Frans Wildenhain papers
name: label: Creator
content: Wildenhain, Frans, 1905-1980
label: Names
content: School for American Crafts
label: Names
content: Herzger, Walter, 1901-1985
label: Names
content: Wildenhain, Marguerite
topic: label: Occupation
content: Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- Rochester
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- New York (State) -- Rochester
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- New York (State) -- Rochester
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Elisabeth Wildenhain donated her husband's papers in 1989 and 1998.
creator: label: Creator
content: Wildenhain, Frans, 1905-1980
setName: label: See more items in
content: Frans Wildenhain papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of ceramicist, sculptor, and educator Frans Wildenhain measure 8.2 linear feet and date from circa 1890 to 1991. The papers document his career in Europe and the United States through biographical material, correspondence, diaries and notebooks, writings and notes, subject files, project files, printed material, three mixed media scrapbooks, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic materials.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Frans Wildenhain (1905-1980) was a German-born ceramicist, sculptor, and educator active in Rochester, New York.

Wildenhain was born in Leipzig, Germany to a family of craftsmen. He began his study of art with drawing and design. For formal training, he enrolled at the Bauhaus where he studied in the pottery studio with Gerhard Marcks, Max Krehan, and his future wife, Marguerite Friedlaender Wildenhain. The Wildenhains moved to Burg Giebichenstein, Halle, Germany to teach at the State School of Applied Art. 

In 1933, due to Marguerite's Jewish ancestry, they moved to the Netherlands and set up a studio called Het Kruikje (Little Jug). Marguerite later emigrated to the United States however Frans was unable to follow. He moved to Amsterdam but was drafted into the German Army which he deserted. He followed Marguerite to the United States in 1947 after a seven year separation. 

Upon his arrival in the United States, Frans drove from New York City to Geurneville, California where Marguerite had settled at an artist colony, Pond Farm. Their marriage did not last and Frans Wildenhain accepted a position at the School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. He stayed in that position for over twenty years. He co-founded a cooperative gallery called Shop One, in Rochester, New York.

In 1952, he married Marjorie McIlroy and after her death, married Elisabeth (Lili) Brockkardt. 

Franz Wildenhain was a Guggenheim Fellow and exhibited his works around Europe and the United States. His pottery is included in the collections of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Smithsonian Institution, Luther College, and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1890-1991
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.wildfran
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 10 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1930-circa 1980 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1895-1981 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Notebooks, 1930-1978 (Box 1-2; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1940-1980 (Box 2-3; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 5: Subject Files, 1951-1985 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Project Files, 1950-1975 (Box 3, 10; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1930-1991 (Box 3-4; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1934-1965 (Box 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 9: Artwork and Sketchbooks, 1930-1979 (Box 4-5, 11; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1890-1979 (Box 5-11; 3.1 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed with a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of ceramicist, sculptor, and educator Frans Wildenhain measure 8.2 linear feet and date from circa 1890 to 1991. The papers document his career in Europe and the United States through biographical material, correspondence, diaries and notebooks, writings and notes, subject files, project files, printed material, three mixed media scrapbooks, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic materials.

The bulk of Wildenhain's correspondence is from family and friends including Walter Herzger and Marguerite Wildenhain. Twelve diaries and notebooks include general diary entries but may include notes on art, sketches, kiln logs, and designs. Of note is a diary kepy by Wildenhain during his drive from New York City to Guerneville, California upon his arrival in the United States in 1937. Project files contain records relating to four murals completed by Wildenhain on the east coast. Three scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition materials, and photographs concerning his teaching career at the School for American Craftsmen and exhibitions. Eleven sketchbooks date from the 1930s to 1979 and mostly contain pencil sketches. Photographs depict Wildenhain, family, his wives Marguerite, Marjorie, and Lili, homes, studios, exhibitions, and works of art by Wildenhain and others.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Frans Wildenhain conducted 1978 April 10-1979 July 28, by Robert Brown for the Archives of American Art; the Marguerite Wildenhain papers, 1930-1982; a Frans Wildenhain grant application, 1974 for the National Endowment for the Arts; Letters from Frans Wildenhain to Virginia Cartwright Katz, 1968-1979; Robert Johnson slides of works by Frans Wildenhain, circa 1978; the Kitty C. L. Fischer papers relating to Frans Wildenhain, 1940-1981; and an interview with Elisabeth (Lili) Wildenhain conducted 1995 August 22, by Robert F. Brown. Also found are the Ron Meyers papers relating to Frans Wildenhain, circa 1967-1979; the Roy Cartwright letters from Frans Wildenhain, 1966-1979; and the Gerhard Marcks letters from Frans Wildenhain, 1950-1979 on reel 2435.