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.
The papers and gallery records of fiber artist Jane Sauer measure 16.1 linear feet and date from 1898 to 2013. The papers document her career as a fiber artist through awards, family histories, and other biographical material; correspondences with family, friends, and art colleagues; journals, notebooks, and other writings; workshops, committee work, exhibitions, consignments, and other professional activity; artist files; sketchbooks and other artwork; personal photographs and slides, photographs of artwork, and photographs of exhibitions; and administrative files, artist files, and exhibition materials of the Jane Sauer Gallery.
Scope and Contents:
The papers and gallery records of fiber artist Jane Sauer measure 16.1 linear feet and date from 1898 to 2013. The papers document her career as a fiber artist through awards, family histories, and other biographical material; correspondences with family, friends, and art colleagues; journals, notebooks, and other writings; workshops, committee work, exhibitions, consignments, and other professional activity; artist files; sketchbooks and other artwork; personal photographs and slides, photographs of artwork, and photographs of exhibitions; and administrative files, artist files, and exhibition materials of the Jane Sauer Gallery.
Biographical material includes a family tree and history of Sauer's family. awards, legal documents concerning divorce, and documents and correspondence related to her children and grandchildren.
Correspondence is mainly between Sauer and either family or colleagues. Among some of the material is a file of correspondence with Jack Larsen.
Writings consist of a journal, notecards, notebooks, and some speeches by Sauer and other artists.
Professional material consists of event files related to knotting workshops Sauer held and basketry trips that she organized. There are also files related to work Sauer did while serving on committees for organizations such as the American Craft Council. Also included are files for exhibitions that Sauer either participated in or curated from the 1980s through the early 2000s; these files consist of correspondence, loan forms, photographs, and some printed material. Finally, there are other business related materials such as tax documents, consignments, and grant applications.
Artist files consist of material on artists that Sauer gathered while researching artists for the various exhibitions she curated between 1980 and 2003. These files consist of resumes, photographs of artist works, and some printed material such as exhibition announcments.
Printed material consists of clippings, articles and reviews, andd exhibition announcements and catalogs for exhibitions that Sauer either participated in or curated between 1979 and 2003.
Artwork consists of one file of sketches and a number of sketchbooks.
Photographic material consists of photographs, slides, negatives, and transparencies of personal material, artwork, and exhbitions. Included among the personal photographs are those of family members from the 1890s through 1920s, some of which are in fragile condition.
Gallery records consists of material related to the Jane Sauer Gallery which was in operation between 2005 and 2013. Materials include some administration files such as leases and budget material, artist files on artists represented by the gallery, exhibitions held at the gallery, and articles and catalogs related to gallery exhibitions. Also included among the exhibition files are unbound binders for Sculpture Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) fairs held annually in Chicago, New York, and on the West Coast.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into nine series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-2003 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-2003 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1976-2001 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 4: Professional Activity, 1967-2006 (5.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-7)
Series 5: Artist Files, 1981-2004 (0.2 linear feet; Box 8)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1979-2003 (0.8 linear feet; Box 8)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1987-2000 (0.9 linear feet; Box 9)
Series 8: Photographic Material, 1898-2002 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 9-11, OV 17)
Series 9: Jane Sauer Gallery Records, 1991-2013 (5.0 linear feet; Boxes 12-16)
Biographical / Historical:
Jane Sauer (1937-) is a fiber artist based in New Mexico. Sauer was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1937, and she earned a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 1959. Sauer initially focused on painting, but shifted to fiber art. She is known for her basket forms, made with knotted waxed-linen. Sauer moved to New Mexico in the 1990s and founded the Textile Art Alliance. She also served as artistic director of Thirteen Moons Gallery until 2005 when she took over management and renamed it the Jane Sauer Gallery. In addition to her gallery work, Sauer has served on committees for organizations such as the American Craft Council.
The Jane Sauer Gallery (established 2005; closed 2013) was a gallery owned and operated by artist Jane Sauer in Santa Fe, New Mexico and specialized in fine arts and crafts. The gallery was purchased by Mike and Jennifer Tansey in 2013 and is now called the Tansey Contemporary.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Jane Sauer conducted by Paul J. Smith, July 11, 2005.
Provenance:
Donated 2016 by Jane Sauer.
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 born-digital records or 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.
Jane Sauer papers and gallery records, 1898-2013. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Alice Kagawa Parrott, 2005 July 10. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Mary Giles conducted 2006 July 18, by Jane Sauer, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the home of Jane Sauer, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Giles speaks of childhood summers spent on Pine Lake in Minnesota; receiving a B.S. in art education from Mankato State University, Minnesota; educational experiences at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; the influence of nature and Native American art in her work; finding inspiration in "woods and water"; spirituality; teaching elementary art in St. Louis for 28 years while pursuing her art; the materials she works with, including wax linen and various metals; the techniques she uses, such as coiling, twining, torching, hammering, and knotting; the importance of a studio; the appeal of natural aging and corrosion of materials; the competitiveness of craft fields in the United States; attending American Craft Council shows and Sculpture Objects & Functional Art expositions in Chicago; craft as art in the United States; her experience showing in galleries and struggles with pricing; participating in the Poland Triennale in Lodz, Poland, 2001; the pioneering efforts of female fiber artists. Giles also recalls Mary Lee Hu, Diane Itter, Jack Lenor Larsen, Walter Nottingham, Rianna DeRaad, Cynthia Schira, Ferne Jacobs, Barbara Rose Okun, Nancy Kranzberg, Jan Buckman, Horty Shieber, Duane Reed, Agnes Martin, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Giles (1944- ) is an artist of Stillwater, Minnesota. Jane Sauer (1937- ) is an artist and gallery owner of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
General:
Originally recorded 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 43 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.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
32 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2005 July 10
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Alice Kagawa Parrott conducted 2005 July 10, by Paul J. Smith, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Santa Fe, N.M.
Parrott speaks of her childhood in Hawaii; her extended family's fate in the atomic bombing at Hiroshima; her education at the University of Hawaii, The Cranbrook Academy of Art, and at the studio of Marguerite Wildenhain, at Pond Farm, in Guerneville, California; her teaching years at the University of New Mexico and on the island of Maui; her marriage to Alan Parrott in 1956; her travels in Mexico, Guatemala, and India; and her various exhibitions across the U.S. and abroad. She recalls Claude Horan, Hester Robinson, Ernestine Murai, Anna Kang Burgess, Toshiko Takaezu, Marianne Strengell, Maija Grotell, Jack Lenor Larsen, Rufino Tamayo, Isamu Noguchi, George Nakashima, Joan Mondale, and Aileen Osborne Webb, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Alice Kagawa Parrott (1929-2009) was a Japanese American fiber artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Paul J. Smith is the Director Emeritus, American Craft Museum, New York City, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 27 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 of Jane Sauer conducted 2005 July 11, by Paul J. Smith, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home, in Santa Fe, N.M.
Biographical / Historical:
Jane Sauer (1937- ) is a fiber artist and gallery owner from Santa Fe, N.M. Paul J. Smith is a director emeritus of the American Craft Museum, New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 15 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:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
