Miye Matsukata papers, circa 1924-1985
Matsukata, Miye,
b. 1922
d. 1981
Designer, Jeweler
Boston, Mass.
Collection size: 11.5 linear feet (partially microfilmed on 9 reels)
Collection Summary: Biographical material, correspondence, subject files, exhibition files, photographs, slides, works of art, writings, financial material, audio-visual material, and printed material document Matsukata's career as a jewelry designer and silversmith, and her jewelry firm, Janiye.
REELS 4495-4503: Included are biographical sketches, resumes and recollections by friends. Correspondence is with galleries and universities. Extensive client files contain invoices from Matsukata's jewelry firm, Janiye, correspondence, design sketches, design worksheets, insurance statements and sales slips. Correspondents include jewelry designers and friends Dorothy Chu, Helen Drutt, Naomi Harris, Katharine Honey, Mildred Warner and Yuri Yajima. Also included are files on exhibitions and publicity. Photographs include an album depicting various events, travels and Matsukata's working environment as well as loose photographs of Matsukata. Artwork includes sketches and personally designed Christmas cards. Also included are worksheets for stock designs; appointment books; notes; exhibition announcements; clippings. Price lists, income tax forms, insurance records, client order books and vendor files containing invoices and occasional correspondence.
UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence includes postcards and letters from artists, in particular Arlene Fisch. Photographs and slides are of Matsukata, her family and her works of art, including her design for the Roman Coin Ring, as well as photographs of her travels to the Himalayas, Katmandu, Iran, and the Taj Mahal. Works of art include sketchbooks, sketches, and designs for jewelry. Also included are two U-matic videotapes of The Well Wrought Jewel and The Legacy of Stone (2 copies of each), one audio reel of Francesca Beaufort, Walter Gropius, Toko Shinoda, and Kenjo Okada, an interview with Matsukata on cassette conducted by Takashi Oka Kategaho and a gallery talk by Matuskata at Art-Asia and Fitchburg Museum. Printed material includes exhibition announcements and invitations. Also included are miscellaneous check stubs, cancelled checks, investment sheets and shipping records.
Biographical/Historical Note: Jewelry designer and silversmith Miye Matsukata (1922-1981) was born in Tokyo, Japan. Matsukata attended Principia College in Elsah, Ill. and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston which awarded her travelling scholarships to Scandanavia and Egypt. She worked in her jewelry firm Janiye in Boston from 1950 until her death.
Donated 1984 by Mrs. Edwin O. Reischauer, Matsukata's sister and in 2008 by Ann Hubbard Gaddis, the sister of Matsukata's business partner and heir, James Hubbard.
How to Use this Collection
- Microfilm reels 4495-4503 available for use 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.
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