Richard Thomas papers
name: label: Creator
content: Thomas, Richard C., 1917-1988
label: Names
content: Cranbrook Academy of Art
topic: label: Occupation
content: Metal-workers -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills
label: Topic
content: American studio craft movement
label: Topic
content: Metal-work
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 1975 and 1985 by Richard Thomas.
creator: label: Creator
content: Thomas, Richard C., 1917-1988
setName: label: See more items in
content: Richard Thomas papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of metal-worker and educator Richard Thomas, head of the metalsmithing department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1948 to 1984, measure 0.6 linear feet, date from 1968 to 1979, and consist of scattered records from Cranbrook's metalsmithing department.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Richard Thomas (1917-1988) was a metal-worker and educator who served as head of the metalsmithing department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was known for his design and fabrication of liturgial objects and commemorative objects of the Cranbrook Foundation.

Thomas was born in Marion Center, Pennsylvania. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in art education from Indiana University at Pennsylvania and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1948. After becoming acquainted with Cranbrook director Zoltan Sepeshy, during his undergraduate studies, Thomas was asked by Sepeshy to head the metalsmithing department at the school. Thomas served as department head from 1948 to 1984. 

Thomas was awarded the Cranbrook's Founders Medal in 1981 and his liturgial designs can be seen in more than ninety churches, synagogues, and temples across the country. He also designed the Cranbrook Foundation's silver punch bowl, the Saarinen Medal, and the commemorative medal for the Academy of Art's fiftieth anniversary.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1968-1979
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.thomrich
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2022.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Material lent for microfilming is available on 35mm microfilm reel 926 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of metal-worker and educator Richard Thomas, head of the metalsmithing department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1948 to 1984, measure 0.6 linear feet, date from 1968 to 1979, and consist of scattered records from Cranbrook's metalsmithing department.

Papers include two bound volumes of theses abstracts by metalsmithing students, a catalog for the exhibition Reprise (1975) with a letter from Thomas to the exhibitors, and slides of artwork by metalsmithing students.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview of Richard Thomas conducted on May 5-17, 1978 by Dennis Barrie.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also has microfilm (reel 926) of loaned material including correspondence, biographical material, writings and lectures, artwork, photographs of Thomas's liturgical pieces and his studio, clippings, and meeting minutes of Faculty Assemblies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Originals were returned to Richard Thomas after microfilming and are not described in the collection container inventory.