Guide to the Papers of the Hetzel-Kantner Families, 1904-1978
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Papers of the Hetzel-Kantner Families
- Creator
- Hetzel-Kantner Families
- Collection Number
- MFF#127
- Extent
- .20 cubic feet (4 folders)
- Date
- 1904-1978
- Abstract
- Lila B. Hetzel and her daughter, Dorothy Hetzel Kantner, were well-known figures in the Pittsburgh art community throughout the twentieth century. These papers include correspondence, photographs, newsclippings, and certificates documenting Lila Hetzel's art career and Dorothy Hetzel Kantner's career as a journalist.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Biographical Sketch of the Hetzel-Kantner Families
Lila B. Hetzel and her daughter, Dorothy Hetzel Kantner, were well-known figures in the Pittsburgh art community throughout the twentieth century. Lila Barr Hetzel, daughter of prominent Pittsburgh artist George Hetzel and Marie Louise Siegrist Hetzel, was born on October 23, 1873 in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Edgewood. Against her father's wishes, she pursued an art career, studying at the Pittsburgh School of Design with Martin B. Leisser and D. B. Walkley. Eventually her father accepted her vocational choice, but due to his early refusal to teach her, she developed a painting style quite unlike his. In 1898, she moved with her parents and two brothers to a house near Somerset (Somerset County, Pa.) that became known as the Hetzel Studio. At that time, and in the years following, Somerset was developing into a summer art colony.
She married William H. Kantner, a resident of Somerset, in 1904. This short-lived marriage produced one daughter, Dorothy Hetzel Kantner, born in 1906. After her separation from William Kantner, Lila returned with her daughter to Pittsburgh, where she established a studio in the Apollo Building on Fourth Avenue. She was a charter member and treasurer of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, founded in 1910. She supported herself and her young daughter solely by giving lessons and selling her work. At the outbreak of World War I, Lila and Dorothy returned to Somerset, where Lila reopened the Hetzel Studio. She gave private lessons and in 1939, she opened the Somerset Art School. Her work was exhibited at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh Playhouse, the Arts and Crafts Center of Pittsburgh (now Pittsburgh Center for the Arts), Gillespie Galleries, Westmoreland County Museum of Art, and the Jennerstown Art Gallery. In her later years, Lila spent her winters in Pittsburgh and the remainder of the year in Somerset. Lila Hetzel died on June 4, 1967 in Somerset and is buried in Homewood Cemetery.
Dorothy Hetzel Kantner spent most of her formative years in Somerset, but had little contact with her father until she was eighteen and wanted to go to college. Her father agreed to finance her education at Margaret Morrison College (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1928. Although she could not escape an interest in art, and studied under both her mother and Samuel Rosenberg, she opted for a career in journalism. After graduation, she worked for several years as publicity secretary in the fine arts department of the Carnegie Institute under fine arts director Homer Saint-Gaudens and assistant director John O'Connor, Jr. In 1935, she joined the staff of the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph as art critic and reporter. From 1940 until 1943, she edited the Carnegie Alumnus Magazine, a quarterly publication of the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) Alumni Association. She rejoined the Sun-Telegraph in 1945 as feature writer, education writer, and art critic and remained in that position through the Post-Gazette's purchase of the Sun-Telegraph in 1960. In 1961, when the Post-Gazette discontinued publication of a Sunday newspaper and reduced staff, Dorothy Kantner retired and returned to Somerset.
Throughout her career, Dorothy was published elsewhere and from 1940 until 1947, edited The Mountaineer, published by the Somerset Art Association and the Somerset Public Library. She was active in various press clubs, including the Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh and The Pennsylvania Women's Press Association, and won several awards, most notably the Pennsylvania Newspaper Woman of the Year in 1960. After her retirement, she wrote special features and a weekly column, "Rutchin' Around," for the Somerset Daily American. She remained active in the Somerset art community, opening a memorial gallery in the Hetzel Studio, and arranged several retrospective exhibits of her mother's work. She died in Somerset on July 4, 1977.
Scope and Content Notes
These papers include correspondence, photographs, news clippings, and certificates documenting Lila Hetzel's art career and Dorothy Hetzel Kantner's career as a journalist. Included with Lila Hetzel's materials are her marriage certificate, will, writings, and exhibition materials. Of particular note is a letter from Patricia Nixon regarding a Lila Hetzel painting that was purchased by Somerset residents for then Vice President Richard Nixon in 1954. The news clippings include articles on the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Lila's artwork and exhibits, and obituaries after her death. Dorothy Kantner's correspondence primarily consists of inquiries about her grandfather and mother's work, congratulatory letters for awards she won, and genealogical queries. Also included are awards and a small amount of genealogical material, including family charts. The news clippings include articles both by and about her, documenting her career and the art world's interest in George Hetzel's and Lila Hetzel's work. These papers provide considerable insight into the Pittsburgh and Somerset art communities, but little information on the personal lives of Lila Hetzel and Dorothy Hetzel Kantner.
Arrangement
The Hetzel-Kantner Families Papers are housed in four archival folders and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials were received in one accession in 1978.
Acc# 78.132 Gift of Katharine H. Kiernan, (Papers. Ms. Kiernan was Dorothy Kantner's first cousin).
Preferred Citation
Papers of the Hetzel-Kiernan, Families, 1904-1978, MFF# 127, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Donald L. Haggerty in April 1988. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Susan J. Illis on May 20, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on June 2, 2001.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Hetzel-Kantner Families
- Hetzel, George (c1826-1900)
- Mesta, Perle (c1890-1975)
- Kantner, Dorothy Hetzel (1906-1977)
- Hetzel, Lila (1873-1967)
- Somerset (Somerset County, Pa.) -- Social Life and Customs
- Art -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Art -- Pennsylvania -- Somerset
- Artists -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Artists -- Pennsylvania -- Somerset
- Artists Studios -- Pennsylvania -- Somerset
- Journalists -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh