Cranbrook Academy of Art
Organization
Found in 58 Collections and/or Records:
Kenneth Dale Isaacs Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2021-01
Abstract
A graduate and former head of the Design Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art in the 1950s, Ken Isaacs was an American designer, author and educator best known for his portable, customizable Living Structures and Microhouses. He claimed his design philosophy was influenced more by anthropologists than by architects. Moving from place to place and working with commonly available building materials were experiences in Isaacs’ own childhood and capabilities that he prioritized in his designs....
Dates:
1900 - 2018; Majority of material found within 1945 - 2016
Jack Keijo Steele Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2012-09
Abstract
Steele attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he studied painting with Zoltan Sepeshy, starting in the fall of 1940. In 1942, he received his first award as a mural artist as part of the Cranbrook team in the Rome Collaborative competition. Not long after, he left Cranbrook to join the war effort and was selected by the War Department Advisory Committee to be a “soldier artist” and document his experience. Steele traveled to Australia and the South Pacific, filling books with sketches...
Dates:
1941 - 2003
Margueritte Kimball Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1991-03
Abstract
Margueritte Eleanor Kimball was born on October 19, 1906, in Clinton, Massachusetts. In 1942 Kimball joined the Cranbrook Academy of Art as a student and immediately began serving as the Academy's financial secretary. A beloved and respected member of the Cranbrook community, Kimball used her position to interact with and collect various materials relating to the Academy's faculty and students. Kimball retired in 1968, nevertheless spending her remaining years in Boston as an exhibiting...
Dates:
Majority of material found in circa 1941-1996; undated
Arthur Nevill Kirk Papers
Collection — Container: Box 1
Identifier: 1985-08
Abstract
Arthur Nevill Kirk was born on July 20, 1881, in Lewes, Sussex, England. He taught as a metalcraft instructor before George Gough Booth persuaded him to move to the United States. Kirk arrived in September 1927 and began designing ecclesiastical pieces for Christ Church Cranbrook, teaching at Cranbrook School (1927-1929), and two years later directing the the metals shop of the Academy of Art and subsequently the Silver Department. When economic depression caused the art shops at the...
Dates:
1873 - 2015
Oliver LaGrone Scholarship Committee Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2017-02
Abstract
Clarence Oliver LaGrone was a sculptor, poet and teacher, with a lifelong commitment to universal brotherhood. Oliver was active with the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg from 1970 to 1986. The Oliver LaGrone Scholarship Fund was established in 1972 by members of the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, PA and in 1974, Oliver contributed the proceeds from the sale of his ‘The Dancer’ sculpture to the fund. The Oliver LaGrone Scholarship Committee was formed to honor him for his spirit, personable...
Dates:
1942 - 2012
Martha M. Lauritzen Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1999-11
Abstract
Martha Lauritzen, a student and friend of Maija Grotell, received her B.F.A. in the spring of 1947 and her M.F.A. in June 1948. She worked as Grotell’s summer assistant through 1952. The collection documents Lauritzen’s experiences at Cranbrook and her relationship with her ceramics mentor, Maija Grotell, including correspondence between Lauritzen and Grotell (1948-1954) and correspondence with other students of Grotell’s. The materials relate to ceramics in the 1940’s, including processes,...
Dates:
1948 - 1997
Nancy Leitch Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2007-04
Abstract
In 1943, Leitch attended Cranbrook to study sculpture with Carl Milles, and was also a student of Maija Grotell, Howard Dearstyne, and Ernest Scheyer. She counted Jon Johnson, Margueritte Kimball, Signe Midelfars, Ruth Robinson, George Koren, Frances Ericsson, and Bob Lohman among her friends during this time. After finishing her first year in the program she was asked to return as Maija Grotell’s studio assistant, a position that she treasured and reflected upon often in her later years....
Dates:
1915 - 1994; Majority of material found within 1930 - 1994
John C. Lorence, Jr. Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1996-36
Abstract
John Clement Lorence, Jr. receivied a B.F.A. in painting in 1959 and an M.F.A. a year later from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Lorence taught art at a variety of schools in Wisconsin and Maine while continuing his career as a painter. His work has been exhibited widely in Maine, as well as Milwaukee, Flint, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and in Germany and Iran, and is held in several major collections including the Milwaukee Art Museum, the University of Michigan and the Cook Collection of...
Dates:
1940 - 1976
Marianne Strengell Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1991-07
Abstract
Marianne Strengell, daughter of Finnish architect Gustaf Strengell and interior designer Anna Wegelius. Prior to becoming an instructor at Cranbrook in 1937 on Eliel Saarinen's invitation, Strengell held several positions in Scandinavia, designing rugs, textiles and interiors. In 1942, when Loja Saarinen retired, Strengell replaced her as head of the Department of Weaving and Textile Design. She developed a curriculum that emphasized weave structure, versus the more pictorial imagery used by...
Dates:
1620 - 1998; Majority of material found within 1928 - 1995
Katherine and Michael McCoy Papers
Collection
Identifier: 1995-01
Abstract
Katherine and Michael McCoy were instructors and co-chairs of the Cranbrook Academy of Art Design Department from 1971 to 1994. Michael McCoy, born on September 16, 1944, is an award winning American industrial designer and educator. Katherine McCoy (nee Braden), born October 12, 1945, is an award winning American graphic designer, educator, and design consultant. In 1972 Katherine and Michael founded the design studio McCoy & McCoy Associates where their clients included Knoll...
Dates:
circa 1971-1995; Majority of material found within 1972 - 1995