An interview of Helena Hernmarck conducted 2010 July 28 and August 31, by Matilda McQuaid, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Hernmarck's home and studio, in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Biographical / Historical:
Helena Hernmarck (1941-) is a tapestry artist in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Matilda McQuaid is deputy curatorial director, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 6 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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.) Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1924-1969
Summary:
The papers of artist and weaver Anni Albers measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1924-1969. They consist primarily of printed materials about Alber's exhibitions, Bauhaus training, and Black Mountain weaving classes.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of artist and weaver Anni Albers measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1924-1969. They consist primarily of printed materials about Alber's exhibitions, Bauhaus training, and Black Mountain weaving classes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Printed Materials, 1929-1969 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Anni Albers (1899-1994) was a textile designer, weaver, writer, and printmaker who worked in Connecticut and at the Black Mountain College in North Carolina.
Anni Albers was born in Germany in 1899 and attended the Bauhaus where she met her husband designer Josef Albers in 1922; they married in 1925. At the Bauhaus. she experimented with new materials for weaving and executed richly colored designs on paper for wall hangings and textiles in silk, cotton, and linen yarns.
When the Bauhaus moved to Dessau, the Albers lived alongside the families of artist teachers Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Oscar Schlemmer, and others in one of the masters' houses designed by Gropius. In 1933, the Albers emigrated to the U.S. to work at the experimental Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Both taught at Black Mountain until 1949. During these years Anni Albers' weavings were shown throughout the US and she published many articles on textiles and design, culminating in a 1949 show at the Museum of Modern Art, the first of its kind for a textile artist.
In 1950, Josef accepted the position of chair of the design department at Yale and the Albers moved to Connecticut. During the 1950s and 1960s, Anni worked productively from a home studio, producing fabric patterns, creating "pictorial" weavings, and writing articles and books about weaving, including On Designing in 1952 and On Weaving in 1965. During the 1960s she also started printmaking and devoted much of her later career to this artform.
Anni Albers died in Connecticut in 1994.
Related Material:
Also found among the holdings of the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Anni Albers by Sevim Fesci on July 5, 1968.
Provenance:
Anni Albers donated the papers in 1969.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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:
Art teachers -- Connecticut -- New Haven Search this
A photograph (b&w) of Lili Blumenau at work at a loom, taken by David Vestal, undated; and a certificate "In Recognition of Public Service" issued by the United States Department of State to Blumenau for her "assistance in the American program for the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition, 1958."
Biographical / Historical:
Fiber artist.
Provenance:
Donated 2001 by the American Craft Museum as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. [It is unclear to the Museum why the documents were in their files, and there is not indication whether the photograph was taken at the Brussels Exhibition or whether the two items are related.]
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.
Occupation:
Fiber artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Weavers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Korea (South) -- History -- April Revolution, 1960
Date:
2007 July 30-2008 July 26
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Chunghi Choo conducted 2007 July 30-2008 July 26, by Jane Milosch, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home, in Iowa City, Iowa.
Choo speaks of establishing the Metalsmithing and Jewelry program at the University of Iowa in Iowa City; the elaborate equipment, tools, and safety protection used in the studio; her experience teaching silent metalforming at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine; participating in international workshops and seminars in Korea; the extensive world traveling she does with her husband, Dr. Charles Read, including destinations in Scandinavia, Thailand, Austria, Italy, and South Africa, among others; the house she designed in Iowa City; her love of the city and being surrounded by treasured friends, a supportive university, and beautiful environments; an interest in creative cooking and appreciation for diverse dishes from all around the world; her childhood and young adulthood in Inchon, Korea; growing up with an appreciation for beautiful art objects and classical music; an early interest and talent in drawing; attending Ewha Women's University as generations of women in her family had previously; experiences during the Korean War and April 19 Revolution in 1961; coming to the United States in 1961 as a student; studying English, ceramics, enameling, and stone cutting for one semester at Penland School of Crafts in Penland, N.C.; attending Cranbrook Art Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and studying metalsmithing with Richard Thomas, ceramics with Maija Grotell, and weaving with Glen Kaufman; living with Mrs. Loja Saarinen during her three and a half years at Cranbrook; teaching general craft at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Rapids from 1965-1968; pioneering the mixed-media studies with her students at UNI; accepting the challenge to build a metalsmithing and jewelry program at the University of Iowa in Iowa City in 1968; learning and teaching electroforming; the development of the electro-appliqué technique; extensive donor support and fundraising for the Metalsmithing and Jewelry program and its students; finding inspiration in nature, East Asian calligraphy, classical music, and travel; her long friendship with Jack Lenor Larsen and the great influence he has had on her work; being represented in major art museums and institutions world-wide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Museum fur Kunsthandwerk in Frankfurt, Germany, and many others; the joy she has when her students succeed and surpass her; and plans for future work, writing projects, and travel. Choo also speaks of the 2008 flooding of Iowa City and the state of Iowa during which her studio was severely damaged and many things were lost. Choo also recalls Park, No Soo; Lee, Sang Bong; Ruth Kao; Stanley Lechtzin; Yuho Fujio; David McFadden; Paul J. Smith; Rosanne Raab; Cody Bush; Jocelyn Chateauvert; Mary Merkel Hess; Sandra Mayer-VanderMey; Kee-ho Yeun, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Chunghi Choo (1938- ) is a Korean American educator, metalsmith, jeweler, and textile and mixed media artist based in Iowa City, Iowa. Interviewer Jane Milosch is a curator from Silver Spring, Maryland.
General:
Originally recorded 5 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 27 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 22 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.
An interview of Adela Akers conducted 2008 March 4-6, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Akers' studio, in Guerneville, California.
Akers speaks of her California studio; moving from Spain to Cuba at a young age; earning a degree in pharmacy before pursuing art at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; her parents' businesses; struggling with English and becoming a citizen; the influence of architecture, geometry, and math in her work; her first big show at the American Craft Museum; working at Penland School of Crafts and Cranbrook Academy of Art; her several commissioned works; light and shadow in her accordion-shaped pieces; working with the Peace Corps and weaving in Peru; learning pre-Colombian weaving techniques; working on a commissioned project in Mexico with native weavers; experimenting with size and color in weaving; teaching at the Tyler School of Art; the influence of travel in her work; the qualities of jute, sisal, metal, and horsehair in weaving. Akers also recalls Cindy Cleary, Guido Llinas, Abelardo Estorino, Marianne Strengell, Ed Rossback, Glen Kaufman, Julia and Isiah Zagar, Joyce Chow, Katie and Billy Bernstein, Tom Suomalainen, Ron Garfinkel, Lee Nordness, Janet Taylor, Leora Stewart, Aron Siskin, Lewis Knauss, Agnes Martin, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Adela Akers (1933- ) is a fiber artist from Guerneville, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 59 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.
Biographical information, correspondence, writings, photographs, printed material, works of art, and a video.
Biographical / Historical:
Gyöngy Laky (1944- ) is a textile artist and educator in San Francisco, Calif.
Provenance:
Donated 2004-2010 by Gyöngy Laky as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Additions are expected.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Laky's diary from her year in India, 1971-1972 (1 fldr) is ACCESS RESTRICTED: written permission required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Fiber artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Educators -- California -- San Francisco Search this
30 letters and greeting cards from the sculptor Brenda Putnam, regarding her bust of musician Ossip Gabrilowitsch, other projects, and other matters; a catalog of Putnam's work published by Brookgreen Gardens, S.C., 1937; a sketch by Putnam; a reproduction of her bust of Gabrilowitsch; and two photos, one of Ethel and one of Bertha.
Biographical / Historical:
The Lloyds were both designers in Detroit, Mich. Bertha Elizabeth Lloyd specialized in leatherwork, lacemaking, and embroidery, and Ethel Spencer Lloyd specialized in jewelry, silversmithing, and embroidery. Brenda Putnam (1890-1975) was a sculptor from Minneapolis, Minn. Among other institutions, she attended the Boston Museum of Fine Art School and the Art Students League. She was an artist for the WPA as well. She and the Lloyds were presumably friends.
Provenance:
Donated 1957 by Ethel Spencer Lloyd.
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.
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:
126 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2010 April 24-25
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Katherine Kalehuapuakeaula "Lehua" Domingo conducted 2010 April 24 and 25, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Domingo's son's, Kalae Kilohana Domingo, home in Na'alehu, Hawaii.
Biographical / Historical:
Katherine Kalehuapuakeaula "Lehua" Domingo (1935- ) is a fiber artist in Na'alehu, Hawaii.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 27 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 Marilyn Henrion papers measure 9.6 linear feet and date from circa 1989-2020. Included is correspondence; financial records; notes, plans and sketches; files concerning exhibitions, commission, teaching materials, and organizations; grant applications; printed material about Henrion; slides and photographs; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Marilyn Henrion (1932- ) is a multimedia and fiber artist in New York, New York.
Provenance:
Donated in 2003 and in 2021 by Marilyn Henrion.
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:
Fiber artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Multimedia artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
B.Z. Wagman Gallery (St. Louis, Missouri) Search this
Fiberworks, Center for the Textile Arts Search this
Extent:
5.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Date:
1968-2012
Summary:
The papers of fiber artist and painter Lia Cook measure 5.9 linear feet and date from 1968 to 2012. Cook's career and exhibition activities are documented through biographical material, correspondence, professional files, gallery and exhibition files, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of fiber artist and painter Lia Cook measure 5.9 linear feet and date from 1968 to 2012. Cook's career and exhibition activities are documented through biographical material, correspondence, professional files, gallery and exhibition files, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
The bulk of Cook's papers consist of gallery and exhibition files describing her active participation in exhibiting her works throughout the United States and around the world, and her affiliation with the Allrich Gallery, B.Z. Wagman Gallery, and Fiberworks, Center for the Textile Arts. Professional files contain material relating to conferences and symposiums, written articles, and the sourcing of jacquard looms and other equipment.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1968-2012 (Box 1; 0.1 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1974-1992 (Box 1; 0.1 folders)
Series 3: Professional Files, 1970s-1995 (Box 1-2; 1 linear foot)
Series 4: Gallery and Exhibition Files, 1974-1997 (Box 2-5; 3.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1970s-2012 (Box 5; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1970s-1980s (Box 6-7; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, 1970s-2000s (Box 6-7; 0.5 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Lia Cook (1942- ) is a fiber artist and painter in Berkeley, California. She is noted for her use of an electronic jacquard loom.
Born in Ventura, California, Lia Cook attended the University of California, Berkeley where she studied political science, painting, and ceramics. She studied under fiber artist Ed Rossbach. She completed a fellowship with the National Endowment for the Arts in the 1970s.
Lia Cook combines fiber art with technology and photography. Her works are found in the collections of museums around the United States and Europe.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an interview of Lia Cook conducted 2006 August 22-29, by Suzanne Baizerman, for the Archives' Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Provenance:
The Lia Cook papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Lia Cook in 2016.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Occupation:
Fiber artists -- California -- Berkeley Search this
An interview of Anni Albers conducted 1968 July 5, by Sevim Fesci, for the Archives of American Art, in New Haven, Connecticut.
Albers speaks of her educational background; Paul Klee as a teacher; color in weaving; techniques and materials; Peruvian and European textiles; her "sound-absorbing" textile designed for the Bauhaus auditorium; and her weaving workshop at Black Mountain College. She reminisces about the Bauhaus in the 1920s.
Biographical / Historical:
Anni Albers (1899-1994) was a weaver from New Haven, Connecticut.
General:
Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 40 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.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- Connecticut -- New Haven Search this
An interview of Sheila Hicks conducted 2004 March 18, by Cristobal Zanartu, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Paris, France.
Hicks speaks of working outside of academia; working within the fiber art tradition; teaching classes and workshops; founding the MADESA design school in Cape Town, South Africa; the function of her works; the fluctuating art market; becoming a leader in the "soft art" movement; the role of textiles in society; how her work has changed during her career; and how she gets ideas for her pieces. Hicks also speaks of a typical day in her studio; her circle of friends in Paris; documenting her artwork through photographs; what she hopes to communicate through her works; maintaining notebooks during her career; and the influence of technology on her work.
Biographical / Historical:
Sheila Hicks, (b. 1934), fiber artist of Paris, France. Interviewer Cristobal Zanartu, artist's son, Paris, France; b.1965.
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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
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:
80 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2002 June 3 and July 10
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Peggie Hartwell conducted 2002 June 3-July 10, by Patricia Malarcher, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in the artist's apartment, on Central Park West, New York, N.Y.
Hartwell speaks of growing up on a farm with her extended family in Springfield, S.C.; female quiltmakers and male storytellers in her family; drawing in sand as a child; her mother's move to Brooklyn; joining her mother and father in New York; growing up in Brooklyn; her awareness of the many cultures in New York and being surrounded by art, including her mother's crocheting and her father's a cappella group; taking tap dancing lessons; experimenting with art in public school; working at various factory jobs after high school until "reconnecting" with art; studying with dancer Syvilla Fort at the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York; Fort encouraging her to draw on the studio walls and sew costumes; touring internationally with the theater group Harlem Rhythm USA from 1965 to 1972; her return to the U.S. and receiving a theater degree at Queens College; working at an insurance company to support her art; exhibiting her black and white, pen-and-ink drawings; the narratives and "oral histories" in her quilts; the meaning of various fabrics and colors; participating in "quilting communities" such as the Women of Color Quilters Network, Empire Quilters, and the American Quilter's Society; her lectures, workshops, and residencies; working with children;narratives inspired by childhood memories; her move back to South Carolina; themes in her quilts and "quilting styles" (improvisational, traditional, contemporary, and African American); serving on the board of the New York Chapter of the Women of Color Quilters Network; and planning the exhibition "Threads of Faith" for the New York Bible Association. She also comments on John Cage, Cuesta Benberry, Asadata Dafora, Francelise Dawkins, Carolyn Mazloomi, Edjohnetta Miller, Arthur Mitchell, Harriet Powers, Faith Ringgold, Marie Wilson, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Peggie L. Hartwell (1939- ) is an African American quiltmaker of Summerville, S.C. Patricia Malarcher is a fiber artist.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 50 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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Neda Al-Hilali conducted 2006 July 18-19, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home, in Los Angeles, California.
Al-Hilali speaks of her childhood in Czechoslovakia and Bavaria; studying language in London; her experience living in Baghdad, Iraq with her first husband; moving to California and completing her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UCLA; teaching experiences at Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University, California State University Los Angeles, and UCLA; the installation processes of Beach Occurrence with Tongues, Black Passage, the Cassiopeia series, and others; frustrations she encountered with commission work; the rich history of the fiber tradition; travels to Afghanistan, Japan, and Oaxaca, Mexico; achieving gestural and painterly qualities with fiber; the importance of color in textile work in the Middle East; experiences with galleries, including the Hunsaker/Schlesinger Gallery in Santa Monica, California; utilizing a Ouija board for reflection and creative guidance; issues such as global warming and over-development; the status of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule; the gratitude she feels at being a part of the fiber tradition; and plans for the future. Al-Hilali also recalls Bernard Kester, Jim Bassler, Fern Jacobs, Joyce Hunsaker, Alice Simsar, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Neda Al-Hilali (1938- ) is a fiber artist and weaver in Los Angeles, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 22 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 46 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.
Bellamy, Arabella Chandler McClintock, 1878-1962 Search this
Extent:
1 Microfilm reel (375 items on partial microfilm reel)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1905-1913
Scope and Contents:
The microfilmed Arabella Chandler McClintock Bellamy art works contain mounted and unmounted designs for printed fabrics; samples of printed fabric; and designs for costumes done in pen and ink.
Biographical / Historical:
Arabella Chandler McClintock Bellamy (1878-1962) was a textile designer in Massachusetts and worked as a designer and, later, quality control agent, for Cocheco Manufacturing Company. She married Robert B. Bellamy, the son of Anna M. Johnson Bellamy and nephew of painter Katharine Livingston Bayard Johnson.
Related Materials:
Historic New England Library and Archives holds the Arabella McClintock Bellamy Fabric Design Collection.
Provenance:
Lent 1976 by Robert Bayard Severy, Bellamy's grandson.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
A resume; 15 magazine and newspaper clippings; 4 exhibition invitations and announcements; and 9 photographs of Bristow's embroidery and applique designs.
Biographical / Historical:
Textile designer; San Antonio, Tex.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Wilanna Bristow.
Microfilmed as part of the Archives of American Art's Texas project.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Textile designers -- Texas -- San Antonio Search this
Correpsondence, writings, photographs, artwork and printed material relating to painter and tapissere Sylvia Carewe.
Correspondence includes an undated card from Milton and Sally Avery and a letter from Susan Page Tillett of the National Portrait Gallery, 1979. Writings include photocopies of poems and writings by Carewe, undated and 1943-1972 and 7 books with inscriptions by David Davidovich Burliuk, Chaim Gross, and Abraham Walkowitz. Two of the books contain a gouache and ink drawings by Burliuk and Gross with their inscriptions to Carewe. Photographs are of Carewe, her son, friends and her studio. Also included is a photograph of Carewe and husband, art collector Marvin Small, ca. 1955, signed by Arnold Newman.
Artwork includes 2 sketchbooks, ca. 1942, containing watercolor studies and sketches; a gouache, 1956, by Chaim Gross; a sketchbook of ink and pencil drawings; and a sketchbook containing the signatures of founding members of The American Society of Tapestry Designers, March 30, 1960. Printed material consists of an undated price list and description of tapestries in the exhibition CONTEMPORARY FRENCH TAPESTRIES, sponsored by Association Francaise D'Action Artistique, French & Company, New York City, and a news release about the exhibition; exhibition posters, ca. 1958-1971; 2 postcards of works by Carewe; magazine and newspaper clippings, 1960 and 1963; and other publications about Carewe's tapestries.
Biographical / Historical:
Sylvia Carewe (1906-1981) was a painter and tapissere in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1971 and 1979 by Sylvia Carewe and in 1983 by John Small, Carewe's son.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Textile designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
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:
84 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2005 August 30-31
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Ferne Jacobs conducted 2005 August 30-31, by Mija Riedel, 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 Los Angeles, California.
Jacobs discusses her early childhood in Chicago and her family's move to Los Angeles; her parents' emigration from Europe; her parents' involvement with the Chicago Club in Los Angeles; her earliest experience with art at a Van Gogh exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; her fascination with drawing at an early age; her first art classes with Ron Blumberg, during her senior year of high school; entering in the Art Center College of Design; getting married and moving to New York; working in the handbag department of Bonwit Teller and taking classes at the Pratt Institute; her later education at various institutions, including California State University in San Diego, Claremont Graduate University, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.; her first meeting with Dominic di Mare in San Francisco; her first meeting with Lenore Tawney in New York; her first foray off the loom at the behest of Arline M. Fisch; her first show at Galleria del Sol in Santa Barbara, California; her second show at the Fairtree Gallery in New York where Paul Smith, curator of the Museum of Contemporary Craft (now the Museum of Arts & Design) first saw her work; being included, along with Lenore Tawney, in the First World Craft exhibition in Toronto in 1967; her travels to Cape Cod, where she vacations annually, and to Italy; her aversion to all things technological; her recent experience learning to read the Torah; her work, including Tide (2005), Container for a Wind (1974), and Wind (2004); her interest in Carl Jung; addressing timelessness and duality in her work; various fiber techniques including twining, coiling, and knotting; her relationship with her son Peter and daughter Naomi; her relationship with dealers and galleries, including the Sybaris Gallery and the Snyderman Gallery; and the inspiration for her work that she finds in nature.
Jacobs also recalls Gabriel Laderman, Mary Jane Leland, Olga de Amaral, Peter Collingwood, Jack Lenor Larsen, Kay Sekimachi, Joan Austin, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Neda Al-Hilali, Marilyn Pappas, Patsy Krebs, Vija Celmins, Claire Delmar, Ken Price, Ron Nagle, Roland Reese, Fred Tomaselli, Agnes Martin, Francis Sumner Merritt, Joanne Rapp, Nancy Margolis, Kate Anderson, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Ferne Jacobs (1942- ) is a fiber artist from Los Angeles, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 6 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:
Fiber artists -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
The Juliette Elkon Hamelecourt papers measure 3.1 linear feet and date from 1911-2000, with the bulk of the records dating from 1940s-2000. The papers document Hamelecourt's career through resumes, personal business records, and writings, as well as general correspondence, printed material, scrapbooks, and photographs. The collection also contains a series of interviews conducted by Hamelecourt with artists at the Chelsea Hotel in New York.
Scope and Contents:
The Juliette Elkon Hamelecourt papers measure 3.1 linear feet and date from 1911-2000, with the bulk of the records dating from 1940s-2000. Biographical material consists of resumes, notes and other writings, as well as some personal business records such as contracts, price lists, loan agreements, and consignment lists. Correspondents include customers, museums, galleries, friends, publishers, and family members and discussions regard exhibitions, sales, food, and personal matters. The collection's printed material consists of clippings about Hamelecourt, Haiti, the Chelsea Hotel, and other artists; exhibition announcements, invitations, and catalogs; press releases, newsletters, and bulletins; articles written by Hamelecourt; reproductions of her artwork; and the book jacket from Hamelecourt's Edith Cavell: Heroic Nurse (1958). Hamelecourt's scrapbooks contain a variety of material such as correspondence with museums, galleries, and family members about her life and artwork as well as correspondence for historical and cultural research purposes; photographs and slides of Hamelecourt, artwork, family, and friends; printed material; sketches; drafts of her autobiography; and biographical papers pertaining to her marriage in 1969. The collection also contains a series of interviews conducted by Hamelecourt with artists at the Chelsea Hotel including Arman, Bettina, Bernard Childs, Rita Fetcher, Eugenie Gershoy, Adolph Cook Glassgold, Maxwell Gordon, and others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1972-1991 (Box 1; 7 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1943-1999 (Box 1; 12 folders)
Series 3: Interviews with Chelsea Hotel Artists, circa 1980 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1943-2000 (Box 2; .8 linear feet)
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1911-1999 (Box 2-3, OV 4; 1 linear foot)
Series 6: Photographs, 1940-1990s (Box 3; 5 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Juliette Elkon Hamelecourt (1912-2002) was a fiber artist, tapissiere, and lecturer in Haiti, New York, and Cleveland. Hamelecourt was born in Belgium and spent her early years traveling with her father in England and China. Hamelecourt first learned needlework in China at the age of 10. After her father's death a couple of years later, she returned to live in Belgium with her grandparents where Hamelecourt worked alongside her grandmother who was a volunteer conservationist, repairing chasubles for the local clergy. Hamelecourt's early tapestries were ultimately lost or destroyed during World War II when she and her family moved to New York as refugees. Until the late 1950s she worked as a culinary editor, food consultant, and author of non-fiction, while needlework remained a hobby. Hamelecourt first visited Haiti reporting on French Caribbean cuisine in the late 1950s, and soon after moved there as a representative for the World Craft Council. In Haiti, she trained local women to embroider designs from their own environment and folklore. Hamelecourt moved to the Chelsea Hotel in New York around 1970, at this time she began receiving commissions for her work--some of which she sub-contracted to her Haitian embroiderers--and consulting as a designer. She established an embroidery workshop at the hotel with a grant from the New York Council on the Arts. Hamelecourt moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1980.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Juliette Hamelecourt, 1978-1997, and by the Juliette Elkon Hamelecourt estate via Leonard Spremulli in 2014.
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 References 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.
Occupation:
Fiber artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Tapissiers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Juliette Elkon Hamelecourt papers, 1911-2000. 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.
An interview of Mary Giles conducted 2006 July 18, by Jane Sauer, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the home of Jane Sauer, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Giles speaks of childhood summers spent on Pine Lake in Minnesota; receiving a B.S. in art education from Mankato State University, Minnesota; educational experiences at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; the influence of nature and Native American art in her work; finding inspiration in "woods and water"; spirituality; teaching elementary art in St. Louis for 28 years while pursuing her art; the materials she works with, including wax linen and various metals; the techniques she uses, such as coiling, twining, torching, hammering, and knotting; the importance of a studio; the appeal of natural aging and corrosion of materials; the competitiveness of craft fields in the United States; attending American Craft Council shows and Sculpture Objects & Functional Art expositions in Chicago; craft as art in the United States; her experience showing in galleries and struggles with pricing; participating in the Poland Triennale in Lodz, Poland, 2001; the pioneering efforts of female fiber artists. Giles also recalls Mary Lee Hu, Diane Itter, Jack Lenor Larsen, Walter Nottingham, Rianna DeRaad, Cynthia Schira, Ferne Jacobs, Barbara Rose Okun, Nancy Kranzberg, Jan Buckman, Horty Shieber, Duane Reed, Agnes Martin, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Giles (1944- ) is an artist of Stillwater, Minnesota. Jane Sauer (1937- ) is an artist and gallery owner of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
General:
Originally recorded 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 43 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.
