A Finding Aid to the Anna Campbell Bliss papers, circa 1948-2015, in the Archives of American Art

Scope and Contents

The papers of Anna Campbell Bliss measure 3.8 linear feet and date from circa 1948-2015. The papers document Bliss' career as an architect and artist along with Bliss' involvement with several professional organizations and time spent giving color theory lectures. Materials in this collection include biographical material, correspondence, exhibition files, and personal business files which document Bliss' financial, project and studio files. Also found are printed materials, and photographic materials. Biographical material contains curriculum vitaes, a student ID from the University of Studies in Florence and interviews with Bliss. Correspondence is both personal and professional in nature and documents Bliss' relationships with friends, other artists, museums, universities, and organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts. Notable correspondence includes Jan van der Marck, Jo Hansen, Gyorgy Kepes and Anni and Josef Albers. The writings series documents Bliss' career through narrative statements on her career, notes and outlines for color theory lectures and workshops as well as an essay on color for Utah Architect magazine, 1967. Exhibition Files document several exhibitions that Bliss participated in, namely in Salt Lake City and Utah at large.

Personal Business document financial, studio and project records. Financial records include price lists, grant and fellowship proposals and Bliss' involvement in supporting professional organizations. Projects document Bliss' career outside of exhibitions including documentary DVD on Bliss titled Arc of Light: A Portrait of Anna Campbell Bliss and the studio records contain an administrative file Bliss compiled as a comprehensive snapshot of her career. Also found are compiled materials on paint colors, framing schematics and software registration records. Printed material includes exhibition announcements, flyers, catalogs and postcards of her digital artwork. Also included are news clippings, and magazine articles about Bliss as well as the Utah art and architecture scene and compiled exhibition material related to Joseph Albers. Of note is a copy of Labyrinths of The Mind, an editioned accordion book with a wooden cover containing mixed media art. Photographic material consists of professional photographs and snap shots of Bliss, her husband and their friends over the years a long with snapshots of travel and the building Bliss transformed into her studio. Also found are photographs, slides and negative of Bliss' artwork and exhibitions along with a small amount of slides that show travel and home interiors.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as seven series.

Biographical / Historical

Anna Campbell Bliss (1925-2015) was an architect, painter, printmaker, and installation artist in Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally from Morristown, New Jersey, Bliss graduated from Wellesley College with a bachelor's degree in art history and mathematics in 1946, followed by a master's degree in architecture from Harvard University in 1950. She also studied color theory and design with Gyorgy Kepes at M.I.T and Josef Albers in Minnesota. While in Minnesota, Bliss and her husband Robert Bliss established their own architectural firm: Bliss and Campbell Architects, a business they brought with them to Salt Lake City when Robert Bliss was hired as the dean of the Department of Architecture at the University of Utah. While in Salt Lake City, Anna Campbell Bliss continued to learn and incorporate new techniques including screen printing and computer programming into her practice. Bliss was also heavily influenced by the Bauhaus movement.

Blending color theory with her architectural and mathematics background, Bliss juxtaposed complementary colors to create optical vibrations and large architectural installations. Throughout her career Bliss displayed her work in several solo and group exhibitions across the country and her work can be found in many collections including that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City; and the National Building Museum, Washington D.C.