Freda Koblick papers
name: label: Creator
content: Koblick, Freda
label: Names
content: Koblick, Daniel
label: Names
content: Koblick, David
topic: label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women sculptors
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2012 by Freda Koblick via Julia Fremon, Freda Koblick Living Trust.
creator: label: Creator
content: Koblick, Freda
setName: label: See more items in
content: Freda Koblick papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of sculptor Freda Koblick measure 5.8 linear feet and date from 1934 to 2011.  The collection documents her career through scattered biographical material, correspondence with family and friends, personal business records, writings, printed material, artwork, and photographs.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Freda Koblick (1920-2011) was a sculptor in San Francisco, California.  Koblick attended San Francisco City College and San Francisco State College.  She then moved to Los Angeles and received a certificate as a plastics engineer in 1943 from the Plastics Industries Technical Institute.  She worked only in plastics as a medium for sculpture, with an emphasis on cast acrylic.  At the start of her career she focused on designing and producing functional cast plastic objects such as doors, lighting, doorknobs, and fountains often in collaboration with architects.  

By the 1960s Koblick was exhibiting her sculptures and was regularly teaching, lecturing, and offering workshops on plastics sculpture.  From 1965 to 1967 she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal College of Art, London, where she set up the Experimental Plastics Unit and taught plastics theory and application.  During the 1970s she received several large scale commissions, most notably a sculpture for the North Terminal of the San Francisco International Airport.  In 1980 she moved into a former synagogue in the Mission District of San Francisco where she had a large studio and living space.  She continued producing new artwork until she was in her mid-80s, at which point her health limited her ability to work.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5.8 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1934-2011
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.koblfred
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Sketches
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-2011 (5 folders; Boxes 1, 6)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1934-2007 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, circa 1950s-2009 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, OV 7)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1962-1998 (0.2 linear feet; Box 4)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1943-1990 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 4, 6)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1950s-1980s (1 folder; Box 4)

Series 7: Photographs, circa 1930s-2007 (1 linear foot; Boxes 4-6)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Erin Kinhart in 2013. The collection has been minimally rearranged and retains the existing/original folder titles when possible. All materials have been rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but often staples and other fasteners have not been removed. Materials within folders have not been rearranged.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of sculptor Freda Koblick measure 5.8 linear feet and date from 1934 to 2011.  The collection documents her career through scattered biographical material, correspondence with family and friends, personal business records, writings, printed material, artwork, and photographs.  

Scattered biographical material includes resumes and awards.  Family correspondence includes many letters from her brothers David and Daniel.  General correspondence is primarily personal correspondence with friends.  Personal business records consist of Koblick's files on commissions, exhibitions, travels, grants, sales, and publicity.  Writings include 11 notebooks and loose notes.  Printed material includes news clippings and exhibition announcements as well as printed material of interest to Koblick, but not directly documenting her career.  Artwork consists of a small grouping of pencil sketches, possibly depicting her sculpture designs.  Photographs depict Koblick, her family, friends, and artwork.