Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
A Guide to the Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection
D19xx.2  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Biography of Jean and Arthur Ames
  • Scope and Contents of the Collection
  • Index Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection
    Creator: Ames, Jean
    Dates: 1929-1980
    Date (bulk): {bulk 1934-1939, 1967-1974)
    Extent: 3 cubic feet.
    Repository: Claremont Colleges. Library.
    1090 Columbia Avenue
    Claremont, California 91711
    Abstract: The Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection contains examples of paintings, enamel panels, tapestry designs, murals and drawings created by Jean and Arthur Ames. The original title of the scrapbooks was “Art in Collaboration - Ceramic Tile Decoration, Enamel, Mosaic, Tapestry, Painting, Drawing.” The collection covers the years 1929-1980 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1934 to 1939 and 1967 to 1974.
    Collection Number: D19xx.2
    Language: English
    Physical Location: Ella Strong Denison Library

    Administrative Information

    Restrictions on Access

    This collection is open for research with permission from Ella Strong Denison Library staff.

    Publication Rights

    Property rights reside with Scripps College. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact Ella Strong Denison Library staff.

    Preferred Citation

    Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection. Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College, Claremont, California.

    Acquisition Information

    Gift of Jean Ames prior to her death in 1986.

    Processing Information

    Preliminary arrangement by library staff. Processed by History Associates Incorporated, 2005

    Accruals

    No addition to the collection is anticipated.

    Biography of Jean and Arthur Ames

    Jean Goodwin Ames (1903-1986), painter, muralist, sculptor, and ceramicist was born and raised in Santa Ana, California. Ames first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1931, and a Master in Fine Arts from the University of Southern California in 1937. After receiving her B.E. from UCLA in 1931, Jean taught art from 1933-1936 at Citrus High School and Junior College. Between 1940 and 1969 Jean Ames served as a faculty member at both Scripps College and Claremont Graduate School.
    While attending USC she became interested in mural decoration. In a ceramics class, taught by Glen Lukens, she learned ancient glaze methods and, for her master’s thesis, in the lobby of the Science building at USC created a majolica tile mural, Youth and Science. While attending Lukens’ evening ceramics class she also met her husband, and fellow painter, Arthur Ames, and in 1941 they married. After several years of experimentation, Arthur and Jean perfected their craft, and by 1955 were practicing all three of their decorative art mediums for ceramic: glazed tile, glass mosaic, and enamel.
    Jean and Arthur collaborated on a number of projects throughout their careers, including decorative murals for the mural division of the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). While working for the W.P.A. they became leaders in the revival of ancient decorative mural techniques, and were among the first in California to use mosaics. In 1937 they created two W.P.A. sponsored mosaic murals in the patio of the Newport Union High School in Orange County. In 1939 they also worked with the fresco secco technique in another W.P.A. project – three murals titled Agriculture, Recreation, and Conservation – for the Council of San Diego County. Their work for the W.P.A. mosaics was the springboard to their long and successful career.
    Jeans’ tapestries and mosaics decorate buildings throughout Southern California. Many of these include decorative architectural commissions for churches, such as a mosaic altar for Claremont Community Church (1955), and twenty-four enamel and copper panels used on the entrance doors at the Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills (1956). In 1964, three tapestries - jointly titled the Dance of Destiny - which were created in Aubusson, France, were placed in the foyer of Garrison Theatre at Scripps College.. Other works include the mosaic fountain on the Pomona Mall, and the entrance statue at the West Covina Broadway store. During these years Ames continued to teach at Scripps, served as Chair of the Art Department at the Graduate School from 1962 to 1969, and became Professor Emerita in 1969.
    Jean Ames also gave a number of her works and those of her husband to Scripps College, whose permanent art collection consists of around 8,000 objects. She also donated post-war ceramics Laura Andresen, Shoji Hamada, Glen Lukens, Harrison McIntosh, Gertrude and Otto Natzler, Paul Soldner, and Peter Voulkos.

    Scope and Contents of the Collection

    The Jean and Arthur Ames Scrapbook Collection contains examples of paintings, enamel panels, tapestry designs, murals and drawings created by Jean and Arthur Ames. The original title of the scrapbooks was “Art in Collaboration - Ceramic Tile Decoration, Enamel, Mosaic, Tapestry, Painting, Drawing.” The collection covers the years 1929-1980 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1934 to 1939 and 1967 to 1974.
    The collection consists of two scrapbooks – volume 1 and volume 2. Although the material within each scrapbook was removed from the scrapbooks themselves, the items in each scrapbook were left in their original order. The largest series in this collection is series 2 – scrapbook volume 2 – which is divided into two sub-series. The first sub-series contains examples of Arthur Ames paintings, enamels, and drawings, including murals, which Arthur created for the Works Progress Administration Art Project. This sub-series also contains photographs of Arthur posing with various examples of his work. The second sub-series contains examples of Jean Ames enamel panels, tapestry designs, and acrylic paintings, including tapestry designs woven in Aubusson, France. This sub-series also contains photographs of Jean Ames working on various projects, and a photograph of her receiving the 1958 Los Angeles Woman of the Year in Art award along with Jane Wyman, and Lucille Ball. The second series is almost as large as series 1. Series 1 consists of photographs of both Jean and Arthur Ames, as well as, examples of their enamel panels, tapestry designs, and acrylic paintings. The second series contains examples of Arthur Ames paintings, enamels, murals and drawings, and examples of Jean Ames enamel panels, tapestry designs, and acrylic paintings, including tapestry designs woven in Aubusson, France.
    The collection is organized into two series:
    • Scrapbook, Volume 1
    • Scrapbook, Volume 2

    Index Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

    Subjects:

    Ames, Jean, 1903-1986
    Scripps College (Claremont, Calif.)--Archival resources.

    Genres and Forms of Materials

    Clippings
    Correspondence
    Photographs