Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Parsons family
- Extent:
- Number of containers: 9 boxes, 5 cartons, 1 vol. and 1 oversize folder
- Language:
- English
Background
- Biographical / historical:
-
Marion Randall Parsons--writer, mountaineer, and artist--was born in San Francisco in 1878 and made her home in Piedmont and Berkeley until her death in 1953. She was privately educated and became interested in writing. An active Sierra Club member, she wrote many articles on her mountaineering experiences which were published in Sunset, Out West and The Sierra Club Bulletin. She also wrote short stories and novels, and worked with John Muir on his Travels in Alaska, preparing it for publication after his death.
In 1907 she married Edward Taylor Parsons. He was born in 1861, received a degree from the University of Rochester in 1886, and became one of the first salesmen for the Sherwin-Williams Company. He travelled throughout the west and settled in San Francisco about 1900. Parsons was an active mountaineer and conservationist, also, and wrote about his experiences, illustrating many of his articles with his photographs. At the time of his death in 1914 he was on the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club. His wife was elected to take his place and served until 1936.
Although interested in sketching from 1930, Mrs. Parsons did not begin to work at it seriously until 1936 when illness forced her to curtail activities. She worked in oils and watercolors and was essentially self-taught. From 1941 to 1952 she exhibited in Santa Cruz, Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley. Old California Houses, which was published in 1952, is illustrated with photographs of her oil paintings.
- Physical location:
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft LibraryBerkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
- Contact:
- 510-642-6481