Alice Kagawa Parrott papers
name: label: Creator
content: Parrott, Alice Kagawa, 1929-2009
topic: label: Occupation
content: Artists -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe
label: Occupation
content: Ceramicists -- New Mexico
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Asian American artists
label: Topic
content: Asian American art
label: Topic
content: Japanese American art
label: Topic
content: Asian American fiber artists
label: Topic
content: Asian American ceramicists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Alice Kagawa Parrott papers were donated in 2019 by Paul Kagawa and Diane Leavitt, trustees of the Alice Kagawa Parrott Family Trust.
creator: label: Creator
content: Parrott, Alice Kagawa, 1929-2009
setName: label: See more items in
content: Alice Kagawa Parrott papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist Alice Kagawa Parrott measure 7.6 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2010. The papers document Parrott's career as a textile artist and weaver based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and art institutions; personal business records mostly of financial records related to Parrott's business The Market later known as Parrott Fabrics Inc.; studio practice files related to equiment, materials, and designs for wall hangings, clothes, and tapestries; printed material such as exhibition catalogs and clippings mostly on Parrott and her arwork but also on other artists; and photographs and slides of Parrott, her weavings, family and friends, and her studio and home.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Alice Kagawa Parrott (1929-2009) was a Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Parrott was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1929 to Takato and Isono Kagawa who were Japanese immigrants. She graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1952, then studied weaving at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she met ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, who became a lifelong friend. After graduating from Cranbrook in 1954, she taught weaving and ceramics at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

In 1956, she married Allen Morgan Parrott and they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they bought a home and adopted their sons Ben and Tim. That same year, she opened a weaving and craft shop called The Market, which later became Parrott Fabrics Inc. Parrott had many commissions and customers, such as the woodworker Sam Maloof. A notable early commission was from the Santa Fe Opera. 

From 1971-1972, Parrott was an artist-in-residence in Maui, where she taught workshops and created tapestries for several public commissions. In 1977, she became an American Craft Council Fellow. Parrott participated in numerous exhibitions over the course of her career. Parrott passed away in 2009 in Santa Fe.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1950-2010
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.parralic
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 6 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1957-2009 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1953-2009 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 9)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, circa 1957-2009 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, 9)

Series 4: Studio Practice Files, 1951-2005 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 4-6, 9)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1954-2008 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 9, OVs 10-14)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2010 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 7-9)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was fully processed, prepared for digitization, and described in a finding aid by Rihoko Ueno in 2024 with funding provided by the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2024 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist, Alice Kagawa Parrott, measure 7.6 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2010. The collection mainly documents Parrott's work as a fiber artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; personal business records mostly of financial records related to Parrott's business The Market later known as Parrott Fabrics Inc.; studio practice files related to equiment, materials, and designs for wall hangings, clothes, and tapestries; printed material such as exhibition catalogs and clippings mostly on Parrott and her arwork but also on other artists; and photographs and slides of Parrott, her weavings, family and friends, and her studio and home.

Biographical materials consists of Alice Kagawa Parrott's biographical profiles, curriculum vitae, business cards, address books, award certificates and various identification documents such as passports, licenses, and membership cards.

There is a mixture of personal and professional correspondence with friends, family, colleagues, universities, galleries, and museums. Notable correspondents include fiber artist Lenore Tawney, ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, and woodworker Sam Maloof.

Personal business records mostly consist of financial documents related to Alice Kagawa Parrott's craft and weaving shop called The Market which was later incorporated as Parrott Fabrics Inc. There are several check registers that list expenses for materials, bills and receipts, sales records, customer orders, and notebooks for tracking expenses. There is a lot of documentation about the establishment and running of Parrott Fabrics Inc., its incorporation, by-laws, and meeting minutes.

Studio practice files are mostly related to the equipment, materials, and processes which Alice Kagawa Parrott used to create her wall hangings and clothes for customers. This series includes dye recipes, garment patterns, pencil design sketches of wall hangings, yarn samples, and wall hanging studies. There are notebooks on weaving techniques and warps, files with materials on workshops on dyeing and weaving, and other materials.

Printed materials are mostly about Alice Kagawa Parrott and her artwork, but there are also some materials on other artists such as ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, who was a close friend. Materials in this series include clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, magazines, and bulletins.

Photographs are of Alice Kagawa Parrott, her home, studio, dyeing process, wall hangings, garments, friends and family. The bulk of the series consists of photographic prints and slides.