California ceramicist, sculptor, and educator Robert Arneson (1930-1992) was known for introducing ceramics into the Funk art movement that began in California in the 1960s.
Arneson was born in Benicia, California where he worked as a cartoonist for the
Arneson was a faculty member at the University of California in Davis from 1962 to 1991, where he established the ceramic sculpture program and helping bring ceramics into the realm of fine art.
Arneson died in 1992 in Benicia.
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
The papers of California ceramicist, sculptor, and educator Robert Arneson measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1963 to 1977. The collection provides scattered documentation of Arneson's career through an artist statement, a bibliography of published material about Arneson, clippings, announcements and catalogs for Arneson's exhibitions, a press release regarding an Arneson exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art, and other miscellaneous printed materials. Also found in the collection is correspondence with art collector Rene di Rosa, and various galleries, museums, and art publications, and letters regarding an NEA grant.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
The Robert Arneson papers were donated in 1977 by Robert Arneson.
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Robert Arneson conducted on August 14-15, 1981 by Mady Jones for the Archives of American Art.
The collection is available on 35mm microfilm reel 1711 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Robert Arneson papers, circa 1963-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2022.
The series documents Arneson's career through an artist statement, a bibliography of published material about Arneson, and printed material including clippings, announcements and catalogs for Arneson's exhibitions, a press release regarding an Arneson exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art, and a few miscellaneous items. Correspondence found here is with art collector Rene di Rosa, and with various galleries, museums, and art publications, and includes letters regarding an NEA grant.