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Phyllis Dearborn and Robert Massar photographs, 1943-1963

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Massar, Phyllis Dearborn
Title
Phyllis Dearborn and Robert Massar photographs
Dates
1943-1963 (inclusive)
Quantity
5950 negatives and prints (10 boxes and 5 drawers) ; 4 x 5 inches
382 color transparencies (2 boxes) ; 4 x 5 inches
Collection Number
PH0251
Summary
Photographs of Pacific Northwest architecture between 1943 and 1963
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

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Robert Massar and Phyllis Dearborn were professional architectural photographers in the Pacific Northwest from the 1940s through the 1960s. Originally from Seattle, Phyllis Dearborn was educated in the Liberal Arts at University of Washington, graduating in 1937. She studied photography at the Clarence H. White School of Photography and took courses taught by Ansel Adams at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Her architectural photography was influenced by the F/64 group of photographers. She was known for a sense of balance and exactness in the composition of her photographs. Dearborn also curated photographic exhibits in New York in the 1970s and was a published art historian. Robert J. Massar, originally from Mount Vernon, Washington, graduated from University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in Architecture in 1940. Professionally, the couple were known as Dearborn-Massar. They maintained homes in Seattle and New York for a number of years, photographing in the summer in the West and returning to New York City in the winter. Robert Massar died in June, 2002.

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Content Description

The collection contains photographic prints and transparencies of Northwest architecture, mostly homes and businesses, photographed by Robert Massar and Phyllis Dearborn. Their images represent the work of some of the most well known architects in the Northwest and document the development of a regional variant of Modernism, sometimes called the Northwest Contemporary style of architecture. Architects represented in the collection include Ralph Anderson, Pietro Belluschi, John Graham, J. Lister Holmes, Ellsworth P. Storey, Victor Steinbrueck, Roland Terry, and Paul Thiry. Images show exterior and interior views of the buildings.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the Special Collections for details.

Alternative Forms Available

View selections of the collection in digital format. This online database consists of over 1200 images of King County architecture selected from the Dearborn-Massar Photographs.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by last name of the architect.

Acquisition Information

Donor: Phyllis D. Massar, 1966.

Processing Note

Processed by Sarah Nelson in April 2004, and Solveig Ekenes in January 2006.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2007 (Last modified: 2/5/2020)

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