Harold Helwig and Lenore Davis papers
name: label: Creator
content: Helwig, Harold B., 1938-2012
label: Creator
content: Davis, Lenore , 1936-1995
label: Names
content: Penland School of Crafts
topic: label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Kentucky -- Newport
label: Occupation
content: Enamel artists -- Kentucky -- Newport
label: Occupation
content: Fiber artists -- Kentucky -- Newport
label: Topic
content: Enamel and enameling
label: Topic
content: Textile design
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This collection was donated in 2017 by Arnelle Dow, executor of Harold Helwig's estate.
creator: label: Creator
content: Helwig, Harold B., 1938-2012
label: Creator
content: Davis, Lenore , 1936-1995
setName: label: See more items in
content: Harold Helwig and Lenore Davis papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of artists and art educators Harold Helwig and Lenore Davis measue 14.5 linear feet and 7.85 Gigabytes and date from 1940 to 2013. The papers document Davis' career and personal life more heavily than that of Helwig, however, material related to both individuals are present. Included is biographical information; correspondence; exhibition and business files; research and printed material; artwork and sketches; photographs; and papers and digital material related to both Helwig and Davis' teaching endeavors.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Harold Helwig (1938-2012) and  Lenore Davis (1936-1995) were a craft artist couple as well as craft educators living primarily in Newport Kentucky. 

Harold "Bill" Helwig (1938-2012) was an enamel artist and educator born in Wellington, Kansas in 1938. Helwig received his MS in watercolor from Fort Hayes Kansas State College in 1961. After a short stint in the military, Helwig became the assistant director of the Creative Craft Center at the State University of New York, Buffalo (he served as an assistant professor in the design department there as well). In 1977, Helwig took the position of director at Vitrearc, a division of Ceramic Coating Co., in Newport, Kentucky. After Vitrearc, Helwig's primary focus shifted towards creating enamel art and teaching its process. Included in Helwig's artistic accomplishments was a selection in the international exhibition Objects: USA(1969), exhibitions in the Ornamental Metals Museum in Memphis, Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York City, and the CCA Galleries in Cambridge, England. Helwig was an active member of the American Craft Council as co-founder and editor of Glass On Metal. He received the Enamellist Society's Creative Arts Award in 2001.

Lenore Davis (1936-1995) was a fiber artist and educator born in Missoula Montana in 1936. She received her BS from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1958. After college, Davis taught high school art, and held a position as a craft director with the US Army Special Services in Germany. After these jobs, Davis received her MFA in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in 1965, and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study ceramics in Portugal in 1966. After her scholarship, Davis began her career as a full-time artist showcasing her work individually and as part of group exhibitions at craft shows, galleries, and museums across the United States. She also led workshops, made instructional videos, and worked for commissions. Davis was a member of the Surface Design Association, National Institute of American Doll Artists, American Craft Council, Kentucky Guild of Craftsmen, and Greater Cincinnati Guild of Craftsmen.

Harold Helwig and Lenore Davis married in 1968. As a couple they worked collaboratively on two-person shows as well as part of larger group exhibitions. In addition to conducting  various workshops and lectures, both Davis and Helwig taught classes at Penland School of Craft between the late-1970s and mid-1990s.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 14.5 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 7.85 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1940-2013
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.helwharo
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 11 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1952-2012 (.08 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-2009 (2.5 linear feet; Box 1-4)

Series 3: Writings, 1970-1994 (7 folders; Box 4)

Series 4: Exhibitions, 1969-2007 (10 folders; Box 4, 3.73 GB; ER01-ER02)

Series 5: Professional Files, 1971-2012 (1.0 linear feet; Box 4-5)

Series 6: Research Material, 1953-2012 (9 folders; box 5-6)

Series 7: Teaching Files, 1973-2012 (2.8 linear feet; Box 6-9, 4.12 GB; ER03)

Series 8: Personal Business Files, 1977-2003 (.5 linear feet; Box 9-10)

Series 9: Printed Material, 1955-2013 (1.0 linear feet; Box 10-11)

Series 10: Artwork, circa 1958-1995 (2.0 linear feet; Box 11-13, shoebox 15)

Series 11: Photographs, 1940-2000 (1.5 linear feet; Box 13-14)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid was written by Christopher DeMairo in 2019. Born-digital collection materials processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of artists and art educators Harold Helwig and Lenore Davis measue 14.5 linear feet and 7.85 Gigabytes and contains correspondence, video recordings, some in digital format, photographs and slides, exhibition ephemera, clippings and various other printed material, and artwork. 

Biographical material includes resumes, school papers, artist inventories, and contacts lists. The collection's correspondence is both personal and business related, and includes a series of letters from Davis' mother, Mary Shope Davis, to her brother and sister-in-law from the 1940s. Other material found in this collection documents Helwig's and Davis' involvement in exhibitions; national and local craft-related guilds and associations, education; sale of artwork and services; research material; and printed ephemera. The collection's photographs include the personal and professional side of Helwig and Davis' life.