Alana VanDerwerker materials related to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
name: label: Creator
content: VanDerwerker, Alana C.
label: Names
content: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
label: Names
content: Larsen, Jack Lenor
label: Names
content: Merritt, Francis Sumner, 1913-2000
topic: label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators -- Maine
label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- Maine
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2022 by Alana VanDerwerker.
creator: label: Creator
content: VanDerwerker, Alana C.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Alana VanDerwerker materials related to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Haystack Mountain School of Craft-related materials of art historian Alana VanDerwerker date from circa 1950-2019 and measure 2.5 linear feet. The materials document her research on the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts' development from the 1950s-1970s, which culminated in her published book Haystack at Liberty, through correspondence, writings, interviews with founding Haystack artists, photographic material, and research on various topics related to Haystack.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Alana VanDerwerker (1950- ) is an author and arts administrator in Waldoboro, Maine who has devoted herself to preserving the history of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, located in Deer Isle, Maine. VanDerwerker served as the initial secretary of board for the Maine Crafts Association, an organization which worked closely with Haystack to promote collaborative programs for artists. VanDerwerker became friends with co-founder and director of Haystack, Frances Sumner Merritt (1913-2000), who asked her to document the school.

Founded in 1950 as a space for more traditional craftsmen to create and teach together, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts would soon include writers, metalworkers, and mixed media artists in its programming. Operational during the summers, visiting artists teach classes and residential artists produce and exhibited artwork on-site. In 2019, after decades of collecting documentation and conducting oral histories about the site and its residents, VanDerwerker published Haystack at Liberty: From Insight to Mountain to Island in a limited edition.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1950-2019
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.vandalan
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 5 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, circa 1958-2005 (0.3 linear feet: Box 1, OV 6)

Series 2: Writings, circa 1956-2017 (0.4 linear feet: Box 1)

Series 3: Interviews, circa 1958-2019 (1 linear foot: Boxes 1, 4-5)

Series 4: Photographic Material, circa 1951-1996 (0.5 linear feet: Boxes 1-2)

Series 5: Research Files, circa 1950-2016 (0.3 linear feet: Boxes 2-3)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Emma Eubank in 2023.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Haystack Mountain School of Craft-related materials of art historian Alana VanDerwerker date from circa 1950-2019 and measure 2.5 linear feet. The materials document her research on the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts' development from the 1950s-1970s, which culminated in her published book Haystack at Liberty, through correspondence, writings, interviews with founding Haystack artists, photographic material, and research on various topics related to Haystack.

The correspondence series contains letters between VanDerwerker and notable figures at Haystack, including Francis and Priscilla Merritt, Margaret Beasom Swart, and former Haystack Director Howard Evans. The writings series includes notecards on persons related to Haystack, notebooks of interview musings and archival work, several unpublished essays and appendices by VanDerwerker, and materials related to an unpublished volume edited by Ned Cooke. The interviews series is largely made up of Haystack artist interviews by VanDerwerker in pairs of cassette recordings and transcripts. The photographic material series contains snapshots and negatives of Haystack's development, classes and daily life, with photographs used in VanDerwerker's book grouped by chapter. The research files series contains printed material concerning Haystack, and notes and teaching files from Jack Lenor Larsen and Janet TenBroeck.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts records, circa 1950-1969; an oral history interview with Francis Sumner Merritt, 1979 May 25-June 25; an oral history interview with Jack Lenor Larsen, 2004 February 6-8; and oral history interviews with others researched and interviewed by VanDerwerker.