Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Arline M. Fisch Papers, 1931-2015, in the Archives of American Art

Summary
Collection ID:
AAA.fiscarli
Creators:
Fisch, Arline M.
Dates:
1931-2015
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
9.8 Linear feet
3.82 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of metalsmith, jeweler, and educator Arline M. Fisch measure 9.8 linear feet and 3.82 GB date from 1931 to 2015. The papers include awards and certificates, correspondence, exhibition and gallery files, project files, San Diego State University teaching files, membership records, and printed and digital and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The papers of metalsmith, jeweler, and educator Arline M. Fisch measure 9.8 linear feet and 3.82 GB and date from 1931 to 2015. The papers include awards and certificates, correspondence, exhibition and gallery files, project files, San Diego State University teaching files, membership records, and printed and and digital photographic materials.
Awards and certificates are from the Indonesian National Crafts Council, Internationale Handwerksmesse Munchen, San Diego State University, State of California, and other organizations. Correspondence is with Edith Antunes, Skidmore College and other educational institutions, as well as galleries, students, and colleagues. Files for exhibitions consist of inventory and price lists, loan and shipping records, printed material, correspondence, a digital disk, and a video recording for Elegant Fantasy: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch (2000), The Art of Arline Fisch (2003), Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep (2008), and various exhibitions.
Gallery files contain business records for Atrium, Electrum Gallery, Lee Nordness Galleries, and galleries in Germany and Switzerland. Project files include records for an advertising campaign, articles and lectures, Textile Techniques in Metal for Jewelers, Sculptors, and Textile Artists, a cataloging project, commercial ventures, curriculum development at Boston University, NEA and Fulbright grant projects, an artwork installation, an oral history project, a seminar, and workshops.
San Diego State University teaching files include correspondence, evaluations, exhibition material, grant programs and projects, university programs, recommendations, and sabbatical records. Membership records are for the American Craftsmen's Council (ACC), Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), and World Crafts Council (WCC).
Printed materials consist of booklets, a calendar, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, periodicals and posters, and chronological files. Photographic materials are of Fisch, her family, travel, her studio, with colleagues and in class, and works of art. A detailed archive of Fisch's work on slides and in digital format is also included.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as nine series.
  • Series 1: Awards and Certificates, 1961-2001 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1, 11)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1956-2003 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1957-2010 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
  • Series 4: Gallery Files, 1968-2010 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
  • Series 5: Project Files, 1956-2010 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 11)
  • Series 6: San Diego State University, 1955-2014 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)
  • Series 7: Membership Records, 1964-1994 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)
  • Series 8: Printed Materials, circa 1960-2015 (3.3 linear feet; Boxes 6-9, 11, OV 12)
  • Series 9: Photographic Materials, 1931-circa 2005 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 9-11, 3.82 GB; ER01)
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Arline M. Fisch (1931- ) is a metalsmith, jeweler, and educator in San Diego, California.
Fisch was born in Brooklyn, New York. She studied art education at Skidmore College and earned a master of arts degree from the University of Illinois. From 1956 to 1957 she studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen Denmark, and she returned to Denmark in 1966 under a Fulbright Research Grant. She also received Fulbright and NEA grants for multiple projects in Uruguay, Austria, and the U.S.
From 1954 to 1961, she taught at Wheaton College and Skidmore College. Fisch began teaching at San Diego State University (SDSU) in 1961 where she developed the Jewelry and Metalsmithing program. She retired from SDSU in 2000.
Fisch was a member of the American Craft Council (ACC), Haystack Mountain School of Crafts' Board of Trustees, and was vice president of the World Crafts Council (WCC) from 1976 to 1981. She was a founding member of Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) and was president of the organization from 1982 to 1985.
Fisch has received numerous awards and honors for her accomplishments in craftsmanship including an honorary doctorate degree from Skidmore College, United States Artists fellowship award, and Fresno Art Museum Council of 100 Distinguished Woman Artist award in 2012. Fisch has exhibited her work all over the world including her solo retrospective exhibition titled, Elegant Fantasy: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch, which was shown in San Diego, Oakland, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Administration
Author
Sarah Mundy
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were donated from 2003 to 2018 by Arline M. Fisch as a part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2018. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
Using the Collection
Preferred Citation
Arline M. Fisch papers, 1931-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Conditions Governing Use
Arline M. Fisch retains copyright for the manuscript for the 2nd edition of her book Textile Techniques in Metal for Jewelers, Sculptors, and Textile Artists (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, c. 1975) and notes for the first edition.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Related Materials
Also at the Archives of American Art is an interview of Arline M. Fisch conducted July 29-30, 2001 by Sharon Church McNabb, for the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Fisch's home, in San Diego, California.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Metal-workers -- California -- San Diego Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jewelers -- California -- San Diego Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- California -- San Diego Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists' studios -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women educators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Antunes, Edith Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Craftsmen's Council Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Boston University Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Electrum (Gallery : London, England) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lee Nordness Galleries Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Endowment for the Arts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
San Diego State University -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Skidmore College Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Society of North American Goldsmiths Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
World Crafts Council Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Internationale Handwerksmesse Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions