Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
11 documents - page 1 of 1

Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers

Creator:
Knight, Gwendolyn  Search this
Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-2000  Search this
Names:
Bearden, Romare, 1911-1988  Search this
Bocour, Leonard, 1910-1993  Search this
Dintenfass, Terry, 1920-  Search this
Eichenberg, Fritz, 1901-1990  Search this
Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this
Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970  Search this
Extent:
25.35 Linear feet
0.001 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Photographs
Date:
1816
1914-2008
bulk 1973-2001
Summary:
The papers of African American painter and educator Jacob Lawrence and his wife, artist Gwendolyn Knight measure 25.35 linear feet and 0.001 GB date from 1914 to 2008, with one item from 1816 and the bulk of the material dating from 1973 to 2001. The collection includes biographical material; correspondence including condolence letters to Gwendolyn Knight after Jacob Lawrence's death; writings by Jacob Lawrence and others; printed and digital material; photographs; personal business records; artwork; records from the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project; materials related to the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation; professional files; and material related to awards and honors received by Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of African American painter and educator Jacob Lawrence and his wife, artist Gwendolyn Knight measure 25.35 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1914 to 2008, with one item from 1816 and the bulk of the material dating from 1973 to 2001. The collection includes biographical material; correspondence including condolence letters to Gwendolyn Knight after Jacob Lawrence's death; writings by Jacob Lawrence and others; printed and digital material; photographs; personal business records; artwork; records from the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project; materials related to the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation; professional files; and material related to awards and honors received by Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.

Biographical material includes appointment and address books; education and personal identification certificates and documents; awards, certificates, curriculum vitae, and chronologies; biographical material related to other individuals, including identification documents and memorial programs; and transcripts of interviews with Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.

The correspondence series includes extensive personal and professional correspondence with family, friends, artists, admirers (including students in a number of elementary and middle schools), university students, government agencies, art schools, galleries, museums, publishing houses, and others. Included in this series are condolence letters received by Gwendolyn Knight after Jacob Lawrence's death in 2000.

Writings include published and unpublished writings by and about Jacob Lawrence, as well as writings by others. These writings include speeches, notes, essays, articles, lists, and short stories. Also included is a visitor comment book from the Los Angeles County Museum exhibition of Jacob Lawrence's Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass series.

Printed material includes books; brochures; business cards; clippings; exhibition and event announcements, invitations, catalogs, and programs; magazines; newsletters; posters; post cards; and press releases. Books in this collection may include illustrations by Jacob Lawrence or have personal inscriptions from the author to Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.

Photographs include photographs of Jacob Lawrence artwork, photographs and reproductions of Gwendolyn Knight artwork, and photographs of Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight, and other individuals. Also included in this series are photographs and reproductions of work by others.

Personal business records include a ledger; consignment, financial, and shipping records related to the Terry Dintenfass Gallery; contracts and agreements; and estate documents.

Artwork includes sketches by Jacob Lawrence, a blank sketchbook inscribed by Jacob Lawrence to Gwendolyn Knight, and artwork by other artists.

Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project Records include materials generated by the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project, a non-profit created with the goal of producing a catalogue raisonné (and later, a digital archive) of Jacob Lawrence's work. These records include address books and phone logs; copies of Jacob Lawrence's CV; founding documents, bylaws, and meeting minutes; correspondence; writings, including draft pages of the catalogue raisonné; business records, including employment files, contracts, invoices, insurance, and tax information; printed and digital material; and photographs and artwork.

The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation and Related Material series includes founding documents and foundation bylaws, correspondence, financial documents, reports, and proposals. Found within this series are materials related to the Lawrence Center for the Visual Arts, a subsidiary foundation of the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation.

Professional files include material related to projects and exhibitions, teaching files and inclusion in curricula, files regarding possible fake Jacob Lawrence works, and gallery files.

The honors series is divided into two subseries: awards and certificates, and government honors. Awards and certificates includes honorary degrees, arts prizes, and any other honors awarded to Jacob Lawrence or Gwendolyn Knight. Government honors include resolutions, proclamations, and keys to cities. Also included in this series are correspondence related to awards and honorary degrees, commencement programs, plaques, and medals.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 11 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1914-2005 (Boxes 1, 11, 26, OV 10; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1943, 1952-2005 (Boxes 1-5, 12-14, 26; 7.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1954-1959, 1973-2005, undated (Boxes 5-6, 14-15; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1816, 1926, 1937, 1945-2008 (Boxes 6-9, 15-17, 26, OV 30, OV 31; 6.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1970-1997, undated (Boxes 9, 17, OV 10; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1962-2005 (Boxes 9, 17; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, 1984, 1990-1994, undated (Boxes 9, 18, 26; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 8: Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonne Project Records, 1982-2002 (Boxes 18-23, Box 26; 5.1 linear feet, ER01; 0.001 GB)

Series 9: Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation and Related Material, 1997-2005 (Box 23; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 10: Professional Files, 1964-2004 (Boxes 23-24; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 11: Honors, 1948, 1966-2005 (Boxes 24-25, 27-29, OV 30; 2.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Modernist painter and educator Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was born in 1917 as Jacob Armstead Lawrence in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He began his art studies at the Utopia Children's Center in New York City's Harlem district where he studied under the painter Charles Alston. Lawrence dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen to continue his art instruction with Alston, this time at the Harlem Art Workshop, where he met several artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance including the sculptor Augusta Savage.

Gwendolyn Knight (1913-2005) was born in Barbados and moved to New York City with her adoptive parents when she was seven. She attended New York's Wadleigh High School and later Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she studied fine arts with Lois Mailou Jones and James Porter. Forced to leave her studies at Howard because of the Depression, Knight returned to Harlem and continued her artistic pursuits in Augusta Savage's workshop. In 1935, Knight joined the Harlem Mural Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) working under Selma Day and Charles Alston. Lawrence and Knight met in Savage's workshop and married in the summer of 1941.

During the Depression, Lawrence also joined the WPA Federal Arts Project in Harlem. Finding WPA murals overwhelming, Lawrence concentrated on traditional painting instead. He produced his first major works in the late 1930s, most notably the Toussaint L'Ouverture series, images that document the life of the revolutionary hero and Haiti's struggle for independence. Other significant works include visual narratives of the lives of abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. In 1940, Lawrence received the prestigious Julius Rosenwald Fellowship, which made it possible for him to purchase his first art studio on 125th Street in the heart of Harlem. He soon portrayed Harlem street life in paintings that became commentaries on the role of African Americans in United States society with highly developed themes of resistance and social opposition. That same year, Lawrence began his most celebrated series, The Migration of the American Negro, multiple tempera panels depicting the exodus of African American sharecroppers in the south to northern industrial cities in search of better employment and social opportunities. Edith Halpert exhibited the works in their entirety at her Downtown Gallery in 1941, establishing Lawrence as the first African American artist to exhibit in a top New York gallery. The following year, New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC each bought half of the sixty panels in the series, helping to further Lawrence's career within the larger world of American art.

In the summer of 1946, the artist Joseph Albers invited Lawrence to teach at North Carolina's Black Mountain College. It was the first in a series of teaching positions in prestigious art schools including Pratt Institute (1956-1971), Brandeis University (1965), The New School (1966), the Art Students League (1967), and others. During the 1950s and 1960s, Lawrence's work continued to focus on racism and political activism but in the late 1960s shifted to themes of racial harmony.

Both Lawrence and Knight continued independent careers in art. Knight pursued her art studies at the New School in New York and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. In the mid-1960s, she collaborated with other female artists to form the Studio Gallery in New York City. Knight's main body of work consists of portraits and still-lifes that incorporate expressions of African sculpture, Impressionism, dance, and theater. Focusing on gesture, her art is described as light and airy with a minimum of lines allowing empty space to define the work. In 1970, Lawrence traveled to Seattle to teach as a visiting artist at the University of Washington. He was hired on a permanent basis the following year and remained on staff until his retirement in 1986.

Jacob Lawrence died June 9, 2000, in Seattle, Washington at the age of 83. Gwendolyn Knight continued to paint and exhibit her work around the country until her death on February 18, 2005 in Seattle, Washington at the age of 92.
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are an oral history interview with Jacob Lawrence conducted by Carroll Greene (1968 October 26), interviews conducted by Avis Berman (1982 July 20-August 4), and an oral history interview with Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight conducted by Paul Karlstrom (1998 November 18). The Archives of American Art also holds a collection of Jacob Lawrence papers, available on microfilm only, reels D286 and 4571-4573. Originals reside at Syracuse University Library, Special Collections.
Provenance:
The Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in five accretions between 1979 and 1997. Additional papers were donated in 2012 by the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation via Barbara Earl Thomas, representative.
Restrictions:
Use of 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:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
African American artists  Search this
Women artists  Search this
African American art -- African influences  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers, 1816, 1914-2008, bulk 1973-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.lawrjaco
See more items in:
Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw97b5bfd17-13f8-4cb6-ab12-22124f7d1fee
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-lawrjaco
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Frank S. Okada

Interviewee:
Okada, Frank S. (Frank Sumio), 1931-2000  Search this
Interviewer:
Johns, Barbara  Search this
Names:
Cornish School of Allied Arts (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Cranbrook Academy of Art -- Students  Search this
Northwest Asian American Project  Search this
University of Oregon -- Faculty  Search this
Bunce, Louis, 1907-1983  Search this
Charles, Ray, 1930-2004  Search this
Chin, Frank, 1940-  Search this
Davis, Sammy, 1925-  Search this
Derbyshire, Leon  Search this
Dusanne, Zoe, 1884-1977  Search this
Horiuchi, Paul, 1906-  Search this
Inada, Lawson Fusao  Search this
Ivey, William, 1919-1992  Search this
Jones, Quincy, 1933-  Search this
Kusama, Yayoi, 1929-  Search this
Martin, David Stone  Search this
Nomura, Kenjiro, 1896-1956  Search this
Okada, John  Search this
Peck, James Edward, 1907-  Search this
Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Tsutakawa, George  Search this
Extent:
87 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1990 Aug. 16-17
Scope and Contents:
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.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- United States  Search this
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Painting, Japanese  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Painting, Chinese  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Asian American sculptors  Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.okada90
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ff6868c7-38fd-4e50-9323-474b69e03b8e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-okada90
Online Media:

Kamekichi Tokita Papers, circa 1900-circa 2010, bulk 1900-1948

Creator:
Tokita, Kamekichi, 1897-1948  Search this
Subject:
Callahan, Kenneth  Search this
Tokita, Shokichi  Search this
Tokita, Elsie  Search this
Art Institute of Seattle  Search this
Seattle Art Museum  Search this
Hotel Cadillac (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Henry Art Gallery  Search this
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
Minidoka Relocation Center  Search this
Group of Twelve (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Type:
Photograph albums
Photographs
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Citation:
Kamekichi Tokita Papers, circa 1900-circa 2010, bulk 1900-1948. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans  Search this
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Art, American -- Northwestern States  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Northwestern States  Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945 -- Diaries  Search this
Theme:
Asian American  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)10444
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213849
AAA_collcode_tokikame
Theme:
Asian American
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_213849
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Frank S. Okada, 1990 Aug. 16-17

Interviewee:
Okada, Frank S. (Frank Sumio), 1931-2000  Search this
Interviewer:
Johns, Barbara  Search this
Subject:
Bunce, Louis  Search this
Charles, Ray  Search this
Chin, Frank  Search this
Davis, Sammy  Search this
Derbyshire, Leon  Search this
Dusanne, Zoe  Search this
Horiuchi, Paul  Search this
Inada, Lawson Fusao  Search this
Ivey, William  Search this
Jones, Quincy  Search this
Kusama, Yayoi  Search this
Martin, David Stone  Search this
Nomura, Kenjiro  Search this
Okada, John  Search this
Peck, James Edward  Search this
Shahn, Ben  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Tsutakawa, George  Search this
Cornish School of Allied Arts (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
University of Oregon  Search this
Cranbrook Academy of Art  Search this
Northwest Asian American Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
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.
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Painting, Japanese  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Painting, Chinese  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Asian American sculptors  Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945  Search this
Theme:
Asian American  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11693
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216548
AAA_collcode_okada90
Theme:
Asian American
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216548
Online Media:

Kamekichi Tokita Papers

Creator:
Tokita, Kamekichi  Search this
Names:
Art Institute of Seattle  Search this
Group of Twelve (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Henry Art Gallery  Search this
Hotel Cadillac (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Minidoka Relocation Center  Search this
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
Seattle Art Museum  Search this
Callahan, Kenneth, 1905-1986  Search this
Tokita, Elsie  Search this
Tokita, Shokichi  Search this
Extent:
1.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Photographs
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Date:
circa 1900-circa 2010
bulk 1900-1948
Summary:
The personal papers of Seattle area painter Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) measure 1.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 2010 with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1910 to 1948. The papers include biographical materials, including documents about the closing of the War Relocation Authority's Minidoka Camp in Idaho; correspondence; three diaries written in Japanese documenting Tokita's war time experiences and forced relocation to Minidoka, two earlier notebooks, also written in Japanese, and scattered notes; a few personal business records; printed materials; one scrapbook; sketches; and one family photograph album.
Scope and Contents:
The personal papers of Seattle area painter Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) measure 1.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 2010 with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1910 to 1948. The papers include biographical materials, including documents about the closing of the War Relocation Authority's Minidoka Camp in Idaho; correspondence; three diaries written in Japanese documenting Tokita's war time experiences and forced relocation to Minidoka, two earlier notebooks, also written in Japanese, and scattered notes; a few personal business records; printed materials; one scrapbook; sketches; and one family photograph album.

Biographical materials include a file on the Public Works of Art Project, a file on the War Relocation Authority and the closing of the Minidoka incarceration camp, an immigration document, and an essay on Tokita written by Shokichi and Elsie Tokita.

Correspondence is primarily professional in nature and concerns exhibitions at the Seattle Museum of Art (previously the Art Institute of Seattle) and other topics. Correspondents include Kenneth Callahan, Henry Gallery, the Seattle Art Museum, and others.

Tokita's writings consist of three diaries, two notebooks, and scattered general writings, most of which are in Japanese. The diaries were kept during World War II and document the family's incarceration at the Minidoka Relocation Camp in Idaho. Included is a transcript of the diaries which were translated from prewar to modern Japanese by Haruo Takasugi and from modern Japanese to English by Naomi Kusunoki-Martin.

Scattered business records include a patent application, records from the Cadillac Hotel, and a claim filed through the Department of Justice. A few published books in English and Japanese are about art and religion. Also found are exhibition catalogs for shows in which Tokita participated and clippings. There is one mixed media scrapbook about Tokita's exhibitions.

Artwork consists of unsigned pencil and watercolor sketches by Tokita. There is also a family photo album containing snapshots and portraits of the Tokita family and friends.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1934-1985 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1920-1944 (Box 1; 8 folders)

Series 3: Diaries and Writings, 1923-circa 1950 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1928-1950 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1910-1940 (Box 1-3; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Scrapbook, 1929-1933 (Box 2-3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1910-1940s (Box 2-3; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 8: Photograph Album, circa 1900-1930 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) was a Japanese American painter and businessman who emigrated from Japan in 1919 and settled in Seattle, Washington. Tokita was a member of the Seattle area progressive artists' collective known as the "Group of Twelve" and widely exhibited his artwork throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Kamekichi Tokita was born in Shizouka City, Japan and immigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-two. He settled in the Japantown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington where he opened the Noto Sign Company with business partner Kenjiro Nomura. Nomura was also an artist and encouraged Tokita's interest in oil painting. They both used the sign shop as their studio after-hours. In 1936, the Noto Sign Company closed and Tokita took over management of the Cadillac Hotel, although he continued to paint commercial signs. Tokita married Haruko Suzuki in 1932 and together they had eight children.

As a child in Japan, Tokita studied calligraphy in China. Although he attended a few art school classes in in the U.S. and went on weekend painting trips with Nomura and other Seattle artists, Tokita is considered to be a largely self-trained artist. Support and recognition came from Dorothy V. Morrison of the Henry Gallery at the University of Washington who wrote to Tokita to inquire whether a "group of Japanese artists in the city" would be interested in exhibiting their work. Although the exhibition of Japanese artists did not happen, Tokita later loaned paintings to the gallery for inclusion in an exhibition sponsored by the American Federation of Arts. Throughout the late 1920s and 1930s Tokita exhibited widely in the Seattle area. In 1935, the Seattle Daily Times touted the work of Tokita and other painters in the "Group of Twelve" that also included Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Walter F. Isaacs, and Ambrose and Viola Patterson, among others. In 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kamekichi Tokita and his family (five children at the time), along with the approximately 120,000 Japanese and Japanese American citizens living on the West Coast, were ordered under President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 to be forcibly removed to one of several incarceration camps. For the first six months of their imprisonment, the family lived at a temporary Civilian Assembly Center in Puyallup, Washington. They were transferred to the Minidoka Relocation Camp in Hunt, Idaho where they remained until their release in 1945. While incarcerated in Minidoka, Tokita worked as a sign painter and continued to privately paint, using whatever materials he could find, including beaver board. His work was featured in art shows at the camp. Many of his camp scenes are now lost or were given away.

At the end of World War II, Tokita and his family (now seven children) moved back to the Seattle-area. Unable to find housing, the Tokitas lived at a Japanese language school until Tokita was able to re-establish his business. During this period he painted very little. In 1946 Tokita and his wife purchased the New Lucky Hotel in the Chinatown area of Seattle. Shortly thereafter, Tokita fell ill and died in 1948. Many of his works are believed to have been destroyed or lost. Some of his work remains, however, and is among the permanent collections of the Seattle Art Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum.

Note: Much of this biographical note was taken from "A Biographical Resume" written by Shokichi and Elsie Y. Tokita.
Separated Materials:
A watercolor painting on paper by Kamekichi Tokita, Untitled (Still Life), 9 x 12 in. was transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2012.
Provenance:
The Kamekichi Tokita papers were donated by his son, Shokichi Tokita in 1990. He donated a third and final diary in 2017. They were collected as part of the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American project in Seattle, Washington.
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:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans  Search this
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Art, American -- Northwestern States  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Northwestern States  Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945 -- Diaries  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photograph albums
Photographs
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Citation:
Kamekichi Tokita papers, circa 1900-circa 2010, bulk circa 1910-1948. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.tokikame
See more items in:
Kamekichi Tokita Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a680d2f9-94bf-4350-9f34-69068917ef42
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-tokikame
Online Media:

Mark Tobey papers

Creator:
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Names:
Willard Gallery  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Dahl, Arthur L., 1942-  Search this
Elmhirst, Dorothy Payne Whitney Straight  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this
Hallsten, Pehr, d. 1965  Search this
Hauberg, Anne Gould  Search this
Hauberg, John H. (John Henry), 1916-  Search this
Hillman, Kay  Search this
Holty, Carl, 1900-1973  Search this
Leach, Bernard, 1887-1979  Search this
Ritter, Mark  Search this
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957  Search this
Seliger, Charles, 1926-2009  Search this
Willard, Marian, 1904-  Search this
Extent:
11 Microfilm reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
[ca. 1920]-1977
Scope and Contents:
Biographical material; correspondence; financial records; Baha'i material; music; writings; art works; printed material; and photographs.
Biographical material includes diaries with sporadic entries, undated and 1958-1959; address books; membership cards, and honorary titles. Correspondents include Stephen Andrus, Dore Ashton, Arthur G. Barnett, John and Betty Bowen, Adelyn Breeskin, Cliffa Carson (niece), Thomas A. Chew, Lillian Clark, Paul Cummings, Arthur Dahl, Shoghi B. Effendi, Dorothy Elmhirst, Claire Falkenstein, Lyonel Feininger, Janet Flanner, John Ford,Miriam Gabo, Colin Graham, Pehr Hallsten, Pamela Harkins, Nina Harwood, John and Anne Hauberg, Kay Hillman, Joseph Hirshhorn, David Hofman, Carl Holty, Herbert Hoover, Leroy and Silvia Ioas, Berthe P. and Claire Jacobson, Nina Kandinsky, Helen Kendall, Carolyn Kizer, Katharine Kuh,Rene Lauby, Bernard Leach, Gerald Lieberman, Andre Masson, Marjory Masten, George Mathieu, N. Richard Miller, Joan Miro, Axel Mondell, Alfred Neumeyer, Ben Nicholson, Vincent Price, Mark Ritter, Diego Rivera, Nancy W. Ross, John Russell, Henry Seldis, Charles Seliger, Otto Seligman, Art Smith, James Speyer, Michel Tapie, Miriam Terry, Roland Terry, Juliet Thompson, Kenneth Tyler, Charmion Von Wiegand, Heloise Wardall, Ulfert Wilke, and Marian Willard of the Willard Gallery.
Also found are: notes taken while studying French; financial, legal and medical records; material relating to Baha'i, including credential for Tobey for the Baha'i World Congress, 1963, class notes, photographs, prayer books, and printed material; music, including sheet music by Tobey, recital program, and music by Harold Budd, John Sundsten,and Debussey; writings and poetry by Tobey and Dahl; writings on Tobey; a transcript of an interview of Tobey conducted by William Seitz; sketches and sketchbooks by Tobey and by others, including Bernard Leach; printed material on Tobey, including reproductions of work, exhibition catalogs and announcements, magazine articles, and clippings; and printed material on others, including Hallsten, Leach, Seliger, Feininger, Abraham Walkowitz, Alberto Burri, and Jules Pascin.
Also included are photographs of: Tobey, Tobey with family and friends, exhibition installations, works of art, an album containing photos, sketches and notes, ca. 1920-1950, an album of photos of Tobey's Seattle studio taken after his death by Kenneth Tomlinson, 1976, and miscellaneous photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Abstract Expressionist. Also worked as fashion illustrator, portrait painter. Born in Wisconsin, December 11, 1892. Died 1976. Worked in Chicago, Seattle, Basel, Switzerland; New York, N.Y., Dartington Hall, Devonshire, England, and Paris. Convert to Baha'i religion.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1984 by the Seattle Art Museum.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- History  Search this
Bahai Faith  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.tobemark2
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90fac0bce-dc54-4b2a-ba63-d45cca8069f6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-tobemark2

Guy Irving Anderson letters

Creator:
Anderson, Guy, 1906-1998  Search this
Names:
Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955  Search this
Graves, Morris, 1910-  Search this
Isaacs, Walter F.  Search this
Patterson, Ambrose, 1877-1966  Search this
Root, Edward Wales, d. 1956  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Wehr, Wesley, 1929-2004  Search this
Extent:
32 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Woodcuts
Linocuts.
Date:
1940-1979
Scope and Contents:
Letters recieved, from Albert Einstein, Morris Graves, Edward W. Root, Otto Seligman, Mark Tobey, Wesley C. Wehr and others. Also includes handmade Christmas cards from Walter Isaacs (linocut) and Ambrose Patterson (woodcut).
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Seattle, Washington.
Provenance:
Donated 1979 by Wesley Wehr, a friend of Anderson.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Genre/Form:
Woodcuts
Linocuts.
Identifier:
AAA.andeguy
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e2d67644-504c-4566-a7a6-d1ed10b205a3
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-andeguy

Jacob Lawrence papers [microfilm]

Creator:
Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-2000  Search this
Extent:
4 Microfilm reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1937-1992
Scope and Contents:
This microfilm collection documents the artistic and teaching career of African American painter Jacob Lawrence.

Included are biographical materials and awards; correspondence; writings and speeches by Lawrence, 1947-1962, and writings about Lawrence; photographs; scattered financial material, 1941-1957; and printed materials.

Correspondence dates from 1937-1971. Among the correspondents are: Ralph Abernathy, Charles Alston, Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Claude Clark, Hy Cohen, Mildred Cummings, Terry Dintenfass, Inc., David Driskell, Fritz Eichenberg, Philip Evergood, Creighton Gilbert, Edith Gregor Halpert (Downtown Gallery), Langston Hughes, Raymond Patterson, Pratt Institute, Margaret Rigg, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Moses and Raphael Soyer, and the United States Committee for the First World Festival of Negro Arts, Inc. Photographs include personal photographs, 1939-1966, and photographs of art work, 1941-1949. Printed material consists of reproductions of work, brochures and course catalogs, programs and calendars, exhibition announcements and catalogs, posters, articles, and clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was an African American painter and educator in New York, New York and Seattle, Washington. Lawrence worked for the WPA's Federal Art Project and taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, Pratt Institute (1956-1971), Brandeis University (1965), The New School (1966), the Art Students League (1967), the University of Washington, and others. One of his most well-known works of art is the The Migration of the Negro (now known as The Migration Series), a 60-panel epic Lawrence created when he received a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1940.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by Syracuse University Library, Special Collections, 1992. Among the three reels are papers that Lawrence lent to the Archives of American Art for microfilming in 1966 which he subsequently donated to Syracuse.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Curator, Syracuse University Library, Special Collections. 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
African American artists  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.lawrjaco2
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw990a2887b-999f-4460-b515-217f7377ae2c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-lawrjaco2

Oral history interview with Andrew Chinn

Interviewee:
Chinn, Andrew, 1915-1996  Search this
Names:
Chinese Art Club (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Northwest Asian American Project  Search this
Chong, Fay  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Interviewer:
Kangas, Matthew  Search this
Extent:
56 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1991 August 9
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Andrew Chinn conducted 1991 August 9, by Matthew Kangas, for the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American Project.
Chinn speaks of his childhood; the formation of the Chinese Art Club in Seattle in the 1930s; exhibitions of his work in the 1940s; the Chinese and Western styles of his paintings; his teaching career; his friendship with Fay Chong; and his opinion of the Asian influence in Mark Tobey's work.
Biographical / Historical:
Andrew Chinn (1915-1995) was a Chinese American painter based in Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 46 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Chinese American art  Search this
Chinese American artists  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.chinn91
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw910a8e7cf-a1d4-4ccc-a382-0758dc65280c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-chinn91
Online Media:

Guy Irving Anderson letters, 1940-1979

Creator:
Anderson, Guy I. (Guy Irving), 1906-1998  Search this
Subject:
Patterson, Ambrose  Search this
Root, Edward Wales  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Wehr, Wesley  Search this
Einstein, Albert  Search this
Graves, Morris  Search this
Isaacs, Walter F.  Search this
Type:
Woodcuts
Linocuts.
Citation:
Guy Irving Anderson letters, 1940-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)5777
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208616
AAA_collcode_andeguy
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208616

Oral history interview with Andrew Chinn, 1991 August 9

Interviewee:
Chinn, Andrew, 1915-1996  Search this
Subject:
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Chong, Fay  Search this
Kangas, Matthew  Search this
Chinese Art Club (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Northwest Asian American Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Andrew Chinn, 1991 August 9. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Chinese American art  Search this
Chinese American artists  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Theme:
Asian American  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11841
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214616
AAA_collcode_chinn91
Theme:
Asian American
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_214616
Online Media:

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By
  • Archives of American Art