Guy Anderson (1906-1998) was an American artist and painter who grew up in Edmonds, Washington. Together with Morris Graves, Mark Tobey and Kenneth Callahan, Anderson was a key figure in the Northwest School of art: these four individuals rose to national prominence following a September 1954 LIFE magazine article heralding them as the "Mystic painters of the Northwest". A close friend of Morris Graves, Anderson lived and worked primarily in Washington State, and resided permanently in La Conner, Washington from 1959 onwards (see bibliography for additional resources about Anderson's life and career).
Dorothy Schumacher was a friend of Guy Anderson and Morris Graves - she maintained extensive correspondence with Graves in particular that became part of the Guy Anderson Collection and Estate.
This collection comprises digital copies of original correspondence from the archival papers of Northwest painter Guy Anderson. The collection includes extensive letters to or from Anderson's friends and fellow artists including Morris Graves.
Collection materials were loaned to Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections for digitization purposes (and digital copies donated to Western Washington University) by Deryl Walls.
University of Washington Libraries' Special Collections houses an additional collection of
Guy Anderson Papers and oral history interview. The Smithsonian's Archives of American Art
houses an oral history interview with Guy Anderson conducted by Martha Kingsbury in 1983
(transcript is available online at
This collection is open to the public, though digital files are still subject to processing (contact repository for more information or to request access).
Copyright may still apply for most materials in this collection.
Contents of Binder 1 (Letters to Guy Anderson) were digitized as part of a collaborative
grant funded project supported by the Washington State Library: the majority of these
letters can be viewed online as part of the "Northwest School Art Collection" on the
Washington Rural Heritage Project website:
[Item], [date], Guy Anderson Digital Collection, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University.
Work to digitize these materials and create metadata performed by: Sarah Nelson Smith, Samantha Wu Rose, Ruth Baacke and CPNWS staff.
In addition to this guide, some preliminary object/item-level description has been created for the contents of Binders 2-9 (Binder 1 content is available online via the Washington Rural Heritage Project website). Preliminary inventories can be shared on request - please contact the repository for more information.
To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and
teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialog on this topic), see our
Material in this collection was scanned from original items maintained in binders: digital images in this collection reflect the organization of the originals, and are not necessarily in chronological order.
Additional biographical history about Guy Anderson is presented on HistoryLink.org article
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The majority of content from the "Letters to Guy Anderson" Binder is available online
via the Washington Rural Heritage Project website (part of the Northwest School of Art
Collection):
76 digitized objects, 201 files. The original materials scanned from a white binder containing correspondence sent to Guy Anderson. Correspondents include: Charles Krafft, Morris Graves, Tom Robbins, Paul Dahlquist, Hilda Morris, Walter Mondale, John Keonig, Dorothy Schumacker, Victor Stienbeck, Governor John Spellman (re: 1983 Governor's Arts Award). Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA0001-GA0076
62 digital objects (226 tiff image files). Scanned from original correspondence maintained in a binder labelled "Dorothy's Letters Vol. 1". These digital images include copies of a small number of letters from Schumacher to Morris Graves. The majority are copies of letters from correspondents including Jan Thompson, Sam Levinson, the Seattle Art Museum (re: Graves and Anderson exhibitions), and Schumacher's sister (Elizabeth Brandon). Some originals suffered water damage years prior to their loan and digitization (impacting the quality/clarity of digital copies).
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request.
Item-level image identifiers/filenames: ga0077 –ga0138.
30 digital objects (145 tiff image files). Scanned from original correspondence maintained in a binder labelled "Dorothy's Letters (Vol 2.). Includes incoming correspondence to Schumacher from Ward Corley, Morris Graves, Richard Gilkey, and Rhayma Rodgers. Some originals suffered water damage years prior to their loan and digitization (impacting the quality/clarity of digital copies).
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request. Item-level image identifiers/filenames: ga00139 – ga00168.
34 digital objects (176 tiff image files). Scanned from original correspondence maintained in a binder labelled "Dorothy's Letters (Vol 3). Includes mostly incoming letters to Schumacher, also some from Schumacher to Morris Graves. Includes item noted "Guggenheim Application, Dec. 1945 Morris Graves".
Some originals suffered water damage years prior to their loan and digitization (impacting the quality/clarity of digital copies).
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request. Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00169-GA00202
15 digital objects (97 tiff image files). Scanned from original material maintained in a binder labelled "Dorothy's Letters Vol 4 to Jan T:, this contains letters from Schumacher to Jan Thompson, written from St. Ives/Southhampton, England and Inish Beg, Ireland
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request. Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00203 – GA00217
38 digital objects (138 tiff image files). Scanned from originals maintained in a binder labelled "M. Graves Letters Vol 1". These comprise letters to Schumacher, mostly from Morris Graves.
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request. Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00218-GA00255
28 digital objects (146 tiff image files). Scanned from originals maintained in a binder labelled "M. Graves Letters Vol 2". These comprise incoming correspondence to Schumacher, the majority from Morris Graves, and including letters from Graves' confinement during World War II as a conscientious objector.
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request. Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00256 -GA00283
33 digital objects (169 tiff image files). Scanned from originals maintained in binder labelled "M. Graves Letters Vol 3", and comprising letters to Schumacher from Morris Graves. These include an post-dated March 21 1946 with the notation "waiting for Guggenheim decision".
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request. Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00284 – GA00316
28 digital objects (107 tiff image files). Scanned from originals maintained in binder labelled "M. Graves Letters Vol 4", and comprising letters to Schumacher from Morris Graves (including some written from Ireland).
Preliminary object-level description is on file at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and available on request. Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00317 – GA00344
18 digital objects (116 tiff image files). Scanned from originals maintained in a binder labelled "M. Graves Letters Vol 5" and comprising letters to Schumacher from Morris Graves.
Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00345-GA00362
22 digital objects (136 tiff image files). Scanned from originals maintained in a binder labelled "M. Graves Letters Vol 6" and comprising letters to Schumacher from Morris Graves and/or Richard Svare (including from Ireland).
Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00363-GA00384
54 objects (64 tiff image files). Scanned from original photographs maintained in a binder – most are black and white prints, with a small number of color print. Although many images are without identification, some are apparently of Graves' residences. The binder includes two letters from Paul Kirk of Chiarelli & Kirk Architcts re: request for portfolio drawings. Other identifications identify images of the "The Rock" (Graves house by Lake Campbell), "Chateau Graves" (France residence, 1955) "Cavanagh House, 1720 Georgian, for rent", Dorothy Schumacher at LaConner.
Item-level image identifiers/filenames: GA00385-GA00439