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of American Art provided source material to Resource Library Magazine
for the following article or essay. If you have questions or comments
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Craft and the Creative
Process
The Smithsonian Institution's
Archives of American Art will open the exhibition "Craft and the Creative
Process" on Friday, June 1, 2001. The exhibition will be on view through
Oct. 5, 2001 in the Archives' New York Regional Center. This exhibition
celebrates Nanette L. Laitman's gift to the Archives of American Art of
$538,000 for the creation of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project
for Craft in America, an unprecedented initiative to document the life and
work of America's leading craft artists. During this five-year project,
the Archives will record and transcribe 100 oral history interviews with
key figures in American craft. The grant also will support a major campaign
to collect the papers of prominent artists working in clay, glass, fiber,
metal and wood. This project will be realized in association with the American
Craft Museum.
On display will be a selection of some of the Archives'
most significant papers documenting the life and work of the leading practitioners
in the field of American craft. The exhibition will include an assortment
of materials from a variety of artists, dealers, art administrators and
others, including letters from such artists as 
Dale Chihuly, Robert Arneson and Beatrice Wood; photographs
of Harvey K. Littleton and the first glass-blowing workshop; rare printed
materials from craft schools and associations; Claire Zeisler' s notes and
instructions for her fiber art; student notebooks of silversmith Arthur
Pulos; unpublished writings by potters Marguerite and Frans 
Wildenhain;
the journal of dealer Barbara Fendrick regarding commissioned works by Albert
Paley; and Marianne Strengell's textile samples. (left: Harvey K.
Littleton trimming the lip of a vase with glassworker's shears in his first
glass studio in Verona, Wisconsin, 1962. Photograph by Italo Scanga. Harvey
K. Littleton Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution;
right: Potter Marguerite Wildenhain (1897-1985) in her studio, ca. 1945.
Marguerite Wildenhain Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Photo by Otto Hagel, ©1998 Center for Creative Photography, The University
of Arizona Foundation)
Selections from the Archives' collections of personal interviews
also will be made available at a special listening station. These sound
recordings of Anni Albers, Vivika Heino, John Prip, Rudy Autio, Wendell
Castle, Merry Renk, and other artists recount their reminiscences about
the craft movement, including such topics as the roots of craft education,
the development of the American craft market, and issues of patronage and
influence.
Since 1954, the Archives of American Art has provided researchers
worldwide with access to the largest collection of primary source materials
documenting the history of the visual arts in America from the Colonial
period to the present. Among the collection's 14.6 million items are letters
and diaries of artists and collectors; manuscripts of critics and scholars;
records of museums, galleries and schools; photographs of art world figures
and events; works of art on paper; and oral and video history interviews.
A research institute of the Smithsonian since 1970, the
Archives fulfills its ongoing mission to collect, preserve and make accessible
for study the documentation of this country's rich artistic legacy. As a
result, the Archives has played a pivotal role in expanding scholarship
and illuminating the history of art in America for the benefit of future
generations.
The New York City Regional Center of the Archives of American
Art is located at 1285 Avenue of the Americas (between 51st and 52nd Sts.),
Lobby Level, PaineWebber Building, New York, N.Y. 10019. Hours: 9:30-5:00,
Mon.-Fri.; no appointment required but calling ahead is recommended (information
as of 4/01)
Read more articles and essays concerning this institutional
source by visiting the sub-index page for the Smithsonian
Institution Archives of American Art in Resource
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more information. rev. 5/23/11
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Dale Chihuly, Robert Arneson and Beatrice Wood; photographs
of Harvey K. Littleton and the first glass-blowing workshop; rare printed
materials from craft schools and associations; Claire Zeisler' s notes and
instructions for her fiber art; student notebooks of silversmith Arthur
Pulos; unpublished writings by potters Marguerite and Frans 
Wildenhain;
the journal of dealer Barbara Fendrick regarding commissioned works by Albert
Paley; and Marianne Strengell's textile samples. (left: Harvey K.
Littleton trimming the lip of a vase with glassworker's shears in his first
glass studio in Verona, Wisconsin, 1962. Photograph by Italo Scanga. Harvey
K. Littleton Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution;
right: Potter Marguerite Wildenhain (1897-1985) in her studio, ca. 1945.
Marguerite Wildenhain Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Photo by Otto Hagel, ©1998 Center for Creative Photography, The University
of Arizona Foundation)