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University of California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California California Craft Artists Oral History Series Margery Anneberg ANNEBERG GALLERY, 1966-1981, AND CRAFT AND FOLK ART IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA With Introductions by Jack Lenor Larsen and June Schwarcz Interviews Conducted by Suzanne B. Riess in 1995 Copyright C 1998 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Margery Anneberg dated March 20, 1995. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Margery Anneberg requires that she be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Margery Anneberg, "Anneberg Gallery, 1966- 1981, and Craft and Folk Art in the San Francisco Bay Area," an oral history conducted in 1995 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1998. Copy no. Margery Anneberg, 1997, Cataloging information ANNEBERG, Margery (b. 1921) Jeweler, gallery owner Anneberg Gallery, 1966-1981, and Craft and Folk Art in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1998, viii, 368 pp. Seattle background and family; studying jewelry-making, NYC, 1945; Far Eastern studies, University of Washington, 1946-1957; move to Berkeley and UC Berkeley library job; contact with northern California designer craftsmen; establishing home, studio, and gallery on Hyde Street, San Francisco, 1964; discussion of Anneberg Gallery exhibitions, 1966-1981: impact of Coptic textiles, announcements and installations, curatorial scholarship, critical reviews and publicity, mixing contemporary craft and folk arts, sources and collectors, gallery economics, issue of authentication; American Craft Council, other San Francisco galleries, museums; closing Anneberg Gallery and instituting the Center for Folk Art and Contemporary Crafts; role in beginning of San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, 1983-1986: board and advisory group, curatorial work, A Report, exhibitions, catalogues. Introductions by Jack Lenor Larsen, Larsen Design Studio, New York City; and June Schwarcz, enamelist, Sausalito. Interviewed 1995 by Suzanne B. Riess for the California Craft Artists Series . TABLE OF CONTENTS --Margery Anneberg INTRODUCTION- -by Jack Lenor Larsen i INTRODUCTION- -by June Schwarcz ii INTERVIEW HISTORY- -by Suzanne B. Riess iv BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION vii I EARLY HISTORY 1 Family Background 1 Seattle, the City and the Art Environment 7 1945: A Year in New York, and a Class in Jewelry-Making 12 1946: Return to University of Washington, Far Eastern Studies 16 Houseboat Life 21 1957: Entering Competitions, and the Influence of the Henry Art Gallery 24 Seattle Area Artists and Art Galleries 28 And Some Comparisons with San Francisco 32 II MOVE TO THE BAY AREA 35 Publicity and Exhibitions at the UC Berkeley Library 35 Designer Craftsmen of Northern California, and Issues of Definition 36 Design Department at UC Berkeley; Richmond Art Center; Pond Farm 41 Jewelry-Making Techniques, and Making a Living 43 1964: Finding a Home and a Neighborhood on Hyde Street 51 III ANNEBERG GALLERY OPENS 55 1966: Coptic Textiles Exhibition with Gordon Holler 55 A Real Gallery, and the First Glass Show on the Pacific Coast 60 More on Coptic Textiles, and the Issue of Scholarship 62 Innocent Beginnings: Announcements, Pricing 68 Critical Reviews, or Lack Thereof 71 Installing the Shows, and Tending the Gallery 75 The Collector Shows: Carolyn West's Guatemalan Textiles 77 The Idea of Showing both Contemporary Crafts and Folk Art 79 Dealing with Physical and Financial Limitations 83 Carl Jennings, Forged Iron 87 More on Guatemalan Indian Textiles Collected by Caroline West 87 Openings, and Building a Collector List 88 December 1969: A Great Port of Entry, and a Show of Indian Embroidery 91 February-March 1968: Islamic Textile Fragments 95 Contemporary Crafts: Barbara Shawcroft, Lillian Elliott, Others 97 Expertise, and Taste 100 More on Collecting in Guatemala 104 The Child Weavers of the Atelier of Ramses Wissa-Wassef 107 The Benefit of an Exhibition for an Artist 112 114 May 1969: Nik Krevitsky's Stitchery IV GALLERY CONCERNS AND EXHIBITIONS, 1969-1974 -16 Anneberg Begins Her Slide Record Summer 1969: Textile Shows; Elaine Henning's Woven Kinetic Forms 118 Mexican Folk Art, and Shipping and Packing Problems 122 A Logo Evolves from Harry Murphy's Announcements December 1969-March 1970: Cloth of India; Yolanda Woo; Carole Small 12A April 1970: Dominic Di Mare and June Schwarcz June 1970: Nomadic Rug Weaving and Jewelry, and Selling Jewelry 127 September 1970-April 1971: Fiesta Mexicana; Hal Painter; John Lewis; Diana Chrestien; Paula Bartron May 1971: Kay Sekimachi 129 June 1971-October 1971: Indian Arts of Peru; Pat Scarlett; Barbara Kasten; Traditions in Japanese Folk Art; Bedouin Textiles and Jewelry from Tunisia Packing and Shipping, and Mexican Folk Art, 1971 January 1972: Andree Thompson 135 March 1972- June 1972: Textile Fragments from Egypt; Arts of Indonesia; Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand; Thai Silk 136 July 1972: Wissa-Wassef Workshop 139 August 1972-September 1972: Lillian Elliott; Ed Rossbach 140 October 1972: Four Different Things, A Discussion of Integrity of the Gallery, and Grace Earl 141 January 1973: Dominic Di Mare in a Different Direction 145 February 1973-April 1973: Ron Wigginton; African Folk Crafts; Fiber Forms 147 Insights into Economics, Tourists, Spending Patterns, and Appreciation of Craft Art 148 May 1973- June 1973: Katherine Westphal; Hugh Aanonsen 156 September 1973-October 1973: Silk Road; Threads of India; Thoughts on How Collectors Collect 157 November 1973: Tin Can Craftsmen of Mexico 160 January 1974-May 1974: Lynn Mauser; Young Weavers of San Isidro; Contemporary Southwest Indian Crafts; Andree Thompson; Traditional Crafts of Botswana 161 V EVOLUTION OF THE GALLERY, 1974-1979 165 Network to de Young and Mexican Museums 165 Craft Artists and Gallery Exclusive Ambivalence 167 June 1974-October 1974: Pat Scarlett; Trude Germonprez; June Schwarcz; Curtis Photographs 168 More on Economics and Pricing of Folk Art 170 February 1975-May 1975: Ann Christenson; Lillian Elliott; Jan Wagstaff; K. Lee Manuel 173 June 1975: Kurdish Wedding Carpets 175 July 1975-November 1975: Guatemalan Weaving; Susan Green and Barbara Comstock; Indonesian Ikats and Baskets from East of Java; Dominic Di Mare; Horvath Costumes and Folk Textiles 176 February 1976-May 1976: Susan Wick; Javanese Batik; Carole Beadle and Gayle Luchessa; Eileen Gilbert Hill 179 Mailing Lists and Bulk Mail 182 June 1976: Tibetan Art and Artifacts, Collected by Moke Mokotoff 183 July 1976: Diana Leon, and a Discussion of Usable Ceramic Forms 183 August 1976-November 1976: Contemporary Bobbin Lace; Zapotec Rugs; Philippine and Indonesian Baskets, and Abaca Ikats 186 October 1976: The Handmade Papers of Eishiro Abe 188 Collecting in Mexico for the 1975 Christmas Show 190 January 1977: Tibetan Artifacts 192 March 1977: Mats from Borneo 194 April 1977: Traditional Weaving of West Africa 196 May 1977- July 1977: African and New Guinea Sculpture, Uzbek and Afghan Textiles; Ikats and Batiks from Indonesia; Art of the Upper Amazon 198 September 1977: Mexican Dance Masks, Ceremonial and Not 200 October 1977-December 1977: Ann Christenson; Chaika Marbled Paper; Mexican Ex-Voto Folk Painting and Milagros; African, Chinese, and European Beadwork; Folk Arts of Mexico 202 February 1978: Ceremonial Ikat Weavings and Artifacts from Borneo, and Reflections on What Anneberg Would and Would Not Show in the Gallery 204 March 1978- January 1979: Votive Arts of Mexico; Serapes and Blankets