Includes articles about Davidovich, SoHo, garbage art, and art events.
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:
Jaime Davidovich papers, 1949-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
The papers of Illinois glass artist Michael Higgins measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1949 to 1973. The collection documents Higgins's role in founding and furthering craft organizations in the Midwest through correspondence, professional files, exhibition records, transcripts, organizational files for several craft organizations including Midwest Designer-Craftsmen, and printed materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Illinois glass artist Michael Higgins measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1949 to 1973. The collection documents Higgins's role in founding and furthering craft organizations in the mid-west.
Records include correspondence regarding exhibitions and craft organization activities. Professional files contain drawings, photographs of the exhibition Contemporary Living (1952), exhibition records, transcripts for panel talks, a Kenneth Bates show review typescript, and organizational files for the American Craftsmen's Council, Midwest Designer-Craftsmen, and a few other organizations. Also found are printed materials consisting of clippings and exhibition catalogs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1951-1967 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Professional Files, 1951-1969 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Printed Materials, 1949-1973 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Biographical / Historical:
Michael Higgins (1908-1999) was a glass artist in Riverside, Illinois.
Higgins was born in London, England and attended the London Central School of Arts and Crafts. He emigrated to the United States in 1939 becoming the head of Visual Design at the Chicago Institute of Design after World War II. There, he met his wife Frances Stewart, who was one of his students. They married in 1948 and opened their own glass studio outside of Chicago in Riverside.
In the early 1950s, Higgins became involved with a special crafts exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute and an eventual spin-off organization, the Midwest Designer-Craftsmen. The organization was interested in developing exhibitions, markets, and professional associations for craft professionals in the Midwest. Higgins was one of the main forces behind the organization and the body which followed it, the Illinois Craftsmen's Council.
Higgins died in Riverside in 1999.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1975 by Michael Higgins.
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.
An interview of Mark Peiser conducted 2004 February 26, by Henry Halem, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Penland, North Carolina.
Peiser speaks of growing up in Chicago; his relationship with his parents; developing an early interest in music and engineering; attending Perdue University and transferring to the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology; working for a design firm in Chicago; becoming interested in glass after seeing an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago; attending a workshop at Penland School of Crafts; becoming Penland's first Artist-in-Residence in glass and developing a technique on his own; working with Fritz Dreisbach to set up the first Glass Art Society conference; making improvements to the Penland glass studio; teaching at Penland; making a living as an artist; making opal glass for the first time; choosing certain imagery and color in his work; experimenting with technique including glass casting; making his Innerspace series; his relationship with collectors; finding challenges with his latest body of work; and the influence of Zen on his art. Peiser also recalls Harvey Littleton, Bill Brown, Billy Bernstein, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Mark Peiser (1938- ) is a glass artist from Penland, North Carolina. Henry Halem (1938- ) is a glass artist from Kent, Ohio.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 55 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.
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:
43 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2003 November 8
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Frances Higgins conducted 2003 November 8, by Glenn Adamson, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Riverside Illinois.
Higgins speaks of her education at the Georgia College for Women and the Chicago Institute of Design; her marriage to fellow artist Michael Higgins; and the development of her glass techniques such as fused glass and the slumped method. She discusses her work for the Dearborn Glass Company, Heager Potteries, and General Electric; and the significance of several of these designs and patterns, including the popularity of Rondelays. She also comments on the Midwest Designer-Craftsmen; the glass blowing movement; the studio in Riverside; and the book, "Higgins: Adventures in Glass." Higgins also recalls Harvey Littleton, Maurice Heaton, Earl McCutcheon, Charles and Ray Eames, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Frances Stewart Higgins (1912-2004) was a glass artist of Riverside, Illinois. Glenn Adamson is an art historian.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 21 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.
