The Lawrence 'Larry' James Beck papers, located in the Cultural Resource Center of the National Museum of the American Indian, contain biographical materials, sculpture portfolios, art shows, notes, sketches and drawings, publications, correspondence and visual material including photos, slides and negatives of Larry's art.
Scope and Contents:
The Larry Beck papers contains materials that span his career as an artist. The bulk of the material in this collection dates from the late 1960's until his death in 1994 and includes, but is not limited to, biographical materials, sculpture portfolios, correspondence relating to his artwork and his family, sketches and drawings as well as visual materials of Beck's artwork which including prints, slides and negatives. Additionally, publications regarding subjects that interested Beck are also included in this collection.
Arrangement:
The Lawrence 'Larry' James Beck Papers are arranged into seven series:
Series 1: Biographical and Personal, (undated, 1938-1994)
Series 2: Correspondence, (undated, 1966-1994)
Series 3: Sculptures and Shows, (undated, 1966-1994)
Series 4: Sketches, Drawings, Notes and Ideas, (undated)
Series 5: Publications and Graphic Materials (undated, 1966-1995)
Series 6: Miscellaneous Material, (undated)
Series 7: Visual Material, contains photographs, negatives and slides
Biographical / Historical:
Lawrence 'Larry' James Beck was born in Seattle, Washington on May 20, 1938. Beck's father was American and his mother was Norwegian and Yup'ik from Alaska. Larry was raised in Seattle and in 1956 graduated from Ballard High School. He then attended college at the University of Washington from1957 to 1959, where he first studied engineering. However, he decided that art was more in his future so between 1960-1961 he attended the Burnley School of Professional Art in Seattle, now known as The Art Institute of Seattle. In 1962 Larry was given the opportunity to attend the University of Arizona's Guadalajara Summer School and study art abroad. Upon his return in 1962, he resumed his studies at The University of Washington and in 1964 he earned a B.A. in painting and a M.F.A. in 1965. While at UW, Larry was taught by George Tsutakawa and Everett Du Pen and visiting New York artist Gabriel Kohn. His art reflects the influences of sculptor David Smith, Mark di Suvero and Inuit artist Gariel Kohn.
During the 1966-1967 academic year, Larry was a visiting instructor of sculpture at the University of Oregon, in Eugene. During this time Larry participated in an exhibit called the Great Northwest Sausage Company Art show. This show included artists such as Morris Yarowsky, Dan Solomon, Gertrude (Trudie) Pacific-Beck, David Cotter, John Haugse and Marcella Rawlinson. The years between 1967-1968 were spent at the University of Southampton, England as a Fine Arts Fellow. His wife at the time, Trudie also accompanied him and also studied art while in England. When Larry and Trudie returned to the States, they settled in Skagit Valley Washington.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, Larry focused on his large scale, abstract sculptures and established his reputation as a sculpture. Larry's early works were comprised of found metals and objects assembled in a lyrical but humorous manner. Larry also was apart of the Shazam Society with Tom Robbins among others, which produced performances and happenings. During 1975-1980, he installed projects for Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, Highline Community College and Boeing (King County Airport). He also worked on a piece for the Occidental Park site in Seattle, but due to circumstances of the city it was never installed.
Although Larry was not raised around his ancestral homelands, like his Mother, in the mid 1970s Larry visited the Alaskan coast. It was then that he realized he understood the Yup'ik culture. In 1973 Larry started to produce a new series of pieces called "Inukshuk", which is Inuit for sculpture presence. This term was also used for three major commissions that later followed. Larry continued to use Inuit terminology in his work. This was the first sign that Larry started to embrace his multicultural heritage in his artwork. Larry experimented with making bronze and aluminum small castings of traditional Inuit masks, but he felt uneasy that these masks represented a complete contradiction to his western art training.
After the 1980 install of the Boeing sculpture, Beck experienced what he would call his sculpture career crisis. He became disappointed with public art. This is when Larry received his calling to start working on his abstract Inuit Inua (spirit) masks. Larry embraced the idea of using the ancestral ways of his Mother's people of finding natural objects and turning them into masks or art pieces. Larry utilized this method and found contemporary objects within junkyards and hardware stores to create his contemporary Inua masks. From this time on, Larry focused the remaining years of his life working on Inua masks. He participated in shows at art galleries and loaned artwork out for traveling exhibits that where exhibited from the United Nations in Switzerland to all over the United States, including his ancestral homelands of Alaska. Also from the mid 1980s till the end of his life in 1994, he spent more time with his children.
On March 27th 1994, Larry died of a heart attack in his home in Washington. His artwork still lives on today in many museums and private collections. He turned Native American Art into something that kept historical cultural ties while also embracing a contemporary look.
Provenance:
These research materials were donated to NMAI in March 2009 by Nikolai Beck and Alex Beck.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Copyright is vested with Nikolai Beck and Alex Beck and will not transfer to the National Museum of the American Indian until 2018. Researchers seeking publication use, must obtain permission directly from the donors by contacting NMAI Archives (nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Lawrence 'Larry' James Beck Papers, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of ceramicist and sculptor Akio Takamori measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1981 to 2004. The collection comprises professional files containing an artist statement, correspondence with Vicki Halper and others, a digital photographic print of Takamori with Jun Kaneko, a presentation book, and a work plan for the European Ceramics Work Centre. Also found are printed materials featuring Takamori, and artwork by Takamori including drawings and sketches in pencil, pen, and ink.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of ceramicist and sculptor Akio Takamori measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1981 to 2004. The collection comprises professional files containing an artist statement, correspondence with Vicki Halper and others, a digital photographic print of Takamori with Jun Kaneko, a presentation book, and a work plan for the European Ceramics Work Centre. Also found are printed materials featuring Takamori, and artwork by Takamori including drawings and sketches in pencil, pen, and ink.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Series 1: Professional Files, 1981-circa 1995 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Printed Materials, circa 1981-2004 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Artwork, circa 1990s (2 folders; Box 1, OV 2)
Biographical / Historical:
Akio Takamori (1950-2017) was a Japanese American ceramicist and sculptor based in Seattle, Washington. He is known for his figures, some life-sized, based on his childhood memories of Japan, and observations about his native Japanese and adopted American cultures.
Takamori was born in Nebeoka, Miyazaki, Japan. His father, an obstetrician, introduced him to art through art and medical books. Takamori went on to graduate in 1971 from Musashino Art College. After graduation, he became an apprentice to a master potter in Koishiwara ware and met American ceramicist Ken Ferguson who encouraged Takamori to study in the United States. Taking Ferguson's advice, Takamori moved to the United States and studied at Kansas City Art Institute, graduating in 1974. Takamori continued his studies at Alfred University earning his Master of Fine Arts degree. He eventually moved to Seattle, Washington in 1993 where he continued to produce ceramic sculptures and worked as an associate professor at the University of Washington.
Takamori died of pancreatic cancer in 2017.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Akio Takamori conducted on March 20-21, 2009, by Mija Riedel for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Takamori's studio, in Seattle, Washington.
Provenance:
The Akio Takamori papers were donated in 2004 by Akio Takamori as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference 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.
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Akio Takamori's widow, Vicki Takamori. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Margaret Tomkins, 1984 June 6. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Francis M. Celentano papers measure 2.7 linear feet and date from circa 1939-2020, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950-2016. The collection documents Celentano's career as an Op painter and sculptor, as well as his time as a student at New York University and as a Fulbright scholar in Rome. Included is biographical material; correspondence; writings; and project files detailing several exhibitions and works of art that Celentano worked on and participated in throughout his career. Also found are printed materials that showcase numerous exhibitions Celentano was in; photographs and transparencies of the artists and his work; and pencil and digital sketches.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Op artist Francis M. Celentano measure 2.7 linear feet and date from circa 1939-2020, with bulk dates from 1950-2016. Included is biographical material is his birth and death certificates, as well as certificates for his first communion, a scholastic art award, his high school diploma and a resume; correspondence with Celentano's NYU thesis advisor H.W. Janson, and fellow artists Evelyn Hofer and Ivan Schwebel. Also found are letters from museums, galleries, and the Fulbright program. Writings include academic and professional writing projects by Celentano as well as extensive painting and sculpture notes, a diary, and some poetry. Academic writing consists of undergraduate and graduate term papers including a copy of his master's thesis "The Origins and Development of Abstract Expressionism in the United States" (New York University, 1957) and supporting research notes. Project files contain notes, photographic and video materials, proposals, planning documents, correspondence and installation instructions related to specific exhibitions, lectures and individual artworks that Celentano worked on throughout his careeer; printed material consisting of exhibition catalogs, flyers, announcements, and clippings; photographs are of Celentano with his artwork as well as with friends and family and transparencies of works of art; and artwork contains annotated preparatory pencil and digital sketches, and unannotated ink jet print outs of digital paintings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Biographical Material, 1939-2020 (0.2 Linear feet Box 1)
Correspondence, 1957-2007 (0.2 Linear feet Box 1)
Writings, circa 1941-2016 (0.7 Linear feet Box 1-2)
Project Files, circa 1973-2013 (0.6 Linear feet Box 2)
Printed Material, circa 1964-2018 (0.5 Linear feet Box 2-3)
Photographic Material, circa 1943-2016 (0.3 Linear feet Box 3, OV 5)
Artwork, circa 1970-2016 (0.2 Linear feet Box 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Francis Celentano (1928-2016) was an art professor and one of the original New York Op artists. Born in the Bronx in 1928, he studied both art and art history as an undergraduate and graduate student at New York University. During his undergraduate program, Celentano took drawing classes with Philip Guston who influenced Celentano's interest in abstract expressionism, which eventually became the topic of his 1957 master's thesis, "The Origins and Development of Abstract Expressionism in the United States." His thesis supervisor was the art historian Horst W. Janson with whom he took several graduate and undergraduate courses. In 1957 after earning his art history master's degree Celentano received a Fulbright Scholarship to study painting in Rome. He returned to New York and continued to paint, and his abstract expressionist style transformed into Op art, a form that uses optical illusions.
Celentano continued living in New York until 1966 when he joined the faculty in the painting department of the School of Art at the University of Washington in Seattle. He taught in the department until retiring in 1993 to dedicate himself back to creating art full time. Over the course of his career Celentano exhibited work in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the country, with a heavy emphasis in New York, Washington, and Oregon. Exhibitions include the Responsive Eye (1965), the Museum of Modern Art; Kinetic and Optical Art Today (1965), Albright-Knox Gallery; a mural installation in the Seattle-Tacoma airport (1972); and Francis Celentano: Form and Color a ten-year retrospective (2010), Hallie Ford Museum of Art. Celentano's work is included in several museum collections such as the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum in New York and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2020 by Rebecca Celentano, Francis Celentano's widow.
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
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Francis M. Celentano papers, circa 1939-2020. 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.
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:
Leo Castelli Gallery records, circa 1880-2000, bulk 1957-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the partial digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein 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.
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.
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
Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers, 1816, 1914-2008, bulk 1973-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the 2007 processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the 2018 processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
The George Tsutakawa in Japan video project measures 4 linear feet and contains unedited video recordings of Tsutakawa's return trip to his childhood home in central Japan. The recordings, made by the West Coast Regional Center of the Archives of American Art in 1988, were subsequently edited into the 23-minute documentary George Tsutakawa: An Artist's Pilgrimage, also included in this collection.
Scope and Contents:
The George Tsutakawa in Japan video project measures 4 linear feet and contains unedited video recordings of Tsutakawa's return trip to his childhood home in central Japan. The recordings, made by the West Coast Regional Center of the Archives of American Art in 1988, were subsequently edited into the 23-minute documentary George Tsutakawa: An Artist's Pilgrimage, also included in this collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series.
Series 1: Unedited Video for Documentary, 1988 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-4)
Series 2: George Tsutakawa: An Artist's Pilgrimage, 1990 (3 folders; Box 4)
Biographical / Historical:
George Tsutakawa (1910-1997) was a Japanese American painter and sculptor based in Seattle, Washington. Born in Seattle in 1910, he moved with his mother to Fukuyama, Japan, at the age of seven. While there, he took an interest in art, and was influenced by traditional Japanese practices. Returning to Seattle at age 16, he continued his education in art at the University of Washington. His interest in sculpture led to numerous commissions for fountians worldwide, a form that combined his experiences in both the Pacific Northwest and Japan. During his career, Tsutakawa designed, built, and installed over 70 fountains.
Following a 1987 interview with Tsutakawa conducted by the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, the Archives' West Coast Regional Center took the opportunity to further document Tsutakawa's experience as a Japanese-American artist. Fourteen hours of video were recorded over a three-week period in the fall of 1988, centered around the Fountain of Lotus, a sculpture Tsutakawa was commissioned to design for a new art museum in his childhood home of Fukuyama, Japan. Tsutakawa is accompanied by members of his family, including his wife Ayame, his daughter Mayumi, and his son Gerard.
The video crew for this project included Paul Karlstrom (Archives of American Art West Coast regional director), Ken Levine (director and videographer), and Dan Gadd (videographer). The project was made possible by a Smithsonian Research Opportunities Grant and additional private donations, as well as an equipment loan from Sony.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview recorded on video June 26-27, 1987 by his daughter Mayumi Tsutakawa, as well as the George Tsutakawa papers, 1953-1991.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from the Archives of American Art. 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
Sculptors -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
The papers of video artist, printmaker, and sculptor Norie Sato measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1974 to 1991. Biographical materials, correspondence, lecture, exhibition, and project files, printed material, and writings document Sato's activities to mid-career and her involvement in professional video and artist organizations primarily in Seattle, Washington.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of video artist, printmaker, and sculptor Norie Sato measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1974 to 1991. Biographical materials, correspondence, lecture, exhibition, and project files, printed material, and writings document Sato's activities to mid-career and her involvement in professional video and artist organizations primarily in Seattle, Washington.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Japanese-born video artist, printmaker, and sculptor Norie Sato (1949- ) is based in Seattle, Washington and is known for her many site-specific installations that interact with their environment.
Sato moved to Seattle in 1972 and received her Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from the University of Washington. She is a founder of the Center for Contemporary Art (COCA) in Seattle and a member of the Seattle Arts Commission. Sato received the Washington State Governor's Arts and Heritage Award in 2014, among many other awards.
Provenance:
Donated 1991 by Norie Sato.
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:
Video artists -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Printmakers -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Sculptors -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
The papers of ceramicist and sculptor Patti Warashina (b. 1940) date from circa 1900 and 1957 through 1991, bulk 1970-1989. The collection consists of 4.8 linear feet of correspondence and printed material reflecting the many ceramic and craft exhibitions and other projects Warashina participated in throughout the United States, and her associations with other ceramicists. Also included are biographical documents, writings, art works, several photographs, and a video.
Scope and Content Note:
The Patti Warashina papers measure 4.8 linear feet and date from circa 1900 and 1957 through 1991 (bulk 1970-1989). The collection documents the artistic and teaching career of Seattle-based sculptor and ceramicist Patti Warashina predominantly through correspondence and printed material reflecting the many ceramic and craft exhibitions and other projects Warashina participated in throughout the United States, and her associations with other ceramicists. Also included are biographical documents, writings, art works, several photographs, and a video.
Biographical material includes family trees, diplomas, awards, and documents relating to Warashina's family Japanese internment during WWII. Correspondence, 1968-1991, relating to exhibitions and other projects, is with galleries, museums, purchasers, publishers, and others, among them the Lee Nordness Gallery (N.Y.), Morgan Gallery (Kansas City), and Theo Portney Gallery (Seattle). Additional correspondence files contain letters received, 1977-1990, many addressed to Warashina and her husband Bob (Robert Sperry), from friends, colleagues, former students and family members, including Nancy Carmen, Anne Currier, Deborah Horrell, Matthew Kangas, Howard Kottler, Marvin Lipofsky, Michael Lucero, and others.
Ten photographs, circa 1900-1944, are portraits of Warashina's relatives and family, and several snapshots, circa 1970s, are of former students and works of art. Printed material, 1961-1990, includes newspaper and magazine clippings, programs, journals, newsletters, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and workshop announcements for Warashina's various sculpture and ceramic lectures. Writings include both published and unpublished works by Warashina, including an artist's statement for a possible lecture at the 1986 conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). Also found here are handwritten notes on a panel discussion titled Cultural and Racial Heritage: Sources and Imagery in which Warashina was a participant along with artists Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, MarÃa Brito Avellana, and Indira Johnson. Art work consists of blue line drawings for her sculpture "Red Earth," 1986 as well as a pen and ink sketch of Warashina by an unidentified artist. A videocassette, 1987, is of the television program "The Big A: Different Ways of Seeing", in which Warashina appears briefly.
Arrangement:
The Patti Warashina papers are arranged as seven series based primarily on type of material. The correspondence in Series 2 is arranged chronologically for exhibitions and projects and general letters received. Additional letters received are arranged by name of author.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1974-1991, undated (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1957, 1967-1991, undated (Boxes 1-3; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Photographs, circa 1900- circa 1959, 1971, undated (Box 3; 3 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1961-1990, undated (Boxes 3-6, OV 7; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Writings and Notes, 1984, 1986, 1989, undated (Box 6; 4 folders)
Series 6: Artwork, 1986, undated (Box 6; 2 folders)
Series 7: Miscellany, 1987, undated (Box 6; 2 folders)
Biographical Note:
Patti Warashina is a Japanese American ceramicist and sculptor. She was born in 1940 as Masae Patricia Warashina in Spokane, Washington to third generation Japanese emigrants. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, Seattle, where she studied with sculptors Robert Sperry, Harold Myers, Rudy Autio, Shoji Hamada, Shinsaku Hamada, and Ruth Penington. She received her first solo exhibition in 1962 at the Phoenix Art Gallery in Seattle the same year she graduated with an M.F.A. from the University of Washington. Warashina later married fellow student Fred Bauer and from 1964 to 1970 exhibited as Patti Bauer.
Influences in Warashina's art include California funk and sculptural ceramics. Her work is best known for its whimsical themes expressed through low-fire highly colored figurative images. Together with fellow artists Robert Sperry, Howard Kottler and Fred Bauer, she brought national recognition to the department of ceramics at the University of Washington's School of Art beginning in the 1980s.
Patti Warashina is a recipient of several awards for achievements in the field of crafts, most recently the Twining Humber Award granted by Seattle's Artists Trust in 2002. She received the Governor's Award of Special Commendation for the Arts in 1980 in addition to grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in both 1975 and 1986. In 1978, Warashina was awarded a World Craft Council Travel Grant which allowed her to conduct research on the ceramic arts process in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Bali and the Philippines. Warashina's teaching career spans over 30 years and includes positions at the University of Wisconsin, Eastern Michigan University, and at her alma mater where she has taught for over 25 years. Her work is featured in several museum collections in both the U.S. and abroad including the American Craft Museum in New York, the Seattle Art Museum and Henry Art Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery (Washington, DC), the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and the Ichon World Ceramic Center in Korea. Since her marriage to ceramicist Robert Sperry in 1976, she has used Patti Warashina as her professional name. Patti Warashina is a resident of Seattle, Washington.
Provenance:
The Patti Warashina papers were donated by the artist to the Archives of American Art in 1991.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Sculptors -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Topic:
Japanese American families -- Photographs Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Names:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
15 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1965 October 13
Scope and Contents:
An interview of James W. Washington, Jr. conducted 1965 October 13, by Dorothy Bestor, for the Archives of American Art.
Washington discusses his participation in the Mississippi Art Project, the effect it had on his career, and government sponsorship of the arts in general. He recalls segregation in the Mississippi art world.
Biographical / Historical:
James W. Washington Jr. (1911-2000) was a painter and sculptor from Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 31 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
The papers of artist James W. Washington, Jr. measure 2.3 linear feet and date from 1938 to 1989. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional records, material related to the Artists Equity Association, printed material, and photographic material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist James W. Washington, Jr. measure 2.3 linear feet and date from 1938 to 1989. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional records, material related to the Artists Equity Association, printed material, and photographic material.
Biographical material includes resumes, a short biographical sketch, and the transcript of an interview conducted by Cindy Huetter.
Correspondence makes up the bulk of this collection and consists of letters to Washington from family and friends expressing admiration for his work, writings, and lectures. Also documented is his involvement in organizations including the Pacific Arts Center, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Correspondents include Kenneth Callahan, Anne Gould Hauberg, Val M. Laigo, and George Tsutakawa. This series also includes a file of correspondence related to Washington's articles for the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
Writings include articles for Zionews, the Mt. Zion Baptist Church newsletter; the Seattle Post Intelligencer; and the Puget Sounding related to Washington's artwork; his thoughts on race; his teacher, Mark Tobey; and his strong religious beliefs. Also included are an unidentified editorial and assorted notes.
Professional records include material related to committees and professional groups, financial records, materials related to commissions and sculptures, materials related to Mark Tobey works loaned for exhibition, teaching files, and legal files.
Artists Equity Association files consist of correspondence, membership information, constitution and by-laws, reports and meeting minutes, proposals, newsletters, and clippings.
Printed material includes exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, newsletters and bulletins, magazine and newspaper clippings, programs, and religious material.
Photographic material consists of photographs of artwork, photographs of Washington with his work, and one oversized portrait of Washington.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in seven series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1970-1989 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1938-1988 (Boxes 1-2; 1.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1958-circa 1986 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Professional Records, 1950-1983 (Box 2; 7 folders)
Series 5: Artists Equity Association Files, 1948-1963 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1946-1989 (Boxes 2-3; 0.3 linear feet, OV 4)
Series 7: Photographic Material, 1951, 1964-1969, 1980s (Box 3; 2 folders, OV 4)
Biographical / Historical:
James W. Washington, Jr. (1909-2000) was an African American painter and sculptor prominent in the Seattle, Washington art community. Religion was an important part of his life and he considered his art to be a spiritual undertaking. In addition to being active in his church community, he was a member of the Artists Equity Association, serving as the Seattle Chapter secretary from 1950 to 1960, and then as the president from 1960 to 1962. In 1990 the City of Seattle's Historic Landmark and Preservation Board designated Washington's home and studio at 1816 26th Avenue a cultural landmark.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with James W. Washington, Jr., one conducted by Dorothy Bestor, October 13, 1965, the other by Paul Karlstrom, June 29, 1987.
Provenance:
The James W. Washington, Jr. papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by James. W. Washington, Jr. in two accessions in 1984 and 1989.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Sculptors -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
An interview of James W. Washington conducted 1987 June 29, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Washington discusses his early life in the South; effects of discrimination and the formation of a world view; art as the embodiment of spiritual truth; concept of the Absolute in art; role of the imagination; discovering form in material as basis of sculpture; training and contacts in Seattle; Mark Tobey and Morris Graves; role of Mexico in his shift to sculpture; and philosophy and its realization in sculpture.
Biographical / Historical:
James W. Washington (1911-2000) was a painter, sculptor of Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 32 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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.
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 Patti Warashina, 2005 September 8. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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:
42 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2005 September 8
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Patti Warashina conducted 2005 September 8, by Doug Jeck, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home and studio, in Seattle, Washington.
Patti Warashina is a Japanese American ceramicist and sculptor. She was born in 1940 as Masae Patricia Warashina in Spokane, Washington to third generation Japanese emigrants. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, Seattle, where she studied with sculptors Robert Sperry, Harold Myers, Rudy Autio, Shoji Hamada, Shinsaku Hamada, and Ruth Penington. She received her first solo exhibition in 1962 at the Phoenix Art Gallery in Seattle the same year she graduated with an M.F.A. from the University of Washington. Warashina later married fellow student Fred Bauer and from 1964 to 1970 exhibited as Patti Bauer.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 54 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.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Joanna Eckstein, 1983 April 7. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art patronage -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Kenneth Callahan, 1982 October 27-December 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Artists -- Northwestern States -- Interviews Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Anne Gerber, 1983 Feb. 24-Apr. 21. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Washington (State) -- Seattle -- Interviews Search this
Art patronage -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Alden Mason, 1984 Jan. 13-Feb. 21. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Artists -- Northwestern States -- Interviews Search this
