Tage Frid papers
name: label: Creator
content: Frid, Tage
label: Names
content: Penland School of Crafts
label: Names
content: Rhode Island School of Design
topic: label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Rhode Island -- Providence
label: Occupation
content: Furniture designers -- Rhode Island
label: Occupation
content: Woodworkers -- Rhode Island
label: Occupation
content: Authors -- Rhode Island
label: Topic
content: American studio craft movement
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Tage Frid papers were donated by Emma Frid, Tage Frid's widow, in 2005. A 2014 addition was donated by Frid's son, Peter A. Frid.
creator: label: Creator
content: Frid, Tage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Tage Frid papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Tage Frid papers measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1949 to 2003. The papers document Frid's career as a woodworker, author, and educator through interviews and other biographical material; correspondence with friends, colleagues, and former students; writings including draft articles and book manuscripts; and records of other professional activities including lectures, exhibition material and sound and video recordings. Also found is printed material and photographic material including images of Frid, his family and friends, studio, and woodworking designs.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Danish-born woodworker, educator, and author Tage Frid (1915-2004) was known for his influence in the studio furniture movement and his classic series of three books, Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking, published by The Taunton Press. 

Born in Denmark in 1915, Frid immigrated to the United States in 1948 and served as head of the woodworking program at the School of American Craftsmen, which later became part of the Rochester Institute of Technology, through the 1950s. In 1962 Frid launched the first college level course in woodworking and furniture design at the Rhode Island School of Design, which he taught until his retirement in 1985. Frid's most successful and iconic design was a three-legged stool which he designed in 1983.

In addition to teaching and woodworking, Frid was an editor of Fine Woodworking magazine from its inception in 1975 to his death. In 2001 Frid was honored by the Furniture Society with its Award of Distinction. His series, Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking, remains a woodworking classic, and examples of his furniture can be found in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1949-2003
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.fridtage
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1960-2001 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1953-2003 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, OV 5)

Series 3: Writings, 1976-1985 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 4: Professional Activity, 1957-2001 (0.8 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1960-2001 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-3, OV 5)

Series 6: Photographic Material, 1949-1996 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, OV 5-6)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2020.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Tage Frid papers measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1949 to 2003. The papers document Frid's career as a woodworker, author, and educator through interviews and other biographical material; correspondence with friends, colleagues, and former students; writings including draft articles and book manuscripts; and records of other professional activities including lectures, exhibition material and sound and video recordings. Also found is printed material and photographic material including images of Frid, his family and friends, studio, and woodworking designs.

Biographical material includes an audio interview with Frid conducted by C. Blandy, and a video recording of an interview with Frid by Rosanne Somerson for the Rhode Island School of Design Visual Archives project.

Correspondence documents Frid's commissioned work and subjects related to writings and video recordings done for Fine Woodworking. Also included is one oversized sketch with a note.

Writings include manuscripts of articles written by Frid for Fine Woodworking and manuscripts for his three books on woodworking which were a compilation of do-it-yourself projects written by Frid, including photographs and designs for constructing various pieces of furniture.

Records documenting Frid's professional activities include exhibition material, some personal business records concerning his commissioned work, material related to restoration projects, and a number of sound and video recordings of lectures and of Frid illustrating how to create pieces of furniture.

Photographic material includes self portraits of Frid, and photographs of Frid at work in his studio. Also documented is his time at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Tage Frid conducted by Robert F. Brown between June 24, 1980 and February 22, 1982.