Archives West Finding Aid

Series 1 is comprised predominately of 193 pen and ink botanical illustrations of woody plants produced by Marian Field between 1936 and 1941. The drawings were originally intended to illustrate Trees and Shrubs in Winter by Frank Sipe, a botany professor at the University of Oregon. The series also includes a small quantity of correspondence documenting Sipe's efforts to publish the book, colorized photographs of 15 of Field's illustrations, and reprints of her illustrations of Acer macrophyllum and several species belonging to genus Arctostaphylos. The project, which was supported by the Works Project Administration (WPA), was defunded prior to publication.

Following the discontinuation of the book project, the illustrations were held and exhibited by the University of Oregon Herbarium. Twelve text panels from this exhibit are included in the series and provide details about the life and work of Marian Field, context for the production of the illustrations, and information about the process of plant identification. The source of some of the exhibit text, a manuscript biographical sketch of Marian Field produced by Mary Field Etter in December 1982, is also present along with a partial inventory of the illustrations.

Series 2 is comprised of 54 illustrations of fungi created between 1933 and 1934. These illustrations were produced in a variety of sizes and mediums and include pencil drawings, oil paintings, and watercolors. Some illustrations depict the subjects in various life stages and sometimes contain notes on the origin of the reference specimen. It is likely these illustrations were produced in collaboration with Louis Henderson, curator of the University of Oregon Herbarium.

The series also includes 8 matted photographs of assorted species of mushrooms that may have been used as reference images for Field's illustrations. Many of the photographs are colorized and all but one include handwritten notes identifying the species.