Fifty years of letters from Edwin Dickinson to Esther Sawyer express familiarity, friendship, and the relationship between patron and artist. Some letters are illustrated with holiday greetings, doodles, and Dickinson's drawing of an ideal easel. Many letters are written to both Esther and her husband Ansley. Also found are scattered letters from others, most of which concern works by Dickinson owned and lent by Sawyer for exhibition. Photographs depict vacation homes and Dickinson's children, namely Helen. Two exhibition announcements were sent to Sawyer from Dickinson, one of which is for Menkes and the other for Dickinson.
Letters from Carl Milles discuss his work at Cranbrook Academy of Art and also includes scattered letters from other professionals at Cranbrook. Of note is a drawing for a memorial for Sawyer's father, husband, and son designed by Milles. Also found are scattered letters from Olga Milles; writings on Milles by Esther Sawyer; photographs of fountains sculpted by Milles; and exhibition catalogs. Related is a letter from Loja Saarinen to Sawyer expressing thanks for her condolences.
Correspondence from Nicholas Vasilieff and his wife Magda are often addressed to both Esther and Ansley Sawyer and discuss updates to their lives. Also found are exhibition announcements.
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer papers, 1916-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Sam Gilliam. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Collection Citation:
Sam Gilliam papers, 1957-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Sam Gilliam. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Collection Citation:
Sam Gilliam papers, 1957-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
An interview of Albert Christ-Janer conducted by Dorothy Seckler 1964 March 21 for the Archives of American Art.
Christ-Janer speaks of the regionalist movement in painting in the 1930s, of Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry and Grant Wood; teaching at the Cranbrook Academy of Design; and he recalls Jackson Pollock.
Biographical / Historical:
Albert Christ-Janer (1910-1973) was a painter, printmaker, museum director, educator, and writer in Athens, Georgia.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 21 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: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- Georgia -- Athens -- Interviews Search this
The papers of Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist Alice Kagawa Parrott measure 7.1 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2010. The papers document Parrott's career as a textile artist and weaver based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and art institutions; personal business records mostly of financial records related to Parrott's business The Market later known as Parrott Fabrics Inc.; studio practice files related to equiment, materials, and designs for wall hangings, clothes, and tapestries; printed material such as exhibition catalogs and clippings mostly on Parrott and her arwork but also on other artists; and photographs and slides of Parrott, her weavings, family and friends, and her studio and home.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist, Alice Kagawa Parrott, measure 7.1 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2010. The collection mainly documents Parrott's work as a fiber artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; personal business records mostly of financial records related to Parrott's business The Market later known as Parrott Fabrics Inc.; studio practice files related to equiment, materials, and designs for wall hangings, clothes, and tapestries; printed material such as exhibition catalogs and clippings mostly on Parrott and her arwork but also on other artists; and photographs and slides of Parrott, her weavings, family and friends, her studio and home, and dyeing process.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1957-2009 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1953-2009 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, circa 1957-2009 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, 9)
Series 4: Studio Practice Files, 1951-2005 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 4-6, 9)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1954-2008 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 9)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2010 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 7-9)
Biographical / Historical:
Alice Kagawa Parrott (1929-2009) was a Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Parrott was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1929 to Takato and Isono Kagawa who were Japanese immigrants. She graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1952, then studied weaving at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she met ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, who became a lifelong friend. After graduating from Cranbrook in 1954, she taught weaving and ceramics at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In 1956, she married Allen Morgan Parrott and they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they bought a home and adopted their sons Ben and Tim. Also that year, she opened a weaving and craft shop called The Market, which later became Parrott Fabrics Inc. Parrott had many commissions and customers, such as the woodworker Sam Maloof. A notable early commission was from the Santa Fe Opera. From 1971-1972, Parrott was an artist-in-residence in Maui, where she taught workshops and created tapestries for several public commissions. In 1977, she became an American Craft Council Fellow. Parrott participated in numerous exhibitions over the course of her career. Parrott passed away in 2009 in Santa Fe.
Provenance:
The Alice Kagawa Parrott papers were donated in 2019 by Paul Kagawa and Diane Leavitt, trustees of the Alice Kagawa Parrott Family Trust.
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 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.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. A fragile original scrapbook is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Katherine Kaplan Degn, Kraushaar Galleries. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Collection Citation:
Kraushaar Galleries records, 1877-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care Fund.
(Albert Christ-Janer regarding a Boardman Robinson exhibition and sales of his book Boardman Robinson)
Collection 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. A fragile original scrapbook is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Katherine Kaplan Degn, Kraushaar Galleries. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Collection Citation:
Kraushaar Galleries records, 1877-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care Fund.
(Cleveland Museum of Art; Russell Cowles; Evangeline Cozzens; Cranbrook Academy of Art)
Collection 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. A fragile original scrapbook is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Katherine Kaplan Degn, Kraushaar Galleries. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Collection Citation:
Kraushaar Galleries records, 1877-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care Fund.
Smithsonian American Art Museum. Renwick Gallery Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Michael W. Monroe, 2018 January 22-March 1. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Arts administrators -- Washington (D.C.) -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Heikki Seppä conducted 2001 May 6, by Lloyd Herman, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in the artist's home and studio, Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Seppä speaks of his early childhood in Finland and being placed in a children's home (twice) in the Karelian Isthmus; his mother's move to Canada; his parents' divorce; his educational background including his course of study at the goldsmith school in 1940 and 1941, at age 14, and his lack of role models; the postwar growth of the metal industry; his participation in an exchange program with Denmark; his athletic accomplishments, especially kayaking; his service in the Finnish Army; his employment in Helsinki; producing objects for Georg Jensen; the state of Nordic decorative arts in the 1950s; his marriage and move to British Columbia; working with refrigeration systems; obtaining Canadian and American citizenship; teaching metalsmithing in a community center; winning prizes for metal pieces in Canadian national exhibitions; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art; introducing reticulation to Cranbrook; and his Cranbrook classmates Stanley Lechtzin, L. Brent Kington, Leslie Motch, and teachers Richard Thomas and Alma Eicherman. Seppä describes in detail the history of and process for producing a reticulated surface; he refers to crimping and spraying metal; teaching at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1965 to 1992; the origin of his spiculum and shell forms; his books, "Form Emphasis for Metalsmiths" (Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1978) and "From Silversmith's Workshop" (1996 or 1998); commissions; his gradual withdrawal from juried and competitive exhibitions; his use and limitations of preliminary drawings; the silversmith as a maker of expressive objects; and repairs he made to silver pieces made by metalworkers who did not understand silver. He discusses a difficult period marked by his early retirement in 1992, his wife's death in 1993, and declining commissions.
He talks about becoming reacquainted with metalsmith Laurie Lyall in 1997 and moving to Bainbridge Island, where he now lives with Lyall. SNAG (the Society of North American Goldsmiths), its founders, membership, and five-year dormancy are discussed as is the organization's revitalization. Seppä speaks about stylistic influences; technique and style; his work-related travel; and his admiration for Jack da Silva's sculpture. He comments on the homogenization of the arts; the difference between jewelers and metalsmiths trained in art schools and vocational schools; the distinction between art and craft; the desire of craftsmen to be called artists; the function of critical writing and the lack thereof; Metalsmith magazine; Bruce Metcalf as critic; his commissioned ecclesiastical pieces, including a triangular chalice for an Episcopal church in St. Louis; metalsmiths and manufacturing companies; Fabergé-trained metalsmiths; reticulation at Fabergé's shop; enamel and enamelers at Fabergé; and gemology. Seppä also speaks about his future pursuits and artistic contributions; silver as an expressive medium; and silver as a material for utilitarian objects. He recalls Eero Saarinen, Aline Saarinen, Loja Saarinen, Nellie Peterson, Alma Eicherman, Robert Ebendorf, Michael Good, David Jaworski, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Heikki Seppä (1927-) is a jeweler and metalsmith from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Lloyd Herman (1936-) is a former director of the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery and from Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 51 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.
An interview with Michael W. Monroe conducted 2018 January 22-March 1, by Lloyd Herman, for the Archives of American Art, at the home of Michael Monroe and at the home of Lloyd Herman, in Seattle, Washington.
Monroe speaks of his childhood in Racine, Wisconsin; his Danish immigrant community and early exposure to Danish design; early experiences of art-making; his art and teaching education at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee; experiences with Midwestern art museums in adolescence and young adulthood; his graduate art education at the Cranbrook Academy of Art; his work as gallery director at SUNY Oneonta in the early 1970s; his approach to evaluating and curating craftwork; his curatorial tenure and close collaboration with Herman at the Renwick Gallery; securing the Renwick's Albert Paley gates; his lifestyle in the Washington, DC area; the American craft movement's shift towards the marketplace, social media, and quick do-it-yourself methods; organizing the "Craft Multiples" traveling exhibition; the beginning of the Renwick's collections policy; organizing "Celebration: A World of Art and Ritual;" organizing the White House Collection of Crafts and its eventual transfer to the Clinton Presidential Library; his continued involvement with the craft world after retirement from the Renwick; his tenure as executive director of the Bellevue Arts Museum; his mentorship of young craft artists; and his sense of the past and future of American crafts. Monroe also recalls Sylvester Jerry, Cherry Barr Jerry, Robert Verizer, Robert Kidd, George Ortman, Julius Schmidt, Richard DeVore, Steve Frykholm, Jon Eric Riis, Arturo Sandoval, Gretchen Bellinger, Bernadette Monroe, Robert Arneson, David Gilhooly, William Harper, Wendell Castle, Françoise Grossen, Claire Zeisler, Sarah Booth Conroy, Sheila Hicks, Dale Chihuly, Arthur Mason, Jane Mason, Betty Ford, Joan Mondale, Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Paul Gottlieb, Peter Joseph, Matthew Kangas, Mark Haley, Nora Atkinson, and others. Herman recalls Susan Mellon, Joshua Taylor, Paul Gardner, Charles Eldredge, Elizabeth Broun, Paul Smith, Rose Slivka, Diane Douglas, Janet Kardon, William Morris, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Michael W. Monroe (1940- ) is director emeritus of the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Washington. Lloyd Herman (1936- ) is the founding director (emeritus) of the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. who resides in Seattle, Washington.
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:
The transcript and recording are open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Washington (State) -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Arts administrators -- Washington (D.C.) -- Interviews Search this
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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Kenjilo Nanao papers, circa 1885-1887, circa 1949-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
An interview of Frank Okada conducted 1990 Aug. 16-17, in Seattle, Wash., by Barbara Johns, for the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American Project. Okada discusses his parents' background; his family including his brothers, John, author of "No-No Boy," and Charlie, a graphic designer; traveling to Japan for the Pacific Northwest Artists and Japan exhibition; being in an internment camp; painting in Eugene, Ore. and Seattle, Wash.; his painting techniques; studying under Leon Derbyshire; his connection with the jazz scene in Seattle in the late 1940s and 1950s including musicians Sammy Davis, Ray Charles, and Quincy Jones; attending Cornish School of Art, Seattle; meeting Mark Tobey; comparision of his painting style to Tobey's; his stint in the Army; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art and studying with painter Fred Mitchell; his Whitney fellowship in New York; study of Japanese, Chinese, and Zen paintings; working for Boeings in the early 1960s; traveling to France on a Guggenheim; teaching at University of Oregon in Eugene; his minimalist work; influence of Japanese art in his painting. Okada mentions Lawson Inada (Asian American poet), Frank Chin (Asian American playwright), artists David Stone Martin, James Edward Peck, Yayoi Kusama, George Tsutakawa, Paul Horiuchi, Ben Shahn, Kenjiro Nomura, Louis Bunce, Bill Ivey, and art gallery owner Zoe Dusanne.
Biographical / Historical:
Frank S. Okada (1931-2000) was a Japanese American painter based in Seattle, Washington. He taught at University of Oregon from 1969-1999.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 38 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 administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Hatt, Robert T. (Robert Torrens), 1902- Search this
Extent:
4 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1935-1936
Scope and Contents:
Four letters from Kent to Hatt, an administrator at Cranbrook Academy, concerning Hatt's commissioning Kent to make a seal for Cranbrook, its execution, and completion.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, illustrator, writer, lecturer; Ausable Forks, New York.
Provenance:
Donated 1955 by Robert T. Hatt, an administrator at Cranbrook Academy.
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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Frank S. Okada, 1990 Aug. 16-17. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Walter Nottingham conducted 2002 July 14-18, by Carol Owen, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the studios of Idyllwild Arts, in Idyllwild, California. Nottingham speaks of his enthusiasm for basketball; being an altar boy and, as such, surrounded by beautiful fabrics at an early age; attending St. Cloud State University on the GI Bill; his teachers Jim Crane and Pauline Penning; serving as an art consultant for public schools in Jackson, Michigan; the lasting influence of an exhibition of battle flags at the Metropolitan Museum; articulating aging and decay through self-taught weaving; developing a fiber art program at University of Wisconsin, River Falls; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art and working with Glen Kaufman and Meda Johnson. He discusses specific works including his "Yahooties", that combine both his grandmother's and mother's crochet work; his trip to Mexico City on a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1974; forming the company Off the Wall with his eldest daughter Karron and their decorative design commissions; the influence of his Catholic upbringing, oriental philosophy, and spirituality in his work; and techniques and materials. Nottingham recalls Shelly Ross, Helen Drutt, Francis Merritt, Don Miller, Lois Moran, Jack Lenor Larsen, Marianne Strengell, Mildred Constantine, Gerhardt Knodel, Lee Nordness, Ed Rossbach, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Walter Nottingham (1930-2012) is a fiber artist from Hilo, Hawaii. Carol Owen is a fiber artist from Pittsboro, North Carolina.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 41 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.
The papers of weaver, fiber artist and educator Marianne Strengell date from 1904 to the 1980s and measure 1.5 linear feet. The scattered papers focus on Strengell's career as an artist and include biographical materials, correspondence, writings, six scrapbooks, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of weaver, fiber artist and educator Marianne Strengell date from 1904 to the 1980s and measure 1.5 linear feet. The scattered papers focus on Strengell's career as an artist and include biographical materials, correspondence, writings, six scrapbooks, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
Biographical / Historical:
Finnish-American textile artist Marianne Strengell (1909-1998) was known for the use of synthetic fibers in her work. She was an educator and was at the Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1937 to 1962.
Born in Helsinki, Finland in 1909, Marianne Strengell studied industrial arts at a Helsinki university. She spent her early career designing textiles and rugs throughout Scandinavia but came to the United States in 1936. Strengell was invited to teach at the Cranbrook Academy of Art by Eliel Saarinen, a family friend. She began as a professor but became the head of the Department of Weaving and Textile Design after the retirement of Loja Saarinen. Strengell focused on texture in her weavings and often used synthetic fibers. She took many commissions during her career, including many for automotive companies in Detroit. Also, she exhibited her works at institutions and in print.
Under the United States government in 1951, Strengell travelled to the Philippines to establish weaving as a cottage industry. In the mid-1960s she acted as a consultant on textile production to the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration with her husband, Olav Hammarstrom.
Marianne Strengell married fellow Cranbrook artist Charles Yerkes Dusenbury in 1940. They had two children but divorced in 1949. Later, she married architect Olav Hammarstorm.
Related Materials:
Additional papers are held at the Cranbrook Archives, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Provenance:
Along with her husband Olav Hammarstrom, Marianne Strengell donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1982-1983 and 1989.
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:
Fiber artists -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills Search this
Weavers -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills Search this
Educators -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills Search this
