Descriptive Summary
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Processing Information
Biography
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Dan Wiesendanger diaries
Dates: 1976-1995
Collection number: Coll2008-014
Creator:
Wiesendanger, Dan, 1915-1996
Collection Size: 4 archive cartons.
1.7 linear feet.
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: Diaries kept by artist Dan Wiesendanger
(1915-1996) from 1976 until mid-1995, documenting the events in his life, his
friends, and family, including reminiscences of his earlier life. A separate
series of diaries documents Wiesendanger's work as an artist and his activities
within the artists' communities of Los Angeles and Pasadena.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.
Publication Rights
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Dan Wiesendanger diaries, Coll2008-014, ONE National Gay and Lesbian
Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Acquisition Information
Date and method of acquisition unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by Michael P. Palmer,
May 2, 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded
by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.
Biography
Dan Wiesendanger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 5, 1915. He
served in the U.S. Army from June 1941 until December 1945, for the majority of
the time as non-commissioned officer in charge of Special Services Section,
Athletics and Entertainment, in the headquarters offices of various regiments,
divisions, and corps. He later settled in Los Angeles, where for many years he
lived with his roommate Clint at 3279 Descanso Drive. He was a modernist
painter, working in a variety of media. He is credited with developing
geometric abstraction in the late 1960s. He was also a songwriter and member of
ASCAP. He died in a Los Angeles nursing home on July 14, 1996, of prostate
cancer.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists entirely of diaries kept by Dan Wiesendanger
from 1976 until mid-1995, a year before his death. The diaries fall into three
groups: (1) general daily accounts, (2) "Opinions on Painting", and (3)
miscellaneous. The general daily accounts document the events in Wiesendanger's
life, his friends, and family, including reminiscences of his earlier life. The
volumes beginning with No. 11 contain many photographs, some dating back to the
1940s. The "Opinions on Painting", also known as "Red Books" or "Art News",
document Wiesendanger's work as an artist and his activities within the
artists' communities of Los Angeles and Pasadena. The volumes include accounts
and photographs of many of Wiesendanger's paintings; newspaper clippings and
photographs of the work of other artists he considered particularly important;
and the activities of various art societies in Los Angeles and Pasadena. The
miscellaneous volumes document events Wiesendanger considered of particular
interest: the first Iraq War in 1991; the Shasta Dixieland Jazz Festival in
Redding, California, in April 1991, and the Medford Jazz Jubilee in Medford,
Oregon, in October 1991; and a trip back to Wisconsin, which he knew would be
his last, to attend the wedding of a niece in 1995.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Artists
Gay artists
Wiesendanger, Dan,
1915-1996