The Cleveland Museum of Art archives is happy to announce the availability of two special research collections from renowned artists John Taylor Arms and Mabel Hewit. Each offers researchers the opportunity to discover the artists from
a unique perspective through the use of primary source materials. Former curator of Prints, Jane Glaubinger, used both collections while researching the exhibitions
Modern Gothic: The Etchings of John Taylor Arms and
Midwest Modern: The Color Woodcuts of Mabel Hewit.
John Taylor Arms (1887-1953) is considered one of the foremost American printmakers of the first half of the 20th century. He kept prolific diaries, nearly continuously maintaining daily entries for the last 30 years of his life.
He also recorded his life through photographs; documenting his time in the navy, family vacations, fishing trips, and professional activities. The collection includes bound manuscript diaries, photographs, documents, and an unpublished catalog raisonné of
his work.
Born in Conneaut, Ohio and raised in Youngstown, Mabel Amelia Hewit (1903-1984) lived in Cleveland the last 50 years of her life and exhibited works every year from 1935 to 1956 in the museum’s May Show, an annual exhibition for regional
artists. Influenced by Precisionism, Cubism, and Art Deco, Hewit experimented with modernist ideas, producing charming color woodcuts in a contemporary style. She also printed woodblocks on fabric and created lithographs, watercolors, ceramics, and enamels
on metal. She learned the white-line color woodcut method from its most famous practitioner, Blanche Lazzell. Hewit explored and perfected this technique throughout her long career.
The collection is comprised of two bound scrapbooks containing correspondence, catalogs, newspaper clippings, and awards that document her career and interactions with regional arts communities. One pertains to Cleveland, most notable
the museum’s May Show, while the other scrapbook focuses on both local and national art exhibitions.
These collections are available for use in the Ingalls Library. Appointments are encouraged and can be made by contacting archives staff at
[log in to unmask].
Leslie Cade
Interim Director of Library and Archives
The Cleveland Museum of Art
11150 East Boulevard
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1797
T 216-707-2492
F 216-421-0921
www.ClevelandArt.org