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  2. L. Brent Kington papers, 1944-2012
  3. Series 2:Subject Files, 1956-2005, undated

L. Brent Kington papers, 1944-2012

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Series 2:Subject Files, 1956-2005, undated
(box 1-3; 1.6 linear ft.)

This series provides subject access to records concerning specific aspects of Kington's career. As in Series 1, the majority of the records found here are correspondence and researchers should note that supplementary material relating to any of these subjects may be found in Series 1.
Three folders of material relating to Kintgon's education at Cranbrook Academy of Art contain photographs of artwork by Kington including images of a commission for the Detroit auto show, furniture designs, silverware, and jewelry. Of particular note are several color sketches of jewelry designs done by Kington during his time at Cranbrook.
The series documents Kington's involvement with various professional organizations such as the American Craft Council (ACC), and the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). ACC records include information regarding annual award ceremonies and symposiums, and various awards bestowed on Kington by the organization. SNAG records including minutes of the forming executive committee meetings and information about the founding of the society and annual conferences.
Kington's career as an educator is also documented here through records of arrangements for his conference presentations, his activities as a juror and a visiting artist at various institutions and craft schools, and his administrative and faculty duties as a professor at Southern Illinois University. The folder concerning the Penland School of Crafts, in which Kington participated in 1971, includes Kington's answers to a questionnaire which provide insight into his attitudes towards such opportunities to work alongside other artists.
Letters to Kington from SIU alumni, such as Elizabeth Y. Akamatsu, Phillip Baldwin, Jan Brooks, Harlan W. Butt, Stephen Miller, Noellyn Popos, Rachelle Thiewes and Claudia Widdis, can also be found in this series in addition to postcards from Phillip Baldwin, Robert Ebendorf, Glen Gardner, Paula Garrett, Mary Lee Hu, Arthur Johns, Liza Littlefield, Kris Patzlaff, Sarah Perkins, Mary Ann and Sam Scherr, Jim Wallace and others.
Consignments and sales of Kington's work at galleries such as J.J. Klejman, and The Sculptors Gallery, as well as his relationships with Lee Nordness Galleries, Gilman Galleries, and Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery during the 1960s, are also documented here. Records relating to Lee Nordness Galleries concern the gallery's interest in Kington's works as Nordness expanded his interest in contemporary American objects by "master craftsmen." This material also deals briefly with Kington's representation in the Objects USA crafts exhibition which opened at the Smithsonian Institution in 1969. Records relating to the Theo Portnoy Gallery document Kington's exhibition, The Weathervane: A Kinetic Form (1978), as well as other consignments and sales through the gallery from 1977 to 1981.
The series also includes a résumé, with a career summary and an artist statement. A folder of material on the Second International Seminar on Craft Art and Religion includes three photographs of Kington and other attendees.
Files are arranged alphabetically by subject using the basic arrangement supplied by Kington. In some cases, files have been further broken down and subject headings have been adapted for clarification and ease of access.
DescriptionContainerSelect
America House, 1962-1967
1
27
American Craft Council, 1956-2005
1
28-30
Articles, Papers and Statements, by and about Kington, 1971-1993
1
31
Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America, 1972-2000, undated
1
32
Auction Gifts and Donations, 1981-2004
2
1
Biographical Cartoons, circa 2004
2
2
Conference Presentations, Juror and Visiting Artist, 1962-2003, undated
2
3-6
Consignments and Sales
A-Z, circa 1962-1968
2
7
The Bell Gallery, 1984-1988
2
8
J. J. Klejman, 1967-1968
2
9
The Sculptors Gallery, 1965-1968, undated
2
10
University of Nebraska, 1964-1966, undated
2
11
Craft Schools, 1971-1987
A-Z, 1978-2003
2
12
Appalachian Center for Crafts (Tennessee Crafts Center), 1974-2000
2
13
Kentucky School of Craft, 1999-2004
2
14
Penland School of Crafts, 1971, 1999-2004
2
15
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Drawings, 1960-1961
2
16
Photographs of Artwork, circa 1959-1963
2
17-18
Printed Material, 1959-1966
2
19
Exhibition Notification Cards, 1963-1969, undated
2
20
Gilman Galleries, Inc., 1966-1969, undated
2
21
Lee Nordness Galleries, 1963-1969, 1977, undated
2
22
National Endowment for the Arts , 1981
2
23
National Ornamental Metal Museum , 1982-2004
2
24-25
Postcards, 1982-2004, undated
2
26-28
Résumé, 2000-2001
2
29
Second International Seminar on Craft, Art and Religion, 1978
2
30-31
Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), 1968-1999
2
32
Southern Illinois University
Administrative and Faculty Duties, 1962-1993
2
33-34
Alumni Letters, 1982-2003, undated
3
1-2
Alumni List, 2000, undated
3
3
Alumni Photograph at 20 Years of Metal Exhibition Opening, 1982
3
4
Award Nominations, 1975-1990
3
5
Blacksmith's Workshop Photographs, 1978
(includes photographs of Kington, Tom Bredlow and Francis Whitaker)
3
6
Brent Kington Metalsmith Scholarship Endowment Fund, 1997-2004
3
7
L. Brent Kington Smithy, 2003-2004
3
8-10
Technical Papers (not by Kington), 1961, 1966, 1978, undated
3
11
Technical Paper, The Patronizing of Copper Alloys (by Kington?), undated
3
12
Theo Portnoy Gallery, 1977-1981
3
13

Make a Request

  • To request an appointment to view materials, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reading Room" button. Please note, you will receive the full box.
  • To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.