Wescott (Joan A.) Collection - Africa: Yoruba, 1951 - 1980

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Summary

Title:
Wescott (Joan A.) Collection - Africa: Yoruba
Dates:
1951 - 1980
Creators:
Joan A. Wescott Yoruba Wescott
Abstract:
Extent:
Accession Acc.4428 contain African, primarily Yoruba sculptures and ceremonial objects Wescott collected throughout her career. Nine boxes of supporting document DOC1957.1 holds photographs and correspondence from Wescott’s research and academic career studying the Nigerian Yorubaland. The photographs provide imagery of Yoruba daily life, art, and ceremony.
Language:
Preferred citation:

Wescott (Joan A.) Collection - Africa: Yoruba . UC Berkeley, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology

Background

Scope and content:

Acc.4428 contains 281 objects that are mostly Yoruba sculptures. DOC1957.1 contains 9 boxes which include drafts of publications, paper copies of publications in magazines, correspondence, biographical information, and many photos of Nigeria. These photographs document daily Yoruba life, art, ceremonies, and religious practices.

Biographical / historical:

Joan Arato Wescott was born May 19, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, and died August 28, 1989, in Sonoma County, California. In 1955, she received a BA in English literature from Boston University with minors in philosophy and psychology. She worked as a reference librarian for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston before going to Nigeria on her husband at the time, Roger Wescott’s, Ford grant to study Yoruba culture from 1955-1957. After returning from this trip, she pursued an MA and PhD in Anthropology at University College, London and studied public and private collections of Yoruba art across Europe, published several papers, and studied English witchcraft. She sold many copies of her photos from the Nigeria trip which were valuable for publications on Yoruba art and culture. During this time, she also began work on aYoruba and British witchcraft book that was never published. In 1981, she moved from London to Lake County, California, and in 1985 donated the majority of her collections to the then Lowie Museum of Anthropology (now Hearst Museum) which were accessioned in 1989. Wescott also gave several objects from her collection to the British Museum, London.

Acquisition information:
For more information on specific objects and accessions, please reference the associated finding aid (pdf attached). To look at the objects, request a research visit at PAHMA: https://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/request-a-research-visit/

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by UC Berkeley, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology staff.
Date Prepared:
1951 - 1980
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:

See https://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/request-a-research-visit/

Terms of access:

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Preferred citation:

Wescott (Joan A.) Collection - Africa: Yoruba . UC Berkeley, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology

Location of this collection:
103 Anthropology and Art Practice Building
Berkeley, CA 94720-3712, US
Contact:
(510) 643-6390
PAHMA-Registration@berkeley.edu
Website