The Papers of Marguerite Wildenhain

The Papers of Marguerite Wildenhain, 1896-1990 | Luther College Archives

Printer-friendly |

Collection Overview

Title: The Papers of Marguerite Wildenhain, 1896-1990

ID: LCA/RG15/Wildenhain, M

Primary Creator: Wildenhain, Marguerite (1896-1985)

Extent: 11.0 Linear Feet. More info below.

Languages: English, German

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Letters, account books, typescript carbon copies, photographs, postcards, personal business records and family memorabilia documenting the later years of Marguerite Wildenhain' s life and art at Pond Farm, California. Biographical Series consists of family history and personal records including a family tree dated 1869, her passports and medical history. Correspondence Series includes letters from friends, family and students, address book and correspondence with art galleries. The Non-Textual Series includes personal and professional photographs, a film, postcards and textiles. Financial Records include personal and Pond Farm account books, receipts from travel and sales, and book publishing records. Property Records Series includes survey map of Pond Farm and negotiations for donation of land to National Park Service. General Business Series contains lists of students at Pond Farm and inventories of her works and donations, as well as thirteen transcripts of lectures from 1957 to 1977.

Biographical Note

Marguerite Friedlaender Wildenhain was born October 11, 1896, in Lyon, France. She was educated in Europe, apprenticing at the Bauhaus under master potter Max Krehan and sculptor Gerhard Marcks. Expelled from the Bauhaus owing to her Jewish origin, she moved to Holland with her husband, Frans Wildenhain, where they founded a pottery in Putten. After living there seven years, she moved to the United States in 1940. Her husband, also a Bauhaus-trained ceramic artist, remained behind, conscripted into the German army. Marguerite Wildenhain settled near Guerneville, CA, in 1942 where she founded an artist cooperative known as Pond Farm.

Frans Wildenhain (1905-1980) joined her in the late 1940’s where they managed the venture together, adding two additional artists. Trude (Jalowetz) Guermonprez (1910-1976), a textile artist, and Victor Ries, a metal artist and jewelry maker, worked there for several years until 1952. Eventually, Frans and Marguerite Wildenhain divorced and Marguerite became the sole manager of the Pond Farm workshops.

At Pond Farm, about 70 miles north of San Francisco, she opened a summer school which lasted until 1980, training approximately 25 students each summer. These summer-long workshops were intense learning experiences for artists, many of whom have gone on to have distinguished art-related careers of their own. During these years, she also traveled extensively, giving workshops at colleges and galleries around the United States and visiting South and Central America, Iran, Israel and Europe. She was an active member of the American Craft Council.

Works by Wildenhain are typically signed with the words Pond Farm and include a small jug signet incised on the base. Her ceramic art was shown widely in galleries and museums and sold commercially at Gump’s in San Francisco and in department stores in Chicago, IL, and Dallas, TX. Three books, two films, and numerous exhibit catalogs and articles in art reference books document her life and philosophy of art.

Dean Schwarz, former Art Department faculty member and chair at Luther College and a ceramics artist, met Wildenhain in the 1960s and studied with her during many summer workshops. As a result of this relationship, WildenhaIn was introduced to Luther College, teaching students through workshops and lectures. In 1969, Wildenhain was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree by Luther College. The College received 51 pieces of pottery from her in 1973 followed by a collection of her drawings in 1981. At that time, she also donated drawings and woodcuts by Gerhard Marcks, her mentor and life-long friend from the Bauhaus. During her lifetime, Marguerite presented rare books to the Luther College Library and contributed her mineral collection to the College’s Geology Collection. After her death at Pond Farm, February 24, 1985, her Gerhard Marcks bronze sculptures and her collection of pre-Columbian pots were bequeathed to the College through her estate.

Administrative Information

Repository: Luther College Archives

Alternate Extent Statement: 22 boxes

Use Restrictions: Copyright held by the estate of Marguerite Wildenhain.

Preferred Citation: Cite unpublished materials: Marguerite Wildenhain Papers, RG15 Manuscripts, Luther College Archives, Decorah, Iowa

Finding Aid Revision History: 12/02/19: EC updated the preferred citation.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Biographical Files, 1896-1985],
[Series 2: Correspondence, 1967-1985],
[Series 3: Financial Records, 1940-1984],
[Series 4: Property Records and Reference Materials, 1956-1993],
[Series 5: Business Files, 1966-1982],
[Series 6: Reference Material],
[Series 7: Non-textual],
[All]

Series 6: Reference Material

Box 1: Monographs, 1957-1986

Folder 1: American Craftsmen's Council. Asilomar; First Annual Conference of American Craftsmen Sponsored by the the American Craftsmen's Council, June 1957. American Craftsmen's Council, 1957., 1957
Folder 2: Bauhaus;, Archiv Museum; Sammlungs- Katalog (Auswahl); Architektur, Design, Malerei, Graphik, Kunstpadagogik. Introduction by Hans M. Wingler. Berlin: Mann, 1984., 1984
Folder 3: Conference of American Craftsmen. Dimension of Design. New York: American Craftsmen's Council, 1958., 1958
Folder 4: Clark, Garth. A Century of Ceramics in the United States, 1878-1978; A Study of It's Development. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1979., 1979
Folder 5: Paul Hudgins, 1940-1968; A Memorial Exhibition, September 15- October 27, 1968. Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1968., 1968
Folder 6: Duberman, Martin. Black Mountain; An Exploration in Community. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1972, 1972
Folder 7: Eckstein, Hans. "Die neue Sammlung." Munchen: Staatliches Museum fur angewandte Kunst, 1966, 1966
Folder 8: Petterson, Richard B., ed. "Ceramic Art in America." Columbus, Ohio: Professional Publications, 1969., 1969
Folder 9: Nauhaus, Wilheim. "Die Burg Grebichenstein; Geschiete einer deutschen Kunstschule, 1915-1933," Leipzig: E.A. Seemann Verlag, 1981., 1981
Folder 10: Steinzor, Benjamin. Basic Ceramics, 1986 (excerpt), 1986

Box 2: Periodical Articles, 1940-1997

Folder 1: "100 Ceramics..." Richmond Times- Dispatch, 26 October 1942
Folder 2: American Craftsmen's Council. "Farms From the Earth: 1,000 Years of Pottery in America." New York: Museum of Contemporary Crafts, 1962., 1962
Folder 3: "ACC Forum: What Criteria for the Crafts?" Craft Horizons 20: 38-41, 50, March-April 1960
Folder 4: "Art is the Chief Crop Off Pond Farm's 250 Acres." San Francisco Chronicle, 9 July 1950
Folder 5: "Ancient Art to be Shown" Santa Barbara News- Press, 20 November 1949
Folder 6: Ball, Carlton. "Strictly Stoneware: Some Comments..." Ceramics Monthly, Sept. 1959
Folder 7: Battu, Zoe. Ceramic Industry, 1949
Folder 8: "Bauhaus-trained Potter..." Monterey Peninsula Herald, 14 February 1966
Folder 9: Behrens, Ray R. "May Bauhaus Connect." PRINT Magazine, July-Aug. 1996
Folder 10: "Bowl" Arts and Architecture 65:29, Jan. 1948
Folder 11: "Bowl." Craft Horizons 19:8, March 1959
Folder 12: "Bowls and Vase." Design 45:12, May 1944
Folder 13: Braner, Robert. "Letter from Detrit." Craft Horizons 22:62-63, May-June 1962
Folder 14: "Broughton to Open..." The Charlotte Observer, 29 March 1942
Folder 15: Bunke, Joan. The Des Moines Register, 22 September 1996
Folder 16: "Ceramic Art, on View Here..." Richmond News Leader, 30 October 1942
Folder 17: "Ceramics." Arts and Architecture 71:26, May 1954
Folder 18: "Conference to Promote." Kalini: Press- Honolulu, 10 February 1965
Folder 19: Counts, Charles. "Marguerite Wildenhain, 1896-1985." American Craft 45:96, June-July 1985
Folder 20: Cuneo, Alice Z. The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA) "Guerneville Potter Demands Excellence", 23 January 1976
Folder 21: Cuneo, Alice Z. "German Potter Discovers True Freedom..." Arizona Republic, 1976
Folder 22: Dalen, Merle. Rochester Post- Bulletin (MN) "Artist Puts Philosophy Into Pottery", 22 March 1966
Folder 23: Diffendal, Robert C. "Black Mountain College Holds Pottery Seminar." Ceramic Age 60: 54-58, December 1952
Folder 24: "Famed Ceramics Artist..." Press- Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), 20 December 1949
Folder 25: Foster, Joan. St. Louis Globe Democrat "Strong Words On Applied Arts", 12 May 1958
Folder 26: "Four Artist-Craftsmen at the San Francisco Museum of Art." Arts and Architecture 71:24-26, June 1954
Folder 27: Gregg, Cissy. The Courier Journal (Louisville, KY) "Perfection in Pottery", 4 August 1946
Folder 28: Hassard, Kathy. The Vancouver Sun. "She'd Find Creative Things For Now-idle Hands to Do", 12 September 1953
Folder 29: Healy, Rol. "MW: Reflections on her 100th..." The Studio Potter, December 1996
Folder 30: Hillinger, Charles. The Miami Herald. "Potter at Her Best in Redwood Forest", 9 January 1972
Folder 31: Hillinger, Charles. The Denver Post. "You Need Quiet for Creativity", 23 January 1972
Folder 32: Hillinger, Charles. The Los Angeles Times. "Wilderness Artist-- She Loves Her Isolation", 20 December 1971
Folder 33: Hillinger, Charles. "Artist's Pots Created in Wilderness." The Des Moines Register, 1972
Folder 34: Hodel, Emilia. San Francisco Chronicle. "A Pot is a Pot and Never Should Lose That", 28 August 1940
Folder 35: Houston, James D. "Marguerite Wildenhain and Pond Farm." Per Se 3:46, Summer 1968
Folder 36: "The International Ceramics Exhibition Comes to Scripps Gallery." Design 50:14-15, May 1949
Folder 37: Levine, Melinda. "Bauhaus Methods, Social Realist Concerns." Artweek 11:1, 27 September 1980
Folder 38: Janeiro, Jan. "Before the 60's..." Fiberarts, vol. 19, January-February 1993
Folder 39: Jenkins, Nedra. Ft. Worth Star Telegram. "Pond Farm Workshops To Show Here First Time", 1949
Folder 40: Jones, Cynthia. The Oregonian. "Pottery Expert Urges Study of Fundamentals", 8 September 1958
Folder 41: LeBaron, Gaye. "Gaye LeBaron's Notebook." (Hexagon Was Artists' Mecca) The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), 1 July 1991
Folder 42: LeBaron, Gaye. "Gaye LeBaron's Notebook." (On Pond Farm) The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), 22 July 1979
Folder 43: LeBaron, Gaye. "Gaye LeBaron Notebook." (Obituary) The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), February 1985
Folder 44: Estcount, Zilpha. San Francisco Chronicle. "Two Refugee Potters Find Peace", 28 March 1948
Folder 45: Levin, Elaine. "The Legacy of MW" Ceramics Monthly, Summer 1997
Folder 46: Levin, Elaine. Ceramics Monthly. "The Scripps Ceramic Annual", 1981
Folder 47: Marer, Fred. "Exhibitions: Letter from Los Angeles." Craft Horizons 20:46-47, May-June 1960
Folder 48: "Marguerite Wildenhain." Craft Horizons 16:30-31, September 1956
Folder 49: "Marguerite Wildenhain." Design Quarterly 42:63-64, 1958
Folder 50: "Marguerite Wildenhain..." House Beautiful, November 1941
Folder 51: Marguerite: A Retrospective Exhibition of the Work of Master Potter Marguerite Wildenhain. Preface by Nancy Neumann Press. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, 1980 [Exhibitions: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art (Ithaca, NY) Apr. 27-June 8, 1980; Oakland Museum (Oakland, CA), Aug. 26-Oct. 19, 1980; and Mint Museum of Art (Charlotte, NC), March 22-May 17, 1981], 1980-1981
Folder 52: "Marguerite Wildenhain, 1896-1985," Ceramics Monthly 33:59, April 1985
Folder 53: Marguerite Wildenhain, 1896-1985" The Studio Potter, June 1985
Folder 54: "Marguerite Wildenhain, California..." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Feb. 1959
Folder 55: "Marguerite Wildenhain, Renowned Potter, Dies" The Press Democrat, 26 February 1985
Folder 56: "Marguerite Wildenhain, World Famous Potter..." Monterey Peninsula Herald, 15 July 1947
Folder 57: Miller, Arthur. Los Angeles Times. "Ceramic Art of California Attains New High in Display", 25 March 1945
Folder 58: Nine Decades: The Northern Cal. Craft Move., 1907 to the Present. American Craft, February-March 1994
Folder 59: "Noted Potter..." Post. Bulletin (Rochester, MN), 3 March 1966
Folder 60: "Outstanding Pottery." Design 48:15, November 1946
Folder 61: Peel, Emily. "Inspiration Fires Frog Hollow Kiln." Craft Horizons 36:6, December 1976
Folder 62: Petterson, Richard. "Ceramic Textures." Craft Horizons 16:16, March 1956
Folder 63: Petterson, Richard. "Marguerite Wildenhain." Ceramics Monthly 25:21-28, March 1977
Folder 64: Morphis, Thomas. "The Legacy of Marguerite Wildenhain." Ceramics Monthly, March 1990
Folder 65: "Pick of California Potters" The Birmingham (Mich.) Eccentric, 7 April 1964
Folder 66: "Pond Farm Workshops: Gordon Herr Establishes Artists' Dream in Hills North of Guerneville." Vallejo Times Herald (Vallejo, CA), 13 November 1949
Folder 67: "Pond Farm Workshops." Arts and Architecture 60:23-25, December 1949
Folder 68: "Pond Farm Workshops Now Open..." Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 30 June 1950
Folder 69: "Potter's Dissent." Craft Horizons 13:43-44, June 1953
Folder 70: "Pottery." Arts and Architecture 62:38, April 1945
Folder 71: "Pottery Maker to Deliver..." Sunday Night & Leader (Springfield, Mo), 3 March 1965
Folder 72: Press, Nancy Neumann. "Marguerite Wilderhain Retrospective." Ceramics Monthly 28:36-38, June 1980
Folder 73: "Prieto Gallery." Craft Horizons 36:55, Aug. 1976
Folder 74: Prothro, Hunt. "Marguerite Wildenhain: Sustained Presence." American Craft 40:28-31, 76, Aug.-Sept. 1980
Folder 75: "Rena Rosenthal..." New Yorker, 17 September 1949
Folder 76: Review of "Pottery: Form and Expression" by Marguerite Wildenhain. Craft Horizons 19:50-51, July 1959
Folder 77: Prothro, Hunt. "Sustained Presence." American Craft 40:28-31, 76, Aug.-Sept. 1980
Folder 78: Daly, Glenn. "Frank Philipps: Rollin' the Dice." Ceramics Monthly, April 1996
Folder 79: Wildenhain, Marguerite. "A Statement by Marguerite Wildenhain." Arts and Architecture, Dec. 1960

Box 3: Periodical Articles, 1941-1995

Folder 1: Sweetland, Reginald. "Woman's Pottery Shown Here Hailed As Finest in History." Chicago Daily News, 1 March 1941
Folder 2: Weigle, Edith. "Art Institute Shows Pottery 'Made For Ages'" Chicago Daily Tribune, 13 March 1941
Folder 3: Townsend, Betty. "Noted Ceramist Tells of Work" Oakland Post- Enquirer, 5 December 1941
Folder 4: Wright, Marion. The Charlotte Observer, 19 April 1942
Folder 5: "World Famous Ceramic Ware Produced in Sonoma County" Sonoma County Review, September 1945
Folder 6: "Tire-less Sunday..." Richmond News Leader, 14 November 1942
Folder 7: Wildenhain, Marguerite. "Pottery." Art and Architecture 64:28-29, 44-46, March 1947
Folder 8: Shapely, Carl. "Craft Workshop as Movement to Encourage Talented Young People." Christian Science Monitor, 9 July 1949
Folder 9: "Wildenhain Pottery at Art Museum" The Oregonian, 16 September 1949
Folder 10: "Wildenhains, Pottery Makers..." Santa Maria Times, 8 November 1949
Folder 11: Wildenhain, Marguerite. "Pottery as a Creative Craft." Craft Horizons 10:27-29, 1950
Folder 12: Schroeder, Fr. Th. "Bevicht Uber die International Coutereure of Craftsmen..." Keramischezeitschrift, 1952
Folder 13: Pacific Coast Ceramic News, 1953
Folder 14: Wildenhain, Marguerite. "The Potter in the New World" Scripps College Bulletin, Oct. 1953
Folder 15: "Workshop for Potters..." Great Falls Tribune, 28 April 1954
Folder 16: "U. Pottery Seminar..." Salt Lake Tribune, 5 June 1955
Folder 17: West, David. "American Art Educators Are Producing 'Dabblers'", 7 March 1963
Folder 18: Toles, George B. "Marguerite Wildenhain; Master Potter." Ceramic Review 38:4-5, March-April 1976
Folder 19: "A Select Twelve." Ceramics Monthly 29:46-71, June 1981
Folder 20: Wildenhain, Marguerite. "A Potter's Philosophy." Ceramic Review 70:16-19, July-Aug. 1981
Folder 21: Schneider, Katja. "Keramic der Kunstgewerbeschule Burg Grebichenstein (1925-1933); Arbeiten von Marguerite Friedlaender, Franze Rudolf Wildenhain und Gerhard Marcks." Keramos 118: 13-64, Oct. 1987
Folder 22: Silberman, Robert. "The First Moderns." American Craft 49:46-53, 71, Feb.-Mar. 1989
Folder 23: Sessions, Billie, 1995
Folder 24: "Works by Marguerite, Frans Wildenhain at Luther College, 27 December 1990
Folder 25: Talley, Charles. "School for Life." American Craft 51:36-39, 72-73, April-May 1991
Folder 26: Steele, Tim Tivoli. A Report from the San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum Vol. 10 #2, 1992

Box 6: Lectures and Essay, 1940-1968

Folder 1: Lectures/Essays Index, 1940-1965
Folder 2: What Makes a Potter Good- Potter's Assn., 1953 or 1954
Folder 3: Production and Integrity- Guerneville, 1960
Folder 4: Vision in Art- Kansas City, 1963
Folder 5: Creative Freedom and Integrity- Oakland, 1965
Folder 6: Shaping the Clay- UCLA, 1962
Folder 7: Art Education in Our Time- Southern Illinois, 1958
Folder 8: Form and Technique- Berkeley, 1955
Folder 9: Craft and Industry- Scripps College, 1950
Folder 10: Wildenhain, Marguerite. "The Pursuit of Excellence in Art Education." Educational Perspectives; Journal of the College of Education, University of Hawaii. 6:12-23, 6 December 1967
Folder 11: Introduction to Movie- Pond Farm, undated
Folder 12: Biography- San Antonio Art Institute, undated
Folder 13: In Memoriam Paul Hudgins, 1968
Folder 14: External Pressures on Creativity- Lake Geneva, WI, 1958
Folder 15: "For it is a Continuous Process", 1958
Folder 16: Ceramic Design- Scripps College, 1950
Folder 17: The Philosophy of a Potter, 1960
Folder 18: Pond Farm Pottery, undated
Folder 19: Miscellaneous Publications about M. Wildenhain. Photocopies from Smithsonian Institution
Folder 20: Miscellaneous Publications about M. Wildenhain. Photocopies from Smithsonian Institution
Folder 21: Pottery Notes Marguerite Wildenhain (?)

Box 7: Pond Farm Collection, 1981, 2002, 2003

Folder 1: Translation by Marguerite Wildenhain Given to Jane Kemp by Kate Huffman, 2003
Folder 2: Donation to Luther of Pond Farm Collection, 1981, 2002, 2003
Folder 3: Program, Publicity, Final Report- Pond Farm Collection Launch, 2003
Folder 4: Attendees- Pond Farm Collection, 2003