Mary Gehr Papers
Scope and Content of the Collection
Correspondence, artwork, writings, and other files of Chicago artist Mary Gehr.
The largest part consists of original work and photographs of work, sketchbooks from her extensive travels, and travel essays. Also included are articles she authored, and information on her prize-winning garden. A biographical section includes articles about Mary Gehr and her numerous exhibits, awards, and photographs. Also included are letters from ancestors of Mary Gehr: Mrs. Rachel Smedley, Capt. Harvey Smedley, Ruth Smedley and the Lum and Mead families. Subject files contain material about her interests in theater and dance.
Dates
- Creation: 1828-1997
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1945 - 1997
Creator
- Gehr, Mary (Person)
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The Mary Gehr Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Mary Gehr Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Biography of Mary Gehr
Chicago painter, printmaker, and illustrator, active 1940-1997.
Mary Gehr (1913-1997) was born in Chicago in 1913; she attended Smith College for one year, then toured with theater companies and returned to Chicago, where she danced with the Chicago Opera Company and the Page-Stone Ballet. She turned to painting and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Institute of Design, and the Illinois Institute of Technology Summer School of Painting in Saugatuck, Michigan. Between 1945 and the mid 1960s she illustrated many children’s books for the Chicago-based Childrens Press and the Henry Regnery Co. Her paintings were also used in advertising and reproduced in books and magazines designed by her husband, the prominent art director Bert Ray. She participated actively in the Chicago art scene well into the 1990s with numerous exhibits, essays, and lectures about her art and her travels.
Extent
12.5 Linear Feet (27 boxes)
Abstract
Original work, reproductions of work, correspondence and subject files of Chicago artist Mary Gehr.
Organization
Papers are organized in the following series
- Series 1: Correspondence, 1928-1995
- Boxes 1-2
- Series 2: Works, 1945-1981
- Boxes 3-5
- Series 3: Biographical, 1828-1997
- Boxes 6-10
- Series 4: Sketchbooks, 1961-1996
- Boxes 11-22
- Series 5: Subject files, 1941-1994
- Box 23
- Series 6: Realia, 1975-1995
- Box 24
- Series 7: Oversize material, 1955-1990
- Boxes 25-26
- Series 8: Additions, 1956-1991
- Box 27
Collection Stack Location
4a 28 10, 4a 29 8
Provenance
Estate of Mary Gehr, 1998; additional gifts from Mary Czerniski, 2005.
Processed by
Mette Shayne, 2010.
Subject
- Gehr, Mary (Person)
- Childrens Press (Organization)
- Gehr family (Family)
- Gehr, Mary -- Exhibitions (Person)
- Gehr, Mary -- Travel (Person)
- Henry Regnery Company (Organization)
- Lum family (Family)
- Mead family (Family)
- Ray, Bert, -1969 (Person)
- Smedley family (Family)
Genre / Form
Occupation
- Illustrators -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Printmakers -- Illinois -- Chicago
Topical
- Title
- Inventory of the Mary Gehr Papers, 1828-1997, bulk 1945-1997
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Mette Shayne
- Date
- ©2010.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org