certificates. Correspondence is with family, friends, and colleagues, including muralist Anton Refregier, songwriter Malvina Reynolds, and composer John Edmunds. There is one letter from Dorothea Lange. Also found is correspondence with various political and arts organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Russian magazine Soviet Woman. Much of the correspondence discusses personal relationships and political and art-related activities. Additional correspondence with and concerning Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo is arranged in Series 6.

Personal business records found within the papers include studio real estate and rent records, insurance records, price lists for artwork, consignment records, and miscellaneous receipts. There is one interview transcript of an interview with Packard for the Radical Elders Oral History Project. The papers include a series of notebooks/diaries, address lists, and other notes.

Packard's reference files and personal papers documenting her professional and close personal relationship with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo are arranged into a separate series. They include her research files for a planned book on the two artists, personal letters between Packard and the couple, as well as several interesting photographs. Also found in this series are notes, writings, and printed materials relating to Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and other Mexican artists, such as Covarrubius, Juan O'Gorman, and Pablo O'Higgins.

The collection also includes typescripts and additional writings by Packard and others. Artwork consists of orginal drawings and prints by Packard and others not directly associated with projects. Exhibition and project files for many of Packard's commissioned projects are also found within the collection, including her files for the restoration of Anton Refregier's Rincon Annex Post Office mural in San Francisco and the Coit Tower murals in San Francisco. Many of the project files contain correspondence, reports, contracts, printed material, photographs, and artwork.

The papers also include photographs of Packard, her family, residences, artwork, friends, and colleagues, including Cesar Chavez, Juan O'Gorman, Malvina Reynolds, Charles Safford, Ralph Stackpole, and Tennessee Williams. Two scrapbooks are found, as well as additional printed materials such as clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs. There are also two artifact items, a vinyl record of Malvina Reynolds and a political campaign button.

Arrangement note:

The collection is arranged into fifteen series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-1985 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1919-1990 (Box 1-3; 2.6 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1945-1985 (Box 3; 21 folders)

Series 4: Interview Transcript, 1979 (Box 3; 1 folder)

Series 5: Notes, 1900-1985 (Box 3-4, 10; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 6: Reference Files on Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, 1929-1986 (Box 5, 10, OV 11; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 7: Writings by Packard, 1953-1984 (Box 6; 17 folders)

Series 8: Writings by Others, 1955-1984 (Box 6; 19 folders)

Series 9: Artwork, 1921-1976 (Box 6; 10 folders)

Series 10: Exhibition Files, 1950-1964 (Box 6, OV 11; 5 folders)

Series 11: Project Files, 1953-1985 (Box 6-7, 10, OV 11; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 12: Photographs, 1914-1982 (Box 8, 10; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 13: Scrapbooks, 1947-1950 (Box 8, 10; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 14: Printed Material, 1936-1988 (Box 8-9, 10; 1 linear foot)

Series 15: Artifacts, 1984 (Box 9-10, OV 11; 2 folders)

Biographical/Historical note:

Emmy Lou Packard was born in Imperial Valley, California on April 15, 1914, to Walter and Emma Leonard Packard. In the late 1920s she lived with her family in Mexico City where she became acquainted with Diego Rivera, from whom she received regular art criticism and encouragement. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and completed courses in fresco and sculpture at the California School of Fine Arts in 1940. That year and the next, Packard worked as a full-time painting assistant to Rivera on his 1,650 square-foot fresco at the World's Fair in San Francisco. During this project, Packard became very close to Rivera and Frida Kahlo and returned to Mexico with them and spent a year living with the couple.

From then on, except for in 1944-1945 working for a defense plant, Packard worked and grew in various aspects of her art. In addition to her work in fresco, Packard is known for her work in watercolor, oil, mosaic, laminated plastic, concrete, and printmaking, both in linocuts and woodblocks. She received numerous commissions that included installations for ships, hotels, and private homes for which she executed large woodcuts and mural panels. During the 1950s and 1960s, Packard was hired to restore several historic murals, most notably the Rincon Annex Post Office mural by Anton Refregier and the Coit Tower murals in San Francisco.

Between 1966 and 1967 she was commissioned by architects to design and execute a number of concrete and mosaic pieces, one of which went to the Mirabeau Restaurant in Kaiser Center, Oakland. She also designed and executed a mural for the Fresno Convention Center Theater during that same period. In 1973-1974, she designed and supervised a glazed brick mural for a public library in Pinole, California.

Packard had one-woman shows at the San Francisco Museum of Art, Raymond and Raymond Gallery (San Francisco), Addison Gallery of American Art (Andover, Mass.), Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Pushkin Museum (Moscow), and March Gallery (Chicago). Emmy Lou Packard died in 1998.

Related Archival Materials note:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Emmy Lou Packard conducted by Mary Fuller McChesney in 1964.

Provenance:

Emmy Lou Packard donated her papers to the Archives of American Art from 1984-1988.

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.

Occupation:

Painters -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Topic:

Works of art  Search this

Printmakers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Mural painting and decoration, American  Search this

Mural painting and decoration, Mexican  Search this

Muralists -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Latino and Latin American artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Photographs

Interviews

Diaries

Citation:

Emmy Lou Packard papers, 1900-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.packemmy

See more items in:

Emmy Lou Packard Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-packemmy

Creator:

McCoy, Esther  Search this

Names:

Historic American Buildings Survey  Search this

Society of Architectural Historians  Search this

University of California, Los Angeles. School of Architecture and Urban Planning  Search this

Ain, Gregory, 1908-1988  Search this

Barragán, Luis, 1902-  Search this

Bradbury, Ray, 1920-  Search this

Davidson, Julius Ralph, b. 1889  Search this

Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945  Search this

Ellwood, Craig  Search this

Gill, Irving, 1870-1936  Search this

Grotz, Dorothy  Search this

Hollein, Hans, 1934-  Search this

Jones, A. Quincy (Archie Quincy), 1913-1979  Search this

Maybeck, Bernard R.  Search this

Neutra, Richard Joseph, 1892-1970  Search this

O'Gorman, Juan, 1905-  Search this

Rand, Marvin  Search this

Schindler, R. M. (Rudolph M.), 1887-1953  Search this

Shulman, Julius  Search this

Soriano, Rafael, 1920-  Search this

Watanabe, Makoto  Search this

Worlidge, T. (Thomas), 1700-1766  Search this

Extent:

44.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Diaries

Etchings

Photographs

Sound recordings

Interviews

Video recordings

Slides (photographs)

Transcripts

Drawings

Memoirs

Date:

circa 1876-1990

bulk 1938-1989

Summary:

The papers of Southern California architectural historian, critic, and writer Esther McCoy measure 44.4 linear feet and date from 1876 to 1990 (bulk 1938-1989). McCoy was interested in both Italian and Mexican architecture as well as the folk art and crafts of Mexico and South America. The collection documents McCoy's career, as well as her family and personal life through biographical material, extensive correspondence, personal and professional writings, project files, Southern California architects' files, clippings and other printed material, a large collection of photographs and slides, and taped interviews of Southern California modern architects.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of Southern California architectural historian, critic, and writer Esther McCoy measure 44.4 linear feet and date from 1876 to 1990 (bulk 1938-1989). McCoy was interested in both Italian and Mexican architecture as well as the folk art and crafts of Mexico and South America. The collection documents McCoy's career, as well as her family and personal life through biographical material, extensive correspondence, personal and professional writings, project files, Southern California architects' files, clippings and other printed material, a large collection of photographs and slides, and taped interviews of Southern California modern architects.

Biographical and family material consists of awards, resumes, identification documents, and other documentation of McCoy's personal life. Included are a transcript of a 1984 interview of McCoy by Makoto Watanabe and material relating to her friend, Theodore Dreiser.

Correspondence focuses on her personal relationships with family, friends, and lovers, and general correspondence relating primarily to her work as a writer. McCoy's personal correspondence is valuable to researchers who are interested in her personal life, her struggles as a young writer, and the way in which her family, friends, lovers, mentors, and colleagues helped to shape her work and career. As documented in this correspondence, her life offers a glimpse into twentieth-century American social and political history, especially the radical leftist movements of the 1920s and 1930s. Researchers interested in the roots of feminism in the United States should also find these papers useful in documenting the life of a creative and productive woman who was successful in a field then almost entirely dominated by men. Correspondents of note include her husband Berkeley Tobey, lovers Geoffrey Eaton and Albert Robert, writers Ray Bradbury and Theodore Dreiser, and artists and architects, such as Dorothy Grotz, Craig Ellwood, A. Quincy Jones, Hans Hollein, and J. R. Davidson. General correspondence is primarily with researchers, professors, architects, publishers, and professional organizations.

Personal writings include McCoy's diaries, notebooks, and memoirs, and writings by others including friends, lovers, and colleagues. Also included are drafts of McCoy's fictional works, both published and unpublished, including short stories, teleplays, and novels.

The collection contains in-depth documentation of McCoy's pioneering study of the modernist work of twentieth-century architects in Southern California. The bulk of her papers consist of her writing files for books, exhibition catalogs, articles, and lectures on architecture. Because many of the architects about whom McCoy wrote were her contemporaries, she developed personal relationships with several of them through her research and writing. Her writing files include drafts, notes, research material, photographs, and correspondence. McCoy also traveled extensively, particularly in Italy and Mexico, and wrote about architecture, craft, and culture in those countries. Project files document McCoy's other activities related to architectural history, such preservation projects, juries, grants, the Dodge House Preservation Campaign and related film project, her work for the Society of Architectural Historians and the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), and her work at the UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Planning, compiling a slide library and cataloging the Richard Neutra's papers. McCoy also maintained architect files which may contain correspondence, notes, photographs, research material, interview transcripts, about architects and their works. Among these extensive records, the files documenting the careers of R. M. Schindler, Irving Gill, Richard Neutra, and Juan O'Gorman are particularly rich.

Printed material in this collection documents McCoy's career as well as her personal interests. Included are books, clippings, magazines, newsletters, press releases, as well as publications arranged by subject such as architecture, art, Italy, and Mexico. McCoy also collected literary and leftist publications. The small amount of artwork in this collection consists of artwork sent to her by friends, including a drawing of her by Esther Rollo and etchings by various artists including Thomas Worlidge.

There are personal photographs of family and friends and of McCoy at different times in her life, as well as photographs gathered during the course of her research on architecture. Found here are photographs of architects and their works, including a large number depicting the work of Gregory Ain, Luis Barragan, J. R. Davidson, Irving Gill, Bernard Maybeck, Juan O'Gorman, R. M. Schindler, and Raphael Soriano. Many of these photographs were taken by notable architectural photographers Julius Shulman and Marvin Rand. Also found are photographs of architecture designed for the Case Study House program of Arts & Architecture magazine; exhibition photographs, primarily for the exhibition "Ten Italian Architects" in 1967; and other research photographs primarily documenting architecture and craft in other countries and the history of architecture in California. This series also includes approximately 3,600 slides of architecture.

Audio and video recordings include a videocassette of McCoy's 80th birthday party and 55 taped interviews with architects, people associated with architectural projects, and artists.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 10 series:

Series 1: Biographical and Family Material, 1881-1989 (boxes 1, 48; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1896-1989 (boxes 1-6, 4.9 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Writings, 1919-1989 (boxes 6-14; 8.1 linear feet)

Series 4: Architectural Writings, 1908-1990 (boxes 14-24, 42, 49, 50; 10.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Projects, circa 1953-1988 (boxes 24-26, 47, FC 53-56; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Architect Files, 1912-1990 (boxes 26-28, 42; 2.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1885-1990 (boxes 28-31, 42; 2.9 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork, 1924-1967, undated (box 31; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographs and Slides, circa 1876-1989 (boxes 31-38, 41-46, 51; 8.7 linear feet)

Series 10: Audio and Video Recordings, 1930-1984 (boxes 38-40, 47; 2.5 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Esther McCoy (1904-1989) is remembered best for her pioneering work as an architectural historian, critic, and proponent of Southern California modern architecture of the early to mid-twentieth century. McCoy was interested in both Italian and Mexican architecture as well as the folk art and crafts of Mexico and South America. Although her professional interests ranged from writing fiction to studying the folk architecture and crafts of Mexico, McCoy achieved her most notable success for her numerous articles, books, and exhibitions about Southern California architecture and the architects associated with the modernist movement.

Born in Arkansas in 1904, Esther McCoy grew up in Kansas and attended various schools in the Midwest. In 1926 she left the University of Michigan to launch a writing career in New York, where she moved in avant-garde literary circles and conducted research for Theodore Dreiser. She began writing fiction in New York and continued to write after moving to Los Angeles in 1932, working on short stories, novels, and screenplays. She published numerous short stories between 1929 and 1962, with works appearing in the New Yorker, Harper's Bazaar, and university quarterlies. Her short story, "The Cape," was reprinted in Best Short Stories of 1950. Many of the novels that she wrote from the mid-1960s through the 1980s were related thematically to architects and architecture.

During the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s, McCoy participated in the politically radical movements of the period and wrote for leftist publications. Her interest in the lowcost housing projects of modern architects was prompted by one of her articles about slums for Epic News. During World War II she entered a training program for engineering draftsmen at Douglas Aircraft and in 1944 was hired as an architectural draftsman for the architect R.M. Schindler. As she became increasingly interested in modern architecture and design, she combined her two major career interests and began to focus her energies on architectural research, writing, and criticism. Her first article on architecture, "Schindler: Space Architect," was published in 1945 in the journal Direction.

McCoy began writing about architecture in earnest in 1950 as a free-lance contributor to the Los Angeles Times. From then until her death in 1989, she wrote prolifically for Arts & Architecture magazine, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Architectural Record, L'Architectura, Zodiac (Italy), Progressive Architecture, Lotus (Italy), and Architectural Forum. In addition to her numerous articles, McCoy wrote several books on Southern California modern architecture and architects. Her first major work, Five California Architects, published in 1960, is now recognized as a classic work in modern architectural history. It promoted a serious study of modern architecture in Southern California and introduced to the world several leading California architects and their work: Bernard Maybeck, Irving Gill, Charles and Henry Greene, and R.M. Schindler. That same year, she published another important book focusing on the work of the California architect Richard Neutra. Other books by McCoy include Modern California Houses: Case Study Houses (1962), Craig Ellwood (1968), Vienna to Los Angeles: Two Journeys (1979), and The Second Generation (1984).

In addition to these books, McCoy organized and wrote catalogs for several significant exhibitions focusing on contemporary architects. Her first was the R.M. Schindler Retrospective, a 1954 exhibition at the Landau Art Gallery in Los Angeles. Her other exhibitions and accompanying catalogs include Roots of California Contemporary Architecture, 1956, Los Angeles Municipal Art Department; Felix Candela, 1957, University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Irving Gill, 1958, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Juan O'Gorman, 1964, San Fernando Valley State College; and Ten Italian Architects, 1967, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Moreover, McCoy contributed numerous essays to other exhibition catalogs and publications, lectured at the University of Southern California, participated in preservation projects, organized tours for the Society of Architectural Historians, and contributed to a number of documentary films. Her energy and interests also led her to catalog and transcribe Richard Neutra's papers at the University of California Los Angeles Archives.

McCoy received national recognition from the American Institute of Architects for her seminal and prolific work in the field of Southern California modern architectural history and criticism. Her interests, however, were not exclusively bound to California. She traveled the world and was interested in both Italian and Mexican architecture as well as the folk art and crafts of Mexico and South America. She made five extended trips to Italy during the 1950s and 1960s, publishing regularly about the architecture there and curating the exhibition Ten Italian Architects. She was a contributing editor to two Italian journals, Zodiac and Lotus, and was awarded the Star of Order of Solidarity in 1960 by the Republic of Italy for her research and writing.

Esther McCoy died of emphysema on December 30, 1989, at the age of eighty-five. Her last contribution was an essay for the exhibition catalog Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study House. The show opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles one month before her death.

1904 -- Born November 18 in Horatio, Arkansas. Raised in Kansas.

1920 -- Attended preparatory school at Central College for Women, Lexington, Missouri.

1922-1925 -- College education: Baker University, Baldwin City, Kansas; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri; University of Michigan.

1924 -- Visited Theodore Dreiser in Michigan.

1926-1938 -- Began writing in New York City.

1926-1938 -- Researched and read for Theodore Dreiser.

1926-1938 -- Worked for editorial offices and publishers.

1926-1938 -- Traveled to write in Paris (1928), Key West, Florida (1930), and Los Angeles, California (1932-1935).

1938 -- Moved to Santa Monica, California.

1941 -- Married Berkeley Greene Tobey.

1942-1944 -- Employed as engineering draftsman at Douglas Aircraft.

1944-1947 -- Worked as architectural draftsman for R.M. Schindler.

1945 -- Began architectural writing career.

1950 -- Wrote script for film Architecture West.

1950 -- Joined editorial board of Arts & Architecture.

1950-1968 -- Worked as free-lance writer for the Los Angeles Times.

1951-1955 -- Traveled to, researched, and wrote about Mexico and Mexican art and architecture.

1954 -- R.M. Schindler Retrospective exhibition at the Landau Art Gallery, Los Angeles.

1956 -- Roots of California Contemporary Architecture exhibition, Los Angeles Municipal Art Department.

1957 -- Felix Candela exhibition, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

1958 -- Irving Gill exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Traveled to Italy.

1959-1968 -- Contributing editor to Italian periodicals Zodiac and Lotus.

1960 -- Five California Architects (New York: Reinhold).

1960 -- Richard Neutra (New York: G. Braziller).

1960 -- Awarded Star of Order of Solidarity by the Republic of Italy for reporting on arts and crafts in Italy.

1962 -- Death of Berkeley Greene Tobey.

1962 -- Modern California Houses: Case Study Houses (New York: Reinhold) (reprinted as Case Study Houses, Los Angeles: Hennessey and Ingalls, 1978).

1963 -- Resident Fellow at Huntington Hartford Foundation.

1964 -- Juan O'Gorman exhibition, San Fernando Valley State College, Northridge, Calif.

1965 -- Consultant for the California Arts Commission.

1965-1966 -- Wrote and produced the film Dodge House.

1965-1968 -- Lecturer at University of California at Los Angeles, School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

1966 -- Resident Fellow at MacDowell Colony, New Hampshire.

1967 -- Ten Italian Architects exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

1967 -- Honorary Associate of the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

1967 -- Regents' Lecturer at University of California, Santa Barbara.

1968 -- Craig Ellwood (New York: Walker).

1968 -- Distinguished Service Citation from the California Council of AIA.

1969-1970 -- Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

1969-1989 -- Contributing editor of Progressive Architecture.

1971-1978 -- Graham Foundation Grants.

1974 -- Regents' Lecturer at the University of California,Santa Cruz.

1979 -- Vienna to Los Angeles: Two Journeys (Santa Monica, Calif.: Arts & Architecture Press).

1979 -- Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

1981 -- Los Angeles Chapter Women's Architectural League Honorary Member.

1982 -- Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Modern and Contemporary Art Council Award for Distinguished Achievement.

1983 -- Home Sweet Home: The California Ranch House exhibition at California State University.

1984 -- The Second Generation (Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith Books).

1985 -- American Institute of Architects, Institute Honor.

1986 -- High Styles exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

1987 -- Vesta Award for outstanding scholarship.

1989 -- Award from the Historical Society of Southern California.

1989 -- Award from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

1989 -- Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study House exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Died in Santa Monica, California, December 30.

Related Material:

Also in the Archives of American Art are eight sound cassettes of a transcribed interview with Esther McCoy conducted by Joseph Giovannini, June 8-November 14, 1987.

Provenance:

The collection was given to the Archives of American Art by Esther McCoy in 1986. Before her death in 1989, McCoy assisted in the organization and identification of the papers. Original pre-print film elements for Dodge House 1916 were donated to the Archives of American Art by the Academy Film Archive in 2018.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual recordings without access copies requires advance notice.

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:

Architectural historians -- California  Search this

Art critics -- California  Search this

Topic:

Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- Mexico  Search this

Architects -- Italy  Search this

Architecture, Domestic -- California  Search this

Authors -- California  Search this

Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this

Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- Europe  Search this

Architects -- California  Search this

Feminism and art  Search this

Latino and Latin American artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Diaries

Etchings

Photographs

Sound recordings

Interviews

Video recordings

Slides (photographs)

Transcripts

Drawings

Memoirs

Citation:

Esther McCoy papers, circa 1876-1990, bulk 1938-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.mccoesth

See more items in:

Esther McCoy papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-mccoesth

Creator:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2017-12-07T20:15:28.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, modern  Search this

See more by:

hirshhornmuseum

Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

YouTube Channel:

hirshhornmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_YsQALbPhsu0

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-11-30T22:04:30.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_NC7RcXNCsLI

Creator:

Smithsonian Channel  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2017-04-21T15:29:08.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianchannel

Data Source:

Smithsonian Channel

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianchannel

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_9_vxg-IWhIM

Creator:

National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-11-10T19:20:02.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianAmHistory

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianAmHistory

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_bDbHZc0StKI

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-12-05T16:01:54.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_aJ0sLvHLWoE

Creator:

National Museum of Natural History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-06-10T15:28:14.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Natural History  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianNMNH

Data Source:

National Museum of Natural History

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianNMNH

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_b63Y8onYB_E

Biogeographical Region:

11 - Middle Europe  Search this

Collector:

Carl Brick  Search this

Place:

Altona: Auf Kaffeehülsen am Elbufer bei Falkenthal., Hamburg, Germany, Europe

Collection Date:

2 Sep 1892

Common name:

Bwogorimal

Chaguan Kabajo

Deskim, Keteketarmalk

Fathil

Fatil Muan

Fedil

Fetil (apparently collective term for grass)

Fetil mwech

Indian goose grass

Maite

Mauku komo

Mutie

Mutike

Padang Sila

Pasa-gallina

Pied Poule

Pongotan

Pugoruma

Puguruman

Pukar Much

Puror en Tuke

Rea Takai

Rosakai

Taataa

Takaaleala

Taotao

Te Uteute

Titania

Tutae Menemene

Ugulipa

katejukjuk

ujoij

ujuj alap

wire grass

yard grass

Taxonomy:

Plantae Monocotyledonae Poales Poaceae Chloridoideae

Published Name:

Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.

Barcode:

04190717

USNM Number:

276018

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3278fbfbd-40c7-41df-82e1-a0bdee5646c8

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_16268045

Collector:

Dr. Waldo R. Wedel  Search this

Donor Name:

Dr. Waldo R. Wedel  Search this

Site Name:

Tobias Site  Search this

Length:

10.7 cm

Width:

7.4 cm

Object Type:

Clay

Place:

Rice County, Kansas, United States, North America

Accession Date:

18 Mar 1969

Collection Date:

1971

Topic:

Archaeology  Search this

Accession Number:

284739

USNM Number:

A569406-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/300ae0b56-e0b9-4af9-ab54-0d6f4b4f4efe

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8945735

Painter:

Blakeslee, Sarah 1912-2005  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas board

Type:

Paintings

Owner/Location:

Johnson Collection, The 100 Dunbar Street, Suite 203 Spartanburg South Carolina 29306 Accession Number: 2004.01.02

Topic:

Landscape  Search this

Figure group  Search this

Figure male--Elderly  Search this

Architecture exterior--Industry--Factory  Search this

Control number:

IAP 68670735

Data Source:

Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_ari_477670

Creator:

Stout, Andrew Varick, Mrs  Search this

Stout, Bayard  Search this

Rumson Garden Club  Search this

Landscape architect:

Lamson, Mary Deputy  Search this

Dean, Ruth, 1889-1932  Search this

Hutcheson, Martha Brookes  Search this

Architect:

Pope, John Russell, 1874-1937  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Lantern slides

Place:

New Jersey -- Middletown

United States of America -- New Jersey -- Monmouth County -- Middletown

Date:

[between 1914 and 1949?]

General:

Historic plate number: "1."

Historic plate caption: "Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout."

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Bulbs  Search this

Flower beds  Search this

Trees  Search this

Lawns  Search this

Tulips  Search this

Box  Search this

Fountains  Search this

Genre/Form:

Lantern slides

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item NJ006001

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / New Jersey / NJ006: Middletown -- Brick House

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref20495

Creator:

Stout, Andrew Varick, Mrs  Search this

Stout, Bayard  Search this

Rumson Garden Club  Search this

Landscape architect:

Lamson, Mary Deputy  Search this

Dean, Ruth, 1889-1932  Search this

Hutcheson, Martha Brookes  Search this

Architect:

Pope, John Russell, 1874-1937  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Lantern slides

Place:

New Jersey -- Middletown

United States of America -- New Jersey -- Monmouth County -- Middletown

Date:

[between 1914 and 1949?]

General:

Historic plate number: "2."

Historic plate caption: "Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout."

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Ground cover plants  Search this

Trees  Search this

Shrubs  Search this

Dogwoods  Search this

Genre/Form:

Lantern slides

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item NJ006002

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / New Jersey / NJ006: Middletown -- Brick House

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref20496

Creator:

Stout, Andrew Varick, Mrs  Search this

Stout, Bayard  Search this

Rumson Garden Club  Search this

Landscape architect:

Lamson, Mary Deputy  Search this

Dean, Ruth, 1889-1932  Search this

Hutcheson, Martha Brookes  Search this

Architect:

Pope, John Russell, 1874-1937  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Lantern slides

Place:

New Jersey -- Middletown

United States of America -- New Jersey -- Monmouth County -- Middletown

Date:

[between 1914 and 1949?]

General:

Historic plate number: "3."

Historic plate caption: "Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout."

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Flower beds  Search this

Flowering shrubs  Search this

Trees  Search this

Bulbs  Search this

Box  Search this

Lilacs  Search this

Dogwoods  Search this

Genre/Form:

Lantern slides

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item NJ006003

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / New Jersey / NJ006: Middletown -- Brick House

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref20497

Creator:

Stout, Andrew Varick, Mrs  Search this

Stout, Bayard  Search this

Rumson Garden Club  Search this

Landscape architect:

Lamson, Mary Deputy  Search this

Dean, Ruth, 1889-1932  Search this

Hutcheson, Martha Brookes  Search this

Architect:

Pope, John Russell, 1874-1937  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Lantern slides

Place:

New Jersey -- Middletown

United States of America -- New Jersey -- Monmouth County -- Middletown

Date:

[between 1914 and 1949?]

General:

Historic plate number: "4."

Historic plate caption: "Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout."

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Walkways, grass  Search this

Bulbs  Search this

Lawns  Search this

Flower beds  Search this

Flowering shrubs  Search this

Lilacs  Search this

Dogwoods  Search this

Genre/Form:

Lantern slides

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item NJ006004

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / New Jersey / NJ006: Middletown -- Brick House

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref20498