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Stowitts (Hubert Julian) Papers
BANC MSS 2012/165
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Hubert Julian Stowitts papers
creator:
Stowitts, Hubert Julian
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 2012/165
Physical Description:
5 linear feet
(2 cartons, 5 boxes, 4 volumes)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1913-1953
Abstract: The papers of American dancer and painter Hubert Julian Stowitts, including biographical materials, correspondence, and exhibition/performance
related materials.
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.
Collection is open for research.
No future additions are expected.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Hubert Julian Stowitts papers were gifted to the Bancroft Library by Nancy McGie and Susan Reed in 2012.
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.
[Identification of item], Hubert Julian Stowitts papers, MSS 2012/165,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Processed by the Bancroft Library Staff in 2012.
The collection consists of personalia, correspondence, writings, exhibition and performance related materials, and assorted
other items. Correspondence is mostly from the 1930s and 1940s.
Pictorial materials were transferred to the Pictorial Collections of the Bancroft Library (BANC PIC 2012.116). One manuscript
item, a 1605 document from the Inquisition in Peru (gifted to Stowitts) was removed from the collection for separate cataloging.
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
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Stowitts, Hubert Julian
Pavlova, Anna
Artists--California
Painters--United States
Dancers
University of California, Berkeley -- Alumni and alumnae.
Gay artists
Dance--20th century