Collection Information

Size: 0.2 linear ft.

Summary: Papers relating to Jensen's work as supervisor of the WPA art projects in Maine and her work on the Index of American Design. Included are: several letters received, primarily from the National Gallery of Art's curator for the Index of American Design, 1949 and 1984-1991; notebook of a working list for the Index of American Design, which also contains annotations, notes and newspaper clippings, ca. 1940; notes; photographs of quilting, stencils, painting, and woodcarving; a rendering of a rocking chair; and printed material.

Biographical/Historical Note

Art administrator; Maine. Supervisor of the Federal Art Project in Maine, 1936-1941; gathering information for the Index of American Design was one phase of their work. The Index of American Design was a research division of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration which produced approximately 20,000 reproductions (photographs and original drawings) and classifications of a wide variety of American art, paintings, sculpture, handicrafts and folk art.

Provenance

Donated 1992 by Dorothy Hay Jensen.

Restrictions on Access

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

How to Cite This Collection

Dorothy Hay Jensen papers, 1931-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.