Mary Randlett artist photographs

Mary Randlett artist photographs, 1949-1990

Overview of the Collection

Photographer: Randlett, Mary, 1924-
Title: Mary Randlett artist photographs
Dates: 1949-1990 (inclusive)
19491990
Quantity: 68 photographs (2 boxes and 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number: PH0422
Summary: Photographs of various artists and their artwork, 1949-1990
Repository: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions: The collection is open to the public.
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Mary Randlett has been photographing the people, places, and arts of the Northwest for over half a century. She was born Mary Willis on May 5, 1924, in Seattle, Washington. Her father, Cecil Willis, ran Superior Reprographics, a blueprint company. Mary's mother, Elizabeth Bayley Willis, was a curator and marketer of international folk arts and crafts and was intimately involved in the Northwest art scene. Mark Tobey and Morris Graves were among the artists she befriended, and Mary Randlett would photograph many of her mother's artist friends later in life.

After receiving her first camera at age 10, Randlett made her first set of prints, depicting Orcas Island, in 1937. Her next camera, which she used during high school, was a Kodak 620 folding camera. When her younger sister went to Whitman College, Randlett went along. At Whitman, she used a campus darkroom to process and develop her photographs of friends, professors, and the campus.

After graduating in 1947 with a degree in political science, Randlett returned to Seattle, where she apprenticed herself to fashion photographer Hans Jorgensen, who had been Louise Dahl-Wolfe's assistant. On Jorgensen's advice, Randlett purchased a twin lens Rolleiflex camera and began shooting portraits of families and children. Although Jorgensen gave her tips on processing and developing her photographs, he never influenced her photographic technique. Randlett's portraiture was, however, influenced by the informal approach of George Mantor. In 1950, she married Herbert Randlett, and they had four children: Bob, Mary Ann, Peter, and Suzy.

In 1963, Randlett photographed poet Theodore Roethke at his home in Seattle. He died just two weeks later. Before long, she was shooting portraits of Roethke's students, including future Pulitzer prizewinner Carolyn Kizer. Visual artists -- including Kenneth Callahan, William Cumming, Philip McCracken, Leo Kenney, and countless other well-known names in Northwest art -- soon followed. These photographs are not merely portraits; they also document artists at work, installations of pieces, and gallery shows. Randlett has photographed over five hundred artists and writers.

But she did not limit herself to portraiture: nature photography is of great importance to Randlett, and she has experimented with lighting and techniques throughout her career. She collaborated with the poet Denise Levertov on Lifting the Veil: The Northwest Landscapes of Mary Randlett, which features Levertov poems inspired by Randlett's nature photographs. Architectural photography is another important subset of her body of work: she has documented many homes, commercial buildings, and parks, as well as the architects and landscape architects who designed them.

After Randlett and her husband divorced in 1972, she moved to Virginia, where she assisted a friend with research on Northwest Coast Indians and worked on a commission for the National Register of Historic Places. She returned to the Northwest in 1975 and continued her nature and portrait photography. Randlett has also worked on commissions from various organizations, including the King County Arts Commission and the Northwest Living section of the Seattle Times, and has collaborated on many publications. Her photographs have illustrated books on Northwest artists, the Bloedel Reserve, Seattle's historic preservation movement, and public art in Seattle.

Mary Randlett's work has been included in more than 120 exhibitions, over twenty of which have been solo shows. Her photographs are found in the permanent collections of museums nationwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Northwest Art.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Mary Randlett's portraits of various artists and their art, 1949-1990. Included are Guy Anderson, William Cumming, Richard Gilkey, Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, Paul Horiuchi, William Ivey, Clayton James, Leo Kenney, Philip McCracken, Neil Meitzler, George Tsutakawa

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Preferred Citation

The required credit line for use of images from Special Collections is: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, [plus the negative number.

The negative number is provided with the image and is a letter + number combination such as UW13452; Hegg 1234; or NA1275. A typical credit line would be, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, UW13452.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Processing Note

Minimally processed.

BOX 1
(All measurements in inches)

Folder 1: Miscellaneous still lives
Misc. 1: Artist's work table with various small human figure sculptures with window in background; 5 1/2x9 1/4; April, 1968.
Misc. 2: Wooden table against brick wall with blooming daisies & other flowers in pot; 9 1/4x4 1/2; October, 1957.
Misc. 3: Nine clear vases on counter, each with long-stemmed blooming, white flower; 7 1/2x9; October, 1949.

Folder 2: Guy Anderson
Anderson 1: Anderson 3/4 figure in front of outdoor painting; 6 1/2x6 1/4; April, 1990.
Anderson 2: Anderson, head & torso, side view, with hand on chin, in studio; 7 1/4x7 1/4; February, 1970.
Anderson 3: Anderson, standing, full figure, in doorway of greenhouse(?); 9 1/2x7 1/2; June, 1964.
Anderson 4: Anderson, standing, full figure, outdoors, one hand on on hip, one on tree limb, with painting on fence; 8x12; April, 1987.
Anderson 5: Anderson, seated on chair, hand on cheek, in front of floor-to-ceiling painting; 11 1/2x10; May, 1972.

Folder 3: William Cumming(?)
Cumming(?) 1: Cumming(?) standing, 3/4 figure, right hand on hip next to painting on easel; 6 1/2x6 1/2; April, 1990.
Cumming(?) 2: Cumming(?) seated, side view, laughing, with painting in background; 8 3/4x8 3/4; April, 1964.
Cumming(?) 3: Cumming(?) standing, 3/4 figure profile with paintbrush in hand & two paintings on wall; 12 3/4x10; June, 1965.

Folder 4: Richard Gilkey
Gilkey 1: Gilkey, full figure, standing to far right next to painting with black oval in center; 9 1/4x13; February, 1970.
Gilkey 2: Gilkey, full figure, standing in shadow between paintings; 7x9; September, 1966.
Gilkey 3: Gilkey, full figure, seated on table with large sunflower in pot & sunflower painting; 13x10 1/2; September, 1966.
Gilkey 4: Gilkey, full figure, standing in corner with paintings on either side against walls; 7x9; March, 1989.

Folder 5: Morris Graves & Mark Tobey
Graves/Tobey 1: Tobey seated at table, outdoors, head & torso, side view, left hand covering face; 6x6; August, 1949.
Graves/Tobey 2: Tobey seated at table, outdoors, side view, 3/4 figure, arms crossed with trees in background; 7x7; August, 1949.
Graves/Tobey 3: Marion Willard, Morris Graves & Mark Tobey seated at table outdoors, Tobey petting dog, at Graves' home, Edmonds, WA; 7 1/2x9 1/4; August, 1949.
Graves/Tobey 4: Tobey, 3/4 figure, standing between tree trunks, hand on staff(?); 10 1/2x10; August, 1949.
Graves/Tobey 5: Graves, full figure, standing with hand on tree trunk looking at his dog, "Edith"; 12 1/2x6 1/4; August, 1949.
Graves/Tobey 6: Graves seated at table outdoors, with leaves covering ground, brick building in background; 10 1/2x10 1/2; October, 1949.

Folder 6: Paul Horiuchi
Horiuchi 1: Horiuchi, 3/4 figure, hand on arm, seated in front of painting; 5x6; April, 1966.
Horiuchi 2: Horiuchi, head & torso, standing, viewed from side, working on collage painting; 6x6; September, 1967.
Horiuchi 3: Horiuchi, seated on large rocks; 7 1/2x7 1/2; March, 1990.
Horiuchi 4: Horiuchi, 3/4 figure, standing in middle of studio with paintings in background; 9 1/2x9; September, 1967.

BOX 2

Folder 1: William Ivey
Ivey 1: Ivey seated in chair with cigarette, viewed from the side; 6x6; September, 1966.
Ivey 2: Ivey kneeling in doorway, looking at painting; 7 1/2x7 1/2; September, 1966.
Ivey 3: Ivey, full figure, standing in studio next to painting; 7 1/2x7 1/2; March, 1990.
Ivey 4: Ivey seated on chaise with painting in background; 11 1/4x10 1/2; September, 1966.

Folder 2: Clayton James
James 1: James standing with one foot on bench, outside of house, with 3 rocks on bench; 6 1/2x6 1/4; April, 1990.
James 2: James, 3/4 figure, standing, working on piece of wooden sculpture; 9x8; August, 1970.
James(?) 3: Black metal urn/pot on floor with 3 large almost blob-like sculptures, possibly works of James; 6 1/2x6 1/2; March, 1978.
James(?) 4: Six pots/sculptures of varying sizes & shapes on wooden floor, possibly works of James; 6 1/4x9 1/2; March, 1978.
James 5: James, full figure, standing, left hand on hip, surrounded by sculptures; 10 1/2x10 1/2; August, 1970.

Folder 3: Leo Kenney
Kenney 1: Kenney, full figure, seated on bench, outdoors; 6 1/2x6; April, 1990.
Kenney 2: Kenney, full figure, seated with arm over chair back with painting on easel in background; 10 1/4x6 1/2; June, 1965.
Kenney 3: Studio/work area of Leo Kenney: painting, paints & brushes on work table with view of lake out of window; 6 1/2x7 1/4; April, 1968.
Kenney 4: Kenney, head & torso, profile, working on painting with paint brush, painting lying flat on table; 7x7; November, 1968.
Kenney 5: Kenney, full figure, smoking a cigarette, standing next to barrel-like sculpture on pedestal; 9 1/4x6; September, 1969.

Folder 4: Philip McCracken
McCracken 1: McCracken, head & torso, profile, in studio with sculpture of owls; 6 1/2x8 1/4; July, 1979.
McCracken 2: McCracken's studio with various owl sculptures; 6x7; January, 1978.
McCracken 3: McCracken, 3/4 figure, seated on tree branch; 6 1/2x6 1/2; August, 1989.
McCracken 4: Sculpture by McCracken: Two large, curled leaves with stems, made of metal, displayed outdoors on grass; 7 1/2x10; November, 1979.
McCracken 5: McCracken, head & shoulders, next to eagle sculpture on tall pedestal; 10 1/2x7; May, 1967.

Folder 5: Neil Meitzler
Meitzler 1: Meitzler, full figure, standing, surrounded by large rocks; 6 1/2x6 1/4; April, 1990.
Meitzler 2: Meitzler, head & torso, holding cat with cat painting on wall; 7x7; August, 1966.
Meitzler 3: Meitzler, full figure, seated on stool with cigarette, elbow on knee, in studio; 9x7 1/4; September, 1965.
Meitzler 4: Meitzler, 3/4 figure, profile, seated on rocks next to stream; 10 1/2x13; August, 1966.

Folder 6: George Tsutakawa
Tsutakawa 1: Fountain sculpture by Tsutakawa; 8 3/4x6; n.d.
Tsutakawa 2: Tsutakawa, 3/4 figure, on bended knee, in studio; 10 1/2x10 1/4; May, 1967.
Tsutakawa 3: Tsutakawa's desk with 3-D model of "Song of the Forest" fountain sculpture & drawings of same; 5x6 1/2; October, 1980.
Tsutakawa 4: Tsutakawa, full figure, standing with hand on "Song of the Forest" fountain sculpture outdoors; 9 1/2x5;
Tsutakawa 5: Tsutakawa, 3/4 figure, seated with cane with fountain sculpture in background; 7x6; October, 1989.

Folder 7: Robert Monroe and Richard Engeman
Monroe 1-3: Robert Monroe outside of Suzzallo Library. 1990
Monroe 4-5: Robert Monroe and Richard Engeman inside of Suzzallo Library. 1990

Oversize Folder(M237)
Misc. 1: Theodore Roethke reading; 10x13 1/2; July 18, 1963.
Misc. 2: John Wharton with art. 16 1/2 x 15. September 1971.
Misc. 3: Charles Smith in studio. 16 x 15 1/2. September 1971.
Misc. 4: Robert Maki. 15 1/2 x 15 1/2. September 1971.
Misc. 5: Everett du Pen in studio. September 1971. 16 x 15 1/2.
Misc. 6: Paul Jenkins. September 1971. 16 3/4 x 15 1/2.
Misc. 7: Christopher English. September 1971. 16 x 15 1/2.
Misc. 8: Norman Taylor in studio. September 1971. 16 x 15 1/2.
Misc. 9: Duane Pasco. September 1971. 16 x 15 1/2.
Misc. 10: Noguchi sculpture. Weatern Washington State College, Bellingham. November 1970. 13 x 19.

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