United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
Date:
1934-1964
Scope and Contents:
Miscellaneous correspondence of Walter Heil, regional director of PWAP, 1934; form letters from Edward Bruce, national director; and a typescript reminiscence of the PWAP and a letter from Ray Strong addressed to Mary McChesney and dated 1964.[Microfilm title, "Ray Strong"]
Biographical / Historical:
Federally funded art project of the Treasury Department initiated in order to provide jobs for unemployed artists during the Depression. Under the PWAP the country was divided into 16 regions each of which had its own director who answered to the national director in Washington, D.C. The PWAP was succeeded by the Section of Painting and Sculpture, which subsequently became the Section of Fine Arts.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by the M.H. De Young Museum.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art and state -- California -- San Francisco Search this
2 Reels (ca.20 items (on partial microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Place:
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California -- Oakland -- Photographs
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California -- Oakland -- Photographs
Date:
1934-1958
Scope and Contents:
Photographs and clippings.
Reel NDA 1: Photographs of marble panels for the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland, California done for the Federal Art Project.
Reel NDA 3(frames 21-30): Newpaper clippings from San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles papers on Simpson's murals and mosaics, 1934 and 1958.[untitled on microfilm]
Biographical / Historical:
Marian Simpson (1899-1978) was a painter and mosaicist from Berkeley, Calif. Worked on the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration.
Provenance:
Material on reel NDA 1 lent for microfilming 1964 by Marian Simpson; and material on reel NDA 3 lent 1964 by Lewis Ferbrache.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California
Date:
1939-1942
Scope and Contents:
Typescripts, correspondence, clippings, photographs, and building plans.
Reel NDA 10: Clippings, photographs, building plans, and blueprints relating to the mural decoration of Fort Ord, California, Enlisted Men's Club for the Federal Art Project by artists Carlton Lehman and Merlin Hardy; and a report from Florence Kerr and a document relating to work of the supervisors of WPA and FAP projects [The report and document are under the microfilm title Florence Kerr];
and a FAP publication, WPA GOVERNMENT AID DURING THE DEPRESSION TO PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, AND OTHER SERVICE WORKERS, 1936, by Grace Overmyer [Microfilm title Grace Overmyer].
Reel NDA 14: Typescript of an article by Adele Stackpole, "Relief Again? What Will You Get for What They Give?" in which she is critical of the WPA; and CALIFORNIA'S MEDICAL STORY IN FRESNO, anon., 1939, which includes illustrations of Bernard Zakheim's murals for the medical school in Fresno; a clipping, and articles by him and his wife; and group photograph of supervisors, artists and assistants in the FAP in San Francisco, April 1936.[Microfilm titles Adele Stackpole, Bernard Zakheim, and WPA-FAP, San Francisco]
Biographical / Historical:
Supervisor, Federal Art Project, Northern California. Supervised the decoration of the Fort Ord's Enlisted Men's Club, which was the last large Federal Art Project and WPA building project in Northern California.
Other Title:
WPA-FAP, San Francisco [microfilm title]
Overmyer, Grace [microfilm title]
Stackpole, Adele [microfilm title]
Zakheim, Bernard [microfilm title]
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by Dorothy Collins.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
Date:
1938-1941
Scope and Contents:
Publicity, correspondence, clippings, photographs, travel receipts, and telegrams relating to the dedication of the Noah's Ark murals by Dorothy Puccinelli and Helen Forbes at Fleishacker Mother's House in San Francisco Zoo; and correspondence, field reports, committee lists, publicity, photographs relating to National Art Week in Northern California.
Biographical / Historical:
Director of Information, Federal Art Project; Northern California.
Provenance:
The materials microfilmed are from the files of Arthur Painter, but were loaned to AAA through Lewis Ferbrache who was a collector for AAA's "New Deal and the Arts" project.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Reels 3028-3030: Biographical data; correspondence with Ernest Blumenschein, Adolf Dehn, Loren Mozley, Georgia O'Keeffe and others; a transcript of an interview with Hunter's widow, Virginia Hunter Ewing, Janaury 7, 1964, regarding Hunter's tenure as State Director for the Federal Art Program of WPA in New Mexico; illustrated typescripts of Hunter's manuscripts; price lists and appraisals of his work; 4 undated sketchbooks of figure studies; annotated drawings of furniture, interior designs and mural studies; a scrapbook, 1925-1960, of newspaper clippings and other printed material; exhibition catalogs; magazine clippings; photos of Hunter, his paintings and murals, and his interior design for the Officer's Club, Army Air Base, Clovis, New Mexico.
Reel NDA 1: Press clippings and a memorial bulletin from the Roswell Museum in New Mexico where he was an administrator.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, administrator and designer; Sante Fe, New Mexico. State director of the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration, a federally aided project to provide employment to artists during the Depression.
Provenance:
The lender, Mrs. Ewing, is the widow of Hunter. Material on reel NDA 1 lent by Mrs. Ewing.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California
Date:
[ca. 1940]
Scope and Contents:
Photographs of Howard and his paintings and a critique; and analysis by Sidney Peterson.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Northern California. Painted for the Federal Art Project in California.
Provenance:
The lender, Lewis Ferbrache, was an administrator of the Oakland Museum of Art and collected materials relating to federally funded art projects for AAA during its New Deal and the Arts project.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Reel NDA 1: Typescript of an article by Wessels, "Modern American Art," concerning government patronage of the arts.
Reel NDA 10: A typescript of an address by Wessels delivered to the Pacific Art Teachers Association, ca. 1938.
Biographical / Historical:
East Bay supervisor of the Federal Art Project (Calif.) and educator, Berkeley, California; Born Capetown, South Africa. Teaches at the University of California, Berkeley. Was a painter for the Federal Art Project in California during the Depression.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by Glenn Wessels.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California
Date:
1940 May
Scope and Contents:
Thesis (M.A.)--University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, May 1940, concerning the effect of the Federal Art Project on the American people.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, Los Angeles, California. Federal Art Project was a federally aided art project during the Depression initiated under Roosevelt's New Deal project.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1965 by the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
A letter from Archie Robertson to Stryker about traveling photographic exhibitions; 2 manuscripts on the origins of the FSA and containing biographical information of Stryker, the staff, and photographers on the project; a photograph of a poem, "Merry Christmas to Stryker"; "Stryker's Credo," a statement he made upon leaving the "Jersey Company" (Standard Oil); "The Children of Esso," 1948 by John Vachon, a psalm-like parody about Stryker and his affiliation with Standard Oil; and a copy of "Their Blood is Strong," 1940 by John Steinbeck on migratory agricultural workers in California illustrated with photos by Dorothea Lange for the FSA, signed by Steinbeck.
Biographical / Historical:
Director of the Farm Security Administration Historical Section; Washington, D.C. Under Stryker the Photographic project of the FSA documented the drought, poverty and despair of rural and urban America during the Depression.
Provenance:
Donated 1965 by Roy Stryker.
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.
United States -- Economic conditions, 1918-1945 -- Washington (State)
Date:
circa 1840s-1997
Summary:
The papers of artist, photographer, museum director, anthropologist, and writer Robert Bruce Inverarity are dated circa 1840s-1997 and measure 12.7 linear feet. Biographical information, correspondence, writings and notes, subject files, art work, scrapbooks, sound recordings, printed material and photographs are found within the papers. They document Inverarity's work as Director of the Federal Art Project in Seattle and Director of the Art and Craft Project for the State of Washington, as well as his other professional work. Nineteenth century material consists of a Japanese print, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of artist, photographer, museum director, anthropologist, and writer Robert Bruce Inverarity are dated circa 1840s-1997 and measure 13.8 linear feet. Biographical information, correspondence, writings and notes, subject files, art work, scrapbooks, sound recordings, printed material and photographs are found within the papers. They document Inverarity's work as Director of the Federal Art Project in Seattle and Director of the Art and Craft Project for the State of Washington, as well as his other professional work. Nineteenth century material consists of a Japanese print, printed material, and photographs.
Among the biographical information are awards and certificates, biographical and genealogical notes, and educational records. Correspondence concerns Inverarity's activities as Director of the WPA Federal Arts Project in Washington State, 1936-1941. Additional personal and professional correspondence, 1929-1993, documents his activities as a museum director, consultant, collector, and writer. Among the friends and colleagues with whom he corresponded are: Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning, Rockwell and Sally Kent, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Wolfgang Palen, Juliet and Man Ray, Mark Tobey, Edward Weston, and various individuals associated with the WPA.
Manuscripts of a few of Inverarity's many articles on topics such as anthropology, museology, and information storage and retrieval are among his writings and notes. Also included are the manuscript of an unpublished book, Tobey Remembered, along with drafts, notes, correspondence, research materials, and photocopies of Tobey's letters to him and others. Other writings consist of book reviews, children's books, a catalog of the Inverarity Collection, and a copy of his 1946 master's thesis, "The Social-Economic Position of the American Artist." Several journals, 1928-1966, survive, including one that records his 1932 trip to study the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Subject files include general subjects such as "Folk Art" and "Preservation." Files on the museums where Inverarity was the director contain some official records as well as general information. Art work by Inverarity includes eight volumes of sketch books, 1928-1942, commercial work for Boeing, notes and drawings for book designs. Among the work by other artists are drawings, paintings and prints by friends. Of particular interest are display panels for a small exhibit on airbrush stencil prints produced by the Washington State WPA Federal Art Project. Other noteworthy items are pencil sketches and a watercolor by Mark Tobey, and prints by Hiroshige and Jan Matulka.
Five scrapbooks, 1928-1979, contain newspaper clippings, miscellaneous printed items, and a small number of photographs and letters. Three volumes document his career as an artist and museum director. One consists of biographical information and items designed by Inverarity, and another concerns publication and marketing of his monograph Art of the Northwest Coast Indians.
Sound recordings consist of interviews and conversations. An extensive interview with Inverarity about his life and career was conducted by Craig Gilborn in 1990. Bruce and Jane Inverarity in conversation with former colleague Ernie Johnson and his wife Helen about his departure from the Museum of International Folk Art were recorded in 1980. Also included is a 1981 conversation with Grace T. Stevenson containing references to Mark Tobey and Morris Graves.
Printed material includes many items about or produced by the WPA Federal Art Project. Among the items written by Inverarity are many articles on a wide variety of topics, his book Art of the Northwest Coast Indians, and two published portfolios. Printed material by other authors includes articles, books and reports about or mentioning Inverarity, and books designed or illustrated by him. Among the miscellaneous printed items are catalogs and brochures of the schools where Inverarity taught and studied, and a few ephemeral items designed by him.
Photographs are of art work, people, places, the Washington State WPA Federal Art Project, and miscellaneous subjects. All photographs known to be by Inverarity are clearly marked. Art work includes views of Inverarity's collection of his own work and that of other artists hanging in his home. Photographs of people include artists, friends, colleagues, and various groups. Of special interest are Inverarity's portraits of artists, among them Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Morris Graves, Hilaire Hiler, Rico Le Brun, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Man Ray, Dorothea Tanning, and Mark Tobey. Photographs of places include the museums where Inverarity was director, places in which he lived, and travel pictures. Of note are a large group of photographs (copy prints) taken in 1932 while studying the Haida Indians in British Columbia. Nineteenth century photographs of family homes, Europe, and South America may have been taken by his father. Photographs of the Washington State WPA Federal Arts Project are of individual works of art, exhibition installations, mosaic procedures and local art centers. Many, probably intended for display, are mounted in groups on large cardboard panels. Miscellaneous subjects include art photographs by Inverarity and the microreader he invented.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series. Correspondence is in chronological order, Biographical Information and Subject Files are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Other series have been organized into subseries and arrangement is as described in the Series Descriptions/Container List below. Unless noted otherwise, material within folders is arranged chronologically.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Information, 1934-1997, undated (Box 1, OV 18; 0.25 linear ft.)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1928-1993, undated (Box 1; 0.75 linear ft.)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1928-1993, undated, (Boxes 2-3; 1.5 linear ft.)
Series 4: Subject Files, 1938-1990, undated (Boxes 3-6, OV 19-20; 2.5 linear ft.)
Series 5: Art Work, circa 1840s-1969, undated (Boxes 6, 12, 16, OV 21; 1.3 linear ft.)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1928-1991, undated (Boxes 7-8; 1.1 linear ft.)
Series 7: Sound Recordings, 1980-1990 (Box 8; 3 folders)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1902-1995, undated (Boxes 8-13, OV 22; 3.4 linear ft.)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1870s-1990, undated (Boxes 11, 14-17, OV 23; 3.0 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Robert Bruce Inverarity (1909-1999) showed artistic leanings as a boy, and from an early age was fascinated by puppetry and Northwest Coast native culture. During much of his youth, Inverarity's family lived in Canada, but returned to their native Seattle when he was a teenager. After graduating from high school, he made a 500 mile journey on foot along the coasts of the Vancouver Islands, collecting Indian artifacts and studying the area's tribal legends.
He studied briefly with Mark Tobey in Seattle, where the two shared a studio; when Tobey departed for Chicago, Inverarity succeeded him as an art teacher at the Cornish School. He spent the next few years in California working as an artist, exhibiting, and occasionally teaching. From there, he moved to Vancouver where he was Director of the School of Creative Art. In 1932, Inverarity made a three month trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, for the purpose of studying the Haida Indians.
Upon his return to the United States in 1933, Inverarity joined the University of Washington Drama School as a puppetry instructor; in 1938 he published a highly regarded Manual of Puppetry. During 1936-37, he took a leave of absence from the university to assume the position of State Director of the Federal Art Project, where he remained until 1939. He then became State Director of the Art and Crafts Project (1939-1941). The U.S. Navy appointed Inverarity Chief of Design for Camouflage (1941-1943) and he later served as an Official Navy War Artist (1943-1945).
During his early years as a teacher and administrator, Inverarity continued making art and participated in a wide variety of exhibitions. He published a portfolio, 12 Photographs by R. B. Inverarity (1940). In the following year, Movable Masks and Figures of the North Pacific Coast Indians, a portfolio of his watercolors reproduced as silkscreen prints, appeared. Although Inverarity stopped exhibiting in 1941, he continued to produce art; notable work of this period includes photographic portraits of a number of artist friends (Max Ernst, Dorothea Tanning, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray).
After World War II, Inverarity completed his formal education. He earned a Bachelor's degree in art and anthropology from the University of Washington (1946), and then studied with Hilaire Hiler at Freemont University in Los Angeles, where he was awarded a Master's degree in fine arts (1947) and a Ph.D. (1948).
Inverarity began his museum career in 1949 when he was appointed the first director of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a position that combined his interest in, and knowledge of, anthropology and art. While in Santa Fe, he published Art of the North West Coast Indians (1950). During his five year tenure as director, the museum participated in a pilot study for coding visual files, a project of the anthropological group, Human Resources Area Files, Inc. When Inverarity was dismissed from the Museum of International Folk Art in 1954, most of the staff resigned in protest, and the American Association of Museums investigated the situation.
Inverarity then became the first director of the Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, New York, where he remained for eleven years. In addition to planning the museum's building, and developing collections and programs, Inverarity continued his involvement with the visual files project of the Human Resources Area Files, Inc., studying information storage and retrieval, developing a "microreader," and publishing Visual Files Coding Index (1960). In addition, he published many articles on a variety of topics and was active in organizations for anthropologists and museum professionals.
After his 1965 departure from the Adirondack Museum, Inverarity went to California and worked as an illustrator and book designer at the University of California Press. He returned to the east coast in 1969 to assume the directorship of the Philadelphia Maritime Museum. During this period, he remained active in professional associations and traveled to study museums abroad. He retired in 1976 and moved to La Jolla, California.
Robert Bruce Inverarity died in 1999.
Separated Material:
Originals of most of the drawings and sketches loaned by Mr. Inverarity were returned to him after filming and were not subsequently donated. This material is available on 35 mm microfilm reel D/NDA/I, frames 392-409.
Provenance:
Robert Bruce Inverarity donated his papers to the Archives in several installments between 1965 and 1993. Additional papers were received from his estate in 1999. He also loaned a small number of additional drawings and sketches for microfilming which were returned to him. A few of these drawings were included with the papers he subsequently donated to the Archives of American Art.
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.
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
Date:
1956
Scope and Contents:
A 73 page thesis, MURAL PROJECTS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN THE BAY AREA OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, University of California (Berkeley), December 17, 1956; handwritten notes about the mural projects; and photographs of murals painted by Lucien Labaudt.
Biographical / Historical:
The Federal Art Project (FAP) fell under the jurisdiction of Federal Project No. 1 of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Established in May 1935 specifically as a work relief program for unemployed artists. Each state and territory had its own programs and were administered aid from the federal government via a local agency.
Provenance:
The lender, Glenn Wessels, is a professor in the art department of the University of California (Berkeley).
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art and state -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Mural painting and decoration, American -- California -- San Francisco Search this
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
Date:
1936-1937
Scope and Contents:
Twenty volumes of the publication, CALIFORNIA ART RESEARCH, containing monographs on artists whose principal residence was San Francisco.
REEL NDA/Cal 1: Artists include Robert Aitken, Arthur Atkins, Albert Bierstadt, Ray Boynton, Anne Bremer, Henry J. Breuer, Giuseppe Cadenasso, Emil Carlsen, M. Earl Cummings, Rinaldo Cuneo, Charles Dickman, Maynard Dixon, Charles Grant, Armin Hansen, H. W. Hansen, Thomas Hill, Christian Jorgensen, Amedee Joullin, William Keith, Constance Macky, Xavier Martinez, Arthur Mathews, Francis McComas, Arthur C. Nahl, Charles C. Nahl, Hugo W. A. Nahl, Perham W. Nahl, Virgil T. Nahl, Ernest Peixotto, Charles R. Peters, Gottardo Piazzoni, Horatio Nelson Poole, Arthur Putnam, Joseph Raphael, Mary C. Richardson, Julian Rix, Charles D. Robinson, Toby Rosenthal, Will Sparks,Jules Tavernier, Douglas Tilden, Domenico Tojetti, Frank Van Sloun, Thaddeus Welch, Virgil Williams, Evelyn A. Withrow, and Theodore Wores.
REEL NDA/Cal 2: Artists include Rowena M. Abdy, Gertrude Albright, Hermann O. Albright, Maxine Albro, Victor Arnautoff, Matthew R. Barne s, Frank Bergman, Jane Berlandina, Ray Bethers, Beniamino Bufano, Margaret Bruton, Chee Chin, Ruth Cravath, Helen Forbes, Euphemia C. Fortune, William Gaw, Edith Hamlin, William Hesthal, Clark Hobart, Charles Howard, John G. Howard, John L. Howard, Robert Boardman Howard, Adaline Kent, Dong Kingman, Lucien Labaudt, Spencer Mackey, Jo Mora, Jose Moya del Pino, Chiura Obata, Otis Oldfield, Julius Pommer, George B. Post, Dorothy W. Puccinelli, Raimondo Puccinelli, Lee F. Randolph, Andree Rexroth, Matteo Sandona, Geneve R. Sargeant, Sergey J. Scherbakoff,Jacques Schnier, Yoshida Sekido, Joseph M. Sheridan,Ralph Stackpole, and Bernard Zakheim.
Biographical / Historical:
Publication of the Works Progress Administration; San Francisco, Calif. Sponsored by Dr. Walter Heil of the M.H. de Young Museum. Was originally a joint project of the WPA-Statistical projects division and the WPA-Federal Art Project in order to disseminate information about artists and art in the San Francisco region.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
San Francisco, WPA Project 2874, 1936-1937.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art and state -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Selected Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration records from the United States National Archives (microfilm), 1935-1948. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California
Citation:
The WPA Federal art project : its contribution to the American people / by Fanny Bowles Vanderkooi, 1940 May. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
