Paul Manship and his family recognized the value and interest that ephemera can offer future generations and actively safeguarded their personal and business papers. Contained within the archives are correspondence, contracts, invoices, drawings, printed documents, proposals, queries, invitations, architectural plans, and historic photographs that provide an in-depth glimpse into Manship’s personal history and his development as an artist, as well as on the works he created.
Archives & Collections:
Leveraging our actively expanding historical resource
The collection of Manship’s sculpture papers relate to individual projects. The archives are especially valuable as it includes letters between Manship and his patrons, assisting artisans, and foundry workers.
One notable body of letters are those exchanged between Manship and Isabel McIlwaine, his future bride, while he was a fellow at the American Academy in Rome.
The Archives have been consulted by Manship Artists such as Will Pappenheimer who created an Augmented Reality movement, light and sound piece with local dancer Sarah Slifer Swift, and Diane KW who transferred images and script from the Manship papers onto Manship family china to create elegant ceramic pieces and the dinner service for artist residents. A delegation from the United Nations also came here to locate historic photographs and engineering drawings to assist them while restoring Paul Manship’s Celestial Sphere in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Manship Artists Residency is honored to be the caretaker of this important collection and is eager to share it with artists, scholars, and the interested public. Please reach out to us via the Contact page for more information.
Join us in continuing the historical legacy of the Manship family.
The preservation of the archives and collections is funded by generous donors like you.
