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Judith and Jan Zach papers, 1937-2002

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Zach, Jan, 1914-1986
Title
Judith and Jan Zach papers
Dates
1937-2002 (inclusive)
Quantity
26 linear feet, (50 boxes)
Collection Number
WUA084
Summary
The Judith and Jan Zach papers contain biographical information about sculpture artist Jan Zach, photographs of Zach's sculptures, and publications by and about Zach.
Repository
Willamette University Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Mark O. Hatfield Library
900 State Street
Salem, OR
97301
Telephone: 5033706866
Fax: 5033706141
archives@willamette.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open to researchers.

Languages
English, Czech, English, Portuguese
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Biographical Note

Jan Zach, the youngest of sixteen children, was born July 27, 1914 in Staný, Czechoslovakia. He attended the Superior School of Industrial Arts from 1932 to 1934 and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 1934 to 1938. Zach studied painting and sculpture, his greatest inspiration being the illuminated kinetic sculptures of Zdeněk Pešánek.

In December 1938, Zach travelled to New York to decorate the Czechoslovakian pavilion at the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York. A few weeks before the Fair opened, the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia and Zach was one of many unable to return home. Zach remained in the United States until April 1940 when he moved to Rio de Janeiro for a two-week free lance assignment. His charge was to create a report on the industrial development of Brazil and the Bat'a Shoe Company. Zach completed his assignment and remained in Brazil for eleven years.

During his time in Brazil, Zach continued to study sculpture. He also exhibited paintings at the National Museum of Fine Arts in 1943 and the Institute of Brazilian Architects in 1948. He also met Judith Ella Monk, a Canadian working for the United Nations. Jan and Judith married in 1947. In 1951, they left Brazil for Victoria B.C. where Zach opened a school of painting and sculpture.

In 1958, Zach joined the faculty at the University of Oregon. He taught there until his retirement in 1979. While in Oregon, Zach's sculpture commissions included Drapery of Memory in the Oregon state capitol, Prometheus at the University of Oregon Museum of Art, Flower of Freedom #1 near New Orleans, Louisiana, and Galaxy at the Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington. Zach used a wide range of media to create his sculptures including sand, cement, cast iron, stainless steel, and wood.

In addition to his sculpture, Zach designed stage sets and costumes for the Original Ballet Russe in Sao Paulo, Brazil and wrote articles for the art magazine Leonardo. Awards he received include a Fulbright Travel Grant, the Eugene Arts and Letters Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant for a Sculpture Symposium, and a 1964 award from the Oregon Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Zach continued to sculpt until his death in 1986. His final, uncompleted work, Lady, was completed in 1996 by former student, Jerry Harpster.

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Content Description

The Judith and Jan Zach papers consist of correspondence, photographs, biographical information and publications related to sculpture artist Jan Zach. Judith and Jan Zach correspondence focuses on Zach's artwork including commissions for his work and the establishment of the Jan Zach trust. The bulk of the photographic material are photographs of Zach's sculptures. Also included are photographs taken during his time in Brazil, Czechoslovakia and Canada. Documentation of Zach's involvement with the National Sculpture Center and the National Sculpture Conference can be found in correspondence and subject files.

These papers also contain publications by and about Zach as well as various art publications that Zach kept in his personal library.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.

For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.

Copyright Information: Before material from collections at Willamette University Archives and Special Collections may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in any collections held by University Archives and Special Collections should consult the University Archivist. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Judith and Jan Zach papers, Archives and Special Collections, Mark O. Hatfield Library, Willamette University.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into six series: I. Correspondence, II. Photographs, III. Artwork, IV. Subject Files, V. National Sculpture Center and VI. Publications.

Location of Collection

Mark O. Hatfield Library

Acquisition Information

Materials in this collection were initially given to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, then transferred to the Willamette University Archives and Special Collections. These papers are part of the Pacific Northwest Artists Archive.

Processing Note

This collection was processed at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art by Karly Schubothe under the direction of Faculty Curator and Art History professor, Roger Hull.

Related Materials

Related collections include the Roger Hull Research Files on Pacific Northwest Artists and the Bill Rhoades Northwest Art Archive.

Bibliography

Hull, Roger. Intersections: The Life and Art of Jan Zach. Willamette University. Distributed by the University of Washington Press. 2003. Hull, Roger. "Jan Zach (1914-1986) The Oregon Encyclopedia. https://web.archive.org/web/20150221035034/http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/zach_jan_1914_1986_/#.VQMRTY7F98E Zach, Jan. "Imagery, Light and Motion in My Sculptures." Leonardo 3 (1970): 265-287. Zach, Jan. "My Sculpture 'Galaxy'." Leonardo 13 (1980): 315-316.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Arts--Northwest, Pacific
  • Fine Arts
  • New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.)
  • sculpture (visual work)
  • sculpture (visual work)

Personal Names

  • Behl, Wolfgang
  • Fiala, Jaromír, 1892-1967
  • Griffin, Tommy
  • Kysela, Frantisek, 1881-1941
  • Masaryk, T. G. (Tomáš Garrigue), 1850-1937
  • Mayhew, Elza
  • McAllister, Ken
  • Moore, Henry, 1898-1986
  • Nejedlý, Otakar, 1883-1957
  • Pešánek, Zdeněk, 1896-1965
  • Prauda, Bob
  • Siebner, Herbert
  • Zach, Judith

Corporate Names

  • Century 21 Exposition (1962 : Seattle, Wash.)
  • International Sculpture Center
  • National Sculpture Center (U.S.)
  • National Sculpture Conference
  • University of Kansas

Geographical Names

  • Bellingham (Wash.)
  • Brazil
  • Czechoslovakia
  • Elmira (Or.)
  • Eugene (Or.)
  • Vancouver (B.C.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • design drawings

Finding aid processed by Ashley Toutain.
2015

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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