Finding Aid of the Don Page Collection, 1936 - 1942, PC.1924
Abstract
Donald Page (1917- ) was born and brought up in Denver, Colorado. He entered Black
Mountain College, Black Mountain, N.C. in September, 1936, where he studied art under
Josef Albers and weaving and textile design under Anni Albers. After his graduation
in May, 1941, Page returned for postgraduate studies at Black Mountain College in
the fall of 1941, and the spring of 1942.
This collection of materials is made up of textiles, drawings, and studies done by
Don Page under both Josef and Anni Albers at Black Mountain College during the period
from 1936 to 1942.
Donald Page (1917- ) was born and brought up in Denver, Colorado. He entered Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, N.C. in September, 1936, where he studied art under Josef Albers and weaving and textile design under Anni Albers. After his graduation in May, 1941, Page returned for postgraduate studies at Black Mountain College in the fall of 1941, and the spring of 1942. This collection of materials is made up of textiles, drawings, and studies done by Don Page under both Josef and Anni Albers at Black Mountain College during the period from 1936 to 1942.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Don Page Collection
- Call Number
- PC.1924
- Creator
- Page, Don, 1917-
- Date
- 1936 - 1942
- Extent
- 512.00 items
- Language
- English
- Repository
- Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina
Restrictions on Access & Use
Access Restrictions
Available for research.
Use Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], PC.1924, Don Page Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, NC, USA.
Biographical Note
Donald Page (1917- 2007) was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He entered Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, N.C. in September, 1936, where he studied art under Josef Albers and weaving and textile design under Anni Albers. During the summer months Page found employment in order to help pay his college expenses. One summer, upon the recommendation of Mrs. Albers, he worked with the WPA, teaching weaving to local women in Charlotte and Wilmington, N.C. During the course of another summer he worked as a designer for the Callaway Mills in Georgia. After his graduation in May, 1941, Page returned for postgraduate studies at Black Mountain College in the fall of 1941, and the spring of 1942 before entering the U.S. Air Corps. After World War II he studied in the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.
Black Mountain College was an experimental school located in Black Mountain, N.C. Established in 1933 by John A. Rice and others, the purpose of the college was to educate the whole person, with an emphasis on the role of the arts and creative thinking. Despite the fact that Black Mountain College could rarely offer faculty more than room and board, a number of important teachers and artists were drawn to the school as part of the regular faculty or to participate in the school's Summer Institutes. Josef and Anni Albers, John Cage, Robert Creeley, Merce Cunningham, Max Dehn, Joseph Fiore, Buckminister Fuller, Edward Lowinsky, Robert Motherwell, Charles Olson, M.C. Richards, and Xanti Schawinsky were only a few of those who taught at Black Mountain College. In addition, the success of several of the college's students helped to further the college's reputation in the area of the arts and the avant garde.
The character and focus of Black Mountain College shifted over time, according to the make-up of the faculty and students. Personal and ideological conflicts were common and sometimes lead to major changes in the college community. Lack of funds added to the stress of the situation, as did the school's physical isolation and its sometimes strained relations with the local population. Eventually, the student enrollment and available funds dwindled until the college was forced to close in 1956.
Contents of the Collection
1. Textile Design,
scopecontent:
Includes examples of Page's college work using various dyed and undyed threads: wool, cotton, linen, rayon, and jute. They are boxed according to the size of the example, larger examples being boxed together, and small examples together. A finished and zippered cushion cover in cotton, and the large woven unbleached piece from which was cut, will be found in Box 2. Two delicate examples have been encapsulated and are also boxed with the larger examples in Box 2: (1) Delicate fabric with stretched threads; and (2) Orange fabric with changed threads (exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art as part of the museum's Albers exhibit).
2. Drawings and Studies,
scopecontent:
Includes 220 pieces of Page's student work in pencil, ink, watercolor, gouache, crayon, charcoal, and oil, as well as some collages in paper and fabric. They have been foldered by genre, rather than by medium. Some of them have studies on both sides of the paper, not always of the same genre. Two studies in architectural and interior design have been foldered as Double Oversize and are housed with double folio materials from other collections.
Subject Headings
Acquisitions Information
Gift, Don Page, Chilmark, MA, 2002. During March-April, 2012, these records were moved from the State Archives building in Raleigh to the Western Regional Archives, Asheville, N.C.