19

Aug

Summer Break in the Archives

Giuliano working with the slide collections.

Giuliano working with the slide collections.

Reviewing primary source material in the Archives.

 

Volunteering in the Archives was a great experience! As a Cranbrook grad, it was really interesting seeing how things used to be at my old school. It was especially fun seeing photos from familiar events like the fifth grade December Program, taken decades before my own class’ production. There were also of course some less familiar things, like pictures of Brookside students at the Art with goats. Personally I think Cranbrook should consider bringing that back, but maybe that’s just because I’m a fan of goats. That was one of several things I enjoyed seeing, as were photos of Amelia Earhart and even… my dad’s yearbook! All in all, it made for a great three weeks. My thanks to all the great people I worked with!

Brookside School pet show, 1936.

Brookside School pet show, 1936.

– Giuliano Stefanutti, CKU ’15

Editor’s Note: We are very grateful for the work Giuliano completed when he was here. He processed slide collections, sorted historic photographs, and inventoried a large audio-visual collection. We wish him well as he heads back to college!

 

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05

Aug

Paris Calls: Cranbrook and Marcel Duchamp

Occasionally we post blogs that we hope will illustrate and educate about the work that we do here, both as archivists and registrars. One of my greatest pleasures is answering interesting research queries, so I thought I would share one from today.

I received a phone call from Paul B. Franklin, an independent art historian and one of the world’s experts on Marcel Duchamp. Born in Detroit, he received his doctorate from Harvard where his dissertation was on Duchamp. He now lives in Paris, where he edits the journal “Étant donné Marcel Duchamp.”

Exhibition card, 1959

Exhibition Announcement Card, 1959. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

Today, Paul was seeking clarification about the exhibition “Art and the Found Object” (which was held here at Cranbrook in April 1959 in what was then known as the Galleries of Cranbrook Academy of Art) for his catalogue essay in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition “”Marcel Duchamp: Porte-bouteilles” to be held in Paris in the fall.

News clipping, Detroit News, 9 Apr 1959. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

News clipping, Detroit News, 9 Apr 1959. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

In an email exchange with Paul, he told me the Paris exhibition “is centered on the version of “Bottle Rack” that Duchamp exhibited in “Art and the Found Object” and which Robert Rauschenberg purchased for a mere three dollars.” (Rauschenberg’s work “Odalisque/Odalisk” was also in the exhibition.) “Duchamp signed his readymade for Rauschenberg in March 1960, and Rauschenberg retained possession of it his entire life.”

What a great story! And the fact that we had materials in the collections of Cranbrook Archives to add to the story is even better. Thanks, Paul, for allowing me to share this story with our readers.

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

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29

Jul

A New Identity

In May 1930, the Cranbrook Foundation voted to appoint a board to oversee the development of the Cranbrook Institute of Science (CIS) and to design a building for the Institute’s programs. Initially, CIS was a department within the Foundation, but by Dec 1931, George Gough Booth concluded that it had proven itself such an important unit in the Cranbrook educational group, that it should no longer be an activity of the Foundation. It became a separately organized trust which held title to the land and buildings and operated its programs independently.

In Dec 1935, then-CIS Director, Robert T. Hatt, wrote to well-known painter and illustrator, Rockwell Kent. Hatt had been drawn to a volume of Kent’s bookplates that he had in his collection, and asked him if he would create a new seal for the Institute. By Feb 1936 Kent submitted his final design to Hatt, stating, “it is entirely unlike both what you originally suggested and the sketch that I submitted.”

Rockwell Kent's final design for the CIS emblem, 1936.

Rockwell Kent’s final design for the CIS emblem, 1936.

In the CIS sixth annual report, Hatt described the new seal: “the triangle is the basic geometrical figure. The two figures looking respectively upwards at the stars and downwards at the earth represent the field of Science as both extensive and intensive.”

Rockwell Kent created bookplates for the Rochester (NY) Public Library, Joseph Kennedy, the Library of Congress, and many others. Kent was also a prolific illustrator. His work includes well-known editions of Moby Dick, Candide, Leaves of Grass, the Canterbury Tales, and Beowulf (among others). In addition to Kent’s enduring design legacy at CIS, his gift of archaeological relics from Greenland in 1937 was the first material from that area to be accessioned into the Institute’s collection.

– Gina Tecos, Archivist

 

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22

Jul

Photo Friday: Keeping Cool

The temps have been high this July! We hope you are keeping cool. The smiling faces in today’s Photo Friday are from the 1953 session of the Kingswood-Cranbrook Summer Day Camp. The program was a precursor to the summer camps offered today on the Brookside, Kingswood, and Cranbrook school campuses.

The first summer “camp” at Cranbrook was a war-inspired program for girls ages 14 and older– the Summer Institute of Kingswood-Cranbrook School. The curriculum provided courses that were helpful to the war effort. The Summer Institute of Kingswood-Cranbrook School continued through 1944 when it evolved into the Kingswood Summer Day Camp. In 1947, Cranbrook initiated the Cranbrook Summer Institute, offering “programs and recreation for the entire family.” Summer Institute provided courses in weaving, ceramics, lapidary techniques, music, theatre — and of course, the opportunity to cool off in Lake Jonah!

Children sitting on the rocks at Lake Jonah/Jonah Pools. Harvey Croze, photographer, Jul 1953.

Children sitting on the rocks at Lake Jonah. Harvey Croze, photographer, Jul 1953.

– Gina Tecos, Archivist

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08

Jul

Out From the Shadows #2: Colonel Edwin S. George

Many years ago, when I worked at the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society, I came across a man named Edwin S. George in reference to his home, “Cedarholm,” which he built in 1923 in Bloomfield Hills, and is now a part of Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church.

What many people do not realize is the colonel’s long-standing connection to Cranbrook. Recently, while searching for photographs for a researcher, I stumbled upon the negative of a stocky, kind-looking man standing by a grove of trees. Fortunately, early Cranbrook photographers kept great records and I was able to look up the subject on the index of negatives in the archives, and it is indeed a photo of Colonel George.

Colonel Edwin S. George, Apr 1930. W. Bryant Tyrell, photographer.

Colonel Edwin S. George, Apr 1930. W. Bryant Tyrell, photographer.

Much can be read about the Colonel’s acumen as an influential Detroit businessman and philanthropist, and there is no doubt that he and George Booth knew one another in Detroit. However, once they both moved to Bloomfield Hills, the relationship grew. The colonel organized the Bloomfield Hills Country Club of which Booth was a founding member, and both men were members of the Bloomfield Open Hunt Club. In 1912, Colonel George became one of the stockholders in the Bloomfield Hills Seminary (the pre-cursor to Brookside School) established by George Booth, and in 1926, the two men worked together to bring a post-office to the then Village of Bloomfield Hills.

Cranbrook School students with Colonel George (seated), The Edwin George Reserve, Sep 1930. W. Bryant Tyrell, photographer.

Cranbrook School students with Colonel George (seated), The Edwin George Reserve, Sep 1930. W. Bryant Tyrell, photographer.

But certainly the most important contribution Colonel George made to Cranbrook was through the Institute of Science. In 1930, the colonel became a member of the Institute’s first Board of Trustees, a position he held until just before his death in 1950. That same year, he donated 1,250 acres of land near Pinckney, Michigan to the University of Michigan to be used not as a public park, but as an educational resource for University of Michigan students, scout troops, and Cranbrook School students. Known as “The Edwin George Reserve,” it featured hiking trails, streams and a small lake, stables, outbuildings, a gate lodge, and even an airstrip. Colonel George also stocked the reserve with wildlife including deer brought from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and antelope from Alberta, Canada. The colonel wanted the boys to have “an appreciation of the truer values of life as expressed by the truth in Nature,” and provided a place for them to do so.

So, while we have no direct proof that Booth and the colonel discussed the virtues of nature as education, it sure seems to me that they had a lot more in common than we previously thought!

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

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01

Jul

Nunsense

Over the past few years, I have listened to researchers in the Archives and visitors to the museum describe works of art as divine or heavenly, but I don’t remember those words used to describe the artist. Until now. Did you know that during the 1950s-1960s there were several artists who studied at the Academy of Art who were also members of a divine order? Admittedly, I have not had much interaction with nuns in my lifetime, but I have a keen fascination (cue: “The hills are alive with the sound of music..”).

Sister Mary James Ann Walsh, BVM (Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary) was one of several nuns to study at the Academy where she received her MFA in painting in 1955. In 1953, Sister Mary was the First Prize Winner of the 9th Annual Iowa Water Color Show for her piece, “Ecce Homo.” That painting is now part of the Sioux City Art Center’s permanent collection. In addition to her Cranbrook degree, Sister Mary studied at the State University of Iowa and the University of Colorado. In 1959 she became head of the Clark College department of Art in Dubuque, Iowa.

Sisters at work in the metal shop, 1954. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

Sisters at work in the metal shop, 1954. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

The photo above shows Sister Mary Grace Esther Mehren, BVM, and Sister Mary Barbara Cerny at work in the metal shop in 1954. We are still looking for information about Sister Mary Barbara, but according to the Chicago Tribune (15 Jun 1958), Sister Mary Grace Esther was appointed to oversee construction of an eleven-story Scholasticate on the campus of Mundelein College. The building houses lecture halls, classrooms, a dining hall, and a chapel.

Another CAA alum (Metalsmithing ’49), Sister Helene O’Connor, O.P. (Dominican Order of Preachers), founded Studio Angelico in 1935, at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. Studio Angelico, the art department at Siena Heights, was named for the 15th century Dominican painter, Fra Angelico. Sister Helene chaired the art department, taught classes, and directed community workshops. An accomplished sculptor, ceramicist, weaver, and muralist – her work has been exhibited at the Portland Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sister Marie Gertrude's, "Mother Hen," Bay City Times, 27 Sep 1964.

Sister Marie Gertrude’s, “Mother Hen,” Bay City Times, 27 Sep 1964.

Also of the Dominican order, Sister Marie Gertrude Lohman, O.P., received her MFA in Sculpture from the Academy in 1966. Several of Sister Marie Gertrude’s sculptures display in Illinois, including a statue of St. Catherine of Siena at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Chicago and a statue of St. Albert the Great in the student courtyard at St. Rose Priory. Sister Marie Gertrude studied in Schifanoia, Italy, and her work has been exhibited in Chicago and Dubuque. In 1964, her work, “Mother Hen,” was displayed at the Studio 23 space at the Arts Center in Bay City, MI.

This research has only deepened my fascination of the divine sisterhood. I wonder what drew the sisters to Cranbrook? There were several other nun-students at CAA – I look forward to learning more about their contributions to Cranbrook and the art world.

– Gina Tecos, Archivist

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24

Jun

Photo Friday: Coming to Light

The Institute of Science photograph collection (1929-1995) is a treasure trove of fascinating images, taken by various Institute of Science staff during the course of their field research. Many of them document places that have become popular northern Michigan summer vacation destinations.

Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse, Jul 1929. W. Bryant Tyrrell, photographer. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse, Jul 1929. W. Bryant Tyrrell, photographer. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

This photo was taken by naturalist W. Bryant Tyrrell who was employed by the Cranbrook Foundation in 1929 as the director of the first natural history museum, then housed in what is now known as the Academy of Art Administration building. Tyrrell worked with Brookside School students, taking them on nature walks around campus and teaching them how to build bird houses. He also taught general nature study to Cranbrook School students. Tyrrell’s field work, primarily in Michigan, led to the formation of several Institute of Science collections from which he was able to prepare exhibitions.

The W. Bryant Tyrrell Photograph Collection can be found at the Washington D.C. Community Archives. For a history of the Thunder Bay Lighthouse, see: http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/huron/thunder/

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

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17

Jun

Out From the Shadows #1: Myrtle Hall

While most everyone equates the names Saarinen, Knoll, and Eames with Cranbrook, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have contributed to the community whose stories have never been told. We archivists thought it would be interesting to tell some of their stories here.

The first is Myrtle Hall. She was not an alumna, faculty, or staff at any of the Cranbrook institutions, however, she did work at the Academy of Art as a model for drawing and painting students in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Not much is known about the models – there are no employee files for them, and their names are not listed in reports or meeting minutes. Fortunately however, I did uncover evidence that a line-item, established in the budget for the Academy of Art’s 1934-1935 academic year, specifically provided funding for the life models for the drawing and painting classes (taught by Wally Mitchell.) Models worked twenty-one hours per week.

Painting and drawing class, summer 1940.

Painting and drawing class, summer 1940.

By her own admission, Myrtle was the “first black model at Cranbrook” and for that matter, the first black model in the Detroit area including at the Meinzinger School of Art. In addition to modeling, Myrtle was also an artist herself and a member of Detroit’s Pen and Palette Club, which was formed in 1925 by the Detroit Urban League to help young artists exhibit their works. In 1935, Myrtle received an award for one of her paintings at the club’s Ninth Annual Exhibition. She also studied for a time at the Society of Arts and Crafts, exhibited at the Detroit Artists Market, and was one of the founding members of the Extended Arts Gallery (1958). During the 1940s, Myrtle abandoned painting and became an accomplished ceramicist. She had her own pottery studio (which she designed herself) on Erskine Street in Detroit. The studio was filled with antiques, paintings and sculpture by Michigan artists, as well as her own ceramics and of course her kiln and glazes. In a 1963 interview, she stated “I can’t stand things that are useless” and her oven-to-table casseroles, salad bowls, drinking mugs, and lamp bases reflected just that.

Myrtle Hall, Detroit Free Press, Mar 1994.

Myrtle Hall, Detroit Free Press, Mar 1994.

A 1994 article in the Detroit Free Press also tells the story of Myrtle Hall as a quiet but effective activist. She stood up for civil rights when she saw injustice, and was instrumental in affecting a change in Meinzinger Art School’s discrimination of African American students after World War II. Myrtle Hall is quoted as saying “I didn’t just model, I noticed things.”

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

Editor’s Note: We do not have any biographical information on Myrtle, but if you know anything about her, please let us know!

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Archives/Cranbrook Academy of Art/painting

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03

Jun

Transcontinental Threads: Maja Andersson Wirde

One of my favorite parts of my job as an archivist is assisting researchers with locating materials in our collections. Often times a scholar will visit here with a set plan for their research project, and pre-conceived ideas about what they might find here or how the materials in our collections will support their thinking. One of my personal pleasures is when the researcher finds something new or surprising in our collections that changes their course of action. This is exciting on many levels – for them as well as for me!

In August 2015, Swedish author Marie Andersson visited Cranbrook to study the work of the Swedish weaver Maja Andersson Wirde (no relation) in preparation for a monograph on the life and work of Wirde at the request of Wirde’s family. Wirde (1873-1952), an accomplished weaver and textile designer, was asked by Loja Saarinen to come to Cranbrook in 1929 and oversee the operation of Studio Loja Saarinen which was established to design and produce all of the textiles for Kingswood School Cranbrook. As many researchers before her, Marie Andersson found her visit to Cranbrook Archives to be a revelation, and she recently wrote to me that “the Cranbrook chapter became an important part of the book, much more than I thought before I visited you.”

Maja Andersson Wirde (standing) with Loja Saarinen, Studio Loja Saarinen, ca 1930. Detroit News photograph, Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

Maja Andersson Wirde (standing) with Loja Saarinen, Studio Loja Saarinen, ca 1930. Detroit News photograph, Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

Prior to coming to Cranbrook, Maja Andersson Wirde had been employed by Handarbetes Vänner (The Friends of Handicraft) in Stockholm from 1907-1929. Her textile designs were represented in international exhibitions including Stockholm (1909 and 1930), Malmo (1914), Gothenburg (1923), and Paris (1925). However, according to Marie Andersson, Wirde’s “time spent at Cranbrook must be looked upon as the most important period” in Wirde’s life as an artist, and she created some of her most significant work while here.

So, what did Marie discover at Cranbrook Archives? Comparing photographs and documents from our collections with images of watercolor sketches from museums and archives in Sweden, Marie and I spent two days of “fantastic co-operation” in order to uncover the extent of Wirde’s contribution to the history of textiles at Cranbrook, particularly Kingswood School.

Watercolour sketch by Maja Wirde (1873-1952), Collection of Smålands Museum, Växjö, Sweden.

Watercolour sketch by Maja Wirde (1873-1952), Collection of Smålands Museum, Växjö, Sweden.

The rug for Reception Room III (Rose Lounge) in situ, Kingswood School, 1932. George Hance, photographer, Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

The rug for Reception Room III (Rose Lounge) in situ, Kingswood School, 1932. George Hance, photographer, Courtesy Cranbrook Archives.

Prior to Marie’s visit, Wirde was known for her work as the shop supervisor at Studio Loja Saarinen, the weaving instructor at Kingswood School, and for her designs for several rugs and textiles for Kingswood School, including the fabric for the dining hall chairs and most notably, the large rug for the Green Lobby. However, Loja Saarinen was given credit for the rest. Now, Cranbrook can tell a more inclusive story – for we discovered that it was Maja Andersson Wirde who designed the majority of the textiles for Kingswood School – eleven rugs for lobby/reception halls, all of the curtains and rugs for the dormitory rooms, as well as curtains for the dining hall, study hall, and library! In addition, she designed rugs for the Academy of Art, Saarinen House, and George Booth’s Cranbrook Foundation Office.

While the book, “Trådar ur ett liv: textilkonstnären Maja Andersson Wirde” was published pirmarily in Swedish, there is a translation of the chapter on Cranbrook in the back, and the book features numerous images from Cranbrook Archives. We are so excited to be able to tell a more comprehensive story not only about the objects in our care, but also a key individual in our rich history.

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

 

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Archives/Arts and Crafts/Cranbrook Academy of Art/Cranbrook Art Museum/Cranbrook House/Historic Properties/Kingswood School/Objects/Schools/weaving

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27

May

Skridskoprinsessan at Cranbrook

Archives staff works very closely with the Capital Projects department here on campus and we recently received an email from Project Manager, Craig Hoernschemeyer, about a possible Cranbrook connection with a poster he came across. The poster is of Norwegian Olympic ice skating champion, Sonja Henie, who won the gold medal in 1928, 1932 and 1936 and was also a film star in the late 1930s-1940s. Craig wondered if perhaps Henie could have been sculptor Carl Milles’ muse for the “Ice Princess”.

Film poster featuring Sonja Henie. Skriskoprinsessan is the Norwegian word for Ice Princess.

Film poster featuring Sonja Henie. Skridskoprinsessan is the Swedish word for Ice Princess.

The first Ice Princess bronze was cast in 1949, making it a relatively late Milles sculpture. Stockholm’s Millesgarden attributes the design to a 1948 visit to Rockefeller Center in New York City. As the story goes, Milles was so fascinated with the skaters he saw at the Rockefeller ice rink, he designed the Ice Princess to match their fluidity and movement.

The Ice Princess in the Fisher Cummings Courtyard at the Girl's Middle School. Photographer, Hoernschemeyer.

The Ice Princess in the Fisher Cummings Courtyard at the Cranbrook Kingswood Girl’s Middle School. Photographer, Craig Hoernschemeyer.

There are more than 100 Milles sculptures across Cranbrook Educational Community’s campus. The Ice Princess was cast at the Herman Bergman AB foundry in 2012 and was installed in 2013 in the Fisher Cummings Courtyard at the Cranbrook Kingswood Girl’s Middle School.

Rockefeller Center? Sonja Henie? What do you think?

– Gina Tecos, Archivist

 

 

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Archives/Arts and Crafts/collections/Cultural Properties/Schools

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