Search Results

Creator:

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2011-04-11T18:52:55.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

Astronomy  Search this

See more by:

ITAMPhysics

Data Source:

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

YouTube Channel:

ITAMPhysics

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_QO7JdhkF5EM

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2023-10-18T19:03:04.000Z

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_RuqkvQKXfic

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-10-25T16:17:15.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_bPtX7u_TAHg

Creator:

Liebes, Dorothy  Search this

Names:

Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company  Search this

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Textile Fibers Department  Search this

Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this

Morin, Relman, 1907-1973  Search this

Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959  Search this

Extent:

24.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Diaries

Drawings

Interviews

Date:

circa 1850-1973

bulk 1922-1970

Summary:

The papers of weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Liebes date from circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970) and comprise 24.9 linear feet. Through biographical material including a sound recording of an interview, family and general correspondence, writings including a draft of Liebes's autobiography, subject files providing detailed records of her influential consulting work, financial and legal files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, textile samples, and photographic material picturing a wide variety of career and personal activities, the collection provides rich and extensive documentation of Liebes's career and personal life.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Liebes date from circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970) and comprise 24.9 linear feet. Through biographical material including a sound recording of an interview, family and general correspondence, writings including a draft of Liebes's autobiography, subject files providing detailed records of her influential consulting work, financial and legal files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, textile samples, and photographic material picturing a wide variety of career and personal activities, the collection provides rich and extensive documentation of Liebes's career and personal life.

Biographical material consists of awards, biographical notes, membership and identification cards, passports, a will, and a sound recording of a 1945 interview with Liebes.

Correspondence is personal with family and friends, and general with friends and colleagues including artists, and fellow weavers and designers. Notable correspondents include Dorr Bothwell, Daren Pierce, Beatrice Wood, and Frank and Olgivanna Lloyd Wright.

Diaries and calendars record Liebes's busy professional and personal life, with notations on daily activities and, beginning in 1952, detailed notes by staff recording activities at the studio on days when Liebes was absent.

Writings by Dorothy Liebes include notes, drafts, and manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, including an autobiography, speeches, and drafts for an unpublished book on weaving.

Subject files contain correspondence, printed material, photographs, and miscellaneous items in varying combinations, and focus heavily on Liebes's consulting work for businesses in the textile industry, including her work with DuPont, Bigelow-Sanford, Goodall, Dow, and others. The files document the importance of her work as a colorist and show how she successfully adapted craft weaving to machine methods. Furthermore, they record how Liebes used her marketing instincts and broad media appeal to rebrand the image of companies such as DuPont from one of chemistry and utility, to one that represented high style and glamor in durable and practical fabrics that were affordable and desirable in home furnishings. Other subject files document organizations, individuals, and topics of interest to Liebes, including files recording her involvement with arts and crafts organizations, her role as director for the Decorative Arts Display at the Golden Gate Exposition in 1939, her work as director of the Red Cross's Arts and Skills workshop, scattered exhibition records, and files on weavers and weaving. Files on Liebes's extensive promotional work for multiple clients are also included here, as are files documenting Liebes's relationship with Relman Morin, such as correspondence and scattered records of Morin's career as a Pullitzer Prize winning journalist.

Financial and legal records are comprised of accounting records from the 1930s-1940s, financial summaries, investment statements, personal and business inventories, personal and business tax returns, and some legal records.

Printed material includes advertisements, articles, and exhibition announcements and catalogs, recording Liebes's career. This material is supplemented by thirty-three bound scrapbooks of printed publicity material, photographs, and documents recording Liebes's career in substantial depth.

Artwork by Dorothy Liebes consists of designs, feather weavings, a small hooked composition, and tapestry samples. Artwork by others includes prints by Dorr Bothwell, designs by Lawrence J. Colwell, and painted sketches of clothing designs by Daren Pierce. Two linear feet of samples consist primarily of textile swatches primarily designed by Dorothy Liebes Studio, Inc.

Photographic material includes professional portraits of Liebes and others, photos of Liebes at events and parties, with staff and other weavers, at work in her studio, and traveling. Of note are a series of pictures taken at Taliesin West with Frank and Olgivanna Wright, Relman Morin, and others. Photographic material also provides examples of Liebes's design work in homes, hotels, offices, and elsewhere, and shows her work pictured in exhibitions and showrooms. Photographs of other subjects include portraits of unidentified women by Man Ray and Consuela Canaga.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 11 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1934-circa 1970 (Box 1, OV 23; 0.28 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1973 (Boxes 1-2; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Calendars, 1948-1971 (Boxes 2-4; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, 1920-circa 1971 (Boxes 4-5; 1.05 linear feet)

Series 5: Subject Files, circa 1933-1971 (Boxes 5-13, 20, 43, OVs 23, 59; 8.43 linear feet)

Series 6: Financial and Legal Records, circa 1935-1972 (Box 13, 20; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1897-1971 (Boxes 14, 20-21, OV 38; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1933-1972 (Box 21-22, 24-36; 5 linear feet)

Series 9: Artwork, circa 1920s-circa 1960s (Boxes 14, 22, OVs 23, 39, 42, RD 37; 1.24 linear feet)

Series 10: Samples, circa 1850-1855, circa 1930s-circa 1970 (Boxes 15-16; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographic Material, circa 1875, circa 1897-circa 1970 (Boxes 17-19, 36, 43, OVs 38, 40-41; 2.2 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

California and New York weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Wright Liebes (1899-1972) was known for distinctive textiles featuring bold color combinations and unusual textures achieved through the use of materials such as glass rods, sequins, bamboo, grass, leather, ribbon, wire, and ticker tape. Her work with companies in the synthetic fiber industry to make craft weaving compatible with man-made fabrics and machine looms, produced an innovative and exciting new aesthetic in interior design that was both functional and affordable, and made Liebes a mid-century household name.

Born Dorothy Wright in Santa Rosa, California, Liebes was the daughter of chemistry professor Frederick L. Wright and teacher Bessie Calderwood Wright. She studied art, education, and anthropology at San Jose State Teachers College and the University of California, Berkeley. During her college years, a teacher encouraged her to experiment with weaving and textile design since many of her paintings resembled textiles.

Liebes was a teacher for several years before deciding to pursue a career in textile design. She then studied weaving at Hull House in Chicago and traveled to France, Italy, Guatemala, and Mexico to learn the traditional weaving forms of those cultures. Upon her return to the United States, Liebes opened her first professional studio for weaving and textile design on Powell Street in San Francisco; Dorothy Liebes Design, Inc. was established in 1934, and eventually employed a staff of weavers. Liebes moved her studio to 545 Sutter Street in 1942.

Her first client in the industry was Goodall-Sanford Mills, with whom Liebes worked as a consultant for more than a decade. As her client base expanded, she decided to open a New York studio and maintained both studios until 1948 when she closed her San Francisco operation and relocated to New York City.

Liebes became a color and design consultant to corporations such as DuPont, Dow, and Bigelow-Sanford and tested and promoted newly developed synthetic fibers. She advised textile chemists in the development of fibers that were versatile enough to produce many different textures and worked with engineers and technicians to develop new machines that could reproduce the irregularities of hand-loomed fabrics. Liebes became a sought-after speaker by textile industry and consumer groups, and sometimes taught workshops on color and design.

Liebes's commissions included the United Nations Delegates Dining Room, the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel and the King of Saudi Arabia's traveling royal throne room. Between 1937 and 1970, Liebes participated in more than thirty solo and group exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, de Young Museum, Cranbrook Museum, Detroit Institute of Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, and other venues. She received prizes and awards from institutions and corporations such as Lord and Taylor, Neiman-Marcus, the Paris Exposition, the American Institute of Decorators, the American Institute of Architects and the Architectural League. She was also awarded the Elsie de Wolfe Award and an honorary degree from Mills College in 1948.

Liebes's other notable activities included her work a director of the Decorative Arts Display for the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, which she credited with establishing her as an authority in the field, and her work as organizer and director of "Arts and Skills," a Red Cross occupational therapy project that included training in weaving for soldiers injured in World War II. In the 1950s, she worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, journeying though the southwest to study Indian schools and weaving techniques.

Liebes was married to businessman Leon Liebes from 1928 until their divorce in 1940 and continued to use the name Liebes for the remainder of her life. In 1948, she married Pulitzer prize winning Associated Press special correspondent Relman "Pat" Morin.

During the last year of her life, Dorothy Liebes was semi-retired due to a heart ailment. She died in New York City on 10 September 1972.

Provenance:

Gift of the Estate of Dorothy Liebes through Relman Morin, 1972, and Ralph Higbee, 1973-1974.

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.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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:

Textile designers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Textile designers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Weavers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Weavers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art consultants -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women textile designers  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Diaries

Drawings

Interviews

Citation:

Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of the Dorothy Liebes papers was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the digitization of the collection was provided by the Coby Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.liebdoro

See more items in:

Dorothy Liebes papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9512b8d71-3c95-4e72-96be-0af0437f2a5f

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-liebdoro

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-10-25T16:17:34.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_lHawUkRcr-Q

Creator:

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory  Search this

Type:

Lectures

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2013-02-11T18:40:56.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

Astronomy  Search this

See more by:

ITAMPhysics

Data Source:

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

YouTube Channel:

ITAMPhysics

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_LyvqjepHrnI

Creator:

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2011-05-24T20:09:51.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

Astronomy  Search this

See more by:

ITAMPhysics

Data Source:

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

YouTube Channel:

ITAMPhysics

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_mvHg5PcXb6k

Creator:

National Museum of the American Indian  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-02-16T17:49:49.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Native Americans;American Indians  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNMAI

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNMAI

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_rtbwoKC_pXw

Creator:

Perkins, James Secor  Search this

Gilbreth, Frank Bunker, 1868-1924  Search this

Gilbreth, Lillian Moller, 1878-1972  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (19 boxes)

5 Cubic feet (19 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Videotapes

Betacam sp (videotape format)

Motion pictures (visual works)

Date:

1907-2000

bulk 1911-1924

Summary:

The collection consists primarily of glass plate slides (negative and positive), photo prints, and stereographs documenting the work undertaken by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Also included are slides dcoumenting the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends. The collection also contains the film "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way," 1968 by James S. Perkins.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists primarily of glass plate slides (negative and positive), photo prints, and stereographs documenting the work undertaken by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. As scientific managers, the Gilbreth's introduced new techniques to analyze work, the workplace, and work practices with the goal of eliminating waste to maximize productivity. The collection illustrates these new techniques and their application to a wide variety of studies. The collection is diverse and provides insight into understanding how Gilbreth approached his studies. Also included are slides documenting the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends. The collection also contains the film "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way," 1968 by James S. Perkins.

Series 1, Background Information, 1892-1997, includes biographical materials about Frank B. Gilbreth; copies of some of Frank Gilbreth's patents, 1892-1916; and printed materials, 1907-1997, that contain articles, newspaper and magazine clippings about Frank and Lillian Gilbreth and time and motion study generally. Black-and-white photo prints of Gilbreth or work Gilbreth documented from collections held at Purdue University and Ohio State University are included.

Series 2, Glass plate stereo slides, 1910-1924, consists of approximately 2,250 glass stereo slides photographed by Frank B. Gilbreth and others and intended for viewing through an optical viewing machine. Some are positive black and white, positive color, and negative black and white. The subject matter of the slides covers the work undertaken by Frank Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Many of the images serve as documentation for the studies the couple performed as they were hired by firms in an attempt to provide solutions to the problems of inefficiency. Also included are the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends.

The slides are numbered sequentially. For example, a glass plate slide numbered 318949.001 will have a corresponding photoprint 318949.001 in Series 3, Photoprints of glass plate slides. Note: not all glass plate slides have corresponding photoprints. Additionally, there are Office of Photographics Services, Smithsonian Institution negative numbers assigned to many of the photo prints.

Some subject categories include:

Frank B. Gilbreth: working in motion laboratories, on factory inspections, seated in offices, with family and friends, in World War I uniform, watching and monitoring shop operations.

Lillian M. Gilbreth: with family, during university graduation ceremonies, traveling and working with Frank and observing office workers.

Gilbreth Family: family on the road in an automobile, at home seated around the dinner table, in the parlor, in the garden, and with friends and relatives.

Gilbreth ship travel: contains views on steamer voyages to Europe, deck scenes, arrivals, departures, ship officers and crew, and other passengers.

Automobile assembly study: internal and external views of a warehouse/factory, including large piles or rows of metal car frames and other parts.

Benchwork study: images of a male worker standing or sitting in a chair while filing an object secured in a vice at a workbench.

Betterment: images of efforts whcih contributed to industrial betterment (the Gilbreth chair, employee library, and the home reading box).

Bricklaying study: view of men wearing overalls and caps, shoveling, and men laying bicks.

Business and apparatus of motion study: views of lectures, meetings, film showings, demonstrations, charts, drawings, motion models, charts amd some equipment.

Disabled study: views of partially blind World War I veterans, amputees using special tytpewriter, assembling machinery, use of cructhes, and a one armed dentist.

Factory bench work: table-top machines assembly operations, hand tools, orderly arrangement of parts prior to and during assembly and a variety of bench vises.

Factory documentation: various images of the interior and edterior of factories including heavy machinery.

Golfing study: various cyclegraphs of a man swinging a golf club.

Grid boards: back drops used by Gikbreth to isolate and measure worker motions. This includes walls, floors, desktops, and drop cloths divided into grids of various densities and scales.

Handwriting and cyclegraphs: finger lights moving in patterns of script.

Ladders: include step ladders and painters' ladders shown in use near shelving.

Light assembly study: wide variety of images ranging from cyclegraphs of women working, to the factory floor as well as tools and machinery.

Materials handling study: different angles of an empty cart, a cart oiled high with boxes, and a man pushing a cart illustrating different body positions.

Military study: illustrate work on the Army foot meausring machine, gun parts, men holding a rifle.

Motion models: images of simple wire motionmodels.

Needle trade study: views of textile machinery and workers.

Office study: various shots inside of an office with tables, desks, drawers, files, and typewriters. Some of the images are cyclegraphs of femal and male workers performing tasks, such as writing, both tin the context of an office as well as in front of a grdidded background. There are several close-ups of an organizer containing penciles, paperclips, pins and rubberbands.

Packing: methods of placing and arranging goods in boxes, such as soap packing.

Panama-Pacific Exposition 1915: contains views of statuary, fountains, and architecture of the exposition held in San Francisco.

Pure light cyclegraphs: no workers or grids visible only finger lights in motion.

Rubber stamping study: hand movements and access to ink pads and stamps.

Scenic views: views of buildings, landscapes, street scenes, and fountains from around the world documenting Gilbreth's travels.

Shoe making study: laboratory studies of shoe assembly operations with an emphasis on workers access to component pieces.

Shop machinery: various shots of machines and workers working with machines.

Signage: include organizational flow charts, shop floor plans, route maps, office layouts, numbering systems, exhibit display boards illustrating Frank Gilbreth's efficiency studies and techniques.

Stacking: views of the art and science of stacking boxes, clothing, equipment, containers, and vertical storage without shelves.

Stock bins: consists of storage pips, paper, other raw materials, shelves, and corridoe shots.

Storage: images illustrate contrast between old techniques and new.

Surgical and dental studies: thester views of surgeons, assistants, nurses, hand motions in grasping, placing surgical instruments, dental work and self inspection of teeth.

Tool cribs: storage of hand tools in shops with an emphasis on easy access and easy inventorying.

Typing study: various views of femaile s under observation using Remington typewriters.

Series 3, Photoprints of glass plate slides, 1910-1924, consist of black and white photoprints of the glass plate slides depicting the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Also included are the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends.

Series 5, Stereographs,1911-1914,

Series 6, Audio Visual Materials, 1968, 2000, and undated, is divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, Audio visual documentation, 1968 and undated; Subseries 2, Moving Images, 1968 and undated; and Subseries 3, Audio Recordings, 1980, 1990,. 2000 and undated. The series contains several formats: 7" open reel-to-reel audio tape, 1/2" VHS, Beta Cam SP, DVD, audio cassette, one inch audio tape, and 16 mm film.

Subseries 1, Audio visual documentation, 1967-1968 and undated, consists of supplemental documentation for the film, "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way." Specifically, there are brochures and other printed materials detailing what the film is about and how copies may be obtained. This subseries also contains a copy of the book Cheaper by the Dozen, 1948. The book was written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and tells the biographical story of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and their twelve children. The book was adapted to film by Twentieth Century Fox in 1950.

Subseries 2, Moving Images, 1967, consists of one title, "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way." The film materials consist of the film's production elements: 16 mm black and white negative A-roll; 16mm black-and-white negative B-roll; and the optical track negative. Each is 800 feet in length.

The film presents a summary of work analysis films which were taken by Frank B. Gilbreth between 1919 and 1924 showing a number of industrial operations from which the motion study was developed. Demonstrates motion and fatigue study, skill study, plant layout and material handling, inventory control, production control, business procedures, safety methods, developing occupations for the handicapped, athletic training and skills, military training, and surgical operations as researched and developed by Gilbreth. Points out that Gilbreth created entirely new techniques on how to improve industrial efficiency, while at the same time significantly improving conditions for the workers. The film was produced by James S. Perkins in collaboration with Dr. Ralph M. Barnes and with commentary by Liilian M. Gilbreth and James S. Perkins. The film was presented on December 3, 1968 at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Annual Meeting in New York. The formats for this title include: 16 mm, Beta Cam SP, and DVD. Additionally, there is a one inch audio tape recording for the film.

Subseries 3, Audio Recordings, 1980, 1990, 2000 and undated consist of a Smithsonian radio program titled "Inside the Smithsonian, Cheaper by The Dozen," from 1980 and an recording of Ernestine Gilbreth Casey discussing Gilbreth Family photographs from 2000. Hosted by [Ann Carroll?], "Inside the Smithsonian, Cheaper by The Dozen," featured Fred and Bill Gilbreth discussing their parents Frank and Lillian, Gilbreth, and the book Cheaper by the Dozen. The radio program coincided with the 100th Anniversary of the American Society of Mechancial Engineers (founded 1880)of which Lillian Gilbreth was the Society's first female member and showcased a single case exhibition at the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) titled "Frank and Lillian Gilbreth: Motion Engineers." Inside Smithosnian Radio was a weekly program produced by the Office of Telecommunications. The recording of Ernestine Gilbreth Carey was recorded on July 9, 2000 and documents Ms. Carey's identification and discussion of Gilbreth Family photographs. David Ferguson assisted in the discussion. A hard copy index to the photographs Ms. Carey discusses is available.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Background Materials, 1892-1997

Subseries 1.1: Frank B. Gilbreth, undated

Subseries 1.2: Frank B. Gilbreth patents, 1892-1916

Subseries 1.3: Printed Materials, 1907-1997

Series 2: Glass Stereo Slides (Positive), 1910-1924 and undated

Series 3: Photo prints of glass stereo slides, 1910-1924 and undated

Subseries 3.1: Photo Print Books, 1-9, undated

Subseries 3.2: Photo prints (duplicates), undated

Series 4: Stereo Autochromes, undated

Series 5: Stereograph Cards, 1911-1914

Series 6: Audio Visual Materials, 1968, 1990, 2000 and undated

Subseries 6.1, Audio visual documentation, 1968 and undated

Subseries 6.2: Moving images, 1968 and undated

Subseries 6.3: Audio recordings, 1980, 1990, 2000, and undated

Biographical / Historical:

Frank Gilbreth is best known for his work on the efficiency of motion. Working with his wife and professional partner Lillian Moller Gilbreth, he applied modern psychology to his work with management. His innovative motion studies were used on factory workers, typists and people with disabilities. Gilbreth established the link between psychology and education to be succesful management.

Frank Gilbreth was born in Fairfield, Maine on July 7, 1868. His parents, John and Martha Bunker Gilbreth were New Englanders. John Gilbreth ran a hardware business, but died when Frank was only three. Bearing the responsibilty of raising her children alone, Martha moved the family twice in search of quality education for her children. Ultimately she decided to school the children herself. In 1885, Frank graduated from English High School in Boston. Despite gaining admission into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank opted to enter the work world immediately as a bricklayer's apprentice with Whidden and Company, building contractors in Boston.

Smart and skilled, Gilbreth worked his way up in the company. He learned the trade quickly and soon was promoted to supervisor, foreman, and finally to the position of superintendent. To further his edcuation, he went to night school to study mechanical drawing.

At the age of 27, Gilbreth embarked upon his first business venture. He started his own contracting firm. His firm developed a fine reputation for quality work at a very rapid pace. He invented tools, scaffolding, and other contraptions to make the job easier. His company goals included the elimination of waste, the conservation of energy, and the reduction of cost. His work included canals, factories, houses, and dams. His clients came from all parts of the United States, and he performed some work in England.

In 1903, Frank Gilbreth met Lillian Moller (1903-1972) and married her on October 19, 1904. Lillian graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA (1900) and MA (1902). She later earned a Ph.D from Brown University (1915), earning a dissertation titled The Psychology of Management. Lillian's academic work, large family and integral role in Frank's consulting business kept her busy. Her contributions to the business led to a greater understanding of an individual's welfare in the work world. This becamme a key idea to increasing productivity through scientific management techniques.

Working together, the couple became leaders in the new field of scientific management. They published books, gave lectures, and raised tweleve children together: Anne, Mary (1906--912), Ernestine, Martha, Frank Jr., William, Lillian, Frederick, Daniel, John, Robert and Jane. Some of Gilbreth's books include Fields System (1908); Concrete System (1908); Bricklaying System (1909; Motion Study (1911); and Primer of Scientific Management (1911). Gilbreth co-authored with Lillian: Time Study (1916); Fatigue Study (1916); Applied Motion Study (1917); and Motion Study for the Handicapped (1919).

It wasn't long before Gilbreth moved away from construction. Together with his wife, they focused on the link between psychology and motion. With her strong psychological background, and his interest in efficiency, the Gilbreth's opened the School of Scientific Management in 1913. The school was in session for four years. Numerous professional attended the school, and soon the Gilbreth's had established a reputation as consultant's to the new field of scientific management.

In 1912, Frank won a contract with the New England Butt Company in Providence, Rhode Island. There he installed his system of scientific management in a factory setting for the first time. Contracts with the Hermann-Aukam handkerchief manufacturing company in New Jersey and the Auergessellschaft Company in Germany followed. Using motion study, Gilbreth studied and reoganized the factories, attempting to find "the one best way" to do work.

Gilbreth traveled to Germany to continue his work was a scientific manager. He visited factories and hospitals, working to improve procedures and eliminate waste. Using micro-motion study and the chronocyclegraph procedure, he analyzed and dissected motion, discovering therblings, the seventeen fundamental units of any motion. World War I slowed Gilbreth's progress abroad, so he focused his consulting business on firms n the United States.

After World War I, Gilbreth's business thrived. in 1920, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers instituted its Management Division, something Gilbreth had been demanding for years. He was now a famous American engineer, gaining financial rewards as as professional honors.

Frank Gilbreth died suddenly of a heart attack on June 14, 1924, still in the middle of three contracts. He was honored after his death in 1944 by the American Society of Engineers and the American Management Association with the Gant Gold Medal. After Frank's death, Lillian moved the family to California where she continued to work on efficiency and health in industry issues. She was a respected buiness woman and was hired by several companies to train employees, study working conditions, and reduce fatigue. She lectured at several universities (Newark College of Engineering and the University of Wisconsin), and joined the faculty at Purdue University in 1935 as the first woman professor in the engineering school.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth often used their large family (and Frank himself) as guinea pigs in experiments. Their family exploits are lovingly detailed in the 1948 book Cheaper by the Dozen, written by Frank Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

Related Materials:

Material in Other Institutions

Purdue University, Archives and Special Collections

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth papers, 1869-2000

The Gilbreth Papers documents the professional and personal lives of Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Gilbreth. The collection consists of personal papers, letters, correspondence, photographs, and other memorabilia that Lillian Gilbreth collected during her life regarding her youth, marriage, family, and career.

Collection of materials related to Lillian Gilbreth, 1964-2006

One folder of items relating to the life of Lillian Gilbreth, and her family, collected by her granddaughter, Lillian (Jill) Barley and Nancy Weston. Materials include clippings relating to the Lillian Gilbreth postage stamp (1984); obituaries and memorial programs for Peter Barney, Ernestine Carey, Lillian Gilbreth, Anne Gilbreth Barney, Charles Carey, and Frank Gilbreth Jr.; programs and photographs relating to Lillian Gilbreth's visit to Athens in 1964; and biographical information on Lillian Gilbreth.

Cornell University, Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives

Frank Gilbreth Papers on Microfilm, Collection Number: 5424 mf

Selected papers pertaining to industrial engineering. Original materials are held by Purdue University. Microfilm copied purchased from Purdue University in April 1968.

Provenance:

The collection materials were donated by several individuals: New Jersey Institute of Technology (1975); Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., (1980); Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (1995); Daniel B. Gilbreth (1998); and James Secor Perkins in 2001.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Series 2: Glass Stereo Slides are restricted. Boxes 3-9 were digitized in 2021. Researchers must use digital copies. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Motion study  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Machine shops  Search this

Industrial management  Search this

Industrial films  Search this

Industrial engineering  Search this

Genre/Form:

Videotapes

BetaCam SP (videotape format)

Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1930-1950

Citation:

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Digitization of Series 2: Glass Stereo Slides (Positive) was made possible by Andrew and Anya Shiva.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0803

See more items in:

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a48e652d-6387-4a23-98c0-299772c454d5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0803

Creator:

Barnet, Ruth G., 1918-2018  Search this

Subject:

Obata, Chiura  Search this

Type:

Drawings

Citation:

Ruth G. Barnet material related to Chiura Obata, circa 1950-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Asian American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Theme:

Asian American  Search this

Art instruction and services  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)22174

AAA_collcode_barnruth

Theme:

Asian American

Art instruction and services

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_22174

Creator:

Barnet, Ruth G., 1918-2018  Search this

Names:

Obata, Chiura  Search this

Extent:

0.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Date:

circa 1950-1968

Summary:

The papers of artist and teacher Ruth G. Barnet with material related to Japanese American painter and educator Chiura Obata measure 0.5 linear feet and dates from circa 1950-1968. This small collection includes New Year's cards illustrated by Chiura Obata, Ruth Barnet's notes and watercolor studies executed under Obata's supervision during classes, sumi (Japanese ink) and watercolor paint sketches by Obata that he used for painting class demonstrations, and a small amount of printed material on Obata.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of artist and teacher Ruth G. Barnet with material related to Japanese American painter and educator Chiura Obata measure 0.5 linear feet and dates from circa 1950-1968. This small collection includes New Year's cards illustrated by Chiura Obata, Ruth Barnet's notes and watercolor studies executed under Obata's supervision during classes, sumi (Japanese ink) and watercolor paint sketches by Obata that he used for painting class demonstrations, and a small amount of printed material on Obata.

Arrangement:

Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Series 1: Ruth G. Barnet material related to Chiura Obata, circa 1950-1968 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 2-4)

Biographical / Historical:

Ruth G. Barnet (1918-2018) was an artist and teacher in Berkeley, California. Barnet studied with Japanese American landscape painter Chiura Obata (1885-1975) at University of California, Berkeley. Barnet is author of Free Brush Designing (1955), an instructional book influenced by her lessons learned from Obata.

Related Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds the Chiura Obata papers, 1891-2000.

Provenance:

The Ruth G. Barnet material related to Chiura Obata were donated to the Archives of American Art by Elna Hunter, Ruth Barnet's daughter, in 2022.

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.

Occupation:

Art teachers -- California -- Berkeley  Search this

Painters -- California -- Berkeley  Search this

Landscape painters -- California  Search this

Topic:

Asian American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Citation:

Ruth G. Barnet material related to Chiura Obata, circa 1950-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided in part by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.barnruth

See more items in:

Ruth G. Barnet material related to Chiura Obata

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93d5f700c-6ece-4e49-8617-cc2032797efb

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-barnruth

Creator:

Sangaramoorthy, Thurka, 1975-  Search this

Khuller, Aamir, Photographer  Search this

Extent:

1.36 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Oral histories (document genres)

Portraits

Digital photographs

Digital audio formats

Place:

Washington (D.C.)

Date:

2018-2019

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the relations between health care policy and practices and the lived experiences of older Black women living and aging with HIV in the Washington, DC region. It contains twelve oral history interviews, associated transcripts, portraits of the interviewees, and measures 1.36 GB. The interviews were conducted between 2018-2019 by Thurka Sangaramoorthy, PhD, MPH, as part of her Afterlives of AIDS oral history project. Portraits were taken by Aamir Khuller.

Biographical:

Thurka Sangaramoorthy is a cultural and medical anthropologist and public health researcher with 22 years of experience in conducting community-engaged ethnographic research, including rapid assessments, among vulnerable populations in the United States, Africa, and Latin America/Caribbean. Her work is broadly concerned with power and subjectivity in global economies of care. She has worked at this intersection on diverse topics, including global health and migration, HIV/STD, and environmental disparities. She is the author of two books: Rapid Ethnographic Assessments: A Practical Approach and Toolkit for Collaborative Community Research (Routledge, 2020) and Treating AIDS: Politics of Difference, Paradox of Prevention (Rutgers, 2014). Dr. Sangaramoorthy is Co-Chair of the American Anthropological Association's Members Programmatic Advisory and Advocacy Committee and a Board member of the Society for Medical Anthropology; she serves as Associate Editor of Public Health Reports and Editorial Board Member of American Anthropologist. She received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco in 2008, her MPH from Columbia University in 2002, and is currently Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland.

Historical:

The interviews and portraits in this collection are part of an ongoing project to document how HIV has shaped Black women's lives and how it has impacted their historical and contemporary roles within Black familial systems and broader communities. Furthermore, the life histories provide a window into the childhood, family, friendship, school, and work experiences of an overlooked group from the local and national discourse on the impact of HIV in American society.

The long-term aim of the project is to present holistic and complex stories of African American women who have long been ignored in the history of HIV and to elevate racial justice in HIV advocacy by educating the public on racial health disparities.

Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.

Rights:

Afterlives of AIDS collection are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.

Topic:

Health issues  Search this

African American women  Search this

HIV and AIDS  Search this

Genre/Form:

Oral histories (document genres)

Portraits -- African American women

digital photographs

Digital audio formats

Citation:

Afterlives of AIDS Oral History project, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Thurka Sangaramoorthy.

Identifier:

ACMA.06-129

See more items in:

Afterlives of AIDS: Oral Histories of Black Women living and aging with HIV

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa707ae0e04-29eb-4c40-887a-93a748a70fe6

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-acma-06-129

Author:

Reaser, Jamie K.  Search this

Pilliod, David  Search this

Editor:

Lannoo, Michael  Search this

Object Type:

Smithsonian staff publication

Year:

2005

Citation:

Reaser, Jamie K. and Pilliod, David. 2005. "Rana luteiventris, Thompson, 1913, Colombia spotted frog." In Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. Lannoo, Michael, editor. 559–563. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.

Identifier:

170804

ISBN:

978-0520235922

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:slasro_170804

Creator:

McCoy, Esther  Search this

Subject:

Rand, Marvin  Search this

Grotz, Dorothy  Search this

Gill, Irving  Search this

Jones, A. Quincy (Archie Quincy)  Search this

Barragán, Luis  Search this

Dreiser, Theodore  Search this

Bradbury, Ray  Search this

Hollein, Hans  Search this

Ain, Gregory  Search this

Ellwood, Craig  Search this

Davidson, Julius Ralph  Search this

Watanabe, Makoto  Search this

Maybeck, Bernard R.  Search this

Neutra, Richard Joseph  Search this

Worlidge, T. (Thomas)  Search this

Schindler, R. M. (Rudolph M.)  Search this

Shulman, Julius  Search this

Soriano, Rafael  Search this

O'Gorman, Juan  Search this

Historic American Buildings Survey  Search this

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

Society of Architectural Historians  Search this

Type:

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.

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

Theme:

Latino and Latin American  Search this

Architecture & Design  Search this

Research and writing about art  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5502

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210977

AAA_collcode_mccoesth

Theme:

Latino and Latin American

Architecture & Design

Research and writing about art

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210977

Author:

Veysey, Laurence R  Search this

Physical description:

xiv, 505 pages 25 cm

Type:

Books

History

Place:

United States

États-Unis

USA

Date:

1965

Topic:

Universities and colleges--History  Search this

Universities--history  Search this

Universités--Histoire  Search this

Bildungsreform  Search this

Hochschule  Search this

Universités  Search this

Universities and colleges  Search this

Call number:

LA226 .V59

LA226.V59

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_9560

Author:

Freudenheim, Tom L  Search this

Author:

University of California, Berkeley University Art Museum  Search this

Subject:

Pascin, Jules 1885-1930  Search this

Pascin, Jules (1885-1930) Catalogues d'exposition  Search this

Physical description:

1 volume (unpaged) illustrations (part color) 22 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

Expositions

Exhibition catalogs

Date:

1966

20th century

20e siècle

Topic:

Art, Bulgarian  Search this

Art bulgare  Search this

Call number:

N40.1.P27 F8

N40.1.P27F8

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_9650

Author:

Brahtz, John F  Search this

University of California, Berkeley  Search this

Physical description:

720 pages illustrations 24 cm

Type:

Books

Date:

1968

Topic:

Ocean engineering  Search this

Oceanography  Search this

Océanographie appliquée  Search this

Océanographie  Search this

oceanography  Search this

Call number:

TC1645 .O15

TC1645.O15

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_9722

Creator:

Falkenstein, Claire, 1908-1997  Search this

Names:

Coos Art Museum  Search this

Fresno Art Museum  Search this

Galerie Anderson-Mayer  Search this

Galerie 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, 1898-1979  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

Sketchbooks

Diaries

Scrapbooks

Interviews

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:

Missing Title

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:

Sculptors -- California  Search this

Painters -- California  Search this

Jewelers -- California  Search this

Educators -- California  Search this

Authors -- California  Search this

Topic:

Art patronage  Search this

Artists' studios  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women designers  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Women authors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketchbooks

Diaries

Scrapbooks

Interviews

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

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9911c74ff-413b-4b54-9280-89c8b0480495

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-falkclai

Creator:

Liebes, Dorothy, 1899-1972  Search this

Subject:

Morin, Relman  Search this

Wright, Frank Lloyd  Search this

Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this

Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company  Search this

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Textile Fibers Department  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Diaries

Drawings

Interviews

Citation:

Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973, bulk 1922-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women textile designers  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Craft  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9143

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211337

AAA_collcode_liebdoro

Theme:

Women

Craft

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211337

Physical Description:

paper (overall material)

black; white (overall color)

printed (overall production method/technique)

4 pages (overall page count)

Measurements:

overall: 17 in x 11 1/2 in; 43.18 cm x 29.21 cm

Object Name:

newspaper, latino

Place made:

United States: California, Berkeley

Date made:

1970-02

Classified:

Bilingual  Search this

Newspaper  Search this

Reform Movements  Search this

General subject association:

Chicano movement  Search this

Latino  Search this

Hispanics  Search this

Students and Student Life  Search this

Used:

Spanish  Search this

ID Number:

PL.319022.21

Accession number:

319022

Catalog number:

319022.21

See more items in:

Political and Military History: Political History, General History Collection

Government, Politics, and Reform

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-7668-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1159730