Originals and photocopies of correspondence with artists, museums and publishers; manuscripts of poems by Dixon; articles by and about him; catalog of paintings and drawings; and autobiographical material. Includes correspondence with: Arizona Highways (magazine), the California State Library, the De Young Memorial Museum, Ansel Adams, Merle Armitage, F. G. Browne, David M. Brugge, Conrad Buff, Raymond Carlson, Herald Ray Clark, Imogen Cunningham, Charles Courtney Curran, Robert H. Davis, and J. Frank Dobie.

Maynard Dixon, illustrator and artist, born in Fresno in 1875, was exposed from childhood to the great outdoors of the high Sierra and to the wilderness of Kern River Canyon. A lonely child, he started drawing from nature, guided by engravings in early periodicals such as Scribners, Harpers, and the Century Magazine. In 1893 he attended for a short while the San Francisco School of Design, where he met Xavier Martinez and other artists. Largely self-taught and greatly influenced by Frederic Remington, he sold his first illustration to the San Francisco Call in 1895, and later was employed by that newspaper. At this time he also did illustrations for the Overland Monthly, and held his first exhibit in San Francisco. Encouraged by Charles F. Lummis, he also attempted writing verse, an avocation he was to pursue throughout his life.

Number of containers: 2 boxes

Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Collection is open for research.