Howard Kottler papers
name: label: Creator
content: Kottler, Howard, 1930-1989
label: Names
content: University of Washington
topic: label: Occupation
content: Ceramicists -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Howard Kottler papers were donated in multiple accessions. In 2006, the initial donation was made by Wendy Goffe, executor for the Kottler estate. Judith Schwartz, trustee of the Howard Kottler estate, made a donation in 2019 and 2022 and Ben Goffe donated additional material in 2020.
creator: label: Creator
content: Kottler, Howard, 1930-1989
setName: label: See more items in
content: Howard Kottler papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Howard Kottler papers measure 13.3 linear feet and 0.014 GB and date from circa 1907-2006. Included are biographical materials consisting of copies of Kottler's biography, curriculum vitae, a 1948 year book from Cleveland Heights High School, diplomas and awards, and a 1988 calendar with notations by Kottler; correspondence with friends, family, and associates, including Arna Goffe, Gwen-Li Goo, Lauren Grossman, Judith Schwartz, Patti Warashina and others; writings including Kottler's doctoral dissertation, "An Exhibition of Pottery in Support of Three Processes in Ceramics"; artist, institutional, and teaching files consisting of the University of Washington, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, and the Garth Clark Gallery as well as inventory lists, sales records, banking records, digital documents and correspondence relating to the establishment and business conduct of the Howard Kottler Charitable Trust; photographs, digital photographs, slides and negatives of Kottler and his work; audiovisual material including 27 audio cassettes of interviews with Kottler, circa 1988-1989, by Patricia Failing who wrote the book "Howard Kottler: Face to Face", Univ. of Washington, 1995, 35 mm reel stills of Kottler's "American Gothic", 1/4 in. sound recording labeled Exp 1 first; and few unidentified beta, VHS and cassette tapes; and printed material consisting of comic books, newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements, catalogs, posters and craft periodicals featuring Kottler. There is a 1.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes writings, decals, biographical information, slides and negatives of works of art. Materials date from circa 1962-1987.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Howard Kottler (1930-1989) was a ceramicist in Seattle, Washington, and he taught at the University of Washington. He is best known for his multiple series of decal plates that rejected traditional studio ceramic practices that emphasized and valued hand-made objects, and focusing instead on mass-produced store-bought plates and commercial decals to create pieces decorated with appropriated images from popular culture to convey his political, social, and personal messages. Kottler earned a Masters of Art in Ceramics from Ohio State University in 1956 and a PhD in ceramics from the same institution in 1964.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13.3 Linear feet
label: Extent
content: 0.014 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1907-2006
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.kotthowa
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1907-1989 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1972-2000 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 0.001 GB; ER01)

Series 3: Writing, 1964-1994 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1954-2004 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)

Series 5: Professional Activity Files, 1955-2005 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1974-2006 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 7: Photographs, 1920-2004 (4.1 linear feet; Boxes 6-10, 0.013 GB; ER02-ER03)

Series 8: Sound and Video Recordings, circa 1980-1992 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 10-14)

Series 9: Unidentified Recordings (0.1 linear feet; Box 10)

Series 10: Unprocessed Addition (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 15-16)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2019-2020. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Howard Kottler papers measure 13.3 linear feet and 0.014 GB and date from circa 1907-2006. Included are biographical materials consisting of copies of Kottler's biography, curriculum vitae, a 1948 year book from Cleveland Heights High School, diplomas and awards, and a 1988 calendar with notations by Kottler; correspondence with friends, family, and associates, including Arna Goffe, Gwen-Li Goo, Lauren Grossman, Judith Schwartz, Patti Warashina and others; writings including Kottler's doctoral dissertation, "An Exhibition of Pottery in Support of Three Processes in Ceramics"; artist, institutional, and teaching files consisting of the University of Washington, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, and the Garth Clark Gallery as well as inventory lists, sales records, banking records, digital documents and correspondence relating to the establishment and business conduct of the Howard Kottler Charitable Trust; photographs, digital photographs, slides and negatives of Kottler and his work; audiovisual material including 27 audio cassettes of interviews with Kottler, circa 1988-1989, by Patricia Failing who wrote the book "Howard Kottler: Face to Face", Univ. of Washington, 1995, 35 mm reel stills of Kottler's "American Gothic", 1/4 in. sound recording labeled Exp 1 first; and few unidentified beta, VHS and cassette tapes; and printed material consisting of comic books, newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements, catalogs, posters and craft periodicals featuring Kottler.

There is a 1.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes writings, decals, biographical information, slides and negatives of works of art. Materials date from circa 1962-1987.