Elizabeth Wilder Weismann Collection

The Elizabeth Wilder Weismann Collection was donated by Weismann to the Benson Latin American Collection in 1985. The collection was described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in August 1994.

The collection comprises circa 6,275 photographs and negatives and three linear feet (10 boxes) of card files. A container list and partial item list are available in the library.

Weismann's publication, Americas : the decorative arts in Latin America in the era of the revolution, Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, 1976, was based upon the collection.

The suggested citation for the papers is "Elizabeth Wilder Weismann Collection, ca. 1930-ca. 1979, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

U.S. scholar of Latin American colonial art and architecture. Born 1907; died 1989 in Austin, Texas. Weismann held positions at the Library of Congress, Smith College, Wellesley College, and Ohio State University. Her publications include a translation of Manuel Toussaint's Colonial art in Mexico, as well as her own works: A guide to the art of Latin America; Mexico in sculpture; The decorative arts in Latin America; and Art and time in Mexico : from the Conquest to the Revolution.

Photographic material and research files of interest for art and architectural research into the colonial period in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Photographic prints and negatives, postcards, and occasional reproductions or clippings of images collected by Weismann depict architecture, painting, graphic and minor arts, and sculpture in Mexico, Central America and South America from pre-Conquest to modern times. A few images are from California, New Mexico, and Texas. Extensive card files concern artisans, monuments, paintings, and art objects of colonial New Spain. Some images are originals taken by Weismann; most are copies she obtained from Mexican photographic collections, including that of Guillermo Kahlo at the library of the Instituto Nacional Antropología e Historia. Other photographers contributing to the collection include George Kubler, John McAndrew, Judith Hancock de Sandoval, and commercial photographer Salvador Toscano. Photographic materials date from ca. 1930 to ca. 1979.

The Elizabeth Wilder Weismann Collection was arranged into series and subseries by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, based upon an arrangement begun by Wilder before her death. The processing of the collection was completed by the Mexican Archives Project staff in August 1994.

I. Series, Photographic and visual material, ca. 6,275 items.

1. Subseries, Mexico, 17 boxes. Primarily about architecture in Mexico, the series also contains materials on sculpture, painting, graphic arts, and minor arts in Mexico.

2. Subseries, Latin America, 3 boxes and 2 folders. Architecture, minor arts, sculpture, and painting in Latin America.

3. Subseries, Mixed Mexican and other Latin American materials, 4boxes. Materials which could not be identified or separated into the preceding two subseries. Included are items from the pre-Conquest era; from Weismann's travels to Mexico as well as (in 1940-1941) Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Yucatán; and scenes of Mexican and Guatemalan architecture and streets.

4. Subseries, USA - Architecture, 1 folder.

5. Subseries, Renwick Gallery exhibition, 3 folders. Includes lists of images in the exhibition, 12 color slides of objects from the Fundaçao Museu used in the exhibition, and the publication, Americas : the decorative arts in Latin America in the era of the revolution.

6. Subseries, Assorted materials. Four folders of biographical information on Weismann, one folder of her notes relating to her arrangement of the collection, 44 negatives labeled, "Chile (Araucanian items)," and a few additional negatives.

II. Series, Bibliographic card files, 10 boxes. Card files concern artisans, monuments, paintings, and art objects of colonial New Spain. Arranged by Weismann in the following groups: artists; authors; authors and travelers; and index to files of towns having sculpture. Cards relating to the Renwick exhibit are filed separately by Mexican state; a few relate to Guatemala, the Philippines, and the U.S.A., and are filed accordingly.

Box	Folder	Sub-subseries< /b>	Folder Title
Series I, Photographic and visual material Subseries 1, Mexico
1	1	Architecture	Chiapas
	2		Distrito Federal?
	3		D.F. : contact prints by Judith Hancock
	4		D.F. : Judith Hancock de Sandoval
	5		print #68 (323)
	6		print #359
	7-9		Distrito Federal
2	1-2		Guanajuato
	3		Guerrero
	4		Hidalgo
	5		Jalisco
	6-7		Mexico (state)
	8		Michoacán
	9		Morelos
	10		Oaxaca
	11		Puebla
3	1		Puebla
	2		Querétaro
	3		San Luis Potosí
	4		Sinaloa
	5		Tlaxcala
	6		Yucatán
	7		Zacatecas
4-5		Architecture, etc., Central Highland Mexico
6		Architecture, wood sculpture, painting	Prints: Chiapas, Guanajuato, Guerrero
7			Prints: Hidalgo, Jalisco
8			Prints: Mexico, D.F.
9			Prints: Mexico state, Michoacán
10			Prints: Morelos, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca
11			Prints: Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tlaxcala, the Alamo
12			Negatives: Chiapas, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco
13			Negatives: Mexico, D.F.; Mexico state; Michoacán
14			Negatives: Morelos, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tlaxcala, the Alamo
15		Architecture, sculpture, paintings (alpha by state); Notidentified geographically: Graphics, painting, sculpture
16	1	Graphic arts	Books
	2		Engravings
	3		Lithography
	4		Manuscripts
	5		Painting - Genre
	6-7		Painting - Saints/Ecclesiastics
	8		Painting - 16th century
	9		Painting - 18th century
	10-11		Painting - 19th century portraits
	12		Painting - 20th century portraits
	13		Painting
	14		Photography
	15		Posada, José Guadalupe
	16		Woodcuts
	17		Maps
17	1	Sculpture
	2	Minor arts	Bookbinding, food, glass, ivory, straw
	3		Ceramics
	4		Clothing and costume
	5		Decorations, fireworks
	6		Furniture
	7		Iron and steel
	8		Jewelry
	9		Lacquer
	10		Leather
	11		Masks
	12		Silver
	13		Textiles
	14		Woodcarving
	15		Descriptive information prepared by Weismann on photographs in Mexico, Minor arts subsubseries
	16-18		Minor arts
Series I, Photographic and visual material Subseries 2, Latin America (except Mexico)
18	1-2	Architecture	Argentina
	3		Bolivia
	4-5		Brazil
	6		Colombia
	7		Cuba
	8		Costa Rica
	9-10		Ecuador
	11-12		Guatemala
19	1		Honduras
	2		Nicaragua
	3		Panama
	4		Paraguay
	5		Peru (Arequipa-Copacabana)
	6		Peru (Cuzco)
	7		Peru (Lima-Trujillo)
	8		Peru (Unidentified)
	9		Peru (Machu Picchu)
	10		Peru
20	1	Minor arts	Argentina - Silver
	2		Brazil - Furniture
	3		Brazil - Wood carving
	4		Chile - Furniture
	5		Chile - Silver
	6		Colombia - Furniture
	7		Ecuador - Furniture
	8		Ecuador - Iron
	9		Ecuador - Silver
	10		Ecuador - Woodworking
	11		Guatemala
	12		Panama - Iron, silver
	13		Peru - Furniture
	14		Peru - Jewelry
	15		Peru - Silver
	16		Peru - Woodworking
	17		South America - Brass, bronze, copper
	18		South America - Ceramics
	19		South America - Clothing and costume
	20		South America - Cult images
	21		South America - Furniture
	22		South America - Gourds, tortoise shell, mother of pearl
	23		South America - Iron and steel
	24		South America - Leather
	25		South America - Silver
	26		South America - Textiles
	27		South America - Woodcarving
	28		Venezuela - Jewelry
	29		Venezuela - Silver
	30		Furniture
	31		Votive jewelry
	32		Unidentified
	33		Descriptive information prepared by Weismann on photographs in Latin America, Minor Arts sub-subseries
	34-35	Sculpture
	36	Painting
21	1-2	Adams photographs - Argentina
Series I, Photographic and visual material Subseries 3, Mixed Mexican and other Latin American materials
21	3	Pre-Conquest	Mexico
	4		Tula, Hidalgo
	5		Yucatán
	6		Yucatán
	7		Maya-Central America
	8		Postcards - Mexico and Central America
	9		South America
	10		Miscellaneous
	11		Photographic reproductions of museum objects
	12		Bonampak
22		Photographic material from long trips	Prints (Mexico only) : general landscape, some towns, countryside, sculpture
23			35 mm negatives from Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Yucatán (1940-1941)
24		Mexico/Guatemala (architecture, street scenes, very little sculpture)
Series I, Photographic and visual material Subseries 4, USA - Architecture
25	1		USA - Architecture
Series I. Photographic and visual material Subseries 5. Renwick Gallery exhbition
25	2		Lists of images
25	3		Brazil and Peru : Fundaçao Museu Carlos Costa Pinto; 12 color slides
25	4		Americas : the decorative arts in Latin America in the era of the revolution
25	5-8		Biographical information on Weismann
25	9		Notes, etc. from Weismann's arrangement project
26			Chile (Araucanian items); 44 negatives
26			Brazil, Venezuela, and unidentified; 4negatives
27			5 x 7 negatives
Series II, Bibliographic card files Subseries 1, General
28		Artists
29		Artists; Authors
30		Authors; "Authors and travelers"
31		"Authors and travelers"
32		Index to files of towns having sculpture
Series II, Bibliographic card files Subseries 2, Renwick exhibit
33		Aguas Calientes; D.F. Mexico
34		D.F. Mexico - Jalisco
35		Mexico (state) - Oaxaca (state)
36		Oaxaca (city) - Quintana Roo
37		San Luis Potosí - Zacatecas; Guatemala, Philippines, U.S.A.

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