Finding Aid for the Collection regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house 0000341

Finding aid prepared by ADC staff
The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
Arts Building Room 1434
University of California
Santa Barbara, California, 93106-7130
805-893-2724
adc@museum.ucsb.edu
2015


Title: Collection regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house
Identifier/Call Number: 0000341
Contributing Institution: Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 3.25 Linear feet 1 quarter hollinger box, 2 flat file folders
Date (inclusive): 1948-2001
creator: Tafel, Edgar

Conditions Governing Access note

Uncatalogued collection; open for use by qualified researchers.

Biographical/Historical note

Edgar Tafel (1912-2011) was an architect, follower of Frank Lloyd Wright, and Wright's first apprentice at Taliesin. He went to Taliesin in 1932, and remained there for 9 years. When he left Taliesin in 1941, he worked briefly in Chicago, enlisted in the Army in 1943, and after the war, returned to New York City where he established his practice. Between 1941 and the 1990s, Tafel designed over 80 buildings. He was instrumental in promoting the memory and preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright's work.

Custodial History note

Gift of John Watson, whose parents commissioned Edgar Tafel to build their house, 1948-1949.

Scope and Contents note

Collection holds materials collected by the Thomas Watson family regarding Edgar Tafel and the addition he designed in 1948-1949 for their house in La Canada, California.
Included are 25 letters from Tafel to Mr. and Mrs. Watson, other documents regarding the design and construction of the Watson house, manuscripts, clippings and other printed materials regarding Tafel and Frank Lloyd Wright, and 27 drawings, all reproductions, for the Watson house. Also included is Tafel's publication, Apprentice to Genius, which he inscribed to the Watsons. The material in the collection dates from 1948 to 2001.

Related Archival Materials note

Edgar Tafel architectural records and papaers, 1919-2005, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University, New York, New York

Preferred Citation note

Collection regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house, Architecture and Design Collection, Art Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Tafel, Edgar
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959