Guide to the Gordon Franklin Peers papers , 1853-1988

bulk 1927-1988

Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Fleet Library at RISD
2 College Street
Providence, RI 02903
Tel: 401-709-5922
Fax: 401-709-5932
email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Gordon Franklin Peers papers
Date range:	1853-1988, bulk 1927-1988
Creator:	Peers, Gordon Franklin, 1909-1988
Extent:	4.25 linear feet
Abstract:	Correspondence, memorabilia, slides, photographs, calendars, journals, essays, TV scripts and art catalogs document Gordon F. Peers' long career at RISD as an instructor in the Painting Department.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Collection number:	10.02.3

Scope & content

The Gordon Franklin Peers papers represent a wide variety of material dating from 1853-1988, including correspondence (both personal and administrative), personnel and salary information, syllabi and notes for class lectures, and essays on art and philosophy. These materials document Peers' activities as the head of the Painting Department, as Acting Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts, and as Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts. Additionally, the papers include news clippings, legal documents, information on the scholarships set up by Peers, catalogues, calendars, journals, and documentation of art shows and sales. Material about John R. Frazier, a RISD instructor and president forms part of the collection. Also included are journals written by Peers' wife, Florence Leif and a collection of artifacts, slides, and photographs.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Peers, Gordon Franklin, 1909-1988

Subject Names

• Burnham, Dwight
• Farnum, Royal B. (Royal Bailey), 1884-
• Frazier, John Robinson, 1889-1966
• Leif, Florence, 1913-1968

Subject Organizations

• Archives of American Art

Subject Topics

• Art--Study and teaching (higher)--Rhode Island--Providence
• Italy--Pictorial works
• Rhode Island School of Design--Faculty

Subject Topics

• Education
• Art

Document Types

• Letters (correspondence)
• Slides (photographs)
• Legal documents
• Daybooks
• Calendars
• Passports
• Portraits
• Contracts

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in eleven series:

• I. Personal papers, 1955-1978
• II. Faculty appointments, 1934-1987
• III. Administrative correspondence, 1942-1984
• IV. Fine Arts Division and Painting Department materials, 1955-1972
• V. Writing, notes, and lectures, 1947-1986
• VI. Florence Leif and Gordon Peers Scholarship materials, 1969-1988
• VII. Art shows and sales, 1940-1987
• VIII. John Frazier materials, 1955-1985
• IX. Calendars and journals, 1952-1988
• X. Artifacts, 1853-circa 1980s
• XI. Slides and Photographs, 1958-1981

Biographical note

Gordon Franklin Peers was born March 17, 1909 to Sanford and May (Hallett) Peers in Easton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Classical High in Providence (RI) in 1929, and then attended Rhode Island School of Design 1929-1933, receiving a diploma in 1933. He was a student at the John R. Frazier Summer School of Painting 1930-1935, and attended the Beaux Arts Academy and the Arts Students League in New York, 1933-1934. He exhibited his paintings at the 1939 New York World's Fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition, the Providence Art Club, and the Decordova Museum, among others. In 1947 he received his B.F.A. from RISD, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws, L.L.D., by the Portland School of Art in 1982.

Peers joined the RISD staff as a drawing instructor in 1933, and taught there for over forty years, with brief interruptions in 1936-1937 to teach in the art department at Rockford College in Illinois, and from 1942-1945 to serve in the U.S. Army. He became a full professor in the Painting Department in 1960 and in 1961-1962 was chief critic in residence in Rome for the European Honors Program. An avid traveler, he also visited Japan, England, France, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan, documenting his trips with slides and travel journals.

He served as head of the Painting Department 1955-1956 and 1963-1968; as Acting Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts 1962-1963, 1963-1965, and first semester, 1965-1966; and as Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts 1969-1972. He achieved tenure in 1965. As the meeting minutes in Box 1, Folder 3 and 4, attest, he constantly strove to improve the Fine Arts curriculum. He was always open to innovative teaching strategies, including an art department TV show in 1957. He was an early proponent of interdisciplinary studies, an interest dating back to 1959.

Much of his thinking on the subject of art pedagogy was influenced by his friend and mentor, RISD instructor and president John R. Frazier. Peers collected Frazier's writings, wrote a brief biography, and took slides of Frazier's paintings. Peers also admired and was influenced by the work of Florence Leif, a fellow RISD painting student whom he married in 1941. After her death in 1968, he funded a RISD scholarship for female painters in her honor. He continued to promote interest in her life and work with public and private showings of her paintings, and in 1981 established another scholarship for female painters at the Portland Museum of Art.

Peers retained close ties to RISD for his entire life. After his retirement in 1974, he was appointed Artist in Residence, a position he kept until his death on July 1, 1988. As Artist in Residence he continued to teach students and advise the Painting Department on appointments, offering the accumulated experience of nearly sixty years association with RISD.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There is restricted access to Will and Legal Correspondence, 1968-1978, and RISD Painting Department Appointments, 1934-1987. Please consult the Archives staff for further details.
Use of the materials:	Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright.
Preferred citation:	Gordon Franklin Peers papers, Rhode Island School of Design Archives.
Contact information:	Rhode Island School of Design Archives Fleet Library at RISD 2 College Street Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Gordon Franklin Peers papers were received from Paula M. Martiesian on June 9, 2003.
Accruals:	No further materials are expected for this collection.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Adrienne Pruitt.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Jessica Bitely 2009 February 13
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

Related papers are locates at the Archives of American Art.

Inventory

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