Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977

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Colorado author, artist, historian, and lecturer. Born April 3, 1898 Brooklyn, N.Y. Long-time resident of Colorado and art professor at University of Colorado. Died January 9, 1977 Boulder.

From the description of Papers, 1926-1976. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 14117123

Muriel Sibell Wolle was a renowned artist and writer who captured pictorially and in words the spirit of hundreds of old mining towns and mining camps in the American West. Her paintings and sketches are held by many institutions, including the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, which owns 30. Wolle was born in 1898 in Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, now Parsons School of Design, and New York University in 1920. She taught in New York and Texas before coming to CU-Boulder in 1926. She earned a Master's degree in Fine Arts there in 1930 and was on the Department of Fine Arts faculty from 1926 until her retirement in 1966. She served as department head from 1928 until 1947. Over her 40 years at CU, she won numerous awards, including designation by CU as one of three "Alumni of the Century" in 1976, the state's centennial year. In 1975 she received the Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities. Wolle became interested in old mining towns on a visit to Central City soon after her arrival in Colorado in 1926. An accomplished artist, she originally planned to record the historic ghost towns in drawings and paintings. In 1932 she expanded her activities to include the history of the towns as well. She visited some 250 mining towns and camps across Colorado, many on foot or on horseback. Interviews with many old-timers added interesting details to her accounts. Her first publication, Ghost Cities of Colorado, was released in 1933, and Cloud Cities of Colorado followed in 1934. Her most famous work, Stampede to Timberline, first released in 1949, has undergone many printings; a revised and enlarged edition was released in 1974. This work is a colorful record of mining in Colorado, with many sketches of what remains, or what used to be, in the towns covered. Wolle also included many anecdotes about her visits and personal searches for the stories behind the places illustrated and described in her publications. Her later books, The Bonanza Trail and Montana Pay Dirt, released in 1953 and 1963, respectively, brought her skills to bear on mining history beyond Colorado. Wolle died in her Boulder home in early 1977.

From the description of Ghost town drawings 1940-1975. (Denver Museum of Nature & Science). WorldCat record id: 69155658

Muriel Sibell (1898-1977) was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 3, 1898 and graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts in 1920 with diplomas in advertising and costume design. Her first teaching position was at the Texas State College for Women in Denton, Texas. In 1923, she returned to New York to teach as an instructor at the Parson School of Design until 1926. She received a B.S. in art education from NYU and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Colorado. She was the head of the Dept. of Fine Arts at the University of Colorado from 1927 to 1947. As an artist, her sketches and watercolors provide a record of the deserted mining towns and fast-disappearing communities of Colorado and the West. She became a nationally recognized author of books and articles on the history of the disappearing ghost towns which she also illustrated. She had a special interest in Southwestern Native American tribes and Native American artwork.

Muriel Sibell was also an important part of the theater community at the University of Colorado. She designed sets and costumes for many theater productions and preserved programs and photographs of these productions. In 1945, she married Francis Wolle, a professor of English at the University. They were members of St. Aidan's Church, and Muriel Sibell Wolle was very active in helping her husband after he became an ordained perpetual deacon of the Episcopal Church following his retirement in 1959. She was also active in numerous civic organizations and received many prizes and honors for her professional work. In 1947, she was chosen as the Research Lecturer for the University, the first woman to be so honored. In 1976, she was honored as the Alumni of the Century. Muriel Sibell Wolle died on January 9, 1977.

From the description of Muriel Sibell Wolle collection, 1898-1977. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122940663

Muriel Sibell Wolle was a renowned artist and writer who captured pictorially and in words the spirit of hundreds of old mining towns and mining camps in the American West. Her paintings and sketches are held by many institutions, including the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, which owns 30.

Wolle was born in 1898 in Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, now Parsons School of Design, and New York University in 1920. She taught in New York and Texas before coming to CU-Boulder in 1926. She earned a Master's degree in Fine Arts there in 1930 and was on the Department of Fine Arts faculty from 1926 until her retirement in 1966. She served as department head from 1928 until 1947. Over her 40 years at CU, she won numerous awards, including designation by CU as one of three "Alumni of the Century" in 1976, the state's centennial year. In 1975 she received the Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities.

Wolle became interested in old mining towns on a visit to Central City soon after her arrival in Colorado in 1926. An accomplished artist, she originally planned to record the historic ghost towns in drawings and paintings. In 1932 she expanded her activities to include the history of the towns as well. She visited some 250 mining towns and camps across Colorado, many on foot or on horseback. Interviews with many old-timers added interesting details to her accounts. Her first publication, Ghost Cities of Colorado, was released in 1933, and Cloud Cities of Colorado followed in 1934. Her most famous work, Stampede to Timberline, first released in 1949, has undergone many printings; a revised and enlarged edition was released in 1974. This work is a colorful record of mining in Colorado, with many sketches of what remains, or what used to be, in the towns covered. Wolle also included many anecdotes about her visits and personal searches for the stories behind the places illustrated and described in her publications. Her later books, The Bonanza Trail and Montana Pay Dirt, released in 1953 and 1963, respectively, brought her skills to bear on mining history beyond Colorado.

Wolle died in her Boulder home in early 1977.

From the guide to the Ghost Town Drawings, 1940-1975, (Denver Museum of Nature & Science)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Palmer Lake Station [art original] Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Art Association of Boulder (Boulder, Colo.). Art Association of Boulder, Clippings scrapbook. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. [Interior of church at Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico] [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn University of Colorado, Boulder. University Newspaper clippings 1932-1938. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Ghost Town Drawings, 1940-1975 Denver Museum of Nature and Science,
creatorOf Anderson, Howard J. Mrs.,. Ambrotypes and tintypes. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Muriel Sibell Wolle collection, 1898-1977. University of Colorado, Boulder
creatorOf Wilder, Eugene. Papers, 1863, 1866. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn Wolle, Francis, 1889-1979. Francis Wolle collection, 1917-1979. University of Colorado, Boulder
referencedIn Francis Wolle Collection, 1917-1979 University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Archives Dept.
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Gregory diggings [graphic] Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Boulder County (Colo.) mining camps 1950. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Muriel Sibell Wolle Collection, 1898-1977, 1922-1977 University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Archives Dept.
referencedIn Meux, Gwendolyn Dufill, 1893-1973. Muriel Sibell Wolle [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn Boulder Daily Camera. Focus Magazine 1966 March 20. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Wolle, Francis, Dr., 1889-. Oral history 13 May, 1977. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Gregory diggings [graphic] Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Victorian Hotel [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Papers, 1926-1976. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Cemetery [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Church at Chimayo [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Rancho Church, New Mexico [original print] Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Holland, camp [graphic] Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Art Association of Boulder (Boulder, Colo.). Art Association of Boulder scrapbook. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. [Churches] [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn Unknown,. Christmas card collection, 1918-2009 1918-1951. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Gregory diggings [graphic] / photo by M.S. Wolle. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Carbonate shaft house (12 miles north of Glenwood Springs) [graphic] / photo by M.S. Wolle. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn Boulder Daily Camera. Clip art portraits R-V. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Truchas store [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn Robb, Susan. Francis and Muriel Wolle biographical articles 1972, 1976. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Newspaper cartoons from Dec. 7, 1941-Aug. 1945 on World war II / M.V. Sibell. University of Colorado, Boulder
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Ghost town drawings 1940-1975. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Alfred M. Bailey Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Church of St. Francis [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
referencedIn Revealing Our Routes : women of Boulder County. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Nativity Church [art original]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Gold Dirt [graphic] / photo by M.S. Wolle. Denver Public Library, Central Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Art Association of Boulder (Boulder, Colo.) corporateBody
associatedWith Art Association of Boulder (Boulder, Colo.) corporateBody
associatedWith Boulder Daily Camera. corporateBody
associatedWith Boulder Daily Camera. corporateBody
associatedWith Denver Public Library. Western History/Genealogy Dept. corporateBody
associatedWith Francis Wolle person
associatedWith Francis Wolle, February 1977 person
associatedWith Meux, Gwendolyn Dufill, 1893-1973. person
associatedWith University of Colorado, Boulder. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Colorado Libraries. Archives Dept. corporateBody
associatedWith Wilder, Eugene. person
associatedWith Wolle, Francis, 1889-1979. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Chimayo (N.M.)
Colorado
North America
New Mexico
New Mexico
Holland (Colo.)
Colorado--Boulder County
Colorado
Gilpin County (Colo.)
Gold Dirt Mine (Gilpin County, Colo.)
West (U.S.)
New Mexico--Taos
Taos (N.M.)
Central City (Colo.)
Colorado--Boulder
Colorado
Central City (Colo.)
Ranchos de Taos (N.M.)
Central City (Colo.)
West (U.S.)
Colorado
Palmer Lake (Colo.)
Carbonate (Colo.)
Colorado--Boulder
Truchas (N.M.)
Subject
Abandoned buildings
Abandoned mines
Women authors, American
Building deterioration
Catholic church buildings
Catholic church buildings
Cemeteries
Church buildings
Church buildings
Church buildings in art
Church buildings in art
Ghost towns
Ghost towns
Ghost towns
Hotels in art
Indian art
Indians of North America
Laguna Indians
Lithography, American
Log cabins
Mills and mill-work in art
Mine buildings
Miners
Mines and mineral resources
Mining
Mining camps
Painting, American
Ruins
Set designers
Storefronts in art
Tailings embankments
Theaters
Watercolor painting, American
Women artists
Women costume designers
Work camps
World War, 1939-1945
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1898-04-03

Death 1977

Americans

English

Information

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SNAC ID: 45673791