The papers of painter and arts administrator Francis Sumner Merritt measure 5.7 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to 1980. The bulk of the papers document his career as the founding director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Included are biographical materials, personal correspondence, writings and notes, professional files on Haystack and other institutions, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and arts administrator Francis Sumner Merritt measure 5.7 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to 1980. The bulk of the papers document his career as the founding director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Included are biographical materials, personal correspondence, writings and notes, professional files on Haystack and other institutions, printed material, and photographs.
Biographical materials contain scattered records relating to Merritt's personal life and career including a scrapbook and a print by Fiske Boyd. Professional files create the bulk of the papers and focus on Merritt's arts administration career at Haystack and other institutions including the Flint Institute of Art and Bradford Junior College. Among the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts material are planning materials, correspondence with many craft artists, financial records, student information, printed material, photographs for various sessions held at the school, and one sound recording concerning a trip to Nigeria.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1936-1977 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1930-1978 (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1940s-1978 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Professional Files, 1940s-1980 (Box 1-5, 8; 4.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1939-1976 (Box 6-7; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1949-1970s (Box 7; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Francis Sumner Merritt (1913-2000) was a painter, designer, and arts administrator. He was the first director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.
Merritt was born in 1913 in Danvers, Massachusetts. He studied art at multiple schools, including Yale University School of Fine Arts and was a printmaker and painter. In addition to his art, Merritt taught painting at Colby Junior College, the Cranbrook Summer Institute, and Bradford Junior College. Merritt began his arts administrative career as director of the Flint Institute of Art in Detroit, Michigan. He was brought on to be the first director at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. In this position, he encouraged the international study of craft.
Francis Merritt was married to Priscilla Merritt, with whom he had two sons. He died in Belfast, Maine in 2000.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts records, 1950-1969, and an oral history interview of Francis Sumner Merritt conducted 1979 May 25-June 25, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
Francis Sumner Merritt donated his papers in two accessions in 1980 and 1994.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Maine -- Deer Isle Search this
An interview of William E. Woolfenden and Irving Burton conducted 1992 December 12, by Garnett McCoy for the Archives of American Art, concerning the development of the Archives of American Art.
Woolfenden speaks about E.P. Richardson and his intent in founding of the Archives of American Art; the earliest development and collecting activities; his role as assistant director and Richardson's role as director; receiving a Ford foundation grant and other early financial support; fundraising events; auctions; trustees; the founding of regional offices; early employees; forming an alliance with the Smithsonian Institution; and the impact of the AAA on American art history. Irving Burton discusses his involvement.
Biographical / Historical:
William E. Woolfenden (1918- 1995) was the director of the Archives of American Art from 1963-1983.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 35 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.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with William Bostick, 1981 August 11-19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of William Woolfenden conducted 1983 March 17, by Ruth Gurin Bowman, for the Archives of American Art, in Pacific Palisades, California.
Biographical / Historical:
William E. Woolfenden (1918- 1995) was the director of the Archives of American Art from 1963-1983.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 1 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold, 1880-1958 Search this
Extent:
74 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1981 August 11-19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of William Bostick conducted 1981 August 11-19, by Mary Chris Rospond, for the Archives of American Art.
Bostick speaks of his childhood; his early interest in art; his education at the Carnegie Institute and the Detroit Academy of Art; studying at Cranbrook Academy with Zoltan Sepeshy and Maija Grotell; the beginning of his career in commercial art; his early museum career; becoming administrator of the Detroit Institute of Arts; the ART QUARTERLY; the growth of the Detroit Institute's collection and its administrative history; some of the Institute's more important exhibitions; his own artistic style and methods; the Scarab Club and the Founders Society. He recalls E.P. Richardson and William R. Valentiner.
Biographical / Historical:
William Bostick (1913-2007) was an art administrator from Detroit, Michigan.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav file. Duration is 4 hr., 18 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
Function:
Art museums -- Michigan -- Detroit
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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Walter Midener, 1981 Aug. 3. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Clyde H. Burroughs, 1956 November. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Oral history interview with Clyde H. Burroughs, 1961 June 1
Interviewee:
Burroughs, Clyde H. (Clyde Huntley), 1882-1973 Search this
Interviewer:
Woolfenden, William E. (William Edward), 1918-1995 Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Clyde H. Burroughs, 1961 June 1. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Walter Midener, 1974 July 10-17. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Sylvester Jerry conducted 1965 June 11, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art. Jerry speaks of his first association with the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), working as an FAP administrator in Detroit; working at finding locations for the artworks; the FAP's role in the development of furniture design; working with Holger Cahill; the Index of American Design; the relationship of art and architecture; administering the project; selecting artists for particular projects; and the project's effect on the community.
Biographical / Historical:
Sylvester Jerry (1904-1990) was a painter and art administrator from Racine, Wis.
General:
An unrelated interview of Charlotte Partridge (6/12/65) conducted by H. Phillips is also on this tape.
An unrelated interview of Leonard Thiessen (6/10/65) conducted by H. Phillips is also on this tape.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Wisconsin -- Interviews Search this
Arts administrators -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
Painters -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
Burroughs, Clyde H. (Clyde Huntley), 1882-1973 Search this
Interviewer:
Woolfenden, William E. (William Edward), 1918-1995 Search this
Extent:
21 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1961 June 1
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Clyde H. Burroughs conducted 1961 June 1, by William E. Woolfenden, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Clyde H. Burroughs (1882-1973) was an art administrator from Detroit, Michigan.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 34 min.
Sound quality is poor.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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 others.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Clyde H. Burroughs conducted 1956 November, by E.P. Richardson, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Clyde H. Burroughs (1882-1973) was an art administrator from Detroit, Michigan.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav files. Duration is 29 min.
Provenance:
This interview was conducted by the founder of the Archives of American Art, E.P. Richardson, prior to the establishment of the Archives' 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 others.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Graham Beal conducted 2016 April 6 and 7, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, at Beal's home in Detroit, Michigan.
Biographical / Historical:
Graham Beal (1947- ) is the Director Emeritus of the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, Michigan. James McElhinney (1952- ) is a painter and educator in New York, New York.
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.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
