Betty LaDuke collection
name: label: Creator
content: LaDuke, Betty
label: Sponsor
content: Heifer International
place: label: Place
content: Africa
label: Place
content: Lalibela (Ethiopia)
label: Place
content: Eritrea
label: Place
content: Nāq̄fā (Eritrea)
label: Place
content: Asmara (Ethiopia)
label: Place
content: Ethiopia
label: Place
content: Mits'iwa (Eritrea)
topic: label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Weddings
label: Topic
content: Schools
label: Topic
content: Church buildings
label: Topic
content: Beadwork
label: Topic
content: Basket making
label: Topic
content: Internally displaced persons
label: Topic
content: Rites and ceremonies -- Africa
label: Topic
content: Refugee camps
label: Topic
content: Mosques
label: Topic
content: Natural landscapes
label: Topic
content: Works of art
label: Topic
content: Weaving -- Ethiopia
label: Topic
content: Markets
label: Topic
content: Artists -- Ethiopia
creator: label: Creator
content: LaDuke, Betty
culture: label: Culture
content: Ethiopians
setName: label: See more items in
content: Betty LaDuke collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection dates from circa 1981 to 2018 and consists of photographic prints, negatives, posters, art prints, DVDs and printed and manuscript materials.  Photographs depict architecture, agricultural work, beadwork, weaving, village scenes, artists, artists at work, artworks, markets, celebrations, scenic views, animals, churches and mosques.  Most depict Kunama or Saho peoples, particularly women and children.  LaDuke also regularly photographed war zones during the Border War, especially those in Nakfa and Gelebe, portraying Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Locations include villages in Ethiopia and Eritrea, particularly Senafe, Nakfa and Massawa, as well as Border War zones various battlefields and camps for internally displaced persons.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Artist, writer, professor and multicultural women's art advocate Betty LaDuke (b. 1933) was born in the Bronx to Russian and Polish immigrant parents. She attended California State University in Los Angeles and the Otis College of Art and Design. After three years of teaching junior high art in East Los Angeles, LaDuke moved to Ashland, Oregon in 1964 to accept a position in the art department at Southern Oregon University, where she would teach for over 30 years. Beginning in 1972, she began to undertake annual research journeys to Asia, Latin America, Oceania and Africa, where she found inspiration for the paintings and prints that would make up her circulating exhibits. Upon her retirement from teaching in 1996, LaDuke began to travel to project sites of Heifer International, a humanitarian organization concerned with world hunger and environmental sustainability. These experiences inspired a new phase of her work, including a return to mural painting. LaDuke has published several books on women's art and has been the subject of a book by Gloria Feman Orenstein, entitled Multi-Cultural Celebrations: the Paintings of Betty LaDuke 1972-1992.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2 Electronic discs (DVD)
label: Extent
content: 4 Boxes (Printed Material (non-photographic))
label: Extent
content: 11 Posters ((Oversize))
label: Extent
content: 24 Prints (visual works)
label: Extent
content: 2488 Negatives (photographic) (color , 35 mm)
label: Extent
content: 3,194 Photographs (color , 20 x 24 inches or smaller)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1981-2018
custodhist: label: Custodial History note
content: Donated by Betty LaDuke in 2007, 2009 and 2018.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: EEPA.2007-003
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Electronic discs (dvd)
label: Type
content: Posters
label: Type
content: Prints (visual works)
label: Type
content: Negatives (photographic)
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Color photographs
label: Type
content: Portraits
label: Type
content: Textiles
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Color negatives
label: Type
content: Photographic prints
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: The collection is organized into 10 series:

Series 1: Photographic Prints, 1994-2002 (3,031 prints; Binders 1-7)

Series 2: Sketchbook (Copy), circa 1998 (1 Book; Binder 8)

Series 3: Color Photographic Prints, 1986-2003 (135 items; Boxes 9-10)

Series 4: Exhibition-Related Prints, Photographs and Posters, circa 1992-circa 2002 (21 items; Box 11)

Series 5: Art Prints and Matted Color Photographic Prints by LaDuke, 2001, 2008, undated (38 items; Boxes 12-13)

Series 6: Biographical Materials, circa 1999-circa 2009 (6 folders; Box 15)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1996-2008 (32 folders, Boxes 15-16)

Series 8: A/V Material, circa 2000-2018 (3 DVDs, Box 17)

Series 9: Art Prints and Poster by Other Artists, 1994, undated (5 items; Box 18)

Series 10: Negatives, 1994-2002 (2,488 items)
processinfo: label: Processing note
content: Processed by Lisbeth Sklar (2011) and Eden Orelove (2017-2019). Encoded by Emily Moazami, 2012.  Negatives were digitized in 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Color photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Portraits
label: Genre/Form
content: Textiles
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Posters
label: Genre/Form
content: Color negatives
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographic prints
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of 3,194 color photographs (20 x 24 inches or smaller), 2,488 color 35 mm negatives, a copy of a sketchbook, 11 posters, 24 art prints, biographical materials, correspondence, printed materials, and 3 DVDs, created by Betty LaDuke in circa 1981-2018.  

The majority of the photographs were taken in Eritrea, including in Agordat, Asmara, Barentu, Emebet, Geleba, Keren, Massawa, Mendefera, Nakfa, Senafe and Serona, though some were taken in Ethiopia, especially in Lalibela.  Images depict architecture, agricultural work, beadwork, weaving, village scenes, artists, artists at work, artworks, markets, celebrations, scenic views, animals, churches and mosques.  Most of the photos depict Kunama or Saho peoples, particularly women and children.  LaDuke also regularly photographed war zones during the Border War, especially those in Nakfa and Gelebe, portraying Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, Red Cross workers, World Food Program supply tents and the Tacoumbia Food Distribution Center.  Other notable subjects include the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW), artwork in the Saint George Gallery and children at Dekemhare School.

LaDuke frequently documented art workshops that she attended, artwork and exhibits.  Many of her photos depict artwork by Berhane Adonais, Michael Adonais, Mussie Asgodam, Haile Berthe, Danny Dafla, Isak Fasil, Josief Idris, Terhas Iyassu, Elsa Yacob, Abraham Mogos, Kiros Adebe, Tzeghereda Yohannes, Teamrat Ghidei, Afewerki Asmeron, Demoz Russom and Jacob Abraha, as well as the artists themselves at work, socializing or posing by their finished artwork.  Additionally, the collection includes four pen and ink drawings by the artists Afewerki Haile, Yoseirf G. Idris and Fessahaie Zemicael, and a number of art prints by LaDuke. 

A copy of LaDuke's sketchbook depicts scenes in Asmara and surrounding areas, Tekul, Aidkeh, Keren, Barantu, Tocumbia, Mendefera, Senafe and Massawa.  LaDuke sketched village, market and street scenes, celebrations, churchgoers at a Coptic Church, animals, Saho basketmakers, Kunama peoples, St. George's Restaurant and grain mill workers, among other subjects.   

Biographical Materials include artist statements and biographical notes, a letter announcing LaDuke as winner of the Vida Scudder Award, a blank registration form for the Northern National Art Competition, for which LaDuke served as judge, a letter to LaDuke from Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan, exhibit schedules and a resume.

The printed material in the collection includes clippings of publications in which LaDuke's artwork is featured, such as Sojourners, Ashland Magazine, School Arts Magazine and Calyx, promotional materials and a holiday notecard produced by Heifer International, announcements and posters.  Exhibition files for LaDuke's shows include clippings, announcements, catalogs, photos, correspondence and a CD-ROM of her photos.  Additionally, there are a substantial number of exhibit reviews published in such magazines and newspapers as The Oregonian, The Christian Science Monitor and the Durango Herald.  

Finally, the collection contains three DVDs entitled Africa Between Myth and Reality (circa 2000), Betty LaDuke: Art Reflection Life (2006), and With Love from Eritrea (2018)which document LaDuke's artistic process and artwork.