Guide to the Robert Thomas papers UArch FacP 75
Finding aid prepared by Leland Riddlesperger and Zachary Liebhaber, 2022.
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara 93106-9010
special@library.ucsb.edu
2022 April 8
Title: Robert Thomas papers
Identifier/Call Number: UArch FacP 75
Language of Material:
English.
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Physical Description:
5.5 Linear Feet
(2 cartons, 2 flat boxes)
Creator:
Thomas, Robert, 1924-1987
Date (inclusive): 1958-1985
Abstract: The collection consists of 4 boxes containing sketchbooks filled with drawings and sketches by UCSB Art Studio professor,
Robert Thomas (1924-1987).
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
[Identification of Item], Robert Thomas papers, UArch FacP 75. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara
Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Gift of Robin and Liz Thomas, 2021.
Robert Thomas was born on April 19, 1924, in Wichita, Kansas, and died on October 16, 1987, in Santa Barbara, California.
After serving in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1943 to 1946, he studied sculpture in Paris with Ossip Zadkine. He then went
on to receive his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1951, and an M.F.A. from the California College
of Arts and Crafts in Oakland in 1952. In 1954 he started his teaching career as an instructor in art at UCSB.
He was primarily known for female figure sculpture, but he was also skilled in drawing and painting. Although an intensely
private person, he was an unselfish teacher. For the students who sensed the promise of a life in studio art practice, Robert
Thomas was a dedicated teacher and a loyal friend. During his thirty-six years of active teaching, he helped a significant
number of students acquire the courage as well as the skill to contemplate careers as sculptors.
Papers of Robert Thomas (1924-1987), professor of Studio Art at UCSB (1954-), including 65 sketchbooks with drawings and sketches
in watercolor, pencil and charcoal. The subjects in these sketchbooks include the human body and face, animals, as well as
other various shapes and objects. The sketchbooks are untitled. They are organized by date.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Thomas, Robert, 1924-1987 -- Archives
University of California, Santa Barbara. Faculty
flat-box 1, box 2, flat-box 3, box 4
Sketchbooks