Pacita Abad papers, 1946-2016

Summary

Extent:

29 Linear Feet

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], Pacita Abad papers (M3075). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Accession 2025-022 consists primarily of exhibition materials and the working files of Pacita Abad and the Pacita Abad Art Estate. These include research, press, flyers, correspondence, exhibition photographs, catalogs, and painting images, as well as born-digital and audiovisual material containing interviews, exhibition footage, documentaries, and other content.

Biographical / historical:

Pacita Barsana Abad (1946-2004) was a Filipino-American artist known for her large-scale, mixed-media trapunto works. She was born in Basco, Batanes and left in 1969 due to the danger of political violence. Though she planned to go to Spain to finish her law degree, she ended up staying in the United States. There, she acquired a degree in Asian history at Lone Mountain College and briefly married painter George Kleiman. After meeting and traveling the world with future husband Jack Garrity, Abad decided to dedicate her life to painting instead of pursuing immigration law. Her career took her to locations throughout the world, and she spent time in Washington, DC, Dhaka, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Singapore, and others.

Her travels gave her an appreciation of a multitude of different cultures and artistic styles, especially traditional textiles, which she would incorporate into her own work.

She was the first female recipient of the TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) Award for Art in the Philippines in 1984.

She died in 2004 of cancer, actively painting and preparing exhibits until the end.

Acquisition information:

Gift of the Pacita Abad Art Estate, 2025.

Physical location:

Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research use. Audiovisual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy. Born-digital materials are closed until processed.

Terms of access:

While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], Pacita Abad papers (M3075). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, California.

Location of this collection:

Stanford University, Manuscripts Division

Department of Special Collections, Green Library

557 Escondido Mall

Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US

Contact:

(650) 725-1022

specialcollections@stanford.edu

Website