Dorr Bothwell papers, 1900-2006

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A Finding Aid to the Dorr Bothwell Papers, 1900-2006, in the Archives of American Art, by Jean Fitzgerald

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Table of Contents:

• Biographical Information
• Overview of the Collection
• How to Use the Collection
• Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Biographical Information

Dorr Bothwell (1902-2000) worked primarily in California as a painter, printmaker, and art instructor.

Doris Bothwell was born on May 3, 1902 in San Francisco, and later changed her first name to Dorr in order to more easily enter the art business. Bothwell began her art studies in 1916 with her parents' friend Anna Valentien, a student of Rodin. Between 1921 and 1922, she studied at the California School of Fine Art, and continued her studies at the University of Oregon at Eugene. After attending the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in 1924, she established her own studio in San Francisco from 1924 to 1927. Also during this time Bothwell, with eight other artists opened the Modern Gallery on Montgomery Street, mounting her first solo exhibition there in 1927.

Between 1928 and 1928, Bothwell traveled to American Samoa, where she created paintings and drawings, and documented tapa (barkcloth) drawings for the Bishop Museum of Honolulu. She then spent a year of study in Europe, returning to San Diego, California in 1931 and marrying sculptor Donal Hord. Four years later, they divorced and she moved to Los Angeles where she worked for the pottery manufacturer Gladding McBean, joined the post-surrealist group around Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg and opened the Bothwell-Cooke Gallery.

Between 1936 and 1939, Bothwell worked in the mural division of the Federal Arts Project of Los Angeles, and learned the art of serigraph printing. She designed dioramas and mechanized exhibitions for the Los Angeles County Museum. In 1940 she also created murals in the Manning Coffee Restaurant in San Francisco.

After teaching color and design at the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco from 1944 to 1948, Bothwell was awarded the Abraham Rosenberg Traveling Scholarship that financed study in Paris from 1949 to the fall of 1951. In 1952 she taught textile design for mass production at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Returning to San Francisco, Bothwell taught again at the California School of Fine Art from 1953 to 1958, and at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1959 to 1960. From 1960 to 1961 she took a sabbatical in England and France, creating paintings for an exhibition. In 1962 she was asked to teach at the new Mendocino Art Center and she taught there until 1983. She was also asked by Ansel Adams to teach design and composition for photographers at his Yosemite Workshop summer sessions, which she did from 1964 to 1977.

From 1966 to 1967, Bothwell documented indigo dying techniques, strip weaving, and pottery in Western Nigeria and Tunisia. In 1968, she published her book, co-authored with Marlys Frey, NOTAN The Principle of Dark-Light Design. The book was reissued in 1991. Bothwell continued her travels from 1970 to 1971, when she studied 12th century enamels in England, France, and Holland, and conducted a symposium, "Notan Design," for the London Educational Authority. In 1974, she traveled to Bali, Java, and Sumatra, making a slide documentary on batik, woodcarving, and folk design.

In 1977 Bothwell moved to Joshua Tree, California, from Mendocino in Northern California, but moved back and forth between the two studio/residences until 1992 when she moved to her last residence on the desert at Apache Junction, Arizona. From 1979 to 1980, she taught composition at the Victor School of Photography in Colorado and a design course at the Women's Art Guild in Kauai, Hawaii. Following a tour of China with a watercolor artists' group in 1982, Bothwell conducted workshops at the Mendocino Art Center. In 1985, she traveled to Japan.

Dorr Bothwell died on September 24, 2000 in Fort Bragg, California.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The papers of California painter, printmaker, and art instructor Dorr Bothwell date from 1900-2006, and measure 9.4 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, notes and writings, three diaries, art work and 17 sketchbooks, three scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs.

Biographical material consists of biographical sketches, resumés, identity cards, award certificates, typescripts of autobiographical interviews, address books, and a file concerning UFOs, spirituality, and philosophy.

Correspondence consists of letters exchanged between Bothwell and her colleagues and friends discussing their art-related activities, travel, and birthday greetings. There are scattered letters from Ansel and Virginia Adams, Etel Adnan, Benjamin Chinn, Claire Falkenstein, and Emmy Lou Packard.

Personal business records include teaching contracts, contracts and royalty statements for the publication of Bothwell's book Notan, insurance records, income tax records, records concerning a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, estate records, card files, lists of art work, price lists, exhibition entry cards, receipts for the sale of art work, travel receipts, medical receipts, and consignment/sales records.

Notes and writings include three diaries, two travel journals, guest books, miscellaneous lists, schedules of classes for various organizations and art schools including the Ansel Adams Yosemite Workshop, typescripts of lecture notes, and miscellaneous notes. There are also scattered writings by Bothwell and others.

Seventeen sketchbooks, including several completed during Bothwell's travels, and one dated 1942 illustrated with daily drawings of her activities while preparing for World War II, are found within the papers. There are also miscellaneous drawings, collages, a serigraph It's Time for a Change, an etching by Martha Jackson, and a drawing by Charles Howard.

Three scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, programs, and photographs of art work. Scrapbook 3 contains materials concerning spiritualism and mysticism. Additional printed material consists of clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, brochures for art classes, the sale of art work, travel, and camera equipment, reproductions of art work, picture postcards, programs, books, and miscellaneous commercial business cards.

Photographs are of Bothwell, her mother and brother, her studio/residences, miscellaneous friends and colleagues including her former husband, sculptor Donal Hord, miscellaneous events, and art classes conducted by Bothwell. There are also photographs of art work by Bothwell and others, as well as numerous photographs and slides of travel various forms in nature that Bothwell would incorporate into her art work.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged as 8 series:

• Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1999 (Box 1, 11; 25 folders)
• Series 2: Correspondence, 1942-2002 (Box 1-3; 2.5 linear feet)
• Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1925-2006 (Box 3-4; 1.0 linear feet)
• Series 4: Notes and Writings, 1949-1998 (Box 4, 11; 38 folders)
• Series 5: Art Work, 1920-1994 (Box 4-5, 11; 22 folders)
• Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1926-1979 (Box 5, 11, 12; 5 folders)
• Series 7: Printed Material, 1923-2000 (Box 5-7, 12; 2.0 linear feet)
• Series 8: Photographs, 1900-2001 (Box 7-9, 10; 2.5 linear feet)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

The Dorr Bothwell papers were donated in 1978 by the artist, and in 2002 and 2009 by the Dorr Bothwell Trust.

How the Collection was Processed

The Dorr Bothwell papers were processed in 2011 by Jean Fitzgerald.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Use of originals requires an appointment.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Dorr Bothwell papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

How to Cite this Collection

Dorr Bothwell papers, 1900-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1999 (Box 1, 11; 25 folders)

Biographical material consists of biographical sketches, resumés, a handwritten outline of Bothwell's teaching career, identity cards including photocopies of her passport, and student cards from Paris, award certificates, typescripts of autobiographical interviews including one concerning her travel to Samoa, and address books. There is also a file concerning Unidentified Flying Objects, Spirituality, and Philosophy, containing letters, clippings, brochures, and a sheet of UFO stickers. .

Series 2: Correspondence, 1942-2002 (Box 1-3; 2.5 linear feet)

Correspondence consists of letters exchanged between Bothwell and her colleagues and friends discussing their art-related activities, travel, and birthday greetings. There are scattered letters from Ansel and Virginia Adams, Etel Adnan, Benjamin Chinn, Claire Falkenstein, and Emmy Lou Packard. Most letters from Monica Hannasch contain amusing cartoons that illustrate her messages. Two letters from Ansel Adams are signed with a smiling cartoon doodle.

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1925-2006 (Box 3-4; 1.0 linear feet)

Personal business records include teaching contracts for the California School of Fine Arts, University of California at Berkeley, and the Mendocino Art Center, contracts and royalty statements for the publication of Bothwell's book Notan, insurance records, income tax records, records of a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, records concerning Bothwell's estate, lists of art work, price lists, exhibition entry cards, receipts for the sale of art work, travel receipts, and medical receipts. Of primary interest are the consignment/sales records consisting of letters, price lists, and receipts concerning the loan of art work, its temporary display, and possible sale of Bothwell's art work by various galleries including the Bay Window Gallery, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Mendocino Art Center Gallery, the M. H. De Young Memorial Museum, the San Francisco Art institute Art Bank, and the Serigraph Galleries, Inc.

Series 4: Notes and Writings, 1949-1998 (Box 4, 11; 38 folders)

Notes and writings include three diaries containing brief daily entries, one journal written during travel in Japan, England, and Mexico, a second journal from a trip to London and Paris, guest books for an exhibition and for various parties including Bothwell's 80th and 90th birthdays, mailing lists, lists of faculty, students, and schedules of classes for various organizations including the Sierra Club, and Artists Equity, and art schools including the Ansel Adams Yosemite Workshop, and Creative Images Class at the Univeristy of California Extension at Santa Cruz. There are also typescripts of lecture notes, and supply lists for drawing, collage, color and design, textile and batik, and Notan art classes. Writings include typescripts by Boswell "Rainbow Street" and "Une Nuit de Brume," and writings by others.

Series 5: Artwork, 1920-1994 (Box 4-5, 11; 22 folders)

Art work consists of 17 sketchbooks including one with daily drawings of her preparations for World War II. There are also miscellaneous drawings, collages, a serigraph, an etching by Martha Jackson, and a drawing by Charles Howard.

Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1926-1979 (Box 5, 11-12; 5 folders)

Three scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, programs, and photographs of art work.

Series 7: Printed Material, 1923-2000 (Box 5-7, 12; 2.0 linear feet)

Printed materials consists of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs that span Bothwell's entire career. Also included are press releases, brochures for art classes, the sale of art work, travel, and camera equipment, reproductions of art work, picture postcards, programs, and miscellaneous commercial business cards. There are also several books including Good Neighbor Color Book: Carlos and Conchita in Coffeeland, illustrated by Bothwell.

Series 8: Photographs, 1900-2001 (Box 7-9, 10; 2.5 linear feet)

Photographs are of Bothwell, her mother and brother, her studio/residences in Mendocino and Joshua Tree, California, and in Apache Junction, Arizona, art classes conducted by Bothwell, events including a reception for Danish royalty in Cheverny, France, and of miscellaneous friends and colleagues including her former husband, sculptor Donal Hord, and friend Francis Cooke. There are also photographs and slides of art work including Bothwell's murals for the Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, and for Manning's Coffee Restaurant, miscellaneous paintings, serigraphs, and collages, exhibition installations, and art work by others. Travel photographs and slides are of scenes in New York, California, Mexico, the Caribbean, France, Italy, Corsica, Spain, the Pacific Islands, Western Nigeria, and China. Miscellaneous photographs and slides are of various forms in nature including trees, fruit, flowers, rock formations, and animals that Bothwell would incorporate into her art work.