A Guide to the Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection
Guide prepared by Kenneth W. Homsley for History Associates Incorporated
Ella Strong Denison Library
Scripps College
1090 Columbia Avenue
Claremont, California 91711
Phone: (909) 607-3941
Fax: (909) 607 1548
Email: denison@libraries.claremont.edu
September 10, 2005
Descriptive Summary
Title: Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook
Collection
Creator:
Ames, Jean
Dates: 1929-1980
Date (bulk): {bulk 1934-1939, 1967-1974)
Extent: 3 cubic feet.
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library.
1090 Columbia Avenue
Claremont, California 91711
Abstract: The Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook
Collection contains examples of paintings, enamel panels, tapestry designs, murals
and drawings created by Jean and Arthur Ames. The original title of the scrapbooks
was “Art in Collaboration - Ceramic Tile Decoration, Enamel, Mosaic, Tapestry,
Painting, Drawing.” The collection covers the years 1929-1980 with the bulk of the
material ranging from 1934 to 1939 and 1967 to 1974.
Collection Number: D19xx.2
Language: English
Physical Location: Ella Strong Denison Library
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research with permission from Ella Strong Denison
Library staff.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with Scripps College. Literary rights are retained by the
creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to
publish, please contact Ella Strong Denison Library staff.
Preferred Citation
Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection. Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps
College, Claremont, California.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Jean Ames prior to her death in 1986.
Processing Information
Preliminary arrangement by library staff. Processed by History Associates
Incorporated, 2005
Accruals
No addition to the collection is anticipated.
Biography of Jean and Arthur Ames
Jean Goodwin Ames (1903-1986), painter, muralist, sculptor, and ceramicist was born
and raised in Santa Ana, California. Ames first studied at the Art Institute of
Chicago, and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los
Angeles in 1931, and a Master in Fine Arts from the University of Southern
California in 1937. After receiving her B.E. from UCLA in 1931, Jean taught art from
1933-1936 at Citrus High School and Junior College. Between 1940 and 1969 Jean Ames
served as a faculty member at both Scripps College and Claremont Graduate School.
While attending USC she became interested in mural decoration. In a ceramics class,
taught by Glen Lukens, she learned ancient glaze methods and, for her master’s
thesis, in the lobby of the Science building at USC created a majolica tile mural,
Youth and Science. While attending Lukens’ evening ceramics class she also met her
husband, and fellow painter, Arthur Ames, and in 1941 they married. After several
years of experimentation, Arthur and Jean perfected their craft, and by 1955 were
practicing all three of their decorative art mediums for ceramic: glazed tile, glass
mosaic, and enamel.
Jean and Arthur collaborated on a number of projects throughout their careers,
including decorative murals for the mural division of the Works Progress
Administration (W.P.A.). While working for the W.P.A. they became leaders in the
revival of ancient decorative mural techniques, and were among the first in
California to use mosaics. In 1937 they created two W.P.A. sponsored mosaic murals
in the patio of the Newport Union High School in Orange County. In 1939 they also
worked with the fresco secco technique in another W.P.A. project – three murals
titled Agriculture, Recreation, and Conservation – for the Council of San Diego
County. Their work for the W.P.A. mosaics was the springboard to their long and
successful career.
Jeans’ tapestries and mosaics decorate buildings throughout Southern California. Many
of these include decorative architectural commissions for churches, such as a mosaic
altar for Claremont Community Church (1955), and twenty-four enamel and copper
panels used on the entrance doors at the Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills (1956). In
1964, three tapestries - jointly titled the Dance of Destiny - which were created in
Aubusson, France, were placed in the foyer of Garrison Theatre at Scripps College..
Other works include the mosaic fountain on the Pomona Mall, and the entrance statue
at the West Covina Broadway store. During these years Ames continued to teach at
Scripps, served as Chair of the Art Department at the Graduate School from 1962 to
1969, and became Professor Emerita in 1969.
Jean Ames also gave a number of her works and those of her husband to Scripps
College, whose permanent art collection consists of around 8,000 objects. She also
donated post-war ceramics Laura Andresen, Shoji Hamada, Glen Lukens, Harrison
McIntosh, Gertrude and Otto Natzler, Paul Soldner, and Peter Voulkos.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection contains examples of paintings, enamel
panels, tapestry designs, murals and drawings created by Jean and Arthur Ames. The
original title of the scrapbooks was “Art in Collaboration - Ceramic Tile
Decoration, Enamel, Mosaic, Tapestry, Painting, Drawing.” The collection covers the
years 1929-1980 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1934 to 1939 and 1967 to
1974.
The collection consists of two scrapbooks – volume 1 and volume 2. Although the
material within each scrapbook was removed from the scrapbooks themselves, the items
in each scrapbook were left in their original order. The largest series in this
collection is series 2 – scrapbook volume 2 – which is divided into two sub-series.
The first sub-series contains examples of Arthur Ames paintings, enamels, and
drawings, including murals, which Arthur created for the Works Progress
Administration Art Project. This sub-series also contains photographs of Arthur
posing with various examples of his work. The second sub-series contains examples of
Jean Ames enamel panels, tapestry designs, and acrylic paintings, including tapestry
designs woven in Aubusson, France. This sub-series also contains photographs of Jean
Ames working on various projects, and a photograph of her receiving the 1958 Los
Angeles Woman of the Year in Art award along with Jane Wyman, and Lucille Ball. The
second series is almost as large as series 1. Series 1 consists of photographs of
both Jean and Arthur Ames, as well as, examples of their enamel panels, tapestry
designs, and acrylic paintings. The second series contains examples of Arthur Ames
paintings, enamels, murals and drawings, and examples of Jean Ames enamel panels,
tapestry designs, and acrylic paintings, including tapestry designs woven in
Aubusson, France.
The collection is organized into two series:
- Scrapbook, Volume 1
- Scrapbook, Volume 2
Index Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Subjects:
Ames, Jean, 1903-1986
Scripps College (Claremont,
Calif.)--Archival resources.
Genres and Forms of Materials
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Series 1
Scrapbook, Volume 1,
1936-1964
Physical Description:
1 cubic ft.
Scope and Content Note
This series contains photographs of both Jean and Arthur Ames, as well as,
examples of their enamel panels, tapestry designs, and acrylic
paintings.
Note
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Jean and Arthur Ames (with dog),
1953
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Studio of Jean and Arthur Ames, Padua Hills,
Claremont, CA.,undated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Jean and Arthur with Paintings,
1963
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs, Fed. Art Project, Mosaic for Newport Union High
School, 1937
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs, Jean’s Mosaic Panel, Newport Harbor Union High
School – Vitreous Tile1937
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs, Arthur’s Mosaic Panel, Newport Harbor Union High
School – Vitreous Tile, 1937
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Assembling Tesserae on Paper for Newport Harbor
Mosaic – Vitreous Tile Tesserae, 1936
Box 1, Folder 1
Setting of Mosaic ready for Setting, Newport Harbor Project,
undated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs, Material and Process of Setting, Newport Harbor
Mosaic, undated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, San Diego County Mural, “Agriculture,” in Civic
Center – Egg Tempera on Gesso Over Cloth Ground,
1939
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Ames working on Drawing on Cartoon for San Diego
County Mural, 1938
Box 1, Folder 1
Fragment of Drawing for San Diego County
Murals1938
Box 1, Folder 1
Fragment of Panel, fed Art Project, Drawing for Agriculture, San
Diego Co. Supervisor’s Chamber, 1938
Box 1, Folder 1
One of Three Fresco Seco or Egg Tempura Murals for San Diego
County, 1939
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Jean Painting on Recreation Panel, San Diego Civic
Center, Fresco Seco, 1939
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Mosaic Altar for Claremont Community Church
undated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs, Carved and Partially Glazed Terra Cotta Tile Mural –
Earth, Fire, Water, and the Potter, LA County
Fairundated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs, Fragments from Carved and Partially Glazed Tile
Muralundated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Painted and Glazed Tile Mural, Rose Hills Memorial
Park Administration Building, undated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Jean and Arthur Ames in Padua Hills Studio, Tile
Decoration in Process, 1957
Box 1, Folder 1
Mosaics, Pomona Mall and Sanantonio Gardens Altar,
undated
Box 1, Folder 1
Photograph, Mosaic Set in Travertine, Ahmundson Bank, Beverly
Hills, undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph, Mosaic for Entrance to Weinstock and Lubin,
Sacramento, 1960
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph, Sketch, Cartoon, and Work in Progress, Sacramento
Mosaicundated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph, Sections of prepared Mosaic for San Francisco,
Weinstock and Lubin, undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photographs, Tile Mural, Majolica Type, The Romance of Money in
the Western World, Fresno Guarantee Savings and Loan,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photographs, Mosaics for Broadway Stores, Chula Vista and West
Covina, 1963
Box 1, 2
Copper Enamel Panels for Entrance Doors to Temple Emanuel, Set in
Bronze Frames of Glass, undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph, Firing of Enamel in Clam Shell Type Kiln,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Enamel Panels for Christian Ed. Building, N. Hollywood First
Presbyterian Church, undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Enamel on Steel, Panel for Hillside Church, Rose Hills Memorial
Park, Whittier, CAundated
Box 1, Folder 2
Detail from Enamel Panel, Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier,
CA., nundated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph of Installation of Enamel Painting, Hillside Church,
Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, CA.,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Tapestries Woven in Aubusson, 1964 (includes photograph),
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph of Garrison Theatre Tapestries,
1964
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph of Tapestry Woven in Aubusson, California Federal
Plaza Building, Los Angeles, undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Photograph of Sun Garden Tapestry being Woven by Aubusson,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Poor Color Reproductions of Son Garden Tapestry with Details,
1964
Box 1, Folder 2
Altar for First Presbyterian Church, Claremont,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Mosaic Altar for St. Andrews Church, Westwood,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Sketch for Enamel Door of Tabernacle, St. Andrews Church,
Westwood, undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Sketch for one of panels for Entrance Doors of Temple Emanuel,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
One of 24 Panels for Temple Emanuel,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Sketch for Tapestry for Foyer of California Federal Plaza
Building, Los Angeles, 1964
Series 2
Scapbook, Volume 2
1929-1980
Physical Description:
2.0 cubic ft.
Scope and Content Note
This series consists of two sub-series. The first sub-series contains example
of Arthur Ames paintings, enamels, and drawings. The second sub-series
contains examples of Jean Ames enamel panels, tapestry designs, and acrylic
paintings, including tapestry designs woven in Aubusson, France.
Sub-series 2.1
Arthur Ames: Paintings and Enamels, Drawings
1931-1975
Physical Description:
1.0 cubic ft.
Scope and Content Note
This subseries contains examples of Arthur Ames paintings, enamels, and
drawings, including murals, which Arthur created for the Works Progress
Administration Art Project. This subseries also contains photographs of
Arthur posing with various examples of his work.
Arrangement
This sub-series is organized by the item number originally assigned to
each item when the scrapbook was first created.
Box 2, Folder 1
Photograph, Jean and Arthur Ames, Padua Hills Studio,
1971
Box 2, Folder 1
Cover of American Artist, December 1955, Showing Enamel
“Angel” by Jean Ames1955
Box 2, Folder 1
Article, “Jean and Arthur Ames: Artist-Craftsmen of
California.” In American Artist, December 1955,
1955
Box 2, Folder 1
Mural, Oil on Canvas for Alexander Hamilton Jr. High School,
Los Angeles, WPA Art, Arthur Ames,
1934
Box 2, Folder 1
Mural, Oil on Canvas, “Youth and Learning,” Anaheim Jr. High
School, WPA Art Project, Arthur Ames,
1931
Box 2, Folder 1
Photograph, Arthur with WPA Mural for Anaheim Jr. High
School, 1934
Box 2, Folder 1
Photograph, Murals for Testing Center, Western Flying
Training Command, Fresno, Arthur Ames,
1943
Box 2, Folder 1
Circus Performers, Enamels, Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, “Vanity Fair,” Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, “Night,” Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, “Doloroso,” Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel Panel, “Leaves and Buds,” Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel Panel, “The Sisters,” Arthur
Amesundated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, “On the Beach at Balboa,” Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, “Blue and red Refuge,” Arthur Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, “Reflection,” Arthur Ames,
1968
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel Panel, 32 Views of Infinity, Arthur Ames,
1972
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel on Copper, “Golden Sun,” Arthur Ames,
1969
Box 2, Folder 1
Photograph, Arthur with formed Enamel Pieces,
1971
Box 2, Folder 1
Dimension Enamels, Arthur Ames,
1969-1971
Box 2, Folder 1
Enamel Panels, Arthur Ames,
1970-1972
Box 2, Folder 1
Exhibit Announcement, Scripps College, Clark Museum,
1974-1975
Box 2, Folder 1
Exhibit Announcement, Exhibition at California Institute of
Technology, 1975
Box 2, Folder 1
Acrylic Painting, Red and Black, Arthur Ames,
1968
Box 2, Folder 1
Acrylic on Canvas, Yellow and Violet, Arthur Ames,
1967
Box 2, Folder 1
Acrylic on Canvas, Arthur Ames,
1967-1973
Box 2, Folder 1
Sketch of Woman by Arthur Ames,
1948
Box 2, Folder 1
Sketch of naked Woman, Arthur Ames,
1974
Box 2, Folder 1
Sketch of Naked Woman, 1958
Box 2, Folder 1
Sketch of naked Man, Arthur Ames,
1974
Sub-series 2.2
Jean Ames: Paintings
1929-1980
Physical Description:
1.0 cubic ft
Scope and Content Note
This subseries contains examples of her enamel panels, tapestry designs,
and acrylic paintings, including tapestry designs woven in Aubusson,
France. This sub-series also contains photographs of Jean Ames working
on various projects, and a photograph of her receiving the 1958 Los
Angeles Woman of the Year in Art award along with Jane Wyman, and
Lucille Ball.
Arrangement
This sub-series is organized by the item number originally assigned to
each item when the scrapbook was first created.
Box 2, Folder 2
Pencil Portrait of Jean Goodwin by Frank
Geritz,1929
Box 2, Folder 2
Sketch of Old Woman in Seated Position Holding a Cup and a
Walking Stick by Goodwin, undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Photograph of Jean Ames,
undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Jean Painting Tile in Underglaze for MFA Project, USC,
1936
Box 2, Folder 2
Painted Glaze on Re Bisque Tile,
undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Wax Resist, Majolica Technique,
undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Photograph, Jean Ames Working in Enamel,
1948
Box 2, Folder 2
Enamel on Copper, undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Photograph, California Fashion Creator’s reward with Elinor
Parker, 1952
Box 2, Folder 2
Photograph, Los Angeles Woman of the Year Award (with Jane
Wyman and Lucille Ball), 1958
Box 2, Folder 2
Mosaic Angel, Enamel Panel, “The Rose,”
undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Mosaic in Italian Glass Tesserae, Angel in McAllister Hall,
1961
Box 2, Folder 2
Bronze Sculpture with Enamel Inserts,
1968-1969
Box 2, Folder 2
Tapestry Design, Woven in Aubusson, France, “Court of Night,”
1959
Box 2, Folder 2
Tapestry Design, Woven in Aubusson, France,
1962
Box 2, Folder 2
Cartoon for Tapestry, 1964
Box 2, Folder 2
Details of Tapestries,
undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Tapestry, “Autumnal Equinox,”
1962
Box 2, Folder 2
Tapestry, “Fruits of Summer,”
1961
Box 2, Folder 2
Cartoon, Color Sketch, N. Hollywood First Presbyterian
Church, undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Acrylic Paintings, 1968-1973
Box 2, Folder 2
Acrylic and Ink, 1971-1973
Box 2, Folder 2
“Sweet Bird of Youth,” 1969
Box 2, Folder 2
“Majical Relationships,”
1980
