The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Collecting area: Women

 Feuchtenberger, Anke 

Anke Feuchtenberger Art Collection

ca. 1990s-2000s
4 OS folders
Call no.: MS 1208

Born in 1963, Feuchtenberger was raised in East Berlin, where she trained as a graphic artist at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee. Shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, motivated by the East German citizens’ movement, she co-founded the political artists’ collective PGH Gluhende Zukunft—a group that ironically called itself the “Glowing Future Productive Collective.” In her comics, theater and political posters, and other works, Feuchtenberger blends different artistic traditions, including German Expressionism. Her work frequently reflects her feminist activism by focusing on the relationship between women and their children and society. Since 1997, she has taught drawing and media illustration at the Academy of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, Germany.  

The works included in this collection were part of the first major solo exhibition of Feuchtenberger in the U.S. curated by UMass MFA student Bibiana Medkova and on display at the Olver Design Building in 2018. The collection itself was donated by German Filmmaker Jörg Foth. Both Foth and Feuchtenberger were active in the art scene at the time of German reunification and their work occasionally overlapped. For example, Feuchtenberger created film posters as well as art for the opening titles, closing credits, and intertitles for Foth’s 1994 film, Tir na nOg. The works in this collection reflect Feuchtenberger’s printing oeuvre for theaters, plays, and films during the 1990-2000s with a focus on works in color, and including a selection of black and white drawings and political artwork of the post-Berlin-Wall pre-unified Germany era.

Gift of Jörg Foth, 2019.

Subjects

Artists--Germany (East)Artwork--Germany (East)
Abramson, Doris E.

Doris E. Abramson Papers

ca.1930-2007
25 linear feet
Call no.: FS 127
Depiction of Doris Abramson
Doris Abramson

After earning her masters degree from Smith College in 1951, Doris Abramson (class of 1949) returned to UMass in 1953 to become instructor in the English Department, remaining at her alma mater through a long and productive career. An historian of theatre and poet, she was a founding member of the Speech Department, Theatre Department, and the Massachusetts Review. In 1959, a Danforth grant helped Abramson pursue doctoral work at Columbia. Published in 1969, her dissertation, Negro Playwrights in the American Theatre, 1925-1969, was a pioneering work in the field. After her retirement, she and her partner of more than 40 years, Dorothy Johnson, ran the Common Reader Bookshop in New Salem.
An extensive collection covering her entire career, Abramson’s papers are a valuable record of the performing arts at UMass, her research on African American playwrights, her teaching and directing, and many other topics relating to her diverse interests in literature and the arts.

Gift of Dorothy Johnson, Apr. 2008

Subjects

African-American theaterPoets--MassachusettsUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--FacultyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of Theater

Contributors

Abramson, Doris E.
Aczel, Olga Gyarmati

Olga Gyarmati Aczel Collection

1948-1987
2 boxes 0.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 803
Depiction of Olga Gyarmati, 1948
Olga Gyarmati, 1948

Olga Gyarmati was one of the most successful and popular athletes in post-war Hungary. A multiple national champion in sprint and jumping events, Gyarmati represented her country in three Olympic games, winning gold in the inaugural women’s long jump competition in 1948. Gyarmati fled Hungary with her husband, the novelist Tamas Aczel, during the 1956 revolution, eventually settling in Hadley, Mass., in 1966 when Tamas joined the faculty at UMass Amherst.

The Aczel collection includes a small quantity of material relating primarily to Olga Gyarmati’s athletic career and particularly to her participation in the 1948 Olympics. Included are the gold medal awarded to her at the London games along with the printed certificate; a silver box commemorating her victory, presented to her by the Hungarian Workers’ Party; a scrapbook and two photograph albums; and a landscape painting done by Gyarmati in later life.

Gift of Maryellen Beturney, Dec. 2013

Subjects

Aczel, TamasOlympic athletes--Hungary

Types of material

MedalsPhotographsScrapbooks
Allen, Frances and Mary

Frances and Mary Allen Collection of Deerfield Photographs

1900-1910
1 vol. 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: PH 001
Depiction of Deerfield, Mass.
Deerfield, Mass.

Influenced by the arts and crafts movement, Frances and Mary Allen began taking photographs of their native Deerfield, Mass., in the mid-1880s. Displaying a finely honed pictorialist aesthetic, the sisters specialized in views of Deerfield and surrounding towns, posed genre scenes of life in colonial times, and the local scenery, earning a reputation as among the best women photographers of the period.
The Allen sisters photograph album contains ten gelatin developing out prints of street scenes in Deerfield, ca.1900-1910. Among these are two shots of the house they inherited from their aunt Kate in 1895, which thereafter became their home and studio.

Subjects

Deerfield (Mass.)--PhotographsWomen photographers--Massachusetts

Contributors

Allen, FrancesAllen, Mary E. (Mary Electa), 1858-1941

Types of material

Photographs
Allison, John R.

John Russell Allison and Marion Sellers Allison Papers

1941-2018 Bulk: 1942-1952
4 boxes 3 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1117

In August 1945, U. S. Army second lieutenant John R. “Jack” Allison was on a troop ship headed for the final invasion of Japan. By the time he arrived, the war had ended. Allison, a native of Ontario and the main provider of his family since he lost his father at 18, had immigrated to Evanston, Ill., in 1933. While taking evening classes at Northwestern University, he worked in a bank, rising from courier to internal auditor, before leaving for the printing firm R.R. Donnelley. He married Marion Sellers, formerly of Missouri, in 1942. When World War II began, Allison enlisted in the army. In Japan, with the war over, he became part of the American Occupation under General Douglas MacArthur, helping in a series of roles to rebuild and stabilize the Japanese economy. Eventually, he became director of finance, supervising the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Central Bank of Japan. Marion and their three-year-old daughter, Jacqueline, joined him in Japan in 1947. While there, Marion studied the Japanese language, visited museums, learned crafts, taught English to new Japanese friends and acquaintances, and had two more children. After the family returned to the U.S. in 1951, the Allisons had another two children.

The Allison Papers richly document the family’s experience of American-occupied Japan from their different perspectives, one as a member of military and government operations, the other as a parent raising children and immersing herself in the culture. The collection includes materials from Jack Allison’s military service and work and letters written by Marion, mostly to her parents, along with two photograph albums, a scrapbook, and family histories in print and audiovisual form.

Gift of Jacqueline A. Osborne, March 2020
Language(s): Japanese

Subjects

Japan--Description and travelJapan--Economic conditions--1945-1989Japan--History--Allied occupation, 1945-1952World War, 1939-1945

Types of material

Administrative reportsLetters (Correspondence)Photograph albumsPhotographsScrapbooks
Amelia Earhart’s Underground Flying Society

Amelia Earhart’s Underground Flying Society Records

1986-2000
1 box 0.2 linear feet
Call no.: MS 940
logo
Amelia Earhart’s Underground Flying Society logo

Amelia Earhart’s Underground Flying Society, (a.k.a. the Amelia’s) was a lesbian social club based out of Lebanon, N.H., serving the Upper Valley area of Vermont and New Hampshire, and beyond. Reachable via an unnamed post-office box, the club began in 1979 and provided members not only with much sought after social, leisure, and entertainment opportunities, but also a unique community of peers for discussion and activities around political, educational, health, and legal issues of importance to women and lesbians. Like their famous namesake, the Amelia’s did not shy away from risks in supporting women, the feminist movement, or actions promoting and educating about lesbians. The group often overlapped with feminist and lesbian print shop and publishing company, New Victoria Press, and the Amelia’s often used the New Vic building for their meetings.

The Amelia Earhart’s Underground Flying Society Records consist of over 25 issues of the “Amelia’s Newsletter” from 1986-2000; two clippings covering news related to the group, including the repeated vandalization of their “Upper Valley Lesbians” Adopt-A-Highway Program sign; a 1994 audiocassette of interviews for an oral history of the Amelia’s; and a VHS tape of a community event held in 2003 to reflect on the women’s movement in the Upper Valley in the 1970s and 1980s. The newsletter offers detailed documentation of the group and their concerns, including calendars of their social gatherings and other local, regional, and national events of interest, and recaps of relevant news to the lesbian community including updates about politics, legal issues, civil rights and benefits, marriage, discrimination cases, women’s health, education and school issues, and lesbian focused social and entertainment events.

Subjects

Feminism--New England--HistoryLesbian community--New EnglandLesbian community--New HampshireLesbian community--Vermont

Contributors

Dingman, Beth

Types of material

AudiocassettesNewslettersVHS
Anne Wiley Collection

Anne Wiley Collection

1976-2014 Bulk: 1985-2005
9 boxes 4 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1198
Anne Wiley

Anne Wiley, a lifelong feminist, taught women’s studies and psychology at Greenfield Community College (GCC) for over 40 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from LeMoyne College in Syracuse New York in June 1971, her MA in education at the State University of New York in 1975, and her PhD in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1993. From 1977 to 2013 she was a full time Gender and Women’s Studies and Psychology professor at GCC. She strove to make the curriculum more inclusive and received several grants in order to fund projects to this end such as GCC’s Women’s Resource Center and the Gender and Women’s Studies program. She also coordinated the Women’s Reentry Program for three years and helped organize the New England Women’s Studies Conference. She was also an adjunct professor at Keene State College. She has published many articles in feminist publications and the journal Women’s Studies Quarterly and was a member of the board and president of the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NWLCWIT). When she retired from full-time teaching in 2013, she was given the title of Professor Emerita and the Anne M. Wiley Gender and Social Justice Scholarship was set up in her honor. She continued to teach following her retirement and won awards for her online psychology course.

This collection is centered around the professional life of Anne Wiley as a women’s studies professor at Greenfield Community College from 1976 to 2014. This includes summaries of department meetings and conferences for women’s studies, event descriptions and flyers, some course information, administrative material related to Wiley career such as resumes and sabbatical requests, and reports on programs designed to change GCC’s curriculum. It also includes material collection by Wiley related to her interest in women’s issues. It is organized into three series: Programs and Events, Publications and Clippings, and Academics.

Subjects

Feminism and higher education--MassachusettsWomen's studies

Contributors

Hayes, Joanne McNeilValley Women's History Collaborative

Types of material

CorrespondenceFliers (printed matter)
Restrictions: none
Barfield, Vivian M.

Vivian M. Barfield Papers

1972-1977
3 boxes 1.25 linear feet
Call no.: FS 098
Depiction of Vivian Barfield
Vivian Barfield

Vivian Barfield was the first female Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dedicated to the advancement of women’s athletics, Barfield began her tenure at UMass in January 1975. Charged with upgrading the women’s’ athletic program and contributing to the decision-making process in men’s athletics, Barfield made strides to bring UMass into compliance with Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1972. Barfield was ultimately unsuccessful in her efforts after a disagreement with Athletic Director Frank McInerney about her job description led to her resignation. After leaving UMass, Barfield became the Director of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (established 1975) at the University of Minnesota.

Although Barfield’s tenure at UMass was relatively brief, her papers are representative of a specific time in the country and at the University. With materials relating to Title IX, affirmative action, and perhaps most importantly, Barfield’s class action complaint against the University, the Barfield Papers speak to issues of second-wave feminism, women in sports, and discrimination at UMass in the mid-1970s.

Subjects

Sex discrimination in sports--MassachusettsUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--AthleticsUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--WomenWomen physical education teachers

Contributors

Barfield, Vivian M
Barnard, Mary Taylor

Mary Taylor Barnard Papers

1924-2004
1 box 0.5 linear feet
Call no.: FS 008

Born in Groton, Massachusetts. In 1930, Mary Taylor became a student of botany at Massachusetts State College in 1930. While there, she struck up a romance with Professor Ellsworth “Dutchie” Barnard, and the two were married on December 31, 1936. The Barnards served on the University Millennium Time Capsule Committee and contributed memorabilia to the capsule. Both were Friends of the Library and for many years, Ellsworth served on the library’s Board of Trustees.

The Mary Taylor Barnard Papers include notes from Barnard’s Botany classes, newsclippings about the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and documents related to the Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library.

Subjects

University of Massachusetts Amherst. Botany DepartmentUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Students

Contributors

Barnard, Ellsworth., 1907-Barnard, Mary Taylor
Barter, Judith A.

Judith A. Barter Papers

1951-2021 Bulk: 1992-2000
5 boxes
Call no.: MS 1134

Judith Barter is an art historian and curator of American art. She is currently the Field-McCormick Chair, American Art at The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), where she has worked since 1992. Born in 1951 in Chicago, IL, she earned degrees at Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before completing a PhD in Cultural and Social History at UMass Amherst in 1991. While earning her PhD, she worked as the curator of collections and associate director at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. She has written and contributed writing to a number of exhibition catalogs for exhibitions held across the United States; notable among these is Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman, which originated at the AIC in 1998. She was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal at UMass in 1999.

The papers document Barter’s professional career as a celebrated scholar of American art. The collection includes documentation of her research, writing, and lectures on topics such as trompe l’oeil and photography. Also included are VHS and cassette tapes documenting exhibitions and lectures. 

Gift of Judith A. Barter, 2021

Subjects

University of Massachusetts Amherst--AlumniUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of History

Contributors

Barter, Judith A.

Types of material

AudiocassettesPhotographsResearch (documents)Videocassettes