The papers of Washington-based sculptor and educator George Tsutakawa measure 1 linear feet and date from 1963 to 1991. The papers document his career as a painter, sculptor, and teacher and include biographical material, correspondence, exhibition files, membership records, project files, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Washington-based sculptor and educator George Tsutakawa measure 1 linear feet and date from 1963 to 1991. The papers document his career as a painter, sculptor, and teacher and include biographical material, correspondence, exhibition files, membership records, project files, and printed material.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
George Tsutakawa (1910-1997) was a Japanese American sculptor, painter, and teacher who primarily worked in Seattle, Washington. Tsutakawa was born in Seattle, but he was educated and raised in Japan from 1917 to 1927. Upon his return to Seattle, he enrolled in high school and later attended the University of Washington School of Art (1932-1937), where he majored in sculpture.
During World War II, his family was sent to the Japanese American incarceration camps, while Tsutakawa served in the U.S. Army from 1941-1945. After the war, he returned to Seattle and in 1947 he married his wife Ayame, whom he had met at one of the Japanese incarceration camps he visited in order to see and help family members during the war. That same year, Tsutakawa also started teaching at the University of Washington, where he resumed his studies and got his M.F.A. in 1950.
From the late 1950s through 1970s, Tsutakawa rose to prominence for his designs of fountains, usually made from bronze or welded steel. Over the course of his career, he designed fountains for roughly 80 commissions across the United States and Japan. During this time, he continued to teach at the University of Washington until his retirement in 1976. He died in Seattle in 1997.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with George Tsutakawa conducted 1983 September 8-19, by Martha Kingsbury; an oral history interview with George Tsutakawa conducted 1987 June 26-27, by his daughter Mayumi Tsutakawa; and the George Tsutakawa in Japan video project recordings.
Provenance:
The George Tsutakawa papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by George Tsutakawa in 1991.
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:
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Sculptors -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
