Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the George Tsutakawa Papers, 1963-1991, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.tsutgeor2
Creators:
Tsutakawa, George
Dates:
1963-1991
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Linear foot
Repository:
The papers of Washington-based sculptor and educator George Tsutakawa measure 1 linear feet and date from 1963 to 1991. The papers document his career as a painter, sculptor, and teacher and include biographical material, correspondence, exhibition files, membership records, project files, and printed material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Washington-based sculptor and educator George Tsutakawa measure 1 linear feet and date from 1963 to 1991. The papers document his career as a painter, sculptor, and teacher and include biographical material, correspondence, exhibition files, membership records, project files, and printed material.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
George Tsutakawa (1910-1997) was a Japanese American sculptor, painter, and teacher who primarily worked in Seattle, Washington. Tsutakawa was born in Seattle, but he was educated and raised in Japan from 1917 to 1927. Upon his return to Seattle, he enrolled in high school and later attended the University of Washington School of Art (1932-1937), where he majored in sculpture.
During World War II, his family was sent to the Japanese American incarceration camps, while Tsutakawa served in the U.S. Army from 1941-1945. After the war, he returned to Seattle and in 1947 he married his wife Ayame, whom he had met at one of the Japanese incarceration camps he visited in order to see and help family members during the war. That same year, Tsutakawa also started teaching at the University of Washington, where he resumed his studies and got his M.F.A. in 1950.
From the late 1950s through 1970s, Tsutakawa rose to prominence for his designs of fountains, usually made from bronze or welded steel. Over the course of his career, he designed fountains for roughly 80 commissions across the United States and Japan. During this time, he continued to teach at the University of Washington until his retirement in 1976. He died in Seattle in 1997.

Administration

Author
Rihoko Ueno
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The George Tsutakawa papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by George Tsutakawa in 1991.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Rihoko Ueno in 2020.

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.
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
George Tsutakawa papers, 1963-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with George Tsutakawa conducted 1983 September 8-19, by Martha Kingsbury; an oral history interview with George Tsutakawa conducted 1987 June 26-27, by his daughter Mayumi Tsutakawa; and the George Tsutakawa in Japan video project recordings.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Japanese American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Japanese American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American sculptors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American educators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Washington Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
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