Richard Thomas papers, 1948-1979
Thomas, Richard C.,
b. 1917
d. 1988
Art teacher, Metalworker
Mich.
Collection size: 1.0 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 1 reel)
Collection Summary: Biographical material; correspondence; writings and lecture notes; sketches and drawings; photographs; slides; and printed material.
REEL 926: Biographical data; correspondence concerning the publication of Thomas's book METALSMITHING, his commissions for liturgical pieces and medals, and general business letters, 1948-1971; pencil sketches and chalk and ink drawings; photographs of Thomas at work in his Cranbrook Academy of Art studio, his students in the Dept. of Metalsmithing, and his works; writings and lectures on painting and metalsmithing; Cranbrook Academy of Art minutes of faculty assemblies, 1965-1966; clippings; and a few miscellaneous printed items. Correspondence includes several letters, 1948-1950, from sculptor Randolph Johnston to both Thomas and William McVey while Johnston was an instructor at Cranbrook.
UNMICROFILMED: Six hundred sixty-three slides of works by students of Cranbrook, 1948-1974, a catalog of the slide collection, and catalog for an exhibit of metal-work by Cranbrook students in 1975. Also included are 2 vol. of ABSTRACTS METALSMITHING THESES, 1948-1968, and 1969-1979, published by the Department of Metalsmithing.
Biographical/Historical Note: Metalsmith, instructor at Cranbrook Academy of Art; Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Received an MFA in 1949 from Cranbrook and in 1950 established Metalsmithing Department there, becoming Dean in 1957.
Material on reel 926 lent for microfilming 1974; and unfilmed material donated 1975 by Richard Thomas.
How to Use this Collection
- Microfilm reel 926 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
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