Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Olav Hammarstrom Papers, 1939-1980, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.hammolav
Creators:
Hammarstrom, Olav, 1906-2002
Dates:
1939-1980
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.7 Linear feet
Repository:
The scattered papers of architect and furniture designer Olav Hammarstrom measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1980. The bulk of the collection consists of project files of architectural works in the United States and around the world. Project files may include correspondence, drawings and architectural renderings, photographs, and printed material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The scattered papers of architect and furniture designer Olav Hammarstrom measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1980. The bulk of the collection consists of project files of architectural works in the United States and around the world. Project files may include correspondence, drawings and architectural renderings, photographs, and printed material.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Olav Hammarstrom (1906-2002) was a Finnish-born architect active in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
Born in Heinola, Finland in 1906, Olav Hammarstrom studied and began his career as an architect in Helsinki. In 1948, Hammarstrom came to the United States to work on a project with Alvar Aalto in Massachusetts. He stayed in the United States after marrying textile artist Marianne Strengell and settled in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Together, Strengell and Hammarstrom served as consultants for the United States government and the United Nations and reported on the cottage industry of weaving in the Philippines and Jamaica. After Strengell retired from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, she and Olav moved to Wellfleet, Massachusetts where Hammarstrom took many commissions.
Olav Hammarstrom died in 2002 in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Olav Hammarstrom donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1983.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2019.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archive's Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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.
Preferred Citation
Olav Hammarstrom papers, 1939-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview with Olav Hammarstrom, conducted 1982 October 21-1983 March 10 by Robert F. Brown. The Cranbrook Archives also holds a collection of Olav Hammarstrom's papers.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Architects -- Massachusetts -- Wellfleet Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Architects -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Furniture designers -- Massachusetts -- Wellfleet Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Furniture designers -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Finnish Americans Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Furniture design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Strengell, Marianne, 1909-1998 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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