The Irene Vermeers Collection consists almost entirely of photographs of Art Center School in the mid-1930s, especially faculty portraits and student work. Some of her images were less formal and capture rare candid images of students. The bulk of the collection is photographs of an Industrial Design Department class project from the mid-1930s taught by Kem Weber, whose objective was to design and build a model for a future Art Center campus to be located on Wilshire Boulevard.
These photographs were taken by Strahl during Art Center Photography Department field trips in 1942. Of interest is a trip to Yosemite with instructor Ansel Adams.
These photographs were taken by Meriwether during his years at Art Center. They include classroom and studio shots, department field trips, and candid shots of faculty and students. Also included is his portrait of instructor Ansel Adams.
The projects in this series are completed brochures and assignments he presented for critique in class. The negatives or prints that correspond to the Johnson Family and Lapidary booklets or Joint Art-Photo project can be found in the Photographs series.
Most of these images are copy slides of original black and white photography which he shot while he was a student. Some of the images are reproduced in the Popular Photography profile also in this collection. Also included are three photographs of Ansel Adams teaching a seminar at ISOMATA in Idyllwild in 1956.
The Adams Family Collection consists mainly of photographs of Art Center School in the early 1950s, especially of students and faculty in classroom settings. Also included are some personal photos of Tink and Virginia's 1951 wedding, their Silverlake home, and Tink with his bonsai. Most of the faculty in the Art Center photos have been identified by Virginia Adams. Of interest are the photographs of Japanese exchange students through the JETRO program, including Kenji Ekuan. Three oversized photographs are housed separately.
This series contains materials related to George Jergenson's freelance work from 1944-1968 for American Motors Corporation (AMC), Outboard Marine Corporation, and Pan Am. Included are correspondence, contracts, billing ledgers, design evaluations, itemized invoices, market research reports, meeting notes, and technical drawings. The Pan Am files contain stress and weight analysis and patents for the sleeperette units Jergenson designed.
This series consists of work Jergenson did while at General Motors Styling. The earlier files relate to his design work for the Train of Tomorrow. The later files showcase his expertise in surface development.
This series contains course outlines, lecture notes, annotated bibliographies, speeches, and reports compiled by Jergenson while teaching at Art Center and in later years. A 1959 re-accreditation report from Art Center reviews curriculum, student services, demographics, school events, graduate professional memberships and a professional directory. Of interest is a list of detailed captions for a slide show about the history of trains.
The bulk of the documents is the club newsletters and meeting minutes which provide information regarding the club and its members. Often the newsletters included annual schedules, membership lists, and synopses of meeting minutes. Correspondence includes letters to the general membership, thank you notes, and invitations to Art Center Wives Club events such as the new student reception and an Annual Student Faculty party.
This series contains original paintings by Jergenson, as well as a few items from other artists. Also included is a list of titles, dates, and other details for slides of Jergenson's paintings.
The Photographs series consists of an array of images from throughout George Jergenson's life. Included here are family photographs and slides of his paintings, many of which are landscapes of the Sierra Nevada around his childhood home of Fresno. There are images from his years teaching at Art Center and a surface development slide show (80 slides). Of interest are photos of his design sketches for the Train of Tomorrow, as well as a slide presentation (137 slides) of the history of trains which includes images of the Train of Tomorrow. There are also slides of Eero Saarinen's iconic Styling Administration Building at the General Motors Technical Center.
