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.
This series contains various publications collected by George Jergenson. They range from clippings about Art Center, to car brochures, to his high school and college yearbooks. Of note is the typewritten manuscript by Stanley Brams about the styling staff at General Motors.
This series contains personal materials including biographical notes with ancestral origins and lists of events written by George and Theda, including their transition to Detroit . General Motors bonus receipts, a handwritten ledger of earnings and taxes until 1974, and detailed accounts of his departure from Art Center are also present.
The media outreach efforts of the Public Relations Department can be seen in Series 8, Clippings, containing hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles related to Art Center, its students, and their work.
The catalogs and viewbooks describe ArtCenter and its programs, curriculum, and faculty. Student work is always featured, as well as alumni work in some of the catalogs. The books are sent to prospective students, so admissions requirements and forms are included. All of the catalogs and viewbooks were designed at ArtCenter, either by staff in the Design Office or consultants.
The Printed Materials in Series 4 are mainly handouts to prospective students, including brochures and “View”, which is geared toward high school students.
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.
This series consists of letters from Jergenson's employment at General Motors Styling and Art Center School, as head of Industrial Design. The Art Center period covers promotional campaigns, recruitment and employment opportunities at design firms, visits on and off campus, design collaboration, program development donations, fellowships, and scholarships. The GM period covers travel, training and recruitment, lectures, design development, and interoffice memos. Occasional course outlines, meeting minutes, and expense reports can be found. Of interest are embossed letterhead designs, circa 1930s-1970s.
This series contains a small sample of records from the many student organizations on campus. Most of the student organization records were written by students and not the staff in the CSE. It was decided to place the student organization records in this collection since the CSE oversees and acts as advisors to the groups.
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.
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.
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 materials related to several professional industrial design organizations including IDEA, IDI and IDSA. The materials include meeting minutes, correspondence, committee and membership rosters, reports, newsletters, and press releases. This series includes materials from the Society of Art Center Alumni such as articles of incorporation, correspondence about scholarships and contributions, and meeting minutes.
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.
