Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Ted Gilien photographs of postwar Japan and the Philippines
- Dates:
- circa 1945-1946
- Creators:
- Ted Gilien, 1914-1967
- Abstract:
- This collection contains approximately 500 photographs taken by combat artist and painter Ted Gilien ca. 1945-1946 documenting war destruction in Japan and the Philippines. He later used many of the photographs as source materials for his paintings.
- Extent:
- 0.8 linear feet (2 oversize shoe boxes)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Ted Gilien photographs (Collection 1858). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains approximately 500 black and white photographs taken ca. 1945-1946 in Japan and the Philippines. The photographs document the destruction caused by the atomic bomb in Nagasaki including the ruins of the Urakami Cathedral. Along with significant photographs depicting building destruction, many images depict Japanese citizens clearing rubble, living in the streets in makeshift camps, or moving bundled belongings by any means available. The photographs also include images of ruined Japanese boats, ships, and military planes. A few photographs depict crowds at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo as well as kabuki theatre. The collection also contains photographs of US GIs serving in Japan. Photographs from the Philippines focus on images of citizens living in rough and meager conditions.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Date Event 1914 March 17 Ted Gilien born in Brooklyn, New York 1932-1933 Attended the Art Students League and the National Academy of Art in New York City 1934-1938 Participated in the Federal Arts Project as a mural and easel painter 1939 Painted a post office mural in Lees Summit, Missouri 1940-1942 Employed as a shipyard worker in San Pedro, California 1942-1946 Served as a combat artist with the US military and covered areas of Japan decimated by atomic bombs as well as the Philippines 1946-1965 Displayed artwork at 20 one-man shows on the West Coast 1951 Published the Price, a collection of 50 anti-war paintings and drawings 1954 Held show in New York at Associated American Artists 1949-1960 Published a Visual History of the Maccabees, comprised of 180 paintings and drawings 1932-1965 Exhibited at over 500 shows, represented in more than 400 private and public collections, and received 26 major awards 1946-1965 Taught at Chouinard, Kann, Palos Verdes, Westside Jewish, Pasadena Community Center, and the University of Judaism 1963 Featured in American Artist magazine 1965-? Exhibited one man shows at the International Design Center in LA, the LA Sports Arena, the Inheritance Gallery, and the Renaissance Gallery in Beverly Hills 1965 Awarded first prize at the California State Fair 1967 March 11 Died in Los Angeles - Acquisition information:
- The collection was donated to Special Collections by Jeremy Gilien, Ted Gilien's son, in September 2010.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Lesley Ragsdale March 2012, with assistance from Kelley Bachli and Lilace Hatayama.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's library collections and archives.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged into the following series:
- Nagasaki destruction
- Urakami Cathedral destruction
- Planes and ships
- Street scenes
- Clearing rubble
- Men and crowds
- Children
- Girls
- Kabuki
- Tokyo Imperial Palace
- US GIs
- Philippines
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- World War II.
Atomic bomb -- Japan-Nagasaki-shi. - Places:
- Nagasaki-shi (Japan).
Japan.
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-16 14:05:40 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Ted Gilien photographs (Collection 1858). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988