Edward W. Rannells papers
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Edward W. Rannells papers
- Date
- circa 1928-1971 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Rannells, Edward W. (Warder), 1892-1972
- Extent
- 1.75 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Art -- History
- Art -- Exhibitions
- Art -- Study and teaching
- Art -- Kentucky.
- Art -- History -- Outlines, syllabi, etc.
- Humanities -- Study and teaching
- Artists -- Kentucky.
- Art teachers
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged into five series by subject and chronologically.
- Preferred Citation
- 1982ua017 [identification of item], Edward W. Rannells papers, 1928-1971, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- University of Kentucky professor of art and Head of the Department of Art from 1929-1966, Edward W. Rannells was largely responsible for the development of an extensive program in the humanities and was a dedicated advocate of art education. Edward Warder Rannells was born on November 12, 1892, in Osceola, Missouri, to John Warder and Sarah Cartmell Rannells. His family moved to Idaho, and Rannells attended secondary school in various places in Idaho, Ohio, and Missouri. After several years as an accountant in Oregon and Ohio and serving in as sergeant-major with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I from 1917-1918, Rannells completed a bachelor of arts degree at Ohio State University in 1926. Rannells also completed a master of arts in education at the University of Chicago in 1942. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Kentucky in January 1929, Rannells served as Instructor of Art at Ohio State University and as Associate Dean of the Art School at the Art Institute of Chicago. During his tenure at the University of Kentucky, Rannells was closely involved with four Public Works of Art Project/Works Progress Administration-funded murals and paintings in Kentucky, organizing art exhibitions locally and at the national level. He was a very vocal advocate for arts appreciation within the Lexington community. Although he wrote and spoke extensively on the topic of art education and other topics of pedagogy, Rannells was personally more interested in the creation of art and the study of art history. He was committed to the idea that arts education should be pursued in a complementary combination of art creation and art history and the faculty and curriculum of the Department of Art reflected that conviction. Rannells was also active in several professional associations, including the National Education Association, the Arts Association, the National Committee on Art Education, and the Kentucky Association of Art Education. Rannells retired from the University of Kentucky in 1966, but remained closely associated with the Department of Art and the University until his death on June 26, 1972. He was married to the artist Doris Wilson and was father to three daughters.
- Sources: "Rannells, Edward Warder," University Archives Faculty/Staff Biograhpical Files, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Oral history interview with Edward Warder Rannells, 1965 June 2, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-edward-warder-rannells-12246
- Scope and Content
- The Edward Warder Rannells papers (dated 1928-1971, undated; 1.75 cubic feet; 5 boxes) comprise correspondence, collected works, and newspaper clippings that document the work of Rannells as an art educator and Head of the University of Kentucky Art Department; his work to organize art exhibitions at the University of Kentucky and elsewhere; and his activities with professional organizations at regional and national levels. The majority of the collection comprises records relating to Rannells' professional work as an educator and art historian, including course materials, essays on various topics in art history and the humanities in general; and essays regarding the study and teaching of the humanities in both higher education and secondary schools. Other materials document his activities as a scholar within the local Lexington community, where he gave presentations to various groups, published articles in Lexington newspapers, gave radio talks with University of Kentucky colleagues and others on various topics in art history, and wrote topical essays for Guignol Theatre production programs. There is also correspondence written to and by Rannells that is mainly concerned with either inquiries about Kentucky art and artists or art exhibition planning and publicity at the University of Kentucky and other venues. The collection only includes a few documents that describe or illustrate Rannells' personal life or administrative duties at the University of Kentucky beyond exhibition planning. A black-wand-white photographs of Rannells may be found in box 4, folder 27.
- Processing Info
- The majority of the collection was originally arranged by Rannells for presentation to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Martin M. White in 1965, and that arrangement was utilized when the materials entered Special Collections. The original subject categories were The Humanities; Art History: Papers and Talks; Talks for Students, Teachers and Colleagues; Pedagogical Memos and Notes; Art Education: Papers, Memos, etc. These original categories have been noted in folder titles with their respective codes: Humanities, AH, Talks, Pedagogical, and Art Ed. Rannells' note to Dean White, along with the original index to this group of his collection works can be found in box 4, folder 27 (in Teaching and UK-Related Activities Series, Assorted Writings Subseries).
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not be assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Correspondence, 1931-1958
Art and artist inquiries, 1937-1950
Exhibitions, 1931-1958
Exhibitions at the University of Kentucky, 1931-1934
Municipal Art Committee, national exhibitions of American Art, 1936-1939
Art exhibitions at the University of Kentucky and elsewhere, 1939-1947
Exhibition of the Seagram Collection of Kentucky Artists, 1950-1951
Southeastern College Art Conference, 1958
- Box 1, folder 9
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence between Clifford Amyx and Clinton Adams and various art lenders and attendees of the Southeastern College Art Conference. Edward Rannells was on sabbatical at the time.
Community activities, 1931-1968
Newspaper clippings, 1931-1933
Community talks, 1946-1968
Stained Glass Windows in Churches and Cathedrals, presented to St. John's Episcopal Church, Versailles, 1946 Jan. 6
The Classic Assumption, talk for the Lexington Torch Club (AH), 1958
Hors d'Oeuvres, morning talk for the Medical Auxiliary (Doctors' Wives) (Talks), 1963
Religious Art Today, prepared for a Protestant church group (Talks), 1964
Rembrandt and the Jews, for a presentation at the Jewish Temple in Lexington, KY (Art Ed), 1967
The River and the Bridge: Creative sources of renewal, 1968
Guignol program notes, 1942-1950
Art in Philadelphia, for the Guignol production of "The Philadelphia Story", 1941 Oct.
Murder and Art, for the Guignol production of "Ladies in Retirement", 1941 Dec.
Art and Boola Boola, for the Guignol production of "Ah, Wilderness" (Humanities), 1942 March
Guignol program for "The Man Who Came to Dinner", Edward Rannells as Sheridan Whiteside, 1942 April
Repressions into Art, for the Guignol production of "Claudia" (Humanities), 1942 Nov.
Whodunits in Art, for the Guignol production of "Arsenic and Old Lace", 1943 Jan.
Good Neighbors and Art, for the Guignol production of "My Sister Eileen", 1943 April
Art of the Spirit, for the Guignol production of "Blithe Spirit" (Humanities), 1945 Nov.
Dominence and Donations, for the Guignol production of "Double Door", 1946 Feb.
Bronzes and Brahmins, for the Guignol production of "The Late George Apley" (Humanities), 1946 Nov.
Art and Intensity: from Frisco to Oslo, for the Guignol production of "I Remember Mama" (Humanities), 1947 Feb.
Pygmalion before G.B.S., for the Guignol production of "Pygmalion" (Humanities), 1948 Nov.
The Modern Theatre and Art, for the Guignol production of "Winterset" (Humanities), 1949 March
Art and the Net of Doom, for the Guignol production of "Medea" (Humanities), 1950 Feb.
Is there a Connoisseur in the House?, for the Guignol production of "Two Blind Mice", 1950 April
Radio talks, 1931-1942
Common Sense About Art, numbers 1-5, 1931 Sept.-Nov.
Great Paintings in America, no. 8 "Babette" by Eugene Speicher, 1932 Nov. 17
Paintings in Recent Exhibitions, 1933 May 29
The Seeing Eye, 1934 Dec. 18
Cozy Corners and Brown Stone Fronts, 1936 Jan. 29
Art at the University of Kentucky, 1938 Jan. 21
Kentucky's Early Art, 1942 Sept.
Radio talk on American art, undated
Radio talk on the origins of American art, undated
Radio talk with Anne Callihan on 1850's American interiors, undated
Radio talk with Mr. Barron on Henry Hobson Richardson, undated
Professional Activities, 1934-1965
Professional service, 1934-1965
Proposals for a statement of policy for the Midwestern College Art Conference, 1944 Oct. 24
Redevelopment of Visual Perception, notes, 1944 April 14
Book review of Creative and Mental Growth by Viktor Lowenfeld, 1947
Memorandum on the "Humanities" in Art Education, 1964
K.A.E.A. notes on plans for the fall meeting, 1964
Standards in Learning, K.A.E.A. conference (Art Ed.), 1964
Kentucky Art Education Association Committee Report (Art Ed.), 1965
Proposals for the humanities in high school, 1965
Newspaper clippings, K.E.A., 1934
Professional association presentations, 1941-1965
In Defense of Drawing, presented to the N.E.A. meeting, 1941 June 30
Conference on Art Education, 1941 Oct.
Symposium: The Baroque in Music and Art, 1943 Jan.
Old Architecture in Central Kentucky, presented to the Illinois Society of Architects, 1943 June 22
Aesthetic Expression and Learning, presented to the Kentucky Psychological Association, 1945 April 28
The Airs and Graces, presented to the national convention of Phi Beta (Talks), 1946
On Training the Emotions through Art, presented to the Art Department of the N.E.A., 1946 July 01
Art and the Humanities, presented to a regional meeting of the College Art Association (Humanities), 1948
On the Relation of History and Studio Courses in Art, notes for a Midwestern College Art Conference, 1949 Nov.
Art and Humanism in Western Culture, presented to a humanities session of the Foreign Language Conference (Humanities), 1950
Notes on the Humanities in General Education, 1952 Nov.
Art as Perceptual Learning, notes for a panel of public school art teachers at the Western Arts Convention (Art Ed.), 1958
Artist and Society, presented to the Western Arts Association Convention (Talks, Art Ed.), 1958
Renaissance Survivals in Modern Painting, for the Southeastern Renaissance Conference (AH), 1959
Re-evaluation of the Culture in the Light of Aesthetic Awareness, presented at the N.A.E.A. Convention (Talks), 1959 March 12
Thoughts on the High School Art Program, presented to the Western Arts Association Convention (Art Ed.), 1962
The Humanities in College, presented at the N.A.E.A. Convention (Humanities), 1965
Published works, 1944-1961
Teaching and UK-related activities, 1928-1971
Course-related writings, 1943-1958
Suggested bibliography, 1943
Contemporary Art, notes for a Humanities course, 1948
Memorandum on sculpture, for a seminar in art (Pedagogical), 1949
Art in the Secondary School, summary of the course (Pedagogical), 1950
Introduction to the Humanities through the Study of Art, 1950
Notes on and talks related to Art 157: Art in the Secondary School, 1950-1966
Last words, from the Art-Humanities syllabus (Humanities), 1950
Memorandum for final class day, Forms of Art (Pedagogical), 1958
Art in the Elementary School: note on written assignment (Pedagogical), 1958
Syllabus and notes for Art 155: Art in the Elementary School, 1958
Course outline for Art: Forms of Art (Pedagogical), 1959
Course outline and notes for Humanities: Art (Pedagogical), 1961
Seminar in Art, Art 509 (Pedagogical), 1962
Style in the Visual Arts, paper for a sociology seminar (AH), 1962
Art History Survey: Primitive to Medieval Art (Pedagogical), undated
Introductory notes for a course in criticism (Pedagogical), undated
Science and Art, note for a humanities course (Pedagogical), undated
Assorted writing, 1940-1971
The Philosophy of Education and its Relevance to Art in the Schools (Art Ed.), 1940s
Basic Concepts in Art, 1941 Feb.
The Northern Baroque in Art, 1943
Form and Content in a Painting by Picasso and The Christmas Story in Art, 1945
Emotions and Art Education (Art Ed.), 1948
The Study of Architecture as Art (Art Ed.), 1949
Education vs. Training (Art Ed.), 1951
Concepts of Form and Space in Art (Pedagogical), 1952
A Critique of Drawing by Seeing (Art Ed.), 1952
Memorandum on Criteria for Judging Works of Art, 1953
Note on the Visual Environment (Pedagogical), 1953
The Visual Environment (Talks), 1953 Feb.-March
The Value of Art, 1953
Excerpts from a critique of a paper on art education (Art Ed.), 1958
Experience and Expression, 1958
The Creative Process as a Learning Process (Art Ed.), 1964
Drawing is Learning (Art Ed.), 1965
The Humanities: A word of explanation (Pedagogical), 1965
Impression and Expression: A note on learning from experience (Art Ed.), 1965
Note to Dean White, photograph, and original indexes for collected works, 1965
Minimal Art is Minimal, 1968
Art and Technology, includes a letter from Molly Rannells, 1969
Initial notes: Try and Find It, Never Mind It, 1971
Decoration les Objets d'Art, undated
Further Notes on Form in Art (Pedagogical), undated
Ideas in Contemporary Architecture (Pedagogical), undated
Interior Decoration: Popular notion of it as compared to the day school courses, undated
Man: the Moon, undated
Max Beckmann: The Iconography of Triptychs, undated
Memorandum on Art in College (Pedagogical), undated
Memorandum on the Fine Arts (with Alexander Capurso), undated
Note on Aesthetic Requiredness (Pedagogical), undated
Note on Criticism and Criteria (Pedagogical), undated
Note on the Problem of Style (Pedagogical), undated
Note on the Study of Architecture (Pedagogical), undated
Notes: Expression in Childhood and Adolescence (Art Ed.), undated
Notes on American Architecture 1860-1876, undated
Notes on the Relation of Art and Society (Pedagogical), undated
Notes: Psychology for Art Education, Summary (Art Ed.), undated
On Requiredness in Art (Art Ed.), undated
Perception and the Experience of Art (Pedagogical), undated
A Preliminary Definition of Form in Art (Pedagogical), undated
Training the Eye to See (Art Ed), undated
Presentations to student groups, 1928-1964
Untitled talk given at the School of the Art Institute, Chicago, 1928
Look Around You! Note for high school students, 1936
Art in the Humanities, for the Humanities Club (Humanities), 1949
A Comparison of the Imaginary Worlds of Truman Capote and Paul Klee, souvenir of a talk for a meeting of the English and Philosophy Clubs (Talks), 1950
Who is a Humanist? For the students of the Art Academy, 1950
Facets of Modern Painting, a talk for the University Women's Club (AH), 1952
Coffee Chat on Modern Painting, informal talk for general college students (Talks), 1955
The Humanities in Liberal Education, for the Humanities Division, University of Kentucky (Humanities), 1955
Statement to the Research Club (Talks), 1955
Notes on Renaissance Philosophy and Art, from notes for a meeting of the Philosophy Club (Talks), 1958
The Ballet, talk for Tau Sigma dance group (Talks), 1959
Decadence in Hellenistic Art, paper for the Humanities Club at the University of Kentucky (AH), 1961
An Art Teacher's Swan Song, talk for a group of public school art teachers (Talks & Art Ed.), 1962
Space in Painting, talk for a students art club (AH), 1963
Notes: Talk for "Orientation" group of engineering students (Talks), 1964
Matriculation Talk, undated
The Artist as Humanist, to those about to graduate from an art school (Humanities), undated
The Historical Problem in Art Studies, notes for a talk to an orientation class (Pedagogical), undated
Press related to UK, 1931-1960
Newspaper clippings: UK art exhibitions and reviews of student works, 1931-1932, 1965
University of Kentucky Bulletin: Eight Paintings by American Artists, 1933
Press releases written by Edward W. Rannells, 1959-1960
General Facts about the Fine Arts Building, undated
Kentucky in Literature, by Grant C. Knight, University of Kentucky, undated
Newspaper clippings: articles written by and referencing Anne Callihan, undated
Radio talk by Anne Callihan and Mr. Barron: American Art of the 1890s, undated
What College Women Can Do in the Arts pamphlet, undated
UK exhibition-related writings, 1945-1965
Notes: Annual Exhibition of First-Year Drawing and Design, 1945
Criteria for Judging Exhibitions, explanation given to sponsors of a regional show (Humanities), 1953
Foreward to 100 Paintings by Raymond Barnhart (Humanities), 1955
Catalog note for Ulfert Wilke Exhibition (Humanities), 1957
Frederick Thursz Exhibition, from notes for a gallery talk (Humanities), 1958
Mary Spencer Nay and Clifford Amyx (Humanities), 1960
Note on the Wilke and Letham Exhibition (Humanities), 1962 April
Amyx and Barnhart Exhibition at the University (Humanities), 1963
Preface for "Graphics '63" Drawing Exhibition (Humanities), 1963
"Graphics '65" - Prints and Drawings from Paris at the University of Kentucky Art Gallery (Humanities), 1965
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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
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You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.