Claire Zeisler papers, 1903-1992
Zeisler, Claire,
b. 1903
d. 1991
Fiber artist
Chicago, Ill.
Collection size: 4.0 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 1 reel)
Collection Summary: Scrapbooks relating to Zeisler's career as a fiber artist, and to a lesser degree, her art collection; weaving files; and project files.
REEL 3019: Eight scrapbooks, 1941-1983, containing a lengthy career summary, letters, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and newspaper and magazine clippings from the Chicago Tribune, Chicgao Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News, American Craft, Arts Magazine, Art in America, Craft Horizons, and other printed sources.
UNMICROFILMED: Twenty-two scrapbooks/binders containing biographical material, letters, awards, newspaper and magazine articles, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and other printed material relating to Zeisler's work and exhibitions. A small portion of the scrapbooks relates to Zeisler's art collection, and its dispersal to the Art Institute of Chicago. Thirteen of the scrapbooks, 1941-1983, were previously microfilmed, in part, as 8 scrapbooks on reel 3019. Also included are three exhibition catalogs; files on weaving, containing weaving instructions and swatches, ca. 1950's; and "work room files" on her fiber art, ca. 1967-1991, including instructions, drawings, notes, and photographs.
Biographical/Historical Note: Fiber artist; Chicago, Illinois. Died 1991. Studied with Alexander Archipenko and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and with weaver Bea Swartchild. Created loom weavings and later turned to free-standing fiber sculptures. First husband was art collector Harold Florsheim. As a collector, Zeisler acquired modern paintings and objects from tribal cultures.
Scrapbooks on reel 3019 were lent for microfilming August 1983 by Claire Zeisler. In 1992 her son and executor, Thomas Florsheim, donated additional scrapbooks, and project and weaving files. He also interfiled new material in the previously microfilmed scrapbooks, 1941-1983, expanding them from eight notebooks to thirteen. A few items from the original loan were not returned.
How to Use this Collection
- Microfilm reel 3019 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
- Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
- For more information on using the Archives’ resources, see the FAQ or Ask Us.
