The Bywaters archival collections, focused primarily in the 20th century, particularly highlight Texas artists such as Jerry Bywaters, Otis and Velma Dozier, Janet Turner, Octavio Medellin and Everett Spruce, among many others.
Major Collections
Octavio Medellin Art Work and Papers
Includes catalogs, clipping files, correspondence, small examples of fused glass experiments, photographs, and slides related to the career of this Mexican sculptor who lived in the Dallas area for many years and whose work is represented in museums and private collections throughout the United States.
Finding Aid | Digital Collection | Digital Exhibition
Rosa Bonheur Collection
The Rosa Bonheur Collection contains two linear feet of correspondence primarily that of French painter Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899). In 1865, she received the Légion d’honneur from the Empress Eugénie, the first female artist to receive the award.
Jerry Bywaters Collection on Art of the Southwest
Includes catalogs, clipping files, correspondence, photographs, mural studies, slides, and works of art on paper related to Jerry Bywaters' career as artist, director of the Dallas Museum of Art, and long-time SMU faculty member as well as to the work of many of his artistic contemporaries in the region.
Digital Collection | Exhibitions
Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Collection
The papers of Dallas artists Otis and Velma Davis Dozier, consist of a wide variety of archival material totaling approximately fifty linear feet. The couple was active in the Dallas art scene from the 1920s until shortly before their deaths in the late 1980s. Otis Dozier at one time taught classes at SMU and was a close friend of SMU professor and former director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts Jerry Bywaters; along with Bywaters, he was a member of a circle of artists later dubbed the "Lone Star Regionalists." Velma Davis Dozier was co-founder of the Dallas School of Creative Arts in 1933 and one of the founders of the Craft Guild of Dallas in 1948, Velma was extraordinary in her pursuit of complicated metal techniques and incorporating them into unique and well-made metalwork and jewelry which today can be seen in the Dozier Study Room at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Digital Collection | Finding Aid
Greer Garson Collection
Includes correspondence, photographs, slides, film and theater scripts, newspaper and magazine articles, programs, awards, and scrapbooks, as well as a sampling of the actress' personal memorabilia. These materials chronicle Greer Garson's acting career from London's West End through her Hollywood and Broadway years and her many philanthropic activities.
Jake and Nancy Hamon Papers
This collection contains the personal papers of Jake and Nancy Hamon and include a wide variety of materials, consisting primarily of correspondence, photographs and scrapbooks. The bulk of the materials can be dated from 1940 to 2000. In addition, the collection contains artwork, clippings, documents, ephemera, manuscripts, published works, scrapbooks, photographs and three-dimensional objects. The collection offers insights into Dallas social and cultural history.
Finding Aid | Exhibition | Digital Collection
Paul and Viola van Katwijk Collection
The collection was donated to SMU by Mrs. van Katwijk, an accomplished pianist and composer, over the course of several years, beginning in 1974. Her husband, Dr. Paul van Katwijk, was associated with SMU from 1918 to 1955, serving as Dean of Music and as head of the Piano Department. He also served as conductor of the Dallas Symphony from 1925 to 1936. Of considerable importance is their collection of over 100 autographed letters and manuscripts, many of well-known composers and musicians, including Debussy, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Rossini, and others.
William Lester Art Work and Papers
Includes clipping files, correspondence, photographs, and sketchbooks related to the career of this art professor at the University of Texas, who was a member of the loosely defined “Dallas Nine” artists group early in his career, along with Bywaters and Dozier.
Mary McCord/Edyth Renshaw Collection on the Performing Arts
The Mary McCord/Edyth Renshaw Collection on the Performing Arts is an extensive collection that encompasses a diverse cross-section of performing arts and includes significant holdings in the history of theatre, film, music and dance. While the collection emphasizes the performing arts in Texas and the Southwest, such as papers of the Dallas Little Theatre and SMU's Arden Club, it also contains materials related to film and theater productions throughout the United States and Europe.
Finding Aids:
- Maria Ascarra papers
- Collection of film lobby cards
- Collection on the motion picture industry
- Collection of documents on the motion picture industry
- Collection on Cabin in the Sky 1942-1943
- Catherine Fleming collection on Katharine Cornell
- Davis-Xander-Baker collection
- R.C. Knickerbocker collection of performing arts materials
- Little Theatre of Dallas collection
- Harriet Bacon MacDonald papers
- Agnes Maxwell Neumann collection of performing arts materials
- G. J. Signaigo collection of theater materials
- Southern Methodist University Arden Club collection
Everett Spruce Art Work and Papers
Consists of approximately two and-a-half feet of archival material, three of the artist’s sketchbooks, and forty-four additional works on paper. A native of rural Arkansas, Spruce studied under Olin Travis and Tom Stell at the Dallas Art Institute and taught in the department of studio art at the University of Texas at Austin from 1940 to 1974.
Finding Aid | Digital Collection | Exhibition
Janet Turner Collection
Contains prints as well as etching plates and linoleum blocks related to these works by this member of the Texas Printmakers who served on the art faculties of universities in Texas and California.