Drinkwater (Harry) Photographs

Series I. Architecture and interior design, 1950-2010, undated

Physical Description: 1 Linear Foot

Scope and Content Note

The series primarily comprises photographs of work by noted Los Angles-area architects and designers, including Black practitioners such as Paul and John Williams, John Smith, Robert Kennard, and Tommy Greene. Three negatives depict Paul Williams's Golden State Mutual Life Insurance building. A few portraits are also included here, notably one of decorator John Smith seated in John Lautner's Chemosphere House. The photographs Drinkwater took for Kelsey Screens represent some of his first architectural work for hire.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by personal or firm name.

Candela, Félix, 1957

Scope and Content Note

Candela in front of his Iglesia de la Medalla Miligrosa (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church), Mexico City. Drinkwater met the Spanish-Mexican architect on a trip to Mexico City during the time that Candela was working on his Pabellón de Rayos Cósmicos (Pavilion of Cosmic Rays) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) with Jorge González Reyna.

box 1, folder 1

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Three 120 mm gelatin silver negatives.

box 3, folder 1

Prints

Scope and Content Note

Three gelatin silver contact prints corresponding to the negatives.

box 1, folder 2

Greene, Tommy, 1959

Scope and Content Note

Ten 4x5 inch color negatives, 16 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives and four 2 1/4 inch color negatives of Greene standing next to one of his lamps and views of outdoor fountains.

box 1, folder 3

Grimes, Clyde H., probably 1961

Scope and Content Note

Two 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives depicting exterior views of a home, possibly in the Hollywood Hills.

Kamnitzer, Peter [?], 1960-2010

box 1, folder 4

Negatives, 1960s

Scope and Content Note

Nine 4x5 inch color negatives and 20 gelatin silver 4x5 inch negatives depicting interiors.

box 3, folder 2

Clifton's Cafeteria, 2010 September 21

Scope and Content Note

Newspaper clipping regarding the sale of Clifton's Brookdale cafeteria to Andrew Meieran.

Kelsey Screens, 1950-1958

box 1, folder 5

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Thirty-eight 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives of interior decorative screens and dividers and one restaurant interior with screens.

box 3, folder 3

Prints

Scope and Content Note

One 8x10 inch gelatin silver print of a restaurant interior with screens.

box 1, folder 6

Kennard, Robert A., probably 1959

Scope and Content Note

One 4x5 inch gelatin silver negative of a view through a sliding glass door to a deck.

box 3, folder 4

Leonard Schultz Associates, 1950?

Scope and Content Note

One 8x10 inch gelatin silver print of the Park La Brea Towers. Consulting architects were Stanton & Kaufmann.

McKendrick, undated

Scope and Content Note

McKendrick painted interiors of homes; these images feature a home in Bel Air associated with Virgin Records.

box 1, folder 7

Negatives and transparencies

Scope and Content Note

One strip (4 frames) 35 mm color negatives; two 4x5 inch color transparencies with printing notes; and eight 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives.

Prints

box 1, folder 7

Color

Scope and Content Note

Three 8x10 inch and two 4 1/2 x 6 inch chromogenic color prints.

box 3, folder 5

Black-and-white

Scope and Content Note

Two 4 1/2 x 6 inch gelatin silver prints.

box 1, folder 8

Pereira & Luckman, probably 1963

Scope and Content Note

Six 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives of the LAX theme building designed by a team of architects and engineers headed by William Pereira and Charles Luckman that also included Paul Williams and Welton Becket.

Smith, John, 1961-1966

Scope and Content Note

John Smith was the first Black person to be admitted into the National Society of Interior Designers (NSID; now the American Society of Interior Designers: ASID).

box 1, folder 9

Negatives, 1961-1966

Scope and Content Note

Twenty-nine 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives including a portrait (headshot) of Smith and shots of Smith's booth at a home show, most likely one of the California Design exhibitions held at the Pasadena Museum of Art, featuring Smith's tapestries and furniture designed by Noah Purifoy.

box 3, folder 6

Prints, 1961

Scope and Content Note

One mounted 8x10 inch gelatin silver print of a seating area with a Smith tapestry hanging on a wall.

box 1, folder 10

Williams, John, undated

Scope and Content Note

Six 4x5 gelatin silver negatives of exterior views of a John Williams apartment complex [?]

box 1, folder 11

Williams, Paul R., probably 1950

Scope and Content Note

Three 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance headquarters, the first African American-owned insurance firm in Los Angeles.

Series II. Artists, 1960-2004, undated

Physical Description: 3 Linear Feet

Scope and Content Note

The series represents a cross section of Drinkwater's documentation of Southern California artists, filmmakers, gallerists, and actors. Included are views of artists' studios; photographs of artists and actors at work; and portraits. Black members of the artistic community represented here include Don Amis, Bill Attaway, Camille Billops, Roland Charles, Thelma Oliver, and Noah Purifoy. Many of the artists, including Charlie Nothing, Bill Attaway, and Dewain Valentine, were part of the local Venice Beach art scene, while others such as Gordon Wagner, Don Amis, Roland Charles, and Noah Purifoy worked in the greater Los Angeles area. The artists represented range from up-and-coming, to established, to perennially counterculture artists. Also included here are few of Drinkwater's own projects as well as portraits of Drinkwater made by unknown photographers.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by personal name.

Amis, Don, 1982

Scope and Content Note

Shots taken during the filming of Amis's Festival of Mask , a 1982 film documenting the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum's annual festival.

box 1, folder 12

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Eighteen three-frame strips of 35 mm gelatin silver negatives (54 images).

box 5

Contact sheets

Scope and Content Note

One 11x13 inch nine-frame gelatin silver contact sheet of the production team working in the editing room and 34 14 1/2 x17 enlarged nine-frame gelatin silver contact sheets from the film.

box 1

Attaway, William (Bill), 1995-approximately 1999, undated

box 1, folder 13

Studio, 1995, undated

Negatives, 1995 December

Scope and Content Note

Six six-frame 35 mm negative strips (36 frames). Original sheet labeled: Attaway - Yvette - loading kiln. Dec. 95.

Columns in studio, undated

Scope and Content Note

Color photocopy.

box 1, folder 13

Dreams Come True, approximately 1999

Scope and Content Note

Seven 4x6 inch chromogenic color prints showing the finished sculpture in situ on Ocean Front Walk, Venice. Attaway began work on the sculpture, which formed part of the area's redevelopment project, in 1995.

box 1, folder 14

Billops, Camille, 1978?

Scope and Content Note

Thirty-three 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives (three pairs of negatives are stuck together) and five four-frame strips of 2 1/4 inch gelatin silver negatives of Billop's sculptures and prints.

box 1

Boggs, Robert, 1984?

Scope and Content Note

Images of his sculptures at Picasso Restaurant and Redondo Beach.

box 1, folder 15

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

One hundred ninety-seven 35mm gelatin silver negatives (mostly three-frame strips).

box 3, folder 7

Prints

Scope and Content Note

Ten 8x10 inch and one 9 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch gelatin silver prints.

box 1, folder 16

Charles, Roland, between 1984 and 1998

Scope and Content Note

One 8x10 inch color inkjet print and a photocopied legend listing the 25 black photographers, including Drinkwater, depicted outside Charles's Black Gallery in the Crenshaw district.

Drinkwater, Harry, 1970-2004

Scope and Content Note

Includes art pieces by Drinkwater and photographic portraits of Drinkwater.

box 4

Composite Piece, 1970

Scope and Content Note

Nine-image photo montage of mounted gelatin silver prints.

box 4

Cash Contents, 1973-1974

Scope and Content Note

One printed sheet (two-sided) and one printed poster for Drinkwater's performance piece at the beach in which he sold bottles of shredded cash.

box 4

Post Industrial Seminar and Cultural and Educational Seminar (PISCES), 1970

Scope and Content Note

Thirty-five photographers were each given four rolls of film to shoot for one day in Los Angeles.

The Promise of PISCES and Carnival

Scope and Content Note

One 11x14 inch gelatin silver print.

No War Toys

Scope and Content Note

One 11x14 inch and one 5x5 inch gelatin silver print.

box 1, folder 17

Portraits, 2004

Scope and Content Note

Two 8 1/2 x 11 inch color inkjet prints of Drinkwater in his studio and Drinkwater standing against a wall.

Galloway, Kit and Sherrie Rabinowitz, Electronic Cafe , 1984

Scope and Content Note

Electronic Cafe was an official project of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Art Festival that remained active through the 1990s at the 18th Street Arts Complex in Santa Monica.

box 1, folder 18

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Approximately 130 frames of 35mm gelatin silver negatives.

box 3, folder 8

Prints and project materials

Scope and Content Note

Includes: one 8x10 inch print; one brochure; a one-page resume; two photocopies; a two-page list of project credits (with two copies of the first page); and a 12-page project description.

Moule, Marian, 1967

Scope and Content Note

Images of Moule throwing pots in the studio.

box 2, folder 1

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Thirty-six 2 1/4 inch gelatin silver negatives.

box 3, folder 9

Contact sheets

Scope and Content Note

Three twelve-frame contact sheets (2 1/4 inch).

Muños Hernández, Juan Carlos, 2004

Scope and Content Note

Images of sculptures by the Mexican-American Dark Progressivism artist.

box 2, folder 2

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Twenty-five 35 mm gelatin silver negatives.

box 3, folder 10

Prints

Scope and Content Note

Four 8x10 inch gelatin silver prints.

box 3, folder 11

Neufeldt, Max, 1965?

Scope and Content Note

One sheet of 2 1/4 inch gelatin silver contact prints (12 frames) and one 8x10 inch gelatin silver print depicting Neufeldt's art work in his studio.

Nothing, Charlie [Charles Martin Simon], 1963-1984, undated

Scope and Content Note

Charlie Nothing and his work at the Front Porch Studio on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice. Nothing, a musician, artist and writer, invented and played the dingulator, a stringed instrument made from old steel car parts, similar in appearance to a steel-bodied National-style guitar with up to as many as 21 strings.

box 2, folder 3

Negatives, undated

Scope and Content Note

Five 35 mm gelatin silver negatives.

Prints

box 3, folder 12

Black-and-white, 1963

Scope and Content Note

Two 8x10 inch gelatin silver prints; one signed and dated by Drinkwater: Print #6/ The indestructible dingulator / Harry Drinkwater '63 ©.

box 2, folder 3

Color, 1984

Scope and Content Note

One color photocopy of Charlie Nothing on a roof with a 1984 wire sculpture.

box 4

Oliver, Thelma (Krishna Kaur), 1960

Scope and Content Note

One 11x14 inch gelatin silver print of the actor performing. Signed on verso: Harry Drinkwater '60.

Purifoy, Noah, 1978

box 2, folder 4

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Ten 35 mm gelatin silver negatives of views of Joshua Tree.

Prints

box 3, folder 13

Black-and-white

Scope and Content Note

One 5x7 inch gelatin silver portrait of Purifoy.

box 2, folder 4

Color

Scope and Content Note

Twenty-seven 4 1/2 x 6 inch chromogenic color prints of Purifoy's work and compound in Joshua Tree. Also included is a print envelope with printing instructions and Purifoy's address written on it.

box 2, folder 5

Saturensky, Ruth, 1968

Scope and Content Note

Eleven strips of 35 mm gelatin silver negatives (approximately 63 frames) depicting her work and her September 1968 workshop. Twelve 2 1/4 inch gelatin silver negatives of Saturensky dancing nude. Also included is one 4x5 inch gelatin silver negative of a section of brick wall.

Valentine, Dewain, 1970s

Scope and Content Note

Valentine and his work in his Pasadena and Venice studios and his 1971 exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of Art.

box 2, folder 6

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Includes approximately 100 35 mm gelatin silver negatives and 26 2 1/4 inch negatives. Included are images of his work and of his parents in Venice.

box 2, folder 6

Transparencies

Scope and Content Note

One 4x5 color transparency.

box 3, folder 14

Prints

Scope and Content Note

Included are one 8x10 gelatin silver print of Valentine leaning in a doorway, two twelve-frame gelatin silver contact sheets, and three 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch mounted gelatin silver prints, one signed on the verso by Drinkwater, of Valentine's work.

Wagner, Gordon, 1966

Scope and Content Note

Images of Wagner and his junk art creations.

box 2, folder 7

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Three 4x5 inch gelatin silver negatives and four six-frame strips of 35 mm gelatin silver negatives.

Prints

box 3, folder 15

Black-and-white

Scope and Content Note

Three 5x7 inch gelatin silver prints and one black-and-white photocopy.

box 2, folder 7

Color

Scope and Content Note

One color photocopy of a sculpture.

Series III. Venice, Santa Monica and other coastal locations, 1963-2001, undated

Physical Description: 5 Linear Feet

Scope and Content Note

The photographs in this series are primarily related to Venice, Santa Monica, and other southern California coastal locations, with an emphais on Venice Beach and environs, where Drinkwater lived and worked for over six decades. A black-and-white joined panorama from the late 1970s or early 1980s records Ocean Front Walk, taken as the area was returning to its spot as a tourist destination after a long decline following the closure of Venice's amusement piers and dance halls that began in the late 1940s and continued into the 1960s. Drinkwater's photographs capture the vibrant life of the area from the late 1970s to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Subjects range from views of legendary cultural venues such as the Comeback Inn, Venice's jazz showcase, and Mark Kornfeld's Sponto Gallery, to images of the Venice boardwalk street performers, the Venice Graffiti Pit, and the annual Hare Krishna parade.

Also found in this series are photographs of Santa Monica and other beach communities taken from the 1960s to the 1980s, and views of Los Angeles freeway construction in 1964. Images of Santa Monica include a 1963 vista of the coast looking north from just below the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Chautauqua Boulevard and a series of views of the Pacific Ocean Pier taken the day after it burned in May 1970.

Arrangement

Arranged by geographical location.

Venice, 1974-2001

Ocean Front Walk, Venice Beach, after 1977

Scope and Content Note

Views of Ocean Front Walk, Venice, taken from the beach. After the bike path was constructed next to Ocean Front Walk in 1972 the area was revitalized as a vibrant outdoor scene. The Cheapskates opened on the boardwalk in 1977 and shortly thereafter Venice became known as the roller skating capital of the world.

box 2, folder 8

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Ten 120 mm gelatin silver negatives.

Prints

Contact sheets

Scope and Content Note

Three ten-frame contact sheets.

box 3, folder 16

Prints

Scope and Content Note

Twelve 4x5 inch and smaller gelatin silver prints.

flatfile 1**

Panorama

Scope and Content Note

One panorama comprised of ten 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inch joined gelatin silver prints.

box 2, folder 9

Pacific and Ocean Park, undated

Scope and Content Note

One 2 1/4 inch (120 mm) gelatin silver negative of a building under demolition.

box 2, folder 10

Washington Blvd. and Stayer [?] Dr., undated

Scope and Content Note

Three six-frame strips of 35mm gelatin silver negatives.

box 3, folder 17

John Stein home, Sunset Avenue, Venice Beach, undated

Scope and Content Note

Two 8x10 inch gelatin silver prints of the home's interior.

Street performers, late 1970s-1980s

box 2, folder 11

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Three strips of six-frame and two strips of four-frame 35 mm gelatin silver negatives of a man performing on a skateboard and a unicycle, a zoot suiter dancing and crowds watching the acts.

box 3, folder 18

Contact sheets

Scope and Content Note

Four contact sheets (three nine-frame; one six-frame) of a "Houdini" locks act.

box 3, folder 18

Prints

Scope and Content Note

Four 8x10 inch gelatin silver prints of gymnasts forming a human pyramid, a zoot suiter and a boxer [at Gold's Gym?]; one 5x7 inch gelatin silver print of a Haitian painter.

Tonto Studio, 1980s

box 2, folder 12

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Ninety-one frames of 35 mm gelatin silver negatives (mostly three-strip).

box 3, folder 19

Prints

Scope and Content Note

Two 8x10 inch gelatin silver prints of Ernesto and his band and Ernesto on a wooden walkway.

box 3, folder 20

Comeback Inn, between 1974 and 1976

Scope and Content Note

One 8x10 inch gelatin silver print of a band playing on the patio.

box 2, folder 13

Venice Beach Graffiti Pit, 1994, undated

Scope and Content Note

Three 3 1/2 x 5 inch chromogenic color prints of McCall [?] Day at the Graffiti Pit and four 4 1/2 x 6 inch chromogenic color prints of the Graffiti Pit.

box 2, folder 14

Hare Krishna parade, 2001

Scope and Content Note

Four 4 1/2 x 6 inch chromogenic color prints.

box 2, folder 15

Sponto Gallery, 1980s, undated

Scope and Content Note

Mark "Sponto" Kornfeld's Sponto Gallery, at 7 Dudley Avenue, occupied the space that had previously been the Venice West Cafe, the area's Beat Generation gathering place. Includes two 4 1/2 x 6 inch chromogenic color prints of Kornfeld in front of the gallery and of people standing in line in outside the building, with the Venice West Cafe signs still in evidence and showing the mosaic mural, and two 8 1/2x11 inch color inkjet prints of Mark Kornfeld.

Santa Monica and other locations, 1963-1980, undated

Scope and Content Note

Mostly coastal locations.

box 4

Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica, 1963

Scope and Content Note

One 11x13 inch gelatin silver print of the coast looking north from just below the intersection of PCH and Chautauqua Boulevard.

box 3, folder 21

Pacific Ocean Park Pier, Santa Monica, 1970 May 28

Scope and Content Note

Seven 3 1/2 x 5 inch gelatin silver prints of the pier the day after it burned in 1970. It was finally demolished between 1974 and 1975.

box 2, folder 16

Bronze Lane, Pacific Palisades, undated

Scope and Content Note

Three six-frame strips of 35 mm gelatin silver negatives depicting a home and its grounds.

box 2, folder 17

Manhattan Beach power plant, 1980?

Scope and Content Note

Three six-frame strips of 35 mm gelatin silver negatives of the interior of the power plant.

Los Angeles freeway construction, 1964 January 24

Scope and Content Note

Images of a freeway overpass under construction.

box 2, folder 18

Negatives

Scope and Content Note

Twelve 120 mm gelatin silver negatives.

box 3, folder 22

Prints

Scope and Content Note

One contact sheet (12 frames) corresponding to the negatives.

box 2, folder 19

Riverside and the Mission Inn, undated

Scope and Content Note

Four 120mm gelatin silver negatives.

box 2, folder 20

Model Cities protest, 1973 or 1974

Scope and Content Note

Eleven six-frame strips 35 mm gelatin silver negatives (six-frames/strip except for one strip of five frames) and eight strips of 2 1/4 inch negs (four frames/strip) of protests related to Lyndon Johnson's Model Cities program.

Container List