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Newsletter of The Friends of The Bancroft Library BANCROFTIANA Number 145 • University of California, Berkeley • Fall 2014 CALIFORNIA Captured On Canvas alifornia Captured on Canvas represents a first for The John superseded John Singer Sargent as the most important CBancroft Library Gallery. The exhibit focuses exclu- and fashionable portrait painter in England. As famous for sively on the Pictorial Collection’s more than 300 paintings. his bohemian life as he was for his bravura portraits, John With the exception of the 120 framed works in the Robert is said to have been the model for Alec Guinness’s character B. Honeyman, Jr. Collection of Early Californian and West- Gulley Jimson in the film The Horse’s Mouth. (Interestingly, ern American Pictorial Material—acquired by the Friends of John painted both T. E. Lawrence’s and King Faisal’s por- The Bancroft Library and the UC Regents in 1963—most of traits. Alec Guinness portrayed Faisal in David Lean’s epic the impressive array of framed works in the Pictorial Collec- film, Lawrence of Arabia.) tion are the result of individual donations or transfers from The inclusion of John Sackas’s colorful paintings collections acquired by gift or purchase. These works range documenting the Golden Gate Produce Market in the late not only in subject matter and geography—portraits from 1950s, before it was torn down in 1962 to make way for the Mexico, landscapes of Utah and the American Southwest— Embarcadero Center, and a study for a mural by Carleton but they also vary in medium from delicate pencil sketches, Lehman, painted on the verso of his portrait of Inez Ghi- watercolors, gouaches, ink and wash drawings, engravings, rardelli, expands the scope of this exhibition beyond the hand-colored lithographs, and photographs to oils on Continued on page 4 canvas, board, and paper. To date, all the exhibitions in the Bancroft Gallery have centered on a dominant or cluster of themes—Hubert Howe Bancroft as col- lector in Bancroft to the Core; migration in California Crossings: Stories of Migration, Relocation and New Encounters; California agriculture in The Colors of California Agriculture, which featured the donation of the Peter Goin and Paul F. Starrs Archive. The im- ages in these exhibitions, whatever the medium, were buttressed with contextualizing documents such as letters, diaries, books, pamphlets, official proclama- tions, maps and the like. Our exhibitions have been emblematic of the scope, depth, and variety of col- lections in Bancroft. California Captured on Canvas, by contrast, is an exhibition that relies exclusively on the power of images to convey stories, describe places, portray individuals, and record events. Designer Gordon Chun, Bancroft Director Elaine Tennant, and I spent time reviewing the paintings hanging on racks in Bancroft’s stacks. Tennant spot- ted several paintings from the collection that had rarely been exhibited. One of her favorites is Augustus John’s vibrant portrait of San Francisco tennis legend Helen Wills, winner of eight Wimbledon singles titles and founding benefactor of the Helen Wills Neurosci- ence Institute at UC Berkeley. After the 1920s August James Walker (1818-1899) Patrón BANC PIC 1971.007—FR. Newsletter of The Friends of The Bancroft Library From the Director REVIEWING THE BIDDING ON BANCROFT FUNDRAISING changed the name of Bancroft’s vener- history of the theater and theatrical able Regional Oral History Office and performance. created the first privately endowed And in 2013 the Reva and David ust before he retired in 2011, former position among the cadre of Bancroft Logan Foundation concluded a gift JDirector Charles Faulhaber designat- curators and research group directors. agreement with the School of Journal- ed the research groups—the Regional In addition to these very recent ism and the University Library at UC Oral History Office, the Mark Twain projects, both of which were spear- Berkeley that includes a collection of Papers and Project, and the Center for headed by past and current members rare photographic books for Bancroft the Tebtunis Papyri—as Bancroft’s of the Friends Council, Bancroft re- and the funding to transform Ban- key fundraising priority. And when I ceived a remarkable gift of $3 million croft’s present Krouzian Room into joined the staff, I took up that charge in late 2013 from the estate of Willis the Reva and David Logan Room. and added to it the goal of securing S. and Marion B. Slusser that has been The redesigned seminar room will not funds to support the Bancroft curators, established as a Bancroft Director’s only house part of the photographic whose ranks had already been reduced Fund to support Bancroft curators and book collection but will also add state- by a third, and who experienced, a year directors of research units. That gift is of-the-art projection equipment to later, the retirement of another third of the fruit of development efforts under- enhance Bancroft’s teaching capacity. their number. Since then The Bancroft taken years ago by colleagues from the In spring 2014 the Friends Coun- Library has been engaged in a low-key Library Development Office, Univer- cil set an inspiring new example by campaign to restore key staff positions, sity Relations, the Bancroft Council, giving Bancroft $350 thousand for ensure the future of the research and the Bancroft staff. its high-priority current-use projects: groups, and address the great number Taken together, these three processing the Save the Redwoods and of unprocessed collections. gifts and the arrival in July of David the Samuel Armistead collections; pro- Characteristically, Bancroft Friends Faulds, Bancroft’s new Curator for viding the final portion of the Anglo- have contributed generously of their Rare Books and Literary Manuscripts, California match; and supporting the time, wisdom, and resource to our greatly improve the circumstances Latin American and Digital collec- efforts in each of these areas. Let me of the research groups and begin to tions. Projects like these are among the report briefly on the progress we have reverse the erosion of the curatorial hardest to fund, and it is characteristic made toward these goals and alert you group that continued unchecked for of the Bancroft Friends that they have to some unanticipated major gifts that more than a decade. once again stepped in where the need have recently come to Bancroft. Bancroft has also received several is great. In the last two years endowment major gifts that allow it to address Virtually every one of the projects funding has been secured for two of current needs and explore new oppor- mentioned was designed and executed the Bancroft research groups. The tunities. The first of these was a pair with the active participation the Anglo-California Foundation issued a of anonymous gifts received in 2012 Friends of The Bancroft Library, many challenge to benefit the Center for the of nearly $500 thousand each—one to of them present or former Coun- Tebtunis Papyri in spring 2013 (see support undergraduate, graduate, and cil members. This is an exceptional Bancroftiana 143) but the match was postdoctoral researchers at Bancroft record. At a time when a number made this fall establishing an endow- and the other to hire student employ- of American university libraries are ment of $200 thousand that will begin ees to perform scholarly work useful disbanding their booster groups or to secure CTP’s financial future. A to Bancroft (see Bancroftiana 141). asking themselves what they should do gift and challenge grant made by Paul The former of these will finally make with their Friends organizations, we at “Pete” Bancroft III, announced only it possible for Bancroft also to support Bancroft ask rather what we would do in winter 2014, has already established occasional researchers from outside the without our Friends. a fund of $2 million that will support UC system to work with its materi- the Charles B. Faulhaber Director of als. A bequest of $500 thousand from the Oral History Center of The Ban- the Robert Cowell Trust established croft Library (see p. 3). This is project, the Margaret Walker Endowment The James D. Hart Director accomplished in record time, has to benefit Bancroft collections in the The Bancroft Library Page 2 / Fall 2014 Newsletter of The Friends of The Bancroft Library ORAL HISTORY CENTER ANNOUNCES ENDOWMENT he Bancroft Library is pleased to This challenge grant was made of all the individual take-aways from Tannounce a $2 million endow- in May. Barely four months later The the event. I have always enjoyed the ment to fund the director’s position of Bancroft Library succeeded in rais- individual life stories of interesting the Oral History Center. Named for ing $500,000—due largely to Pete people [and have had] a long standing former Bancroft director Charles B. Bancroft, who solicited gifts from his interest in oral histories as a wonderful Faulhaber, the funding will be used to friends and fellow Venture Capitalists form of historically recording impor- support the director’s position and the who were also interviewed as part of the tant stories.” office’s general expenses, including new Oral History Center’s series. He added, “The permanency of projects. Reached recently for comment this center at Bancroft would greatly The story of this endowment is about the endowment, Bancroft please me and everyone else in my rooted in the passion and generosity explained that one reason for his family.” of Paul “Pete” Bancroft III, a descen- continuing interest in oral history was Former Bancroft director Charles dant of the library’s namesake, Hubert the pioneering work of his great-grand- B. Faulhaber praised Bancroft for his Howe Bancroft, and prominent Bay father, Hubert Howe Bancroft, whose vision and commitment.

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