William Dole papers, circa 1940-1983

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Dole, William, 1917-1983
Abstract:
Papers of William Dole (1917-1983), American abstract collage artist born in Angola, Indiana, and former Professor of Art at UC Santa Barbara. This collection includes exhibition catalogs, correspondence, gallery records slides and photographs, teaching files, press clippings, and Dole's personal archive. In addition to his papers, this collection includes a large amount of material related to his art-making process, such as old books and paper ephemera which Dole used as source material for his collages. Finally, the collection includes many Dole prints: lithographs, monoprints, and test prints.
Extent:
37.23 linear feet (54 document boxes, 7 cartons, 7 oversize boxes, 7 audiocassettes, 4 videocassettes, and 119 films)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], William Dole papers, UArch FacP 52. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains an extensive amount of material devoted to Dole's professional career as both an artist and an educator.

Series I contains exhibition catalogs featuring Dole's work in both one-man and group exhibitions from the course of his career.

Series II is devoted to Dole's correspondences, both personal and professional.

Series III contains gallery records and files which include account and gallery records, as well as professional resumes.

Series IV is primarily comprised of materials from Dole's personal archive, as well as additional materials such as newspaper clippings, magazines featuring his work, and miscellaneous personal files. In this series one can find an assortment of personal and professional materials such as lecture notes, UC Santa Barbara files, etc.

Series V contains Dole's personal teaching files and art ephemera clippings he used as sources for teaching inspiration.

Series VIII is devoted to his professional career as an artist and includes interviews, article, proofs for publication, etc.

Series VI, VII, and IX are primarily Dole's art making materials such as collage source material books, paper ephemera, oversize prints, etched plates, as well as a collection of slides and photographs of his work.

Series XI (2014 Addition) contains early artwork and sketches, collage materials, correspondence, and approximately 100 home movie films, many taken at Hollister Ranch in the 1960's.

Biographical / historical:

Born in Angola, Indiana, William Dole (1917-1983) was a prominent American collage artist of the twentieth century. After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1938 from Olivet College in Michigan, Dole married Kathryn Holcomb and served in the US Army from 1942-45. After the army, Dole went on to obtain a master's degree from UC Berkeley. Dole then served as a lecturer in art at UC Berkeley until he received a faculty position at UC Santa Barbara in 1949. In 1958 he became chairman of the art department, and in 1962 he was promoted to full professor. During his lifetime, Dole's work was exhibited in California and New York (as well as other parts of the United States) and also in London and Berlin. His collages are characterized by Dole's consistent inclusion of textual components in his compositions. As Dole stated, "The printed work…even in and unknown foreign language…has a sense of authority that no other graphic element has." In addition, he favored more geometric compositional arrangements, and displayed nuanced and studied use of color. Dole's life and work make up a significant contribution to a greater understanding of post-War abstract and collage art in the United States.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Hilary Dole Klein, 2012.
Arrangement:

This collection has been arranged into the following series: I. Exhibition catalogs, II. Correspondence, III. Gallery records, IV., Personal, V. Teaching, VI. Art objects, VII. Photographs, VIII. Art career, IX. Oversize prints, X. Audiovisual, XI. 2014 Addition.

Boxes 57 through 63 are flat Boxes (oversize). Intellectual order and physical arrangment do not always correspond for this collection. Series may, in some instances, be split between Boxes.

Physical location:
A portion of the collection is located at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF).
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. A portion of the collection is stored offsite. Advance notice is required for retrieval.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], William Dole papers, UArch FacP 52. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
Website