Five slides of jewelry designed and made by Miye Matsukata; a letter from Matsukata to Ostrum; and a clipping about her work.
Biographical / Historical:
Ostrum is a collector; Califon, New Jersey. Miye Matsukata (1922-1981) was a Japanese American jewelry designer and metalsmith based in Boston, Massachusetts. She worked at her jewelry firm Janiye in Boston from 1950 to her death.
Provenance:
Donated 1984 by Sarepta Pierpont Ostrum.
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.
The papers of San Francisco metal-worker, jeweler, and painter Merry Renk measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1952 to 2000. The collection comprises business records that include sales invoices, inventories, exhibition price lists, correspondence, and other material related to Renk's business activities. Also found are printed materials, a few sketches of utensils, writings, and a video recording of the documentary "Merry Renk: Jeweler" by Alan Leveton.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of San Francisco jeweler, painter, and metal-worker Merry Renk measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1952 to 2000. The collection comprises business records that include sales invoices, inventories, exhibition price lists, and correspondence. Correspondents include Greta Daniel, Mrs. Vanderbilt Webb, Conrad Brown, Rose Slivka, Paul Soldner, Paul J. Smith, Alice W. Nichols, Roger Armstrong, and Francis S. Merritt. Also found is other material related to Renk's business activities; printed materials including clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs; a few sketches of utensils; writings including an unpublished typescript with illustrations and a draft of Renk's biographical statement; and a video recording containing the documentary "Merry Renk: Jeweler" by Alan Leveton.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection, the papers are arranged as one series.
Series 1: Merry Renk Papers, 1952-2000 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, OV 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Merry Renk (1921-2012) was a jeweler, painter, and metal-worker in San Francisco, California.
Renk was born in Trenton, New Jersey as Mary Ruth Gibbs. She studied painting at the Trenton School of Industrial Arts before moving to Chicago in 1946 to study at Illinois Institute of Technology. In Chicago, Renk founded the 750 Studio, an art gallery, with Olive Oliver and Mary Jo Slick. After taking some time to travel, she settled in San Francisco in 1948 where she became a prominent member of the arts and crafts community. Renk was instrumental in the founding of the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild and served as president in 1954. She also became an honorary fellow at the American Craft Council.
Renk is primarily known for her jewelry work but after suffering an eye injury in a car accident she began focusing on creating large scale sculptures using jewelry techniques sometime in the 1960s to 1970s.
Renk married Stanley Edwin Renk in 1941. After his death in World War II, she married fellow artist Earle Watt Curtis in 1958.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives of American Art is an interview of Merry Renk conducted on January 18-19, 2001 by Arline M. Fisch for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America in Renk's home and studio in San Francisco, California.
Provenance:
The Merry Renk papers were donated in 2003 and 2004 by Merry Renk as a part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
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. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that she may own in the following material: Unpublished typescript, "Memories for My Children's Children's Children's Children's Children's Children."
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 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Jewelers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Metal-workers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
The papers of African American sculptor, jewelry maker, quilter, and performance artist Joyce Scott measure 9.1 linear feet and date from 1948 to 2019, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 2000s, and individual materials from 1914 to 1915, and from 1932. The collection consists of biographical material; correspondence; writings; professional files, including exhibition and project files, born-digital materials, and gallery records; printed material; photographic material, including photo albums; artwork; and audiovisual material, including recordings of performances and lectures.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of African American sculptor, jewelry maker, quilter, and performance artist Joyce Scott measure 9.1 linear feet and date from 1948 to 2019, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 2000s and individual materials from 1914 to 1915, and from 1932. The collection consists of biographical material; correspondence; writings; professional files, including exhibition and project files, born-digital materials, and gallery records; printed material; photographic material, including photo albums; artwork; and audiovisual material, including recordings of performances and lectures.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as eight series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1948-1977, 1989-2015 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1972-2014 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1970-circa 2000s, undated (Box 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Professional Files, 1970s-circa 2013 (Box 2, OV 10; 0.9 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1914-1915, 1932, 1953-2018 (Box 3-5, OV 10; 2.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1971-2019 (Box 5; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, 1987-1989, 1998-2006, undated (Box 5; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 8: Audiovisual Material, 1983-2006, undated (Boxes 5-9; 4.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Joyce Scott (1948- ) is an African American sculptor, jewelry maker, quilter, and performance artist in Baltimore, Maryland. She is best known for her use of off-loom bead weaving techniques to depict the complexities of race, gender, and class. Born in 1948, Scott is the daughter of quilter and folk artist Elizabeth Talford Scott, from whom she learned quilting. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and Master of Fine Art from the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. In 2016, Scott was named a MacArthur Fellow, and she was named the Smithsonian Visionary Artist in 2019. Her work is held in permanent collections across the country, including at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Joyce J. Scott, 2009 July 22 conducted by Robert Silberman.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2019 by Joyce Scott as part of the Archives' African American Collecting Initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
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. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. 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.
An interview of Merry Renk conducted 2001 January 18-19, by Arline M. Fisch, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Renk's home and studio, San Francisco, California.
Renk speaks of her family background; growing up during the Depression; her father's creativity and encouragement; early inspiration from "the structure of nature"; attending the School of Industrial Arts in Trenton, N.J., and later the Institute of Design in Chicago; student life at the Institute of Design; establishing a studio and gallery, 750 Studio, at 750 North Dearborn, in Chicago, in 1947, with two other students, Mary Jo Slick [Godfrey] and Olive [Bunny] Oliver; managing 750 Studio and organizing exhibitions of Harry Callahan, Henry Miller, Lazlo Maholy-Nagy, Warren and Ethel MacKenzie, Doris Hall, and others; working with enamels; early "primitive" spirals; decision to be a jeweler; the importance of the "wearability" of jewelry; moving to San Francisco in 1948; living in Paris, 1950-1951; relationship with Shinkichi Tajiri; visiting Constantin Brancusi; traveling with Lenore Tawney through Spain and Morocco; settling in San Francisco; friendship with sculptor and neighbor Ruth Asawa; learning about Josef Albers from Asawa, resulting in experiments with folded metal; meeting her second husband, potter Earle Curtis on Halloween 1954; purchasing and remodeling their home; teaching part-time at the University of California, Berkeley and in workshops; her children, Baunnie and Sandra; managing motherhood and jewelry making in a two-artist household; drawing as a form of inventory; the influence of Lee Nordness; learning the plique-à-jour technique of enameling through trial and error; early influence of Doris Hall's work; working with wire; use of natural forms and interlocking forms; the process of making Wedding Crown (1968) for the exhibition Objects USA; making wedding crowns for her daughters; her shift from non-objective art to portraiture and symbolic imagery in the early 1970s; making large-scale sculpture in 1974, then "drifting back" to jewelry; importance of working independently; her "memory paintings" in the 1980s; evolution of her name from Mary Ruth Gibbs to Merry Renk Curtis (married Stanley Renk in 1941); her involvement with local guilds such as the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco and national organizations such as the American Craft Council (ACC); lack of critical writing about her work; the value of exhibitions; various pieces in museum collections; early ACC conferences; her long friendship with photographer Imogen Cunningham; posing for Cunningham; becoming an ACC fellow; her jewelry tools; the process of painting compared to jewelry making. She also mentions Kenneth Bates, Trude Guermonprez, Irena Brynner, the Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and her mentor Margaret de Patta.
Biographical / Historical:
Merry Renk (1921-2012) was a jeweler, painter, and sculptor from San Francisco, California. Arline M. Fisch (1931-) is a metalsmith from San Diego, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 9 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.
The papers of silversmith, Florence Resnikoff measure 1.4 linear feet and date from circa 1950-2011. Included is professional correspondence regarding Resnikoff, silversmithing and Resnikoff's work; printed material; few photographs; price lists; and project files.
Biographical / Historical:
Florence Resnikoff (1920-2013) was a metalsmith known for jewelry design in California.
Provenance:
Donated in 2021 by Carl Resnikoff, Florence Resnikoff's son.
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.
Silberman, Robert B. (Robert Bruce), 1950- Search this
Creator:
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:
61 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2009 July 22
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Joyce J. Scott conducted 2009 July 22, by Robert Silberman, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Scott's home and studio, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Scott talks about her childhood in Baltimore; childhood visits to the Baltimore Museum of Art and Walters Art Gallery; her parents' lives growing up in the segregated South; her artist mother, who was her first bead-teacher; craft traditions in her family, including pottery and quilting; quilting as storytelling, "diaries" for preliterate people; improvisational craft; Three Generation Quilt; Fifty .; undergraduate studies at Maryland Institute College of Art; travels after graduation in Mexico, Central , and South America; graduate studies in craft in Mexico; decision at age 23 to become a studio artist, and partnership with her mother; theater work with Robert Sherman and in New York and in Baltimore; theater work with Kay Lawal in Thunder Thigh Revue; studies at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME, where she learned traditional Navajo weaving, and learned the peyote stitch for beadwork, a seminal technique for her career; her book Fearless Beadwork: Improvisational Peyote Stitch: handwriting & drawings from hell. Rochester, NY: Visual Studies Workshop, 1994; working in different mediums; What You Mean Jungle Music? [1988]; working for recognition of beadwork as a sculptural medium; politics, social commentary, and humor in her work; series Day after Rape; her working processes; Rodney King's Head Was Squashed Like a Watermelon; working in monoprints; working in glass (flameworking, lampworking), including at Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA, Tacoma [WA] Museum of Glass, UrbanGlass, New York, NY, Haystack Mountain; retrospective exhibition, "Joyce Scott Kickin' It With the Old Masters" at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 2000; series Africa in Unexpected Places; installation work, including in "Images Concealed," San Francisco, 1995, and Believe I've Been Sanctified, Charleston, SC, 1991; small-scale work; influence of her upbringing in the Pentecostal church; Buddha Gives Basketball to the Ghetto [1991] and the importance of spirituality in her work; travels in South America, Africa, and Europe; the complementarity of performance/theater work and visual art; performance pieces: Generic Interference, Genetic Engineering, Virtual Reality, and Walk a Mile in My Drawers; Lips mosaic at Reagan National Airport, Washington, D.C.; teaching workshops at Haystack, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC, the Oregon School of Arts and Craft, Portland; artist-in-residency at Pilchuck; gallery affiliations, and usefulness of the gallery system, which allows her to work as a studio artist; the importance of galleries as a free venue open to ordinary people; luxuriating in beauty. She recalls Betty Woodman, Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, Lowery Sims, Fritz Dreisbach, Anthony Corradetti, Antony Gormley, Ann Hamilton, David Hammons, Mary Jane Jacob, Cesar Pelli, Susan Cummins, and Helen Drutt English.
Biographical / Historical:
Joyce J. Scott (1948- ) is a visual and performance artist and educator who lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 11 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
4 Linear feet
0.282 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Photographs
Date:
1941-2013
bulk 1960-2000
Summary:
The papers of jeweler and designer Mary Ann Scherr measure 4.0 linear feet and 0.282 GB and date from 1941 to 2013, with the bulk of the material from 1960 to 2000. Scherr's career is documented through scattered biographical material and a digital video recording of an interview; correspondence with museums, universities, professional entities, and colleagues; writings by her as well as professional and student writings about her; business records documenting projects and connections with institutions and organizations; news clippings, promotional ephemera, catalogs, posters, and other printed materials; and photographs of Scherr and of her artwork. An additional 2.0 linear feet donated in 2016 includes biographical material including information about Scherr's children, resumes and awards; personal and professional correspondence; teaching files and material regarding honorary degrees; project files pertaining to Scherr's "Body Monitors" jewelry; financial records including invoices for projects and supplies; photographs of Scherr with her designs, with others, and of works of art; artwork consisting of designs, illustrations, and computer clip art design; and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of jeweler and designer Mary Ann Scherr measure 4.0 linear feet and 0.282 GB and date from 1941 to 2013, with the bulk of the material from 1960 to 2000. Scherr's career is documented through scattered biographical material and a digital video recording of an interview; correspondence with museums, universities, professional entities, and colleagues; writings by her as well as professional and student writings about her; business records documenting projects and connections with institutions and organizations; news clippings, promotional ephemera, catalogs, posters, and other printed materials; and photographs of Scherr and of her artwork. An additional 2.0 linear feet donated in 2016 includes biographical material including information about Scherr's children, resumes and awards; personal and professional correspondence; teaching files and material regarding honorary degrees; project files pertaining to Scherr's "Body Monitors" jewelry; financial records including invoices for projects and supplies; photographs of Scherr with her designs, with others, and of works of art; artwork consisting of designs, illustrations, and computer clip art design; and printed material.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1948-2005 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet, ER01; 0.282 GB)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1941-2007 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 3: Writings, 1979-2005 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1947-2004 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1950-2007 (Box 1-2; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1960-1999 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Ann Scherr (1921-) is a jeweler and designer living in Raleigh, North Carolina. Scherr was born in Akron, Ohio, and trained at the Cleveland Institute of Art, The University of Akron, and Kent State University, among others. She has worked in illustration, automotive and toy design, fashion, and metalwork but is most renowned for her functional approach to jewelry design through "body monitors," high-tech utilitarian ornaments that monitor and react to the conditions of the wearer or the wearer's surroundings.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Mary Ann Scherr conducted by Mary Douglas, April 6-7, 2001.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Mary Ann Scherr in 2001, 2005, and 2008 under the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Additional material donated 2016 by Scott Scherr, Mary Ann Scherr's son.
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. Use of video recording requires advance notice.
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:
Goldsmiths -- North Carolina -- Raleigh Search this
An interview of Mary Ann Scherr conducted 2001 April 6-7, by Mary Douglas, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
This interview took place in the artist's home and studio, Raleigh, N.C.
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Ann Scherr (1921- ) is a jeweler from Raleigh, N.C. Mary Douglas (1956-) is a curator at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, N.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 34 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.
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:
79 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2004 April 4-6
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Marjorie Schick conducted 2004 April 4-6, by Tacey A. Rosolowski, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Schick speaks of her aesthetic goals; making "body sculpture" as opposed to jewelry; being raised by her mother, a teacher and artist; taking art classes in high school; studying art education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; marrying James Schick; getting an MFA in jewelry at Indiana University; being mentored by Alma Eikerman; transitioning her works from metal to papier-mâché; working with alternative materials; making costume pieces for dancers; being represented by Galerie Ra in Amsterdam; studying metalwork while on sabbatical in London; the importance of change and experimentation in her work; making companion pieces; traveling to Europe and Mexico; creating "teapot jewelry"; and being part of the international jewelry community. Schick also speaks of how collectors and the art market react to her pieces; exhibiting in galleries; being a member of the Kansas Artist Craftsman Association; teaching; giving workshops; working on pieces while traveling; her autobiographical pieces; hiring student helpers; paying attention to craftsmanship; the challenges of being a craft artist and making "unwearable" jewelry; and her current project. Schick also recalls David Smith, Paul Smith, Harry Bertoia, Tom Joyce, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Marjorie Schick (1941-2017) is a jeweler of Pittsburg, Kansas. Tacey A. Rosolowski is an art historian from Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 53 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.
The Phyllis Hersh collection consists of papers and photographs associated with a book project on contemporary Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo, and Zuni jewelry and jewelers. The collection measures 1.3 linear ft. of mansucript materials, 521 photographic prints, and 85 photographic negatives, and dates from 1974 to 2008, with the bulk of the material dating from 1975 to 1980. The papers primarily document Hersh's work on "The Indian Jewelers' Art," an unfinished book on contemporary Native American jewelry.
Collection scope and contents:
The Phyllis Hersh collection consists of papers and photographs associated with a book project on contemporary Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo, and Zuni jewelry and jewelers. The papers measure 1.3 linear ft. and date from 1974 to 2008, with the bulk of the material dating from 1975 to 1980. The papers primarily document Hersh's work on "The Indian Jewelers' Art," an unfinished book on contemporary Native American jewelry. Her project was primarily supported by a Ford Foundation grant, and so the papers include correspondence with the Foundation, the requisite budget notes and receipts, project descriptions, and outlines. In addition, the collection includes documentation related to the royalty and copyright dispute between Hersh and her project photographer, Nancy Tomassen-Lensen.
The color and black-and-white photographs and corresponding negatives—approximately 600 total photographic objects—in the Hersh collection are also related to "The Indian Jewelers' Art." They date from 1975 to 1980. The photographic materials represent the work of:
Hopi jewelers Victor Coochwytewa, Bernard Dawahoya, Michael Hoyungawa, Charles Loloma, Lewis Lomay, Preston Monongye, Phil Navasya, Aldie Qumyintewa, Griselda Saufkie, Phillip Sekaquaptewa, and Michael Sockyma.
Navajo jewelers Fred Begay, Kenneth Begay, Kee Benally, Carson Blackgoat, Harrison Blackgoat, Irene Blackgoat, Sadie Calvine, Mark Chee, Jesse Claw, Fannie Coan, Julia Coan, David Donald, Sarah DuBoise, Billie John Hoskie, Esther Coan Hoskie, Tom Hoskie, Della James, Francis James, Wallace James, Wilfred Jones, Chester Khan, Iven Kee, Mary Marie Yazzie Lincoln, Johnny Pablo, Ambrose Roanhorse, Willie Shaw, Fred Thompson, Katherine Wilson, Cindy Yazzie, and Lee Yazzie.
Santo Domingo jewelers Edward Aguilar, Ernestine Aguilar, Mary Aguilar, Priscilla Aguilar, Tony Aguilar, Vidal Aragon, Joe Ray Calabaza, Raymond Calabaza, Elizabeth Chavez, Maria F. Garcia, Charles Lovato, Clara Lovato, Harold Lovato, Sedalio Lovato, Angie Reano Owens, Johnny Rosetta, Marlene Rosetta, and Joe V. Tortalita.
Zuni jewelers Edward Beyuka, Rignie Boone, George Haloo CheeChee, Dennis Edaakie, Anita Hattie, Buddy Hattie, Horace Ilue, Morris Laahti, Sadie Laahti, Etta Lynee Laote, Lygatie Laote, Matthew Latteyge, Edith Tsabetsaye Lonjose, Orlinda Natewa, Rosemary Panteah, Isabel Paquin, Sherman Paquin, Bowman Pewa, Andrew Emerson Quam, Bonnie Quam, Joyce Romancito, Ann Sheyka, Porfillio Sheyka, and David Tsikewa.
Cochiti jeweler Fidel Chavez.
Arrangement:
The Hersh collection is arranged in two series. The manuscripts are arranged alphabetically and the photographs are arranged alphabetically by culture group and jeweler name.
Historical note:
With support from the Ford Foundation, Exxon, and Levi Strauss Company, in 1975 Phyllis Hersh undertook to identify and interview contemporary Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo, and Zuni jewelers. Her intention was to produce a book that was less focused on the history of native jewelry production and instead emphasized and explained the styles, approaches, and techniques of practicing jewelers. From the start, Hersh considered photography essential to the realization of her objectives for the book. In June 1975, Hersh hired photographer Nancy Lensen-Tomasson; between 1975 and 1980 the two made a number of trips around Arizona and New Mexico to photograph jewelry and jewelers on location. Hersh hoped that her book would both expand the market for authentic, high-quality Native American crafts and "educate and motivate" a younger generation of native jewelers. "The Indian Jewelers' Art," Hersh's working title for the book, was never published, although a related article authored by Hersh and accompanied by Lensen-Tomasson's photographs appeared in ExxonUSA (1st quarter 1977).
Provenance:
This collection was donated in several accessions beginning in 2007 by Phyllis Hersh. Following her death the remainder of the collection was donated by her son Daniel Hersh in 2012.
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. Permission to publish or broadbast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Phyllis Hersh collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
