Search Results

Interviewee:

Asawa, Ruth  Search this

Lanier, Albert  Search this

Interviewer:

Johnson, Mark  Search this

Karlstrom, Paul J.  Search this

Names:

Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.)  Search this

Albers, Anni  Search this

Albers, Josef  Search this

Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-1983  Search this

Extent:

34 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2002 June 21-July 5

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Ruth Asawa and her husband, Albert Lanier, 2002 June 21-July 5, conducted by Mark Johnson on June 21 and Paul Karlstrom on July 5, for the Archives of American Art, in the subjects' home/studio in San Francisco, California.

Asawa and Lanier shared their memories of Black Mountain College, Josef and Anni Albers (with whom they became close friends) and Buckminster Fuller. Part of their account of those years and the early stage of their marriage dealt with issues of race.

Biographical / Historical:

Ruth Asawa (1926-2013) was a Japanese American sculptor based in San Francisco, California. Albert Lanier is an architect from San Francisco, California. Interviewer Mark Johnson is head of the California Asian American Artists Biographical Survey and resides in San Francisco, California.

General:

Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 20 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 administrators.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Topic:

Asian American art  Search this

Asian American artists  Search this

Asian American women  Search this

Asian American women artists -- Interviews  Search this

Japanese American art  Search this

Japanese American artists  Search this

Japanese American women  Search this

Japanese American women artists  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Asian American sculptors  Search this

Asian American women sculptors  Search this

Japanese American sculptors  Search this

Japanese American women sculptors  Search this

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for the transcription of this interview provided by the San Francisco Foundation/Jacqueline Hoefer Fund.

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Identifier:

AAA.asawa02

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-asawa02

Creator:

John Bolles Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this

Names:

Bolles, John S., 1905-  Search this

Extent:

21.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1958-1975

Scope and Contents:

The John Bolles Gallery records measure 21.9 linear feet and date from 1958-1975. Included are financial records, administrative records, collection records, correspondence, photographs and printed material.

Biographical / Historical:

The John Bolles Gallery was a commercial gallery established in 1958 by John Bolles, Chairman of the Board, San Francisco Art Institute. The gallery's original mission was to provide an outlet for students and alumni of the Art Institute. Directors included Grace McCann Morley, Dick Faralla, Phil Lieder, Jim Monte, Harriet Johns, and Hayward King. The Gallery closed February 1975.

Provenance:

The bulk of the collection was donated in 1975 by John S. Bolles. Additional material donated in 1997 by Bolles' daughter, Jane Bolles Grimm and in 2021 by Tom Bolles, John Bolles' son.

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.

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.

Topic:

Artists -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area -- Exhibitions  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- California -- San Francisco

Identifier:

AAA.bollgall

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-bollgall

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 4, Folder 17

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref118

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 9, Folder 12

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref239

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 12, Folder 10

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref313

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 21

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref97

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 20

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref33

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 2, Folder 4

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref49

Creator:

Jordan, Patricia M., 1937-1989  Search this

Names:

Anger, Kenneth  Search this

Beattie, Paul, 1924-1988  Search this

Berman, Wallace, 1926-1976  Search this

Brakhage, Stan  Search this

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Duncan, Robert Edward, 1919-  Search this

Herms, George, 1935-  Search this

Jess, 1923-  Search this

Jordan, Larry, 1934-  Search this

Snyder, Gary, 1930-  Search this

Extent:

2.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Illustrated letters

Mail art

Photographs

Date:

1870

1949-1984

Summary:

The papers of San Francisco based Beat photographer Patricia Jordan measure 2.3 linear feet and date from 1870, 1949-1984. The papers include correspondence, much of it illustrated and with Beat artists and poets, writings, exhibition files, printed materials, photographs, and artwork.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of San Francisco based Beat photographer Patricia Jordan measure 2.3 linear feet and date from 1870, 1949-1984. The papers include correspondence, much of it illustrated and with Beat artists and poets, writings, exhibition files, printed materials, photographs, and artwork.

About one-half of the collection consists of correspondence; many items of which could be considered works of art or mail art. There are letters, illustrated letters, photographs, collages, postcards, greeting and holiday cards, and exhibition invitations. Letters are addressed to Patricia Jordan, her husband Larry, and/or daughter Lorna and are from family and friends, including many Beat artists and poets such as Kenneth Anger, Steve Arnold, Paul Beattie, Wallace Berman, Stan Brakhage, Jess Collins, Joseph Cornell (with whom Larry Jordan studied in 1965), Robert Duncan, George Herms, and Gary Snyder. Family letters are from Patricia's parents, sisters, daughter, and husband Larry.

The papers contain a large number of photographs and are primarily portraits taken by Patricia Jordan of friends and family including her husband Larry, daughter Lorna, Geroge Herms, and Wallace Berman. Many of the subjects are not identified. Some photographs are candid snapshots, while others are prints and test prints of images featured in the 1975 exhibition, "A Kind of Beatness," at Focus Gallery in San Francisco.

The remainder of the collection is comprised of scattered writings, exhibition files, printed material, and artwork.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 6 series

Series 1: Correspondence, circa 1950-1977 (1.1 linear feet; Box 1, OV 4)

Series 2: Writings, circa 1959-1970s (0.1 linear foot; Box 2)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1962-1978 (0.1 linear foot; Box 2)

Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1920-1984 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1870-1970s (0.7 linear feet; Box 2-3)

Series 6: Artwork, 1949-circa 1970s (0.2 linear feet; Box 2-3)

Biographical / Historical:

Patricia Jordan (1937-1988) was a photographer and integral part of the Beat circle in San Francisco during the late 1950s and 1960s. Through her photography, she captured intimate portraits of the artists and poets in San Francisco at that time. Patricia Jordan, née Topalian, married Larry Jordan, assemblagist and avant-garde filmmaker, in the late 1950s. They lived in San Francisco, Larkspur, and finally settled in San Anselmo, California. Patricia and Larry Jordan had one daughter, Lorna, born in 1960.

Provenance:

Patricia Jordan donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 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.

Topic:

Photographers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Beat generation  Search this

Genre/Form:

Illustrated letters

Mail art

Photographs

Citation:

Patricia Jordan papers, 1870, 1949-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.jordpatr

See more items in:

Patricia Jordan papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-jordpatr

Photographer:

Jacobs, Mimi  Search this

Names:

Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 -- Photographs  Search this

Adams, Mark, 1925-2006 -- Photographs  Search this

Allan, William George, 1936- -- Photographs  Search this

Anderson, Jeremy, 1921-1982 -- Photographs  Search this

Armer, Ruth, 1896-1977 -- Photographs  Search this

Arneson, Robert, 1930-1992  Search this

Arnoldi, Charles, 1946- -- Photographs  Search this

Asawa, Ruth -- Photographs  Search this

Beall, Dennis Ray, 1929- -- Photographs  Search this

Beasley, Bruce, 1939- -- Photographs  Search this

Bechtle, Robert Alan, 1932- -- Photographs  Search this

Bengston, Billy Al -- Photographs  Search this

Benton, Fletcher, 1931- -- Photographs  Search this

Berlant, Anthony -- Photographs  Search this

Bischoff, Elmer, 1916-1991 -- Photographs  Search this

Blunk, J. B., 1926- -- Photographs  Search this

Brice, William, 1921-2008 -- Photographs  Search this

Brown, Joan, 1938-1990  Search this

Celmins, Vija, 1938- -- Photographs  Search this

Chicago, Judy, 1939- -- Photographs  Search this

Conner, Bruce -- Photographs  Search this

Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976 -- Photographs  Search this

De Forest, Roy, 1930-2007 -- Photographs  Search this

DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989 -- Photographs  Search this

DeLap, Tony, 1927- -- Photographs  Search this

Dickinson, Eleanor, 1931- -- Photographs  Search this

Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993 -- Photographs  Search this

Dill, Guy, 1946- -- Photographs  Search this

Falkenstein, Claire, 1908-1997 -- Photographs  Search this

Francis, Sam, 1923- -- Photographs  Search this

Gilhooly, David -- Photographs  Search this

Goldyne, Joseph R.  Search this

Gooch, Gerald -- Photographs  Search this

Gordon, Russell Talbert, 1936- -- Photographs  Search this

Graham, Robert, 1938- -- Photographs  Search this

Hedrick, Wally, 1928-2003 -- Photographs  Search this

Holland, Tom, 1936- -- Photographs  Search this

Hopkins, Henry, 1928-2009  Search this

Howard, Robert Boardman, 1896-1983 -- Photographs  Search this

Hudson, Robert, 1938- -- Photographs  Search this

Ihle, John Livingston, 1925- -- Photographs  Search this

Irwin, Robert, 1928- -- Photographs  Search this

Johnson, Robert E. (Robert Emory), 1932- -- Photographs  Search this

Kauffman, Craig, 1932-2010  Search this

Light, Alvin, 1931- -- Photographs  Search this

Lobdell, Frank, 1921- -- Photographs  Search this

Martin, Bill, 1943- -- Photographs  Search this

McLean, Richard Thorpe, 1934- -- Photographs  Search this

Mullican, Lee, 1919-1998 -- Photographs  Search this

Nauman, Bruce, 1941- -- Photographs  Search this

Neri, Manuel, 1930- -- Photographs  Search this

Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 -- Photographs  Search this

Oliveira, Nathan, 1928-2010 -- Photographs  Search this

Paris, Harold, 1925- -- Photographs  Search this

Raffael, Joseph, 1933- -- Photographs  Search this

Ramos, Mel, 1935-2018 -- Photographs  Search this

Reichman, Fred, 1925- -- Photographs  Search this

Richardson, Sam, 1934- -- Photographs  Search this

Ruscha, Edward -- Photographs  Search this

Saar, Betye -- Photographs  Search this

Saunders, Raymond, 1934- -- Photographs  Search this

Shaw, Richard, 1941 Sept. 12- -- Photographs  Search this

Siegriest, Louis B., 1899- -- Photographs  Search this

Sinton, Nell, 1910-1997 -- Photographs  Search this

Thiebaud, Wayne -- Photographs  Search this

Todd, Mike, 1935- -- Photographs  Search this

Valledor, Leo, 1936-1989 -- Photographs  Search this

Villa, Carlos, 1936-2013 -- Photographs  Search this

Voulkos, Peter, 1924-2002 -- Photographs  Search this

Wasserstein, Julius -- Photographs  Search this

Wiley, William T., 1937-  Search this

Woelffer, Emerson, 1914- -- Photographs  Search this

Wonner, Paul, 1920-2008 -- Photographs  Search this

Zammitt, Norman, 1931- -- Photographs  Search this

Extent:

140 Items (photographic prints, b&w)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1971-1981

Scope and Contents:

Photographs of artists, many from the San Francisco Bay Area, taken by Mimi Jacobs.

Artists photographed: Ansel Adams, Robert Arneson, Ruth Asawa, Billy Al Bengston, Fletcher Benton, Robert Bechtle, J. B. Blunk, William Brice, Joan Brown, Imogen Cunningham, Jay De Feo, Eleanor Dickinson, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Archeliat Esherick, Sam Francis, David Gilhooly, Joseph Goldyne, Robert Graham, Henry Hopkins, Robert B. Howard, John Ihle, Robert Irwin, Allen Jones, Alvin Light, Lee Mullican, Isamu Noguchi, Howard Paris, Joseph Raffael, Fred Reichman, Ed Ruscha, Betye Saar, Raymond Saunders, Richard Shaw, Louis Siegriest, Nell Sinton, Wayne Thiebaud, DeWain Valentine, Leo Valledor, Carlos Villa, Peter Voulkos, William T. Wiley, Emerson Woelffer.

Photographs of Mark Adams, William Allan, Jeremy Anderson, Ruth Armer, Charles Arnoldi, Dennis Beall, Bruce Beasley, Tony Berlant, Elmer Bischoff, Vija Celmins, Judy Chicago, Bruce Conner, Roy de Forest, Tony DeLap, Guy Dill, Claire Falkenstein, Gerald Gooch, Russell Gordon, Wally Hedrick, Tom Holland, Robert Hudson, Robert Emory Johnson, Frank Lobdell, Robert Craig Kaufman, Richard McLean, Bill Martin, Manuel Neri, Bruce Nauman, Nathan Oliveira, Mel Ramos, Sam Richardson, Michael Todd, Julius Wasserstein, Paul Wonner and Norman Zammitt.

In 1999, additional photographs were donated including many duplicates of the previous donations. These include 50 mounted photographs of West Coast artists, twenty-four of which were exhibited in 1980 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and published in 50 West Coast Artists: A Critical Selection of Painters and Sculptors (1981, Chronicle Books). Photographs are of Ansel Adams, Robert Arneson, Billy Al Bengston, Robert Bechtle, Fletcher Benton, J. B. Blunk, William Brice, Joan Brown, Imogen Cunningham, Jay De Feo, Eleanor Dickinson, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Archeliat Esherick, Sam Francis, David Gilhooly, Joseph Goldyne, Robert Graham, Henry Hopkins, Robert Howard, John Ihle, Robert Irwin, Allen Jones, Alvin Light, Lee Mullican, Isamu Noguchi, Howard Paris, Joseph Raffael, Fred Reichman, Ed Ruscha, Betye Saar, Richard Shaw, Louis Siegrist, Nell Sinton, Wayne Thiebaud, De Wain Valentine, Leo Valledor, Carlos Villa, Peter Voulkos, William Wiley, and Emerson Woeffer.

Biographical / Historical:

Photographer; Kentfield, Calif.; b. 1911; d. April 1, 1999. Known in the San Francisco Bay Area for her portraits of prominent local figures, many of whom were artists. She eventually expanded her scope beyond Northern California to included artists in the Los Angeles region as well. These images were widely reproduced in books and in exhibitions and in many cases became the portraits by which the individuals were best known. Among her subjects were Ed Ruscha, Robert Graham, Peter Voulkos, Joan Brown, Isamu Noguchi, Jay DeFeo, Wayne Thiebaud, Imogen Cunningham, and Richard Diebenkorn. Several exhibitions were devoted to the photographs as independent works of art, an acknowledgement of their pictorial qualities as well as their value as documents.

Provenance:

Donated 1976-1992 by Mimi Jacobs. Additional photos, many of them duplicates of previous donations, were donated in 1999 by Leslie Fleming, Jacobs' daughter, for the Estate.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

Photographers -- California  Search this

Topic:

Artists -- California -- Portraits  Search this

Artists -- California -- Photographs  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.jacomimi

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-jacomimi

Interviewee:

Colescott, Robert, 1925-2009  Search this

Interviewer:

Karlstrom, Paul J.  Search this

Names:

San Francisco State University -- Students  Search this

University of California, Berkeley -- Students  Search this

University of California, San Francisco. School of Fine Arts  Search this

Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906  Search this

Loran, Erle, 1905-1999  Search this

Ryder, Worth, 1884-1960  Search this

Saar, Betye  Search this

Extent:

23 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1999 April 14

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Robert Colescott conducted 1999 April 14, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, at his studio, in Tucson, Arizona.

Colescott discusses his early years growing up in Oakland; his education; military service; his experiences as a student at San Francisco State University and University of California, Berkeley; the influences at University of California, Berkeley, and of Paul Cézanne on the teaching by professors Erle Loran and Worth Ryder; working at the California School of Fine Arts; issues of race in art; views on the African-American community's desire to control visual statements by black artists, and why his work is viewed as stereotyping; political views; the work of artist Betye Saar; and his work, "George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware."

Biographical / Historical:

Robert Colescott (1925-2009) was a painter from San Francisco, California and Tuscon, Arizona. Colescott was raised in Oakland, California. He attended San Francisco State University and University of California at Berkeley (B.A. 1949; M.A., 1952). After receiving his bachelor's degree, he studied in Paris with abstract painter Fernand Léger. From 1976-1985 he taught at the California School of Fine Arts, and was named Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona, Tucson in 1985.

General:

Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr.

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 administrators. Funding for the transcription of this interview is provided by Richard Baker Fund.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Painters -- Arizona -- Tucson  Search this

Painters -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Topic:

African American artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Identifier:

AAA.colesc99

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-colesc99

Creator:

De Patta, Margaret, 1903-1964  Search this

Names:

California College of Arts and Crafts (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this

California Labor School  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Nanny's Design Gallery  Search this

Oregon State System of Higher Education  Search this

San Francisco Metal Arts Guild  Search this

Barson, Fred  Search this

Bielawski, Eugene  Search this

Davis, Adelle  Search this

Designs Contemporary  Search this

Fleisher, Janet  Search this

Flory, Alice  Search this

McHendrie, Janet  Search this

Ries, Victor, 1907-  Search this

Untracht, Oppi  Search this

Extent:

3.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Designs

Drawings

Date:

circa 1930-2012

Summary:

The papers of California jewelry designer Margaret De Patta measure 3.7 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to 2012. The papers include correspondence, writings, teaching files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographs.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of California jewelry designer Margaret De Patta measure 3.7 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to 2012. The papers include correspondence, writings, teaching files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographs.

Personal and professional correspondence is with family, friends, artists, galleries, museums, and universities. Notable correspondents include Fred Barson, Adelle Davis, Janet Fleisher, Alice Flory, Janet McHendrie, Victor Ries, Oppi Untracht, and Nanny's Design Gallery.

Writings include essays, personal statements, and notes. There is also an outline for a book on design and an annotated calendar.

Teaching files consist of course materials, administrative records, meeting minutes, and limited correspondence from the California Labor School. There are also a few folders from the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Oregon State System of Higher Education.

Exhibition files include announcements, correspondence, inventories, price lists, loan forms, and other material for Margaret De Patta shows at museums and galleries.

Personal business records consist of financial, legal, and administrative records on Margaret De Patta's jewelry designs and sales, as well as material related to Designs Contemporary, the jewelry production business created and managed by De Patta and her husband Eugene Bielawski. There is also material on large gifts and loans to museums and universities, and files relating to the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild.

Printed materials are mostly clippings about Margaret De Patta and other subjects, along with a few magazines and periodicals, including the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild newsletters, 1952-1964.

There is one sketchbook and several folders of drawings, jewelry designs, and flatware designs.

The bulk of the photographs are of jewelry and other objects designed by Margaret De Patta. There are a few photographs of Margaret De Patta working on jewelry and other subjects, such as a trip to Japan and her house on Laidley Street in California.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1946-2011 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Writings, circa 1935-1963 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Teaching Files, 1944-1969 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1948-2012 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1943-2001 (0.9 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1938-1981 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 7: Artwork and Sketchbook, circa 1930-circa 1960 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1935-1967 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, OV 5)

Biographical / Historical:

San Francisco contemporary jewelry designer Margaret De Patta, née Strong, was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1903 and raised in San Diego, California. She was among the first contemporary studio jewelers and a proponent of modernism. De Patta studied painting at the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts from 1921-1923, the California School of Fine Arts from 1923-1925, and the New York Art Students League from 1926-1929.

Margaret De Patta began to create jewelry when she designed her own modernist wedding ring for her marriage to Sam De Patta in 1929. By the mid-1930s, she had become an accomplished jeweler whose work was frequently shown in galleries and museums. Her jewelry was featured in the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. Around 1939, De Patta also started collaborating with Francis Sperisen, a noted San Francisco lapidary. De Patta designed the shapes of the jewelry using Lucite and wood, and Sperisen would use her models as a reference for the actual gem cutting.

From 1940-1941, De Patta attended the Chicago Bauhaus (now the Institute of Design) where she studied under Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. De Patta's time at the school was formative and Moholy-Nagy was tremendously impressed with her work. She also met her future second husband Gene Bielawski while she was a student in Chicago.

In 1941, De Patta returned to San Francisco, divorced Sam De Patta, and renovated her Laidley Street house in Glen Park. In 1946, she married Eugene Bielawski. The couple taught at the California Labor School. They also moved to Napa and founded Designs Contemporary, a business for producing jewelry that was as high quality as De Patta's handcrafted pieces at more affordable prices. Since all aspects of the business were conducted by the two of them, the workload became overwhelming and Designs Contemporary closed in 1957.

In 1951, Margaret De Patta was a founding member of the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild, established to promote the metal arts and specifically address the unique needs of studio jewelers. During her lifetime, she befriended many artists and continued to create jewelry, teach, and lecture. De Patta committed suicide in 1964. Her innovative jewelry designs continue to be influential today.

Provenance:

The Margaret De Patta papers were donated in two installments in 2003 and 2015 by Martha Bielawski, the second wife of Margaret De Patta's second husband, Eugene Bielawski. These papers were collected as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.

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:

Jewelers -- California  Search this

Jewelry making -- Study and teaching  Search this

Design -- Study and teaching  Search this

Topic:

Designers -- California  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Designs

Drawings

Citation:

Margaret De Patta papers, circa 1930-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.depamarg

See more items in:

Margaret De Patta papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-depamarg

Creator:

Falkenstein, Claire, 1908-1997  Search this

Names:

Coos Art Museum  Search this

Fresno Art Museum  Search this

Galerie Anderson-Mayer  Search this

Gallery Stadler  Search this

Jack Rutberg Fine Arts (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

John Bolles Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this

Los Angeles Museum of Art  Search this

Malvina Miller  Search this

Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this

Merging One Gallery  Search this

Mills College -- Faculty  Search this

Pond Farm Workshop  Search this

San Francisco Museum of Art  Search this

University of California, San Francisco. School of Fine Arts -- Faculty  Search this

Green, Ray, 1908-1997  Search this

Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-  Search this

Kuh, Katharine  Search this

O'Donnell, May, 1906-2004  Search this

Sawyer, Kenneth B.  Search this

Still, Clyfford, 1904-  Search this

Still, Patricia  Search this

Tapie, Michel  Search this

Temko, Allan  Search this

Tobey, Mark  Search this

Wildenhain, Frans, 1905-1980  Search this

Extent:

42.8 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Motion pictures (visual works)

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Diaries

Photographs

Sketches

Date:

circa 1914-1997

bulk 1940-1990

Summary:

The papers of sculptor, painter, jewelry designer, and teacher Claire Falkenstein measure 42.8 linear feet and date from 1917 to her death in 1997. There is extensive correspondence with fellow artists, collectors, critics, friends, museums, and galleries. The collection also contains biographical materials, much of it collected and organized by Falkenstein, personal and business records, writings, diaries, exhibition files, commission files, teaching files, photographs, original artwork, scrapbooks, and printed materials. There is a short motion picture film of an interview with Falkenstein featuring the windows she designed for St. Basil's Church in Los Angeles.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of sculptor, painter, jewelry designer, and teacher Claire Falkenstein measure 42.8 linear feet and date from 1917 to her death in 1997. There is extensive correspondence with fellow artists, collectors, critics, friends, museums, and galleries. The collection also contains biographical materials, much of it collected and organized by Falkenstein, personal and business records, writings, diaries, exhibition files, commission files, teaching files, photographs, original artwork, scrapbooks, and printed materials. There is a short motion picture film of an interview with Falkenstein featuring the windows she designed for St. Basil's Church in Los Angeles.

Biographical material includes appointment calendars, awards and honorary degrees, interview transcripts, passports, resumes, wills, and scrapbooks. Scrapbooks were compiled by Falkenstein and focus primarily on her exhibitions at the Galerie Stadler and Gallery Meyer in 1959 and 1960. Also of interest are the "biography files" created and arranged by Falkenstein. These files contain material that she personally felt was the most important in documenting her activities each year. They include correspondence, exhibition catalogs, printed material, and invitations.

Measuring nine linear feet, correspondence is extensive and comprehensively documents Falkenstein's work, social life, relationships, and other business and personal activities. Correspondence dates from 1941 to 1997 and includes business letters and correspondence with friends and family. Her communications with friends, family, clients, gallery owners, collectors, museums, publishers, foundations, and grant agencies reveal many of her ideas and techniques. Individual correspondents include Ray Green, Peggy Guggenheim, Katharine Kuh, May O'Donnell, Ken Sawyer, Clyfford and Pat Still, Michel Tapie, Allan Temko, Mark Tobey, and Frans Wildenhain. Gallery and museum correspondence is with the San Francisco Museum of Art, Coos Art Museum, Los Angeles Museum of Art, Galerie Stadler (Paris), Gallery Mayer (Paris), Malvina Miller (New York), Martha Jackson Gallery (New York), Jack Rutberg Fine Arts (Los Angeles), Galerie Anderson-Mayer (Paris), and Bolles Gallery. Correspondence is also found in the Commission Files and Exhibition Files.

Personal and business records contain a wide variety of material documenting Falkenstein's business, financial, legal, professional, and personal transactions. Files are found for sales and prices, art inventories, smaller jewelry commissions, her work as a juror, her business with galleries, legal affairs and contracts, expenses, records of arts organizations to which she belonged, conferences, grants and fellowships, studio and house renovations, her Paris studio and Paris expenses, travel, donations, loans and consignments, conservation, art shipping, insurance, and taxes. Oversized visitor's logs contain comments from visitors to Falkenstein's studio in Venice, California.

Falkenstein maintained comprehensive documentation of her exhibitions from her first exhibition in the 1930s to the last one at the Merging One Gallery in 1996. Files include both a chronological record and individual record for nearly all of her exhibitions. Found with the files are correspondence, photographs, loan and shipping records, catalogs, announcements, clippings, articles, and other records. Most of the photographs related to exhibitions are found in the Photographs Series. The files for exhibitions at the Fresno Art Museum, Martha Jackson Gallery and Jack Rutberg Fine Art Gallery are particularly rich.

Commission files document nearly all of Falkenstein's public and private large-scale projects and often contain a visual record of the work, as well as correspondence, design notes, contracts, and expense reports. There is documentation of the St. Basils Church windows in Los Angeles; the Peggy Guggenheim gate in Venice, Italy; and the fountain at the California Savings and Loan, in Los Angeles; and many others. There is also a chronological record of her commissions. The bulk of the photographs of commissions are found in the Photograph series. Also, most of Falkenstein's jewelry design commissions are found in the Personal and Business Records series.

Falkenstein's work as a prolific writer, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s, is well-documented here through her numerous published articles in Arts and Architecture magazine, and the New York Herald-Tribune. Her work for Arts and Architecture was primarily written for the "Art Comments from San Francisco" section. She was living in Paris when she contributed an art news column to the New York Herald-Tribune. Also found here are five diaries and one journal dating from circa 1929-1978. The entries are inconsistent and concern mostly travel. The diaries from 1929 and 1934 are more personal. Falkenstein also maintained extensive notes and notebooks about artwork ideas, observations about art, research, and even drafts of letters. There are also many notes about various topics, including art and class notes. Additional writings are eclectic and cover a wide range of topics, including music, poetry, the script for Falkestein's film entitled Touching the Quick, and drafts of her unpublished book on murals. A handful of writings by others are found, most with annotations by Falkenstein.

Teaching files include Falkenstein's numerous lectures given while teaching at Mills College, Pond Farm Workshops, and California School of Fine Arts, and various symposiums and conferences. Also found are lesson plans, contracts, scattered correspondence, and notes. The files on her tenure at the Pond Farm Workshops are particularly interesting, with notes about her fellow teacher Frans Wildenhain and correspondence with workshop owners, Jane and Gordon Herr.

There are extensive photographs of Falkenstein, her family and friends, colleagues, commissions, exhibitions, and works of art. Included are many images of Falkenstein, of Falkenstien with her art, of Falkentstien working, and of Falkenstein's studio. There are numerous photographs of Falkenstein with friends, family, and colleagues in social or work settings. Also found are photographs of exhibition openings, installation views, and works of art exhibited. Additional photographs document Falkenstein's commissions, including images of her at work. Additional images of commissions may also be found in the Commission Series, but the bulk are filed here. There are numerous photographs of Falkenstein's works of art, including drawings, sculpture, jewelry, murals, lamps, and ceramics.

Falkenstein's papers include a large amount of sketches, sketchbooks, and drawings. Many of the sketches and drawings relate to her ideas about commissions and large sculpture, jewelry designs, and general sketches. Sketches are also found in the Commission Files. Also included are drawings by Mark Tobey and Michel Tapie, and others.

Finally, printed materials include general exhibition catalogs, newspapers clippings, and clippings of articles by and about Falkenstein. Also included are books that have been inscribed and signed by the author.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 9 series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1934-1997 (Box 1-4, 41; 4.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1931-1997 (Box 5-13; 9 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal and Business Records, 1936-1997 (Box 14-17, 41, 46-49; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Exhibitions, 1930-1996 (Box 18-21, 42, OV 50; 3.3 linear feet)

Series 5. Commissions, 1930-1992 (Box 21-22, OV 50-54 ; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 6: Writings, circa 1929-1993 (Box 22-26, 42, 55; 4.6 linear feet)

Series 7: Teaching Files, 1929-1995 (Box 26; .8 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1917-1997 (Box 27-35, 43, 55-56; 9.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Artwork, circa 1937-1995 (Box 36-37, 44, 57; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 10: Printed Materials, circa 1914-1990 (Box 37-40, 45, 58; 3.9 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Claire Falkenstein (1908-1997) spent the majority of her life working as an artist, sculptor, jewelry designer, teacher, and writer in California.

Claire Falkenstein was born in 1908 and grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon. In 1920, Falkenstein and her family moved to Berkeley, California, where she attended high school and then college at the University of California at Berkeley, studying philosophy, anthropology, and art. She graduated in 1930. Falkenstein had her first solo show at the East-West Gallery in San Francisco in 1930, the only member of her class to have an exhibition before graduation.

During the early 1930s, Falkenstein studied at Mills College with modernist sculptor Alexander Archipenko. There she also met Bauhaus artists Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Gyorgy Kepes. Falkenstein married her high school sweetheart, Richard McCarthy in 1936.

In 1944, Falkenstein had her first New York exhibition at the Bonestall Gallery. At that time, Falkenstein's primary mediums were stone and wood. However, she became increasingly experimental with new materials that included sheet aluminum, Cor-Ten steel, glass, plastics, and welded wire rods while maintaining a connection to organic and natural forms. Her work in jewelry design was an outlet for exploring these new materials, forms, and techniques on a small scale. As her work grew physically larger, so did her recognition and it was her work in sculpture that won her a faculty appointment at the California School of Fine Arts from 1947-1949. It was here that she met Patricia and Clyfford Still, Hassel Smith, and Richard Diebenkorn.

In 1948, Falkenstein was invited to exhibit at the Salon des Realites Nouvelle in Paris, her first European show. She eventually moved to Europe in 1950 and had studios in Paris, Venice, and Rome. While in Europe, Falkenstein executed a number of large scale commissions, including the stair screen for Galerie Stadler (1955), grotto gates for Princess Pignatelli's villa in Rome (1957), and the bronze, steel, and the glass gate at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice (1961). While in Paris, she became acquainted with noted art critic Michel Tapie, with whom she maintained a life-long friendship.

During the 1940s and 1950s Falkenstein was a regular contributor to Arts and Architecture magazine, most often writing the "Art Comments from San Francisco" section. While in Paris, she also wrote a column on art news for the New York Herald Tribune.

Falkenstein returned to the United States in 1962, eventually renovating a studio space in Venice, California. It was here that she conceived her largest commissions. In 1965, Falkenstein received a commission from the California Savings and Loan to create a sculpture for a large fountain at the front of the bank in downtown Los Angeles. The copper tube fountain, entitled "Structure and Flow #2," was the first of many large scale public art commissions that Falkenstein completed during her years in California. Her most important commission in the United States, completed in 1969, was for the doors, rectory gates and grills and stained-glass windows for St. Basil's Church on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The eight doors and fifteen rectory screens, including 80 foot high windows in the nave, were an expansion of the "never ending screen" concept that Falkenstein executed with the Pignatelli commission in Rome. She continued to use this motif in her work throughout her career.

Claire Falkenstein worked as an arts instructor, visiting artist, and guest lecturer at many colleges, workshops, and schools in California. Her first position was at Mills College from 1946-1947. Shortly thereafter, she was appointed to the faculty at the California School of Fine Arts and later taught in the Extension Divisions of the University of California, Berkeley. She taught classes at California State Polytechnic University, California State University at Davis, and the Anna Head School. Falkenstein also taught art at the Pond Farm Workshops in California, and lectured at numerous colleges and museums. She served on many juried art shows in Southern California.

Falkenstein was acquainted with many artists, writers, instructors, collectors, gallery owners, and critics. Close friends included Esther and Bob Robles, Clyfford and Patricia Still, Michel Tapie, Allan Temko, Mark Tobey, Frans Wildenhain, and other notable figures in the art world.

Falkenstein continued to complete large scale private and public commissioned sculptures during the 1960s through the 1980s, including work for the University of Southern California, Hyland Biological Laboratory, California State University at Dominquez Hills and the California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Throughout her career, Falkenstein's work was featured in numerous exhibitions across the country. Her sculpture and other artwork can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Coos Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museum, University of Southern California Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Tate Gallery.

Falkenstein died in 1997 at the age of 89.

Related Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds two oral history interviews with Claire Falkenstein. The interview on April 13, 1965 was conducted by Betty Hoag and the one on March 2 and 21, 1995 was conducted by Paul Karlstrom.

Provenance:

The Claire Falkenstein papers were donated in 1997 by Steffan Wacholtz and Nancy Kendall, trustees for the Claire Falkenstein Trust.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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  Search this

Topic:

Women artists -- California  Search this

Women artists -- France -- Paris  Search this

Sculptors -- California  Search this

Interviews  Search this

Awards  Search this

Transcripts  Search this

Articles  Search this

Designers -- California  Search this

Drafts (documents)  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Poetry  Search this

Scripts  Search this

Notebooks  Search this

Artists' studios  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Art patronage  Search this

Educators -- California  Search this

Jewelry -- Design  Search this

Sculptors -- France -- Paris  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Motion pictures (visual works)

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Diaries

Photographs

Sketches

Citation:

Claire Falkenstein papers, circa 1914-1997, bulk 1940-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.falkclai

See more items in:

Claire Falkenstein papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-falkclai

Creator:

Woods, Gurdon G., 1915-  Search this

Names:

Otis Art Institute  Search this

San Francisco Art Institute  Search this

DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989  Search this

Siegriest, 1899-1989  Search this

Siegriest, Lundy, 1925-  Search this

Extent:

0.8 Linear feet

0.2 Linear feet (Addition)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Date:

1948-1987

Scope and Contents:

Correspondence; notes and writings by Woods and his students; printed material; photographs of Woods and his work; 4 sketches and drawings by his students, undated; 1 certificate from San Francisco Art Institute, undated, various subject files, 1948-1981.

Included are: correspondence with Grace McCann Morley, Jock Reynolds, Richard Hayton, Sean Elwood and others, 1960-1987; notes and writings by Woods and his students; student drawings by Joan Brown and others, and original Christmas cards received; clippings, 1955-1978; files on the San Francisco Art Festival, 1950-1951, San Francisco Art Association, the San Francisco Art Commission, the San Francisco Museum of Art, and other events and topics; gallery announcements, posters and exhibition catalogs;

writings by Woods including commencement addresses, lectures, proposals and one manuscript "New Prospects in Design Education"; proposals for long range development of the visual arts program at the University of California at Santa Cruz (1970-1979); and photographs and slides of Woods and his artwork.

ADDITION: One b&w photograph of Louis Siegriest and his son Lundy; one b&w photograph of Jay DeFeo, ca. 1960; and two exhibition catalogs on the Siegriests, 1980 and 1986; newspaper review of Woods' 1993 exhibit.

Biographical / Historical:

Sculptor and art instructor; San Francisco and Santa Cruz, California.

Provenance:

Material donated 1991 and 1992 by Gurdon Woods.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.

Occupation:

Art teachers -- California -- Santa Cruz  Search this

Sculptors -- California -- Santa Cruz  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching -- California  Search this

Art festivals  Search this

Sculpture, American -- California  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Identifier:

AAA.woodgurd

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-woodgurd

Creator:

Wores, Theodore, 1858-1939  Search this

Names:

Bohemian Club (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this

Duveneck, Frank, 1848-1919  Search this

Gray, Percy, 1869-1952  Search this

Keith, William, 1838-1911  Search this

Peck, Orrin, 1860-1921  Search this

Peters, Charles Rollo, 1862-1928  Search this

Russel, Alexander, Mrs  Search this

Sandona, Matteo, b. 1883  Search this

Shenson, A. Jess  Search this

Tilden, Douglas, 1860-1935  Search this

Extent:

296 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1881-1967

Scope and Contents:

Letters received, 1884-1967, concern Wores' art work, the Bohemian Club, the work of sculptor Douglas Tilden, and other matters. William Keith writes of his own work and choice of subject matter. Other correspondents include Orrin Peck, Frank Duveneck, Charles Rollo Peters, Mrs. Alexander Russel, Matteo Sandona, and Percy Gray. In addition, there are two scrapbooks, 1881-1938; a typescript of CALIFORNIA ART RESEARCH, 1937-Abstract from WPA Project 2874, which is a monograph on Wores with penciled corrections by him; and 5 articles from THE CENTURY ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE, 1889-1899, 4 of them written by Wores, and 1 illustrated by him.

Biographical / Historical:

Landscape painter, portrait painter, illustrator, teacher. Year of birth also cited as 1860. Born in San Francisco, resided many places.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming April 1974 by A. Jess Shenson, M.D., along with his brother Ben who spent many years researching Wores.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Occupation:

Portrait painters  Search this

Illustrators  Search this

Landscape painters  Search this

Topic:

Painting, Modern -- 19th century -- United States  Search this

Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.woretheo

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-woretheo

Creator:

Wood, Beatrice  Search this

Names:

Garth Clark Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

John Waller, Fine Ceramics (Firm : Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Zachary Waller Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Arensberg, Louise S. (Louise Stevenson), 1879-1953  Search this

Arensberg, Walter, 1878-1954  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Hapgood, Elizabeth Reynolds  Search this

Hoag, Stephen Asa  Search this

Nin, Anaïs, 1903-1977  Search this

Roché, Henri Pierre, 1879-1959  Search this

Rosencrantz, Esther, 1876-1950  Search this

Extent:

26.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drafts (documents)

Interviews

Photographs

Illustrated letters

Notes

Watercolors

Diaries

Transcripts

Lithographs

Short stories

Illustrations

Designs

Drawings

Bookplates

Date:

1894-1998

bulk 1930-1990

Summary:

The papers of California ceramicist Beatrice Wood measure 26.6 linear feet and date from 1906 to 1998, with the bulk dating from 1930-1990. There is extensive correspondence with gallery owners, fellow artists, clients, friends, and family. The collection also contains biograpical materials, personal business records, writings, printed materials, photographs, and works of art. Of particular interest are the 28 diaries that Wood maintained from 1916 until her death in 1998 and 42 glazing formula notebooks dating from 1934-1997. Also found are documents of Steven Hoag and Esther Rosencranz, her husband and aunt respectively, that consist of correspondence, business records, and photographs given to the Archives of American Art as part of the Beatrice Wood papers.

Scope and Contents note:

The papers of California ceramicist Beatrice Wood measure 26.6 linear feet and date from 1906 to 1998, with the bulk dating from 1930-1990. There is extensive correspondence with gallery owners, fellow artists, clients, friends, and family. The collection also contains biographical materials, personal business records, writings, printed materials, photographs, and works of art. Of particular interest are the 28 diaries that Wood maintained from 1916 until her death in 1998 and 42 glazing formula notebooks dating from 1934-1997. Also found are documents of Steven Hoag and Esther Rosencranz, her husband and aunt respectively, that consist of correspondence, business records, and photographs given to the Archives of American Art as part of the Beatrice Wood papers.

Biographical material contains certificates, licenses, degrees, legal documents, and extensive interview transcripts, which describe her philosophy on art and her development as a ceramic artist.

Correspondence is particularly rich in documenting Wood's passion and dedication to her work as a writer and artist. The records reflect Wood's close professional and personal relationships with many friends and colleagues, including Henri-Pierre Roche, Marcel Duchamp, Anais Nin, Elizabeth Hapgood, and Walter and Lou Arensberg. Additional correspondence with editors and publishers is also included. Wood enjoyed illustrating her letters, as did many of her correspondents.

Personal business records include financial material, sales and consignment records, and correspondence with gallery owners, including Garth Clark Gallery, John Waller Gallery, and Zachary Waller Gallery.

Notes and writings extensively document Wood's second career as a writer. Edited drafts of her monographs and short stories are available, as well as her journal writings and notes. Drafts of I Shock Myself: The Autobiography of Beatrice Wood, Angel Who Wore Black Tights, 33rd Wife of a Maharajah, among others are included. Also found here are the illustrations that Wood created for her monographs. She often did a series of drawings for each illustration and these copies are included as well.

Twenty-eight detailed diaries contain information about studio sales, clients, and the economic uncertainties of being a self-employed artist. The diaries, arranged in one-year and five-year volumes, begin in 1916 and end just a few days before her death in 1998.

Forty-two glaze books record the formulas for the pottery glazes Wood developed throughout her career.

Printed material includes copies of Wood's published monographs as well as exhibition announcements and brochures. Also found are clippings about Wood, including numerous articles about her trips to India.

Photographic material includes photographs and slides of Wood, her friends, travels, and other events. Many of the photographs are identified by Wood.

Artwork includes original sketches, drawings, watercolors, lithographs and designs by Wood. The original illustrations from her books are included in this series.

The last two series contain records generated by her husband, Stephen Hoag and her maternal aunt, Esther Rosencrantz. Wood was married to Hoag from 1937 until his death in 1960. The bulk of the material contains Hoag's financial records, mostly receipts, from his early years as a engineer in the Pacific Northwest. Esther Rosencranz, a physician in San Francisco, collected book plates that are included in this series.

Arrangement note:

The collection is arranged as 11 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1924-1993 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1910-1998 (Box 1-8; 7.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1909-1988 (Box 9-11, 26, OV 31; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Notes and Writings, circa 1912-1997 (Box 11-16, 27; 5.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Diaries, 1915-1998 (Box 17-20; 4 linear feet)

Series 6: Glaze Books, circa 1930-1997 (Box 21-22, 27-30; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1940-1997 (Box 23, OV 31; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographic Material, 1913-1997 (Box 24, 30; 1 linear foot)

Series 9: Artwork, 1917-1991 (Box 24-25, 30; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Stephen Hoag papers, 1906-1960 (Box 25; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 11: Esther Rosencranz papers, 1894-1959 (Box 25; 0.1 linear feet)

Biographical/Historical note:

Beatrice Wood (1893-1998) was a ceramicist, painter, and writer who relocated to Ojai, California in 1948.

Beatrice Wood was born on March 3, 1893 in San Francisco to socially prominent and wealthy parents. In the late 1890s, the family moved to New York City where Wood was expected to begin the process of "coming out" in New York society. This process included boarding schools, a convent school in Paris, and frequent summer trips to Europe where she was exposed to museums, galleries, and the theater. Wood studied acting and dance in Paris until the outbreak of the war in 1914. She returned to New York and soon joined the company of the French National Repertory Theatre. From 1914 through 1916, Wood played over 60 parts as a stage actress.

In 1917, Wood met the writer Henri Pierre Roche, with whom she had a brief affair and a long friendship. Roche introduced her to the New York world of artists and writers and encouraged her interest in drawing and painting. During a visit to see the composer Edgard Varese in the hospital, Wood met Marcel Duchamp, with whom she had a love affair and who also had a strong influence in her development as an artist. Their long discussions about modern art encouraged Wood to show Duchamp a recent drawing entitled "Marriage of a Friend." Duchamp liked the drawing so much that he published it in Rogue, a magazine partly financed by Walter and Louise Arensberg, friends of Duchamp. The Arensbergs were pioneering collectors of modern art and soon became friends of Wood as well. She became a frequent guest at their evening gatherings, forming friendships with Walter Pach, Francis Picabia, Joseph Stella, Myrna Loy, Galka Scheyer, and others.

Through Duchamp and the Arensbergs, Wood was introduced to the world of the New York Dada. Following the formation of the Society of Independent Artists in 1917, Wood exhibited work in their Independents exhibition. Together with Duchamp and Roche, she published a short-lived avant-garde journal, called Blind Man, in which the Alfred Steiglitz photograph of Duchamp's famous ready-made "Fountain" appeared. She also designed the poster for the Dada event, The Blind Man's Ball.

Throughout the 1920s, Wood continued to draw and paint, especially watercolors. Late in 1927, she moved to California to join the Arensbergs, who had been there since 1921. She also developed an interest in clay and took her first ceramics classes with Glen Lukens at the University of Southern California in the late 1930s. In 1940 Wood studied with Otto and Gertrud Natzler, Austrian potters who were known for their technical mastery and ability to throw almost perfectly formed pots. The Natzlers taught her how to throw pots and calculate glaze formulas.

Museums and galleries began to take an interest in her pottery and she held several shows in New York, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Several department stores, including Nieman Marcus and Gumps, also began to feature her pottery. During the 1940s, Wood began making figurative art in addition to more traditional pots. In 1947, for example, she included a large blue fish with white spots in an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science, and Art. As her skills developed, Wood moved to a new home and studio in Ojai, California. By 1950, Wood was experimenting with luster surfaces, pottery with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. These lusterware plates, in addition to her decorative figures and traditional ceramics, were sold at her studio, advertised with a sign out front that read "Beatrice Wood: Fine Pottery, Reasonable and Unreasonable."

In 1961, Wood visited India as a cultural ambassador, sponsored by the State Department. She toured the country and showed her work in fourteen cities. She became enamoured with Indian decorative arts and began to weave shimmering gold and silver threads into her palatte. Wood returned a second time in 1965 at the invitation of the Indian government. It was during this trip that she decided to adopt the sari as her style of dress, a style she continued until her death in 1998. She made her third and last trip to India in 1971. Her book, 33rd Wife of a Maharajah is about her adventures in India.

Wood always enjoyed writing, recording her daily activities in a diary and creating stories about her experiences with friends and colleagues. She published her first book, Angel Who Wore Black Tights in 1982, followed by her autobiography, I Shock Myself, in 1985.

Wood considered her last 25 years as her most productive. In addition to her literary publications, Wood also had several successful exhibitions, including Intimate Appeal: The Figurative Art of Beatrice Wood at the Oakland Museum in 1990 and Beatrice Wood: A Centennial Tribute at New York's American Craft Museum in 1997. The film, Beatrice Wood: The Mama of Dada, was filmed on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 1993. She died in Ojai, California in 1998, nine days after her 105th birthday.

Related Archival Materials note:

The Archives of American Art holds two oral history interviews with Beatrice Wood completed by Paul Karlstrom in 1976 and 1992.

Provenance:

Beatrice Wood donated her papers in several accretions between 1976 and 2002. Additional material was donated by Francis Naumann in 1993 and the Beatrice Wood Personal Property Trust in 1999. Material from a 1977 loan was included in Wood's later donations.

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.

Topic:

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Authors -- California  Search this

Glazes -- Formulae  Search this

Women artists -- California  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Actresses -- United States  Search this

Ceramicists -- California  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Drafts (documents)

Interviews

Photographs

Illustrated letters

Notes

Watercolors

Diaries

Transcripts

Lithographs

Short stories

Illustrations

Designs

Drawings

Bookplates

Citation:

Beatrice Wood papers, 1906-1998, bulk 1930-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.woodbeat

See more items in:

Beatrice Wood papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-woodbeat

Creator:

Sinton, Nell, 1910-1997  Search this

Sinton, Stanley H., d. 1954  Search this

Names:

DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989  Search this

Hedrick, Wally, 1928-2003  Search this

Extent:

7.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

[circa 1920]-1993

Scope and Contents:

The Nell (Eleanor) and Stanley Sinton papers measure 7.9 linear feet and date from circa 1920-1993. Included are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence; a bound copy of "Nell Sinton, An Adventurous Spirit: The Life of A California Artist," (oral history, University of California, Berkeley, 1993); an album, "Happy School Days," (c. 1920s); writings; financial material; teaching material, including lecture, workshop and seminar outlines, lesson plans, writings, and notes; personal photographs and a family photo album and color slides and transparencies of Sinton's work; scrapbooks containing printed articles; works of art consisting of a portfolio of drawings, sketches, gouaches, and mixed media paintings; and an appraisal of the Sinton Art Collection; printed material consisting of exhibition catalogs and announcements for Sinton and other artists. Motion picture films include footage by Coni Beeson of Sinton at work with Delia Moon, and "Scroll: The Social Development of an American Female" (1976). A small portion of the material including letters from Jay DeFeo and Wally Hedrick (DeFeo's former husband) to Eleanor (Nell) and Stanley Sinton concerning her finances, personal and professional life (including Christmas cards and invitations to parties); and exhibition announcements can be found on microfilm reel 858.

Biographical / Historical:

Nell (Eleanor) Sinton (1910-1997) was a painter, collector and educator in San Francisco, Calif.

Related Materials:

Also in the Archives lent for microfilming on reel 860 are correspondence, some relating to the San Francisco Hall of Justice mural and the controversy surrounding the choice of John Garth as artist; a scrapbook containing correspondence, drawings, and printed material; and exhibition catalogs, announcements, and printed material

Provenance:

In 1974 Sinton donated papers on reel 858 and lent for microfilming papers on reel 860. She donated motion picture film and 0.4 feet of additional papers between 1974 and 1978. Additions were received in 1999 from the daughters of Nell Sinton, Joan Dodd and Margot Biestman.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.sintnell

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-sintnell

Collection Creator:

Junkin, Hattie Meyers, 1896-1985  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 31

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Date:

1930s

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

See more items in:

Hattie Meyers Junkin Papers

Hattie Meyers Junkin Papers / Series 2: Soaring and Gliding

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0171-ref108

Collection Creator:

Junkin, Hattie Meyers, 1896-1985  Search this

Container:

Box 5, Folder 5

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

See more items in:

Hattie Meyers Junkin Papers

Hattie Meyers Junkin Papers / Series 3: General materials of Hattie Meyers Junkin

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0171-ref141

Creator:

Henderson, Clifford W., 1895-1939  Search this

Names:

Arnold, Henry Harley, 1886-1950  Search this

Barnes, Florence Lowe "Pancho"  Search this

Doolittle, James Harold, 1896-1993  Search this

Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937  Search this

Hawks, Frank  Search this

Nichols, Ruth.  Search this

Pickford, Mary  Search this

Thaden, Iris Louise McPhetridge  Search this

Turner, Roscoe, 1895-1970  Search this

Udet, Ernst, General  Search this

Extent:

0.47 Cubic feet ((3 boxes))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Photograph albums

Newspaper clippings

Audiotapes

Motion pictures (visual works)

Programs

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of approximately 0.5 cubic feet of material relating to Clifford W. Henderson including photographs, event programs, published materials, news clippings, audio tape, and motion picture film. The photographs consist of black and white prints, mostly 8 x 10 inches in size, and a photo album of smaller black and white prints with a leather cover which measures approximately 9 x 7 inches. Besides Henderson, other notable people in the photographs include James R. Wedell; Benjamin Odell Howard; Roy Minor; Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold; Charles Edwin Thompson; Mary Pickford; Ernst Udet; Frank Hawks; Gordon Israel; H. W. "Spud" Manning; Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes; Ken Maynard; John McDonald Miller; Hoot Gibson; Amelia Mary Earhart; Steve J. Wittman; Lee Gelbach; James "Jimmy" Haizlip; Mary "Mae" Haizlip; Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden; James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle; Roscoe Turner; Tito Falconi; and Ruth Rowland Nichols. Aircraft shown in the photographs include the Howard (Benjamin O.) DGA-4 "Mike"; Curtiss B-2 Condor; Vought O2U-1 Corsair; Northrop (Avion) Experimental No.1 (1929 Flying Wing); Keith Rider R-2 "Bumble Bee"; Israel (Gordon) "Redhead" Racer; Wedell-Williams Model 22 (NR 60Y) (Race #s: 22, 54); Keith Rider R-1 "San Francisco I"; Udet U 12 Flamingo; Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogiro; Brown (Alden) Racing (Special Monoplane Racer); Wittman (Steve) (#2) "Chief Oshkosh"; Wedell-Williams Model 44 II (NR 536V) (Race #: 92); Chester (Art) Jeep; Lockheed Model 5B Vega, Earhart Aircraft, NR7952; Wedell-Williams Model 44 (44 III) (NR 61Y) (Race #s: 2, 25, 57, 121); Brown (Lawrence) Miles-Atwood Special; Vultee V1; Stearman (1927) Model 6-A Cloudboy; Wedell-Williams Model 44 I (NR 278V) (Race #s: 44, 91); Northrop Gamma 2A "Sky Chief"; Lockheed Model 5 Vega Special (Nichols Aircraft); a Douglas Dolphin custom-built for the Vanderbilt family (A/C No. NC14208); Stearman (1927) Model 4-C Junior Speedmail; Curtiss F8C-5 (O2C-1) Helldiver; and a Caproni Ca.113. The audio tape consists of a 1/4 inch reel made in 1960 at an event celebrating the anniversary of the 1910 Dominguez Air Meet. There are 16 reels of 8mm film in the collection, all of which contain footage relating to World War II aviation. The collection also contains a reel of microfilm of an unidentified book on ballooning and early aviation, and a hard-backed promotional book for the Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor.

Biographical / Historical:

Clifford W. Henderson (1895-1984) was an aviation promoter and showman who managed the annual National Air Races from 1928 until 1939, bringing attention to the expanding field of sport aviation. Born in Iowa, Henderson graduated from the University of Southern California in 1917 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He served in the 35th Ambulance Unit, France, during World War I, before transferring to the 101st Aero Squadron where he learned to fly. After the war, Henderson returned to California and was chairman of ground arrangements for the departure and return of the Army's Around the World Flight in 1924 from Clover Field in Santa Monica. In 1928 he became Director of Aviation of Los Angeles and served as the first manager of the Los Angeles airport system. Also in 1928 Henderson became director of the National Air Races and was responsible for interesting industry leaders in competition trophies, including the Thompson, Bendix, and Grieve Trophies. He retired from managing the National Air Races in 1939. Henderson served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, rising to the rank of colonel. He played an instrumental role in planning the Burma Hump air route, and also served as military governor of Dakar in North Africa. After the war, Henderson was suffering from illness and injuries sustained in Africa, and so went to recuperate in California where he founded Palm Desert, California. He remained active in the Palm Desert community until his death in 1984.

Provenance:

Kim Dell, Gift, 2016

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access.

Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Topic:

Air pilots  Search this

Airplane racing  Search this

Airplanes  Search this

Wedell-Williams Model 44 (44 III)  Search this

Vought O2U-1 Corsair  Search this

Lockheed Model 5 Vega  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Photograph albums

Newspaper clippings

Audiotapes

Motion pictures (visual works)

Programs

Citation:

Clifford W. Henderson Collection, Acc. 2017-0008, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2017.0008

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2017-0008