Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Alice Kagawa Parrott Papers, circa 1950-2010, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.parralic
Creators:
Parrott, Alice Kagawa, 1929-2009
Dates:
circa 1950-2010
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
7.1 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist Alice Kagawa Parrott measure 7.1 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2010. The papers document Parrott's career as a textile artist and weaver based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and art institutions; personal business records mostly of financial records related to Parrott's business The Market later known as Parrott Fabrics Inc.; studio practice files related to equiment, materials, and designs for wall hangings, clothes, and tapestries; printed material such as exhibition catalogs and clippings mostly on Parrott and her arwork but also on other artists; and photographs and slides of Parrott, her weavings, family and friends, and her studio and home.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist, Alice Kagawa Parrott, measure 7.1 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2010. The collection mainly documents Parrott's work as a fiber artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; personal business records mostly of financial records related to Parrott's business The Market later known as Parrott Fabrics Inc.; studio practice files related to equiment, materials, and designs for wall hangings, clothes, and tapestries; printed material such as exhibition catalogs and clippings mostly on Parrott and her arwork but also on other artists; and photographs and slides of Parrott, her weavings, family and friends, her studio and home, and dyeing process.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1957-2009 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1953-2009 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
  • Series 3: Personal Business Records, circa 1957-2009 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, 9)
  • Series 4: Studio Practice Files, 1951-2005 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 4-6, 9)
  • Series 5: Printed Material, 1954-2008 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 9)
  • Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2010 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 7-9)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Alice Kagawa Parrott (1929-2009) was a Japanese American fiber artist and ceramicist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Parrott was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1929 to Takato and Isono Kagawa who were Japanese immigrants. She graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1952, then studied weaving at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she met ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, who became a lifelong friend. After graduating from Cranbrook in 1954, she taught weaving and ceramics at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In 1956, she married Allen Morgan Parrott and they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they bought a home and adopted their sons Ben and Tim. Also that year, she opened a weaving and craft shop called The Market, which later became Parrott Fabrics Inc. Parrott had many commissions and customers, such as the woodworker Sam Maloof. A notable early commission was from the Santa Fe Opera. From 1971-1972, Parrott was an artist-in-residence in Maui, where she taught workshops and created tapestries for several public commissions. In 1977, she became an American Craft Council Fellow. Parrott participated in numerous exhibitions over the course of her career. Parrott passed away in 2009 in Santa Fe.

Administration

Author
Rihoko Ueno
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Alice Kagawa Parrott papers were donated in 2019 by Paul Kagawa and Diane Leavitt, trustees of the Alice Kagawa Parrott Family Trust.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Rihoko Ueno in 2023.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Conditions Governing 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 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
Alice Kagawa Parrott papers, circa 1950-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Japanese American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American fiber artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American ceramicists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ceramicists -- New Mexico Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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