Robert Ebendorf papers
name: label: Creator
content: Ebendorf, Robert, 1938-
label: Names
content: East Carolina University -- Faculty
topic: label: Occupation
content: Jewelers -- North Carolina
label: Occupation
content: Metal-workers -- North Carolina
label: Topic
content: Mail art
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Robert Ebendorf in 2015.
creator: label: Creator
content: Ebendorf, Robert, 1938-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Robert Ebendorf papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of metalsmith and jeweler Robert Ebendorf measure 4.8 linear feet and 0.554 GB and date from 1920 to 2015, with the bulk of the material from 1960 to 2010. The papers document Ebendorf's career through scattered biographical material; business correspondence with galleries, universities, and professional groups as well as personal correspondence with friends and family, including a large collection of mail art; artist statements, teaching philosophies, and reflections by Ebendorf as well as writings by others; application materials for the artist's position as Belk Chair at East Carolina University, student fellowship applications, and other teaching files; audio and video recordings of interviews in digital format; inventories, invoices, and publicity material, including several folders of notes and materials for retrospectives; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, and other printed material; sketches, cut paper, and collage work loose and in sketchbooks; and photographic materials of the artist, friends, family, and artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Robert Ebendorf (1938-) is a metalsmith and jeweler in Greenville, North Carolina. Ebendorf was born in Topeka, Kansas, and earned a BFA in 1958 and an MFA in 1963 from the University of Kansas. Upon receiving a Fulbright grant, he studied in Norway at the School for Applied Arts and Crafts in 1963 and returned to work at Norway Silver Designs in Fredikstad on a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant from 1965 to 1966.

A founding member and once president of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, Ebendorf has been deeply committed to forwarding the metals field as an innovator, organizer, and teacher. The artist is known for his original combinations of precious and non-precious materials alongside found objects and has held teaching positions at Stetson University, the State University of New York at New Paltz, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, and East Carolina University.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.8 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.554 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1920-2015
label: Date
content: bulk 1960-2010
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.ebenrobe
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Collages
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as nine series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1920-2014 (Boxes 1, 6; 0.2 linear feet, ER01-ER02; 0.554 GB)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-2015 (Boxes 1-2; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1945-2014 (Box 2; 4 folders)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1974-2012 (Box 2; 5 folders)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1963-2006 (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1949-2015 (Boxes 2-3, 6; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1940-1987 (Boxes 3, 6; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1963-1968 (Boxes 3, 6; 5 folders)

Series 9: Photographs, circa 1920-2012 (Boxes 3-7; 1.9 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level, and a finding aid was prepared by Kimberley Henze in 2015. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Collages
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of metalsmith and jeweler Robert Ebendorf measure 4.8 linear feet and 0.554 GB and date from 1920 to 2015, with the bulk of the material from 1960 to 2010. The papers document Ebendorf's career through scattered biographical material; business correspondence with galleries, universities, and professional groups as well as personal correspondence with friends and family, including a large collection of mail art; artist statements, teaching philosophies, and reflections by Ebendorf as well as writings by others; application materials for the artist's position as Belk Chair at East Carolina University, student fellowship applications, and other teaching files; inventories, invoices, and publicity material, including several folders of notes and materials for retrospectives; audio and video recordings of interviews in digital format; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, and other printed material; sketches, cut paper, and collage work loose and in sketchbooks; and photographic materials of the artist, friends, family, and artwork.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview of Robert Ebendorf conducted 2004 April 16-18, by Tacey Rosolowski, in Greenville, N.C.