Theodore Bowie papers, 1914-2008, bulk
1930-1995
A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Hannah Osborn
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana
University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Bowie, Theodore Robert
TitleTheodore Bowie papers, 1914-2008, bulk
1930-1995
Collection No.
C697
Extent
5.8 cubic feet (7 boxes)
Language
Materials are primarily in English
Abstract
Theodore Bowie was a prominent faculty
member at Indiana University, whose contributions to the field of the history of
Asian Art made him a pivotal figure in the development of both the University’s Art
History Program and the University’s Art Museum. This collection contains materials
from both Bowie’s professional and personal career. Professional documents from his
time spent as professor and curator include lecture notes, travel itineraries,
copies of scholarly publications, departmental memos and correspondence, loan
agreements for exhibitions, and exhibition catalogues. A large number of exhibition
materials pertain to “The Arts of Thailand”, a traveling exhibition organized by
Bowie that showcased previously unrecognized Thai art in the West. Accompanying
these professional documents are Bowie’s personal correspondence, drafts of his
memoir, and a large number of photos and exhibition scrapbooks.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Biographical Note
Theodore R. “Ted” Bowie was a prominent faculty member at Indiana University, whose
contributions to the field of the history of Asian Art made him a pivotal figure in
the development of the University’s Art History Program. Bowie’s research and travel
in Asia would contribute to a number of acquisitions for exhibitions which he
organized, and inform his work in the development of the University Art Museum. His
exhibition “The Arts of Thailand”, opening at the Museum in 1960, would become one
of the first of its kind to display Thai art in the West, going on to travel
throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Bowie was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1905 to a Russian mother and American father
and grew up in both Nice, France, and San Francisco. Bowie received his bachelor’s
degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1927 and stayed on to earn
his master’s degree in political science in 1929, and his doctorate in French
literature in 1935. Turning from his early career in French literature, Bowie would
go on to fulfill a number of roles relating to the study of art and art history at
Indiana University.
Beginning his career at Indiana University in 1950, Bowie would serve as Associate
Professor in the Department of Fine Arts from 1950 to 1960. He then served as
Associate Professor in the Graduate School from 1952 to 1960, and Professor from
1960 to 1975. While at IU, Bowie would also serve as Fine Arts Librarian from 1951
to 1960, as an unofficial Curator of Oriental Collections at the University Art
Museum from 1962 to 1976, as Acting Chair of the Department of Fine Arts from 1970
to 1973, and as Chairman of the Arts Administration Program from 1969 to 1972. He
received the title of Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 1975.
Theodore Bowie died of heart failure on March 5, 1995 in his home in Bloomington,
Indiana in the company of his wife Marilyn (Miller) Bowie.
Arrangement
The collection organized into four series: Biographical, Correspondence,
Professional-subdivided into research, publications and collected materials, and
Photograph Albums. Folders within each series are organized alphabetically.
Scope and Content Note
The collection spans the years 1914 to 2008, with the bulk of the materials from 1930
to 1995. The collection includes items pertaining to both Bowie’s work and personal
life. A large number of the items included were generated by exhibitions organized
by Bowie, many for the IU Art Museum, and from his time spent as a prominent faculty
member at Indiana University in the Department of Fine Art. Many of the exhibition
documents, including gallery guides, catalogues, and installation photos, pertain to
“The Arts of Thailand” exhibition in 1960, one of the first of its kind in the West.
The documents relating to Bowie’s professional life include lecture notes, travel
itineraries, copies of scholarly publications, departmental memos and
correspondence, loan agreements for exhibitions, and correspondence with fellow
academics. Bowie’s research in the arts of Thailand, China, Japan, and the Islamic
World is represented in many of his publications, lecture notes, and photographs.
Bowie’s more personal files include an extensive series of correspondence with
Charles and Piquette Cushing, select correspondence with his daughter Jocelyn, and
Bowie’s drafts of his memoirs. Also included are many of Bowie’s colleagues’
publications, and a number of photos and photo albums including portraits of Bowie,
images of him working and traveling, and installation images from shows at the
Indiana University Art Museum.
-
Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
Separated Material
Photographs removed and stored with the Universty Archives Photograph Collection:
- Series: Correspondence, folder "'Conversations with Adachi' general
correspondence, circa 1983"
- Series: Correspondence, folder "Japanese Drawing exhibition, general
correspondence, 1975"
- Series: Correspondence, folder "Loehr, Max, 1964-1977"
- Series: Correspondence, folder "Warner Langdon, 1931-1952"
- Series: Correspondence, folder "Warner, Langdon, memorial
materials, 1995"
- Series: Professional, subseries: Research, folder: "Various"
Related Material
Related photographs, including images of the
"Arts of Thailand" Exhibition, are available in the
University Archives
Photographs Database
.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession: 2018/060
Usage Restrictions The donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the
materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please
contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of
others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials
in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift.
Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials
rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are
responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights
holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other
statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives
are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If
you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have
questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University
Archives staff.
Preferred Citation
[item], Theodore Bowie papers, Collection C697, Indiana University Archives,
Bloomington.
ProvenanceCollection was donated by the Bowie family, a donation facilitated by Fletcher
Coleman, Adjunct Professor in Art History in May of 2018.
Transferred by Jocelyn Bowie, daughter of Theodore Bowie.
Processing Information
Initially processed by Fletcher Coleman before donation of the collection in May
of 2018. Revised at the University Archives by Hannah Osborn in February 2019.
Container List
Series:
Biographical,1927–1974
Scope and content note
The biographical series includes a number of drafts and chapters from Bowie’s
memoirs, and histories on his work including the development of the
Department of Fine Arts and the IU Art Museum, as well as his exhibitions.
Small personal artifacts such as an address book and student artwork are
included as well.
Box 1
Addresses, undated
Archaeological Map of Thailand, undated
Bowie,
Memoirs, miscellaneous, undated
Memoirs,
"My Early Life in Japan,
1905–1911,"
undated
Memoirs, semi-complete, undated
"My career as an
actor-producer-director,"
undated
"Partial History of the IU Art
Museum"
and
"Friends of
Art,"
undated
(2 folders)
"The Thai Show,"
undated
Exhibition Histories, undated
Drawings and Portraits, undated
IU Auditorium Blueprint, undated
IU Photographs and Image Copies, undated
"The Maryland Bowies,"
undated
Miscellaneous, undated
Renschler, William, student project, 1974
(Artist book featuring rubbings, watercolors and
woodcuts)
University of California Senior Work, 1927
Series:
Correspondence,1925–1995
Scope and content note
The Correspondence series contains lecture notes, personal correspondence
including with Prince Diskul of Thailand, Herman B. Wells, and Erwin
Panofksy, correspondence regarding exhibitions and catalogues, travel
itineraries, film scripts, Bowie’s own class notes, and scholarly articles.
included as well.
Box 2
Adachi Toyohisha, 1980
Addresses and Itineraries, 1930
Arkush, 1976
"Art of the Surimono"
general
correspondence, 1966-1981
"Arts of Thailand,"
Catalogue materials,1960-1975
Contract copies,1960
General correspondence,1962-1991
Awards and Professional Societies, general
correspondence,1935-1976
Bandy, W.T.,1975
Bonwit, Stephen J., 1974
Bowie, Jocelyn, 1975-1992
Bowie, Marilyn, language and recipe notebook, 1962
Bowie, Theodore,
"Apples and
Persimmons,"
1966
Departmental Information,1976-1989
Phi Beta Kappa Initiation,undated
Memorials and remembrances,1950-1995
Miscellaneous from, 1963-1975
Miscellaneous to, undated
Retirement and honors, 1976-1984
Cahill, James, 1966
"Conversations with
Adachi,"
general correspondence circa
1983
Separated Material
Photographs removed and transferred to University Archives Photograph
Collection.
Cranston, Fumiko, 1984
Crawford, John, undated
Cushing, Charles and Piquette,
1936
1937-1938
undated
Davezac, Bertrand, 1993
Dupree, Louis and Nancy, 1973
East – West in Art, general
correspondence,1970
Edwards, Richard, 1970
Eisenberg, Marvin, 1970
"Erotic
Art"
correspondence1971
Goodheart, John, 1981-1990
Gottfried, Marion,1987
Gray, Basil,1964
Griswold, Alexander, 1968-1980
Henderson, Mary and Harold, 1975
Hillier, Jack, 1979
Hope, Henry,
1981-1988
Memorial tributes, 1989
James, William, undated
Japanese Drawing Exhibition, general correspondence, 1975
Separated Material
Photographs removed and transferred to University Archives Photograph
Collection.
Keene, Donald, 1974
Keyes, Roger, 1981
Kleinbauer, Eugene, 1973
Krieg, E. Michael, 1978
Langdon Warner through his
letters
, general correspondence, 1967
Loehr, Max, 1964-1977
Separated Material
Photographs removed and transferred to University Archives Photograph
Collection.
Matsubara Naoko, 1995
Mayuyama Junkichi, 1968-1974
Mitchell, Charles, 1976
Morgan, Patricia, 1993
Morley, Grace, 1967
Nail Jr., Henry, 1981
Nelson, Susan (to), 1980-1998
Neperad, Ronald, 1966
Panofsky, Erwin, 1959
Peyre, Henri, 1948-1970
Pozzatti, Rudy, 1976
Raymond and Raymond, undated
Rickey, George, 1991
Rosenfield, John, 1979
Ryan, John, 1984
Sachs, Paul, 1937
Sansom, George, 1961
Scott, Juliana, undated
Sickman, Lawrence, 1964
Solley, Tom, 1981
"Studies in Erotic Art,"
general
correspondence, 1971-1972
Sullivan, Michael, 1967
Togasaki, Fumiko, 1985
Upton, Rick and Martha, undated
Includes small woodblock print sent to Bowie by the
Uptons
"The Vitality of the Classical
Tradition"
general correspondence, 1958
Waller, Bret, 1976
Warner, Alice Sizer, 1967-1971
Warner, Langdon,
1931-1953
Separated Material
Photographs removed and transferred to University Archives Photograph
Collection.
Memorial materials,
1955
Separated Material
Photographs removed and transferred to University Archives Photograph
Collection.
Miscellaneous Dunhuang, 1925
Miscellaneous, undated
Wells, Herman B., 1953-1975
Wenley, Barclay, undated
Wildenstein, Georges, 1959
Zervas, Walter, 1974
Series:
Professional, 1914-2008
Scope and content note
The Professional series includes research notes, lectures, exhibition
catalogues, essays by Bowie, book reviews both by Bowie and of his
publications, exhibition notices and reviews, newspaper clippings, student
papers, publications and essays by Bowie’s peers and colleagues.
Arrangement note
The Professional series is arranged into three sub-series: “Research,”
“Publications,” and “Collected Materials”. Each subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title.
Subseries:
Box 2
Research, 1954-1985
Essays, 1966-1985, and
undated
Lectures, 1971-1979
Research Notes, 1937, and
undated
Various, 1954-1962
Separated Material
Photographs removed and transferred to University Archives Photograph
Collection.
Subseries:
Box 3
Publications, 1938-2004
Ancient Indian Sculpture and
Painting,
1964
(3 copies)
The Animal in Chinese and Japanese
Art,
1952
(2 copies)
"Apples and Persimmons,
"
1966
" Art from the Ends of the Earth,
"
1961
"The Art Museum as a Teaching
Tool, "
1969
(2 copies)
The Arts of Thailand,
1962
Softcover(2 copies)
The Arts of Thailand,
1962
Hardcover, fully illustrated
The Art of the Surinomo,
1979
(2 copies, one with decorative
case)
"Baudelaire and the Graphic Arts,
"
1957
(2 copies)
Book review album (to and from), circa 1960-1980
Book Review Notes, circa
1986
"Conversations with
Adachi,"
1983
The Drawings of Hokusai,
1964
"The Dream of the Rush Gatherer,
"
1963
Exhibition Notices, 1952-1975
Films on Art: A Critical
Guide,
1957
German Art in Our
Time,
1958
2 copies
Islamic Art Across the
World,
1970
Reviews, 1953-1984
"Film sele’Arte,"
1955
2 copies
The Many Faces of
Japan,
1964
2 copies
Newspaper clippings, 1980-2004
"One Thousand Years of Chinese
Painting,"
1968
2 copies
"Oriental Art at Indiana
University,"
1953
"Painted Caves in the Gobi
Desert,"
1962
"Portrait of a
Japanologist,"
1982
5 copies
The Present Day Vitality of the
Classical Tradition,
1958
3 copies
"The Prevalence of
Form,"
1960
4 copies
"The Radiant
Buddhas,"
1961 and
undated
The Sculpture of
Thailand,
1976
The Sketchbook of Villard de
Honnecourt,
1959
2 copies, both hard and softcover
"The Third Art Film
Festival,"
College Art Journal,
1957
"Unknown Sculpture of
Thailand,"
1972
3 copies
What to See in a Japanese
Print,
1973
3 copies
"“Word and Picture
Relationships,"
1938
Subseries:
Box 4
Collected Materials, 1914-2008
Brown, Robert,
"God on
Earth,"
1990
Bulletin of the California Palace of the Legion of
Honor, 1962
Chevalier, Haakon,
"Andrè Malraux
and Man’s Fate,"
1933
Conferences and Programs, 1953-1993
De Gruyter, W. Jos.,
"Drawings and
Water-colors: Hokusai,"
1954
Elsen, Albert,
"Lively Art from a Dying
Profession,"
1960
"Rodin’s Naked
Balzac,"
undated
Exhibition Notices, circa
1935-2008
Fogg Museum of Art,
Art: Genuine or
Counterfeit?,
1940
Frabetti, Giuliano,
Hokusai E Hiroshige:
Paesaggi,
1976
Hiroshige: Imagini Della
Natura
1976
Forrer, Matthi,
Essays on Japanese Art
Presented to Jack Hillier,
1982
Forrer, Matthi,
"Hokusai: Prints
and Drawings,"
1991
Gealt and Baden,
"A Transforming
Vision,"
2006
Government of Madras – Epigraphy,1914
Griswold, Alexander,
"Art from
Siam,"
1960-1961
"Siamese Inspiration and the
Memory Picture,"
1961
Hammacher, A.M.,
Beeldendekunst, 1941
Hashemeyan, Sayed K.M.,
"Oriental
Rugs,"
1975
Hillier, Jack,
"Some ukiyo-e
painters of the second half of the eighteenth
century,"
1977
International House of Japan Bulletin, 1995
Indiana University Art Museum 1941 – 1982, 1982
2 copies
Indiana University, Department of Fine Arts
Bulletin, 1976
Indiana University Fine Arts Department Twenty-Fifth
Anniversary, 1966
2 copies
Indiana University Museum of Art Handbook, 1962
"Japan and Asia – Boston Book
Company,"
undated
Janson, H.W.,
"The Mirror of
History,"
1971
Keyes and Morse,
"Hokusai’s
Waterfalls and a Set of Copies,"
1972
Kobayashi Taichiro,
"Hokusai and
Degas,"
undated
Literary Review Quarterly, 1926
"The Medieval Craftsman and his
Modern Counterpart,"
1959
Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 1987
MFA Boston,
Art and Artifice: Japanese
Photographs of the Meiji Era,
2004
Day and Night in the Four Seasons
by Hokusai,
1957
Miscellaneous,
"Signature of
Artists,"
undated
Nelson, Susan,
"Rocks Beside a
River,"
1980
Nesbit, Joanne,
"Bloomington
Treasures: Alma Eikerman and Karl Martz,"
1992
Ogden, Annie,
"The Hell
Concept,"
1974
Ouwehand, C.,
"An Annotated
Description of Hokusai’s Shūga Ichiran,"
1962
Rather, Clif and Lois,
Oh Yes, We Have
Bananas!,
1974
Rosenfield, John,
"The Sedgwick
Statue of the Infant Shōtoku Taishi,"
1968-1969
Rowshan-Araghi, Iradj,
"Influences
of Four Systems of Ideology on the Arts of
Persia,"
undated
Shaw, Bernard,
"Bernard Shaw’s
Rhyming Picture Guide,"
undated
Sickman, Luarence,
"Some Chinese
Brushes,"
circa
1939-1940
Togasaki, Fumiko,
"Hokusai’s
Surimono,"
1980
UCSB,
Constructivist
Tendencies,
1970
University of Michigan Museum of Art Bulletin,1965-1966
Whitefield, Sarah,
The Academic
Tradition,
1968
Whitlock, Jack,
"The Jataka
Tales,"
1970
Yoskiaki Shimizu,
Genji: The World of a
Prince,
1982
Series:
Photographs,1952–1984
Scope and content note
The Photographs series contains exhibition scrapbooks, photos of Bowie on his
travels, as well as images of artworks featured in catalogs and exhibitions.
Box 5
"Album 7,"
Exhibition Scrapbook
for
"The Arts of
Thailand,"
Tokyo, 1962
"The Arts of Thailand,"
IU
Bloomington, Exhibition Scrapbook, 1960
"Exhibitions prepared at IU beginning
March 1952, "
1952-1965
"Islamic Art and
Culture,"
Exhibition Scrapbook, circa
1970
"One Thousand Years of Chinese
Painting"
and
"What to See in a
Japanese Print,"
Exhibition Scrapbook,
circa 1973
"Prints of Sharaku,"
Exhibition
Scrapbook, 1984
Box 6
"Conversations with
Adachi,"
Scrapbook, 1982
Box 7
ACLS Exhibition,1957-1958
Loose photographs
Ajanta, M.D.,undated
"Album 4, "
undated
Photo album with images of Bowie abroad, some in Dunhuang,
China
Bowie Work Photographs, undated
Islamic Art Exhibition, circa
1970
Loose photographs
IU Art Museum, Statue of Acala, undated
Loose photographs
Japanese Drawings, undated
Loose photographs and negatives
Kurisada Images, undated
Negatives
Miscellaneous Negatives, undated
Miscellaneous Research Images, undated
Loose photos, contact sheet
Sharaku Exhibition, circa
1980
Loose photographs
Thai Art Exhibitions, circa
1952-1973
Loose photographs
"Tun-Huang and Xian, May
1981, "
1981
Scrapbook including photos and postcards
University of Michigan Gallery of Art, storage, 1954
Loose photographs
"Washing the Elephant,"
Research
Images, undated
Loose photographs