Guide to the Elizabeth "Betty" Voelker, Papers and Photographs 1954-2000
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Elizabeth "Betty" Voelker, Papers and Photographs
- Creator
- Voelker, Elizabeth
- Collection Number
- MSS 0611
- Extent
- 1 linear feet (1box)
- Date
- 1954-2000
- Abstract
- Elizabeth Voelker was an internationally known artist and colorist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who received her B.F.A. in 1953 from Carnegie Institute of Technology ( today known as Carnegie Mellon University). Voelker's works consist primarily of abstract nature paintings and formal abstracted collages. Her art is featured in several American art galleries, such as the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., and she received several international grants and residencies. The collection contains numerous slides and several small prints of her artwork, as well as a biographical timeline written by Voelker and news clippings concerning her life and death.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
Elizabeth Voelker was born in 1931 in the East End of Pittsburgh, PA, one of three children. She received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in 1953 from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, now Carnegie Mellon University. Voelker moved to San Francisco in 1958, and was a lecturer for museums in California and the University of California from 1972 to 1987. Among her achievements, Voelker received three grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation Grant to the Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Lake Como, Italy, and residences at the Djerassi Foundation in California, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She received international recognition for her work in places like the American Academy in Rome, and sixteen pieces of her art were selected for the U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies Program as a presentation of American art abroad. Voelker's art has been purchased by a number of public museums in the U.S. including the National Museum of American Art in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Carnegie Institute Art Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. Voelker's artwork is associated with the Addison/Ripley Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Cantor/Lemberg Gallery in Michigan, and Gallery 30 in San Mateo, CA.
Scope and Content Notes
The Elizabeth Voelker Papers and Photographs consist of two folders which contain annotated prints of her artwork from 1983 through 1987 and two large binders which contain roughly 500 annotated 35mm slides of Voelker's artwork. There is also a timeline of her education as well as a list of galleries in which her art is featured, and awards, grants, and fellowships given over the course of her career. There are also copies of newspaper articles concerning her death and a news review concerning a museum acquisition of one of Voelker's paintings. The San Mateo Times discusses Voelker's life and achievements in light of receiving one of her pieces at the San Jose Museum of Art.
Conditions Governing Access
None
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Richard Voelker in 2010.
Archives accession # 2010.0222
Preferred Citation
Elizabeth "Betty" Voelker, Papers and Photographs, 1954-2000, MSS 0611, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Sarah Ecklund on 10/13/2011.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Subjects
- Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.)
- Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- National Museum of American Art (Washington, D.C.)
- Art, Modern--20th century
- Women painters