Margret Craver Withers papers
name: label: Creator
content: Withers, Margret Craver, 1907-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Occupation
content: Silversmiths -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Topic
content: American studio craft movement
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women arts administrators
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Margret Craver Withers papers were donated in several installments between 1971 and 2019. Donations between 1971 and 1998 were done by Marget Craver Withers. Three film reels were donated in 1975 by Handy and Harman. Donations in 2011 were by Josephine Withers, daughter of Margret Craver Withers. Donations between 2014 and 2019 were made by Judith Childs, friend of Margret Craver Withers.
creator: label: Creator
content: Withers, Margret Craver, 1907-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Margret Craver Withers papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of silversmith and arts administrator Margret Craver Withers measure 9.6 linear feet and 0.002 GB and date from 1908 to 2016. The papers document her career as an silversmith and jeweler through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and art organizations; manuscripts, notes, lectures, and other writings; professional activity records with various organizations; photographs, printed material, correspondence related to specific subject materials such as individuals or organizations; exhibition catalogs, clippings, published articles, and other printed materials; designs, sketches, sketchbooks, and other artwork; and personal photographs, some in digital format, and photographs and slides of works and works by other artists.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Margret Craver Withers (1907-2010) was a silversmith and arts administrator in Boston, Massachusetts.

Withers was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1907. She became interested in metal working while studying at the University of Kansas. After graduation she traveled to Europe where she trained under Baron Erik Fleming, court silversmith to the King of Sweden. In 1935 Withers established the department of jewelry and metalsmithing at the Wichita Arts Association. In the 1940s and 1950s Craver developed and taught a series of workshops on metalsmithing as occupational therapy for wounded veterans. In 1949, she married Charles Withers. She continued to be known professionally under her unmarried name, Margret Craver. Withers is credited with reviving the technique of en resille, in which enamel-coated metal foil is embedded in glass. Withers died in 2010.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 9.6 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.002 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1908-2016
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.withmarg
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Motion pictures
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945-1988 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1935-2016 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Writings, 1929-1988 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)

Series 4: Professional Activity Files, 1941-1996 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 9, FC 14-20)

Series 5: Subject Files, 1926-1991 (0.7 linear feet; Box 4)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1935-1997 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 4-5, 9-10)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1937 (0.4 linear feet; Box 5, OV 11-13)

Series 8: Photographs, 1908-2002 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 6-8, 0.002 GB; ER01)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2020. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund. Additional finding aid description of the film recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2024.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Motion pictures
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of silversmith and arts administrator Margret Craver Withers measure 9.6 linear feet and 0.002 GB and date from 1908 to 2016. The papers document her career as an silversmith and jeweler through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and art organizations; manuscripts, notes, lectures, and other writings; professional activity with various organizations; photographs, printed material, correspondence related to specific subject materials such as individuals or organizations; exhibition catalogs, clippings, published articles, and other printed materials; designs, sketches, sketchbooks, and other artwork; and personal photographs, some in digital format, photographs and slides of works and works by other artists.

Biographical material includes copies of a  transcript for an oral history conducted by Columbia University, awards, and artist statements. Correspondence includes letters to friends, colleagues, and organizations. Also included are numerous personal letters between Craver and her husband. Writings include draft manuscripts for articles and booklets, transcripts for various lectures, and notes and notebooks.

Professional material includes film reels and corresponding transcripts, about sliversmithing techniques; grooved disk recordings of interviews with artists and silversmithing techniques; scrapbooks; invoices; commissioned work; and exhibition related materials for various museums.

Subject Files were organized by Craver on specific individuals or organizations. The files contain documents such as correspondence, printed material, and photographs. Printed material includes exhibition announcements and catalogs, newspaper and magazine clippings, a scrapbook, and published articles and booklets by Craver.

Artwork consists of sketches, designs, and sketchbooks by Craver. Included are some pieces by other artists. Photographic material consists of personal photographs and digital photographs of Craver with family and friends, photographs and slides of her artwork, and photographs of works by other artists.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Margret Craver Withers conducted by Robert F. Brown between 1983 and 1985.