I would like to call your attention to two wonderful new acquisitions to Ricker Library. Through our participation in the Library-wide competition funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant, Ricker Library received two microfiche sets produced by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The first, Artist Files, contains some 200,000 separate items representing more than 20,000 artists (painters, sculptors, graphic, conceptual, installation and performance artists, illustrators, photographers, architects and film makers.) The files were established shortly after the MOMA opened its doors in 1929. The importance of the files lies in the fact that many lesser known artists are included who have not as yet had books or exhibition catalogs devoted to their work. Many who are included are not listed in the standard biographical directories. Thus the information in the Artist Files may be the only documentation on a particular artist. The contents of the files are quite varied including gallery invitations, press releases, correspondence with art dealers and collectors, posters, newspaper clippings, price lists, and occasional photographs. The files are arranged alphabetically by the artist’s name and chronologically Spring 1998 within each file. The set consists of approximately 5,200 microfiche.
        The Artists Scrapbooks contain files on the earlier generation of twentieth century artists such as Arp, Calder, Dubuffet, Matisse and Picasso. The Scrapbooks consist of newspaper and magazine clippings, catalogs, some personal letters, etc., on forty-two artists. As with their more extensive companion, Artist Files, the fiche are arranged in alphabetical order.
        Coupled with another microfiche set presently at Ricker, The New York Public Library Artist File, which includes information on 76,000 artists, craftspeople, and others involved in the art world, the Artist Files, and companion Artists Scrapbooks, provide Ricker Library with a rich and extensive array of primary documentation.

        The past decade or so has seen scholarly and popular publishing of materials on vernacular architecture increase greatly. This can be seen in the plethora of studies on subjects as diverse as American barns and grain elevators, Nigerian traditional architecture, Indonesian rice barns and Texas folk architecture. Late 1997 saw the publication of the first comprehensive reference source for this important field, The Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World (EVAW). Ricker Library was able to acquire this 3 volume work from funds provide by the Frederick W. Salogga Endowment Fund. The compilation of the EVAW has taken more than ten years and represents the contributions of over 500 authors from 80 countries.
        Paul Oliver, noted scholar in this field and the editor of the EVAW, states in his Introduction, “Vernacular Architecture is now the term most widely used to denote indigenous, tribal, folk, peasant and traditional architecture. The intention of the Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World is to co- ordinate knowledge of such building traditions in all continents and to compile and publish this as an accessible resource.”
        Volume one is entitled Theories and Principles, and deals with subjects such has environments, typologies, and materials in a general way. These subjects are frequently illustrated with examples or case studies. Volumes 2-3 deal with Cultures and Habitats. The division is not by country but by region (Asia, East and Central; North America, etc.). Entries in these volumes range from countries (New Guinea, Mexico, Ukraine), to ethnic or cultural groups (Yoruba, Tamil, Batin) Entries are also provided for regions within a given country or area.
        The impressive list of contributors to the EVAW includes one of our distinguished faculty members in the School of Architecture, Professor James Warfield. Among his entries are Old Order Amish and Round Barns. The EVAW contains an Introduction, Guide to Use, and List of Contributors (V.1) and Bibliography, Indexes, Comparative Lexicon and Glossary of Terms (V.3).
        The EVAW is kept in the Reference Room of Ricker Library. Please stop by and peruse this wonderful new addition to the reference shelves!

 

• Celeste Quinn of WILL Radio for the gift of Making Ourselves at Home: Women Builders and Designers and Great Streets.
• Professor Eric Hostetter for his gift of twenty-eight guidebooks and books on Etruscan Art.
• Professor Lloyd Leffers for his gift of more than four hundred monographs and serials on architecture.
• Professor Joy Malnar for the gift of her book “ . . . to the growth of the human spirit: an exhibition of drawings and models of the Harold Washington Library Center.
• Dr. Wayne Temple for his gift of the Historic Structures Report Book V: Wisconsin State Capitol.
• Dr. L. de Vries for his gift of Sprezzatura and the Art of Painting Finely.
• Professor Paula Watson for the gift of two books from the estate of her father, Joseph F. DeSimone.
• Mr. Robert Zarbock for his gift of Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy 1800-1950, and Masterpieces of Japanese Screen Painting.
• Professor Jerrold Ziff for his gift of more than 400 auction catalogs from Christie’s and Sotheby’s, along with other art books
 
... and the following for gifts through Library Friends

Dr. Etta Arntzen
Mr. Michael Cunningham and Mrs. Julia Cunningham
Mr. Philip L. Dangerfield
Dr. Marilyn M. Dunsing
Mr. George Freeman and Mrs.Bernie Freeman
Professor and Mrs. Ralph Fisher in Memory of Walter Keith and Walter Johnson
Mrs. Beverly A. Friese
Professor Nan Goggin
Mr. Po-En Lu
Mr. Walter E. Miller
Ms. Nancy Pistorius
Mr. Kim Prentice
Professor and Mrs. John Replinger
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Reynolds in honor of Mr. George Freeman
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Rosenblum
Mr. Norman B. Sandler
Mr. Robert A. Shepperd
Mr. Albert G. Thewis, Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Michio Tsutsui
Mr. Martin Andris Varpa
Mr. and Mrs. Vitas Paul Viskanta
Mr. Michael A. West
Mr. and Mrs. Jerrold Ziff

        The previous issue of this newsletter (Fall 1997) noted the passing of Allen S. Weller, former Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts. Ricker Library - has been the recipient of the generosity of many of Professor Weller’s friends and colleagues (Professor and Mrs. Ralph Fisher; Professor and Mrs. William S. Horsfall; Professor and Mrs. Robert Johanssen; Professor Robert Link; Professor Harold Schultz; Professor Winton Solberg; Dr. Roy Van Note), who have donated funds in his memory. These donations have enabled the library to purchase many items we would not have been able to acquire otherwise, among them:

Baetjer, Katharine. The Jackson Pollock Sketchbooks in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997

American Paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1998

Clark, Henry A Marble Quarry: the James H. Ricau Collection of Sculpture at the Chrysler Museum of Art. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1997.

 

        During the Spring Semester of 1998 Ricker Library has been busily processing the extensive collection of books and periodicals bequeathed to the library by Professor Allen S. Weller. This material covers the gamut of his professional and scholarly interests; from Italian renaissance art to contemporary American art. The materials on American Art from 1940-1970 are particularly extensive, encompassing exhibition catalogs, monographs and gallery catalogs. All western languages are represented in this collection along with some material in eastern European languages.
        Thus far we have catalogued nearly two thousand titles from the collection.

 

• Barnes, Bernardine. Michaelangelo’s Last Judgement: the Renaissance Response. Berkeley, 1997 (759.5B88b)
• Brown, David Alan. Lorenzo Lotto: Rediscovered Master of the Renaissance. New Haven, 1997 (Q.759.5L91br)
• Celant, Germano. Michael Heizer Milan, 1997 (Q.709.73H366c)
• Commission on Chicago Landmarks . . . Chicago Historic Resources Survey Chicago, 1996 (363.69097731C432)
• Diaz Padron, Matthew. El Siglo de Rubens en el Museo del Prado. (Q.708.641D543s, V.1-3)
• Floyd, Margaret Henderson. Henry Hobson Richardson: a Genius for Architecture. New York, 1997 (Q.720.973R52he)
• Heathcote, Edwin and Iona Spens. Church Builders. London, 1997 (Q.726.5H352c)
• Kaiser, Harvey H. Landmarks in the Landscape Historical Architecture in the National Parks of the West. San Francisco, 1997 (Q.720.978K1231)
• Norberg-Schulz, Christian Sverre Fehn: Works, Projects, Writings, 1949-1996. New York, 1997 (Q.720.9481F589N)
• Pal, Pratapaditya. A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art. New York, 1997 (Q.708.177311P17c)
• Placzek, Adopf (ed.) Avery’s Choice: Five Centuries of Great Architectural Books. New York, 1997 (Q.016.72AV38)
• Rice, Louise. The Altars and Altarpieces of New St. Peter’s: Outfitting the Basilica, 1621- 1666. New York, 1997 (Q.726.5291R364a)
• Steele, James. Architecture Today. London, 1997 (Q.724.6St32a)
• Van Bruggen, Coosje. Frank O. Gehry: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. New York, 1997 (720.973G274v)

 

        The upcoming academic year will see the implementation of a new computer system for the UIUC library, DRA (Data Research Associates). The implementation will affect all aspects of library operation, including the online catalog, circulation, acquisitions, serials and cataloging. Look for announcements and information about DRA at the beginning of the Fall Semester.

 

 

 

This Newsletter was prepared by Christopher Quinn. Please direct your comments and suggestions to me via telephone at 333-0224 or email, or via mail at:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ricker Library of Architecture and Art
208 Architecture Building
608 Taft Drive Champaign, IL 61820