Richard A. Lawson collection of Fred Myers, 1910-1980.

ArchivalResource

Richard A. Lawson collection of Fred Myers, 1910-1980.

The Richard Lawson collection consists of the research material collected and text produced by Richard Lawson and George S. Mavigliano for their book Fred E. Myers: Wood-Carver. Fred Myers was a coal miner turned artistically revered wood carver and this collection reflects his extrodinary life and career. Included are a great many photographs of the carvings, including Myers' Lincoln, Jefferson, Plesiosaurus, Slave Chained to a Walnut, and Morris Library Lincoln. Other photographs include copies of Fred Myers' family photos, photos of friends of Myers and buildings relevant to the life of Fred Myers. The collection also holds galley proofs, handwritten and typed notes regarding the layout of the book, a draft of the post-script (which tells a complete anecdotal tale of the collection of material), book reviews of the Fred Myer's book, transcriptions of interviews with Ray Myers, Victor Randolph, and Thomas Hart Benton, and countless newspaper articles about Myers, about the book and about the sculptures themselves. The collection also includes a fair amount of correspondence, most between Richard Lawson regarding the book, but also a handful from Victor Randolph and Roscoe Pulliam to Fred Myers in reference to his work.

1.00 cu. ft.

Related Entities

There are 7 Entities related to this resource.

MAVIGLIANO, GEORGE J.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sj3370 (person)

Myers, Ray S., 1916-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6087p66 (person)

Myers, Fred E., 1910-1950

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c5533f (person)

Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67w6dp5 (person)

Thomas Hart Benton (April 15, 1889 – January 19, 1975) was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. The fluid, sculpted figures in his paintings showed everyday people in scenes of life in the United States. His work is strongly associated with the Midwestern United States, the region in which he was born and which he called home for most of his life. He also studied in Paris, lived in New York City f...

Pulliam, Roscoe, 1896-1944

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vt3989 (person)

Randolph, Victor R.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sr0hb7 (person)

Lawson, Richard A.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61279gg (person)

Fred E. Myers was a southern Illinois coal miner who found a true calling in the art of wood carving. An appendectomy made it impossible for him to work in the mines in 1938 so he took a job with the Works Progress Administration. Between 1939 and 1942 he worked carving prehistoric animals for dioramas for the Southern Illinois Normal Museum. Because of his already existing injuries, and a substantial hernia condition, he died at the young age of 39 while working on The Last Stand, which some sa...