Eleanor Dickinson papers
name: label: Creator
content: Dickinson, Eleanor, 1931-
label: Names
content: Artists Equity Association
label: Names
content: California College of Arts and Crafts
label: Names
content: College Art Association of America
label: Names
content: San Francisco Art Institute
label: Names
content: Women's Caucus for Art
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California -- San Francisco
label: Occupation
content: Video artists -- California -- San Francisco
label: Occupation
content: Graphic artists -- California -- San Francisco
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- California -- San Francisco
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women educators
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Eleanor Dickinson papers were donated from 1979 to 2005 by Eleanor Dickinson and in 2017 by the Eleanor Creekmore Dickinson Charitable Art Trust.
creator: label: Creator
content: Dickinson, Eleanor, 1931-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Eleanor Dickinson papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter, graphic and video artist, and educator Eleanor Dickinson measure 29.8 linear feet and 0.002 gigabytes, and date from 1947 to 2014. The collection comprises biographical materials; professional and personal correspondence; video and sound recordings of interviews for Dickinson's television program Art of the Matter; exhibition files; teaching files for the California College of Arts and Crafts and other professional and project files; research and subject files; membership records, including born-digital material, and sound and video recordings, for various organizations; personal financial and legal records; printed materials featuring Dickinson and her artwork; and photographic materials of Dickinson in her studio and with friends, colleagues, and family, as well as exhibitions and other art events, and works of art.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Eleanor Dickinson (1931-2017) was a painter, graphic and video artist, and educator in San Francisco, C.A. 


Dickinson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1931. Shortly after graduating from University of Tennessee in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts, Dickinson moved to California and established a studio in San Francisco. There she immersed herself in the counterculture of the 1960s, becoming friends with Allen Ginsberg and producing a poster with Ginsberg's fellow Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. 


Dickinson attended the San Francisco Art Institute from 1961 to 1963. In 1971, she traveled to Paris to study drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.  Dickinson taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) from 1971 to 2001 where she also received her Master of Fine Arts in film and video in 1982. At the CCAC, she taught a series of courses on art business and management. Her interest in the professional aspects of the art field led to the creation of her cable access show, Art of the Matter, that featured guests speaking on topics such as art management, law, financial matters, insurance, and other practical issues related to being a professional artist.


Dickinson's continuing interest in and activism for the rights and well-being of artists also influenced her work with the Artists Equity Association, the Women's Caucus for the Arts, and numerous other organizations. Though extremely active in the art world of the West Coast, she never forgot her southern roots and continued to visit Tennessee annually. Dickinson's close connection to her birthplace is evident throughout her career, with Southern religion often being central to her work. Among her most prominent projects are the multifaceted exhibition Revival!, the documentary "Artist's Models of San Francisco," the ink drawings seen in Old Lovers, and illustrations for the books Complete Fruit Cookbook and That Old-Time Religion.

Dickinson was married to Wade Dickinson and had three children: Mark, Katy, and Daniel. Dickinson died in San Francisco, California, in 2017.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 29.8 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.002 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1947-2014
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.dickelea
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 12 series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1957-2014 (1.0 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 32, 36)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1954-2013 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-4)

Series 3: Interviews, 1976-2000 (2.5 linear feet; Boxes 4-7)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1960-2012 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)

Series 5: Professional Files, 1963-circa 2005 (0.5 linear feet; Box 8, OV 34)

Series 6: Project Files, 1955-2001 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 8-13, OVs 32-33)

Series 7: Research and Subject Files, circa 1970-circa 1997 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 13-15)

Series 8: California College of Arts and Crafts Teaching Files, 1962-2002 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 15-16)

Series 9: Membership Records, 1947-2014 (8.0 linear feet; Boxes 17-24, 31, OV 34, ER01)

Series 10: Personal Business Records, 1957-2011 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 25-26)

Series 11: Printed Materials, 1951-2011 (4.0 linear feet; Boxes 26-30, OVs 32-33, 35-36)

Series 12: Photographic Materials, 1958-2012 (6 folders; Box 30)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2020. Additional finding aid description of the sound recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2023.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Some of the video and sound recordings in this collection have been copied or digitized for research access and are available in the Archives of American Art offices.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter, graphic and video artist, and educator Eleanor Dickinson measure 29.8 linear feet and 0.002 gigabytes, and date from 1947 to 2014. 

The collection comprises biographical materials containing datebooks, certificates, resumes, and sketches; professional and personal correspondence; video and sound recordings of interviews for Dickinson's television program Art of the Matter; exhibition files for Spirit in the Land: Photographs from the Bible Belt (1987) and various group exhibitions; files documenting Dickinson's professional activities outside of teaching at the California College of Arts and Crafts; and files that include video recordings for projects on artist's models, Revival!, and gender discrimination in the art field.

Also found are research and subject files on Howard Finster, professionalism in art, and other topics; California College of Arts and Crafts teaching files consisting of student and faculty records, course material, and administrative records; membership records that include born-digital material, and sound and video recordings for Artists Equity Association, Women's Caucus for the Arts, and other organizations; records documenting Dickinson's personal financial and legal dealings that include artwork sales records, studio expenses, and lists of artworks in the Eleanor and Wade Dickinson Art Collection; printed materials featuring Dickinson and her artwork; and photographic materials depicting Dickinson in her studio and with friends and colleagues, family, exhibitions and art events, and works of art.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history with Eleanor Dickinson conducted on October 25, 2000 by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, in Dickinson's studio/home, in San Francisco, California.