Guide to the Papers of Trude Guermonprez, 1947-1976
Collection processed and finding aid created by
Jeanne Gahagan and Emma Coleman
The Paul Mills Library and Archives of California
Art
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 238-3005
Fax: (510) 238-6925
URL: http://www.museumca.org
© 2003
Guide to the Papers of Trude Guermonprez, 1947-1976
Paul Mills Library and Archives of California Art
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland, California
- Contact Information:
- The Paul Mills Library and Archives of California Art
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 238-3005
Fax: (510) 238-6925
- Collection processed and finding aid written by:
- Jeanne Gahagan and Emma Coleman
- Completed:
- September 2003
copyright 2003 Oakland Museum of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Papers of Trude Guermonprez,
Date (inclusive): 1947-1976
Collection number: Consult repository
Creator:
Guermonprez, Trude, 1910-1976
Extent:
1.67 linear feet
(3 boxes)
Repository:
The Paul Mills Library and Archives of
California Art
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 238-3005
Fax: (510) 238-6925
URL: http://www.museumca.org
Abstract: Contains
biographical material, writings and speeches, correspondence,
photographs of the
artist and her work, workshop and seminar notes documenting the
professional career of Trude Guermonprez as an artist and art
educator.
Physical location:
Please contact the Paul Mills Library and Archives of California Art,
Oakland Museum of California, for information regarding the location of
this collection.
Language:
Collection materials are mostly in English; some correspondence is in Dutch.
Information for Researchers
Access
The records are open for research with no restrictions under the
conditions of the museum's access policy. Appointments may be made by
calling (510) 238-3005.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or reproduce this material must be submitted in writing to Rights and Reproductions,
Oakland Museum of California. If granted, permission for publication is given on behalf of the Oakland Museum as the owner
of the physical items, and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Papers of Trude Guermonprez, 1947-1976,
Oakland Museum of California.
Related Materials
Included with the Guermonprez Papers was a folder of materials
relating to the organization of the posthumous exhibition of Trude
Guermonprez tapestries held at the Oakland Museum of California in
1982. This file will eventually be accessioned as part of the Oakland Museum
archives, but remains housed with the Guermonprez collection
temporarily.
Additional information about Guermonprez and her art can be found in
the California Design Collection held at the Oakland Museum of
California. California Design was a triennial exhibition of the
decorative arts
and crafts, active during the years 1955 to 1984. Guermonprez participated in California Design
Exhibitions 8
and 9, held in 1962 and 1965 respectively.
Separated Materials
The book, Research in the Crafts (American Craftsman Council, ca. 1963),
which is a proceedings of the Fourth National Conference of the
ACC in 1961, is shelved with other books in the Library collection. It
is not included in this collection and has been cataloged separately.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the collection.
Personal Names:
Albers,
Anni
Albers,
Josef
Elsesser,
John
Guermonprez, Trude, 1910-1976
Wildenhain,
Marguerite
Corporate Names:
American Craftsmen's
Council
Black Mountain
College (Black Mountain, N.C.)
California College of
Arts and Crafts (Oakland, Calif.)
Pond Farm Workshops
(Guerneville, Calif.)
Subjects:
Tapestry--United
States--20th century--Exhibitions
Weaving--United
States--20th century
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Consult repository.
Accruals
Additional materials may be added to this collection as
donations are received.
Biographical Notes
Trude Guermonprez was born Gertrud Jalowetz in 1910 to Austrian
parents in Danzig, Germany. Both parents were involved in the arts and
Guermonprez described her childhood home as a place where all forms
of art were an integral part of life.
As a student at the School of Fine and Applied Arts in Halle-Saale,
Germany—noted for the many Bauhaus-trained artists on its faculty—Guermonprez began textile studies and soon discovered a
special
affinity for weaving. After receiving her Diploma of Arts in 1933 and
then
completing further studies at the Textile Engineering School in Berlin,
she accepted a position at the Dutch handweaving production studio, Het
Paapje. From 1934-1947, she created rugs, upholstery fabrics, and
other
custom textiles for Het Paapje. During this period she married a young
photographer, Paul Guermonprez, who later died during the war.
Her family immigrated to the United States
in 1933 and settled in North Carolina where both parents taught at
the innovative Black Mountain College. Following the death of her
father in 1947, Guermonprez joined her mother and sister and also began
to
teach at Black Mountain, at the invitation of Josef and Anni Albers.
In
1949 she was invited to teach at the Pond Farm Workshops in
Guerneville, California, a Bauhaus-inspired school and artist community
founded by
Marguerite Wildenhain, a potter and former teacher at the School of
Fine and
Applied Arts in Halle-Saale.
In 1951 Guermonprez married John Elsesser, a San Francisco
builder-craftsman whom she met while at the Pond Farm Workshops. They
settled in
San Francisco and Guermonprez taught part-time at local art schools
such
as the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art
Institute) and the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in
Oakland.
In the 1950's, Guermonprez began a period of great activity that
combined both weaving and teaching, and which would last for the next
two
decades until her death in 1976. She was a gifted teacher who has been
cited as a formative influence on such contemporary fiber artists as
Barbara Shawcroft and Kay Sekimachi Stocksdale. She joined the faculty
of CCAC full-time in 1954 and served as the Chair of the Crafts
Department from 1960-1976. She was frequently invited to give public
lectures
and workshops and her lecture notes from this period illuminate
her views on teaching the creative process, particularly through the
discipline of weaving.
She continued to produce custom textiles, such as rugs, upholstery
fabrics, tapestries, "space hangings," and also to design prototypes
for
industrial manufacture. She frequently collaborated with architects to
create special textiles for building interiors. Her art and craft
continued to develop and she regularly experimented with new techniques
and
materials. Some of her later works, for example, weave text into the
fabric or create painted tapestries, which she called "textile
graphics," using personal imagery.
The American Institute of Architects awarded the Craftsmanship Medal to
Guermonprez in 1970. She was made Fellow of the Collegium of
Craftsmen, American Crafts Council, in 1975. Trude Guermonprez died in
1976, in
San Francisco, California.
Chronology
| 1910 |
Born Gertrud E. Jalowetz in Danzig (then Germany) to
Austrian parents.
|
| 1930 |
Enrolled at the School of Art, Cologne, to study
painting.
|
| 1931 |
Entered School of Fine and Applied Arts, Halle-Saale. Met
Marguerite Wildenhain.
|
| 1933 |
Received Diploma of Arts from School of Fine
and Applied Arts.
|
| |
Received diploma from professional training program at
Textile Engineering School, Berlin.
|
| 1934-1947 |
Took position at Het Paapje, in The Netherlands. Married
Paul Guermonprez.
|
| 1944 |
Began to teach for an adult education program, the
Volkschogeschool, in The Netherlands.
|
| 1947 |
Guermonprez immigrated to the United States, settling in
North Carolina.
|
| 1947-1949 |
Taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina.
|
| 1949-1952 |
Taught the weaving workshop at the Pond Farm
Workshops in Guerneville, California.
|
| |
Took teaching position at the California School of Fine
Arts (later known as the San Francisco Art Institute).
|
| 1951 |
Married John Elsesser and settled in San
Francisco.
|
| 1954-1976 |
Became full-time faculty member at CCAC. |
| 1960-1976 |
Served as Chair of Crafts Department, CCAC. |
| 1961-1965 |
Produced series of works referred to as "space hangings" -
three-dimensional structures that depart from traditional tapestry
weaving (e.g., "Arachne," 1963).
|
| 1966-1969 |
Completed Notes to John (1966) and Birth of Round
(1968-69) which experimented with incorporating text and symbols into
the woven
fabric.
|
| 1968 |
Commissioned to weave Sanctuary curtain for Temple Beth
Am, Los Altos.
|
| 1970 |
Awarded the Craftsmanship Medal by the American
Institute of Architects.
|
| |
Began work on first of the "textile graphics," combining
poetry and personal imagery.
|
| 1975 |
Fellow, Collegium of Craftsmen, American Crafts
Council.
|
| 1976 |
Guermonprez died, San Francisco, California. |
| 1982 |
Posthumous exhibition, The Tapestries of Trude
Guermonprez, at the Oakland Museum of California.
|
Note:
Information for the biography and chronology of
Trude Guermonprez was drawn from the publication,
The Tapestries of
Trude
Guermonprez
, published by the Oakland Museum of California in 1982.
Additional information was provided by Guermonprez's vitae and writings.
Scope and Content of the Collection
Contains biographical material, correspondence, writings and
speeches, photographs, slides and negatives of Guermonprez and her
artistic
works. Includes materials related to Guermonprez's career as artist and
educator. The earliest materials date to 1947 with Guermonprez's
arrival in
the United States and cover the remainder of her life to 1976.
Guermonprez's artistic philosophy and development are well represented
by this
collection.
Box I, Folders 1-8
Series I:
Biographical Materials,
1947-1977
Physical Description:
(0.42 linear ft.)
Scope and Content Note
Contains personal and professional correspondence including a
letter received by Guermonprez's husband after her death. Some letters
are written in Dutch. Also included are photographs of Guermonprez;
documents regarding her receipt of the Craftsmanship Medal in 1970;
articles written about Guermonprez; and versions of her curriculum
vitae.
Items are arranged in chronological order though many are not
dated.
Folder 1
Personal Correspondence,
1947-1971
Scope and Content Note
Contains correspondence to Guermonprez from friends and
family.
Folder 2
Professional Correspondence,
1958-1977
Scope and Content Note
Contains correspondence to Guermonprez relating to her
professional work.
Folder 3
Vitae,
1951-1977
Scope and Content Note
Contains chronologies of Guermonprez's career including
teaching and exhibition history.
Folder 4
Awards: Craftsmanship Medal (American Institute of Architects),
1970
Scope and Content Note
Contains papers and photographs relating to Guermonprez's
receipt of the Craftsmanship Medal in 1970.
Folder 5
Writings about Trude Guermonprez,
1950-1960
Scope and Content Note
Contains magazine interviews and newpaper clippings about
Guermonprez.
Folder 6-7
Portraits of Trude Guermonprez,
1950-1972
Scope and Content Note
Contains photo-portraits and negatives of the artist.
Folder 8
Telephone and mailing lists,
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Contains lists of telephone numbers and mailing addresses,
some handwritten and annotated, others photo-copied from address books
and mailing labels.
Box II, Folders 1-6
Series II:
Professional Writings,
1949-1974
Physical Description: 6 folders
Scope and Content Note
This series includes draft and final manuscripts of public
lectures given during regional and national crafts conferences, talks presented to weaving guilds and university classes,
and articles written for publication. The writings are in English and
some of the drafts are handwritten. In these lectures Guermonprez
often discusses the tension that is created between the artistic imagination and
the limitations imposed by the medium. Many of the lectures also discuss her
approach to teaching.
The series includes short artist statements about her own work and
writings about the work of other weavers, the latter often issued as
statements from a jury panel. Each subseries is organized
chronologically, where possible.
Folders 1-4
Lectures and articles,
1949-1974
Scope and Content Note
Contains drafts of lectures and articles written by the
artist.
Folder 5
Artist's statements and miscellaneous notes,
1949-1970
Scope and Content Note
Contains short statements written by Guermonprez about her
work and artistic philosophy.
Folder 6
Writings on works of other artists,
1958-1972
Scope and Content Note
Contains drafts and finished pieces written by Guermonprez
about other artists and their work.
Box III, Folders 1-4
Series III:
Workshops and Seminars,
1948-1971
Physical Description:
(0.14 linear ft.)
Scope and Content Note
This series contains notes and brochures for workshops and
seminars taught by Guermonprez including the weaving workshop offered
at
Pond Farm Workshops, a Bauhaus-influenced crafts school located in
Guerneville, California where Guermonpez taught in 1949-50. Missing from the
series,
and from the collection, are descriptions of courses taught at the
California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, where Guermonprez
taught
for over two decades.
Folder 1
Course/workshop descriptions,
1948-1971
Scope and Content Note
Contains brochures and drafts of brief descriptions of
workshops and courses taught by
Guermonprez.
Folder 2
Student comments on Textile Seminar,
Fall 1973
Scope and Content Note
Contains commentaries written by students who attended a
workshop
taught by Guermonprez in the Fall of 1973.
Folder 3
Notes on weaving workshops,
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Contains notes and correspondence relating to weaving
workshops taught by Guermonprez including slide lists and
schedules.
Folder 4
Proposal for video on weaving and the creative
process,
circa 1974
Scope and Content Note
Contains a draft proposal and budget for producing a video
documenting handweaving.
Folder 5
Photographs of displays about weaving
techniques,
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Contains photographs of bulletin board displays demonstrating
weaving techniques.
Box IV, Folders 1-10
Series IV:
Artistic Works,
1948-1975
Physical Description:
(0.42 linear ft.)
Scope and Content Note
Contains photographs, negatives, and slides of Guermonprez's
artistic works charting the stylistic and conceptual strands of her
career. Represented are (not a complete list of works): painted warp
weaving, "Leaf Study" (1948), textile graphics such as
"Self-Portrait"
(1951) and "Calico Cat" (1955), space hangings and banners
"Arachne"
(1963)
and "Small Banner" (1965), stencil warp graphics, "Dusk" (1974)
and
"African Ancestor" (1970), double-weave tapestries "Alter Ego"
(1970)
and
"We Are But Two Shadows" (1971), and curtains commissioned for
three
synagogues, Temple Beth Am, Los Altos (1968), Park Synagogue, Cleveland
Heights (n.d.), and Temple Rodef Shalom, San Rafael (n.d.). Also
included is a notebook containing sketches and technical plans for
weavings, figure and landscape drawings and knitting diagrams.
Photographs and slides in this series are of individual works.
They are mostly black-and-white format and are arranged alphabetically
by title. Some works are not identified.
Folder 1
Sketchbook and weaving descriptions,
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Contains a small, bound sketchbook belonging to Guermonprez
which holds
excellent examples of the artist's plans for weavings, some in color.
The sketchbook also contains notes and figure and landscape
drawings.
Folder 2
Exhibition brochures,
1964-1970
Scope and Content Note
Contains two brochures announcing exhibitions of Guermonprez's
work.
Folder 3
de Young Museum Designer Craftsmen Exhibition
photographs,
1964
Scope and Content Note
Contains a variety of photographs documenting Guermonprez's
participation in the 1964 Designer Craftsmen Exhibition held at the de
YOung Museum, San Francisco.
Folders 4-9
Photographs of works,
1948-1975
Physical Description:
4 folders
Scope and Content Note
This subseries contains photographs of Guermonmprez's
weavings.
Photographs are black and white and in color and are arranged in
alphabetical
order by title.
Folder 8
Unidentified works and contact sheets.
Folder 9
Negatives of photographs of Guermonprez works,
Undated
Folder 10
Slides of works,
1948-1975,
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Contains slides of Guermonprez's artwork.
