Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Stowitts, Hubert Julian
- Abstract:
- The papers of American dancer and painter Hubert Julian Stowitts, including biographical materials, correspondence, and exhibition/performance related materials.
- Extent:
- 5 linear feet (2 cartons, 5 boxes, 4 volumes)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Hubert Julian Stowitts papers, MSS 2012/165,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of personalia, correspondence, writings, exhibition and performance related materials, and assorted other items. Correspondence is mostly from the 1930s and 1940s.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Hubert Julian Stowitts was born in Rushville, Nebraska on June 26, 1892. His family later moved to California and eventually settled in Los Angeles. Stowitts attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated in 1915, and where he first began to study dance. While performing in Berkeley's Greek Theatre, he was discovered and recruited by Anna Pavlova of the Ballets Russes. He became one of the star dancers of the company, performing in various productions until the early 1920s. After a brief career as a solo dancer, Stowitts retired from ballet and began to pursue other interests, including figure painting, choreography, costume and set design, motion picture performance, travel and traditional dance of other cultures. His scholarly studies and painted depictions of traditional Indonesian and Indian dance and costume enjoyed wide popularity in the 1930s. In 1936, while in Berlin accompanying an exhibition of his figure paintings of American Olympic athletes, Stowitts assisted Leni Reifenstahl on her documentary Olympia. Riefenstahl protected Stowitts from persecution for being gay, but his exhibition was closed by the Nazi regime because of their objection to the manner in which Stowitts depicted Jewish and African-American athletes. Stowitts continued to lecture on Indian and Javanese culture and to paint privately for the remainder of his life. Hubert Julian Stowitts died in San Marino, California on February 8, 1953.
- Acquisition information:
- The Hubert Julian Stowitts papers were gifted to the Bancroft Library by Nancy McGie and Susan Reed in 2012.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by the Bancroft Library Staff in 2012.
- Accruals:
-
No future additions are expected.
- Physical location:
- Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Hubert Julian Stowitts papers, MSS 2012/165,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft LibraryBerkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
- Contact:
- 510-642-6481