John Paul Thomas Collection
Scope and Contents
The John Thomas papers consist primarily of materials related to Thomas' professional work and life. It consists of business files, correspondence, artwork, publications, and more.
Dates
- c. 1948-2001
Creator
- Thomas, John Paul, 1927-2001 (Person)
Language of Materials
Most of this material is in English. However, some in in the native Hawaiian language.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research. Note: Under terms of the donation, anyone wishing to use the Grid Theory in Boxes 1 and 17 or any of the material in Boxes 9-11 must sign a form agreeing to credit John Paul Thomas for information that they gather for use elsewhere.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
John Paul Thomas (1927-2001) was an artist and painter based in Hawaii. He was born in Bessemer, Alabama. He graduated from New York University. Throughout his career, he as a Visiting Professor at six major universities, includng the University of Iowa, where he was Visiting Professor of Life Drawing, and occupied the Ames Walker Professorship Chair at the University of Washington, Seattle. Thomas' art was featured in American Artist, Aloha, the Magazine of Hawaii, Hawaii, Spirit of Aloha, Western World, and appeared on the covers of several magazines including American Artist. His monumental oil paintings "Boy with Goldfish" were reproduced in color on the CD album of the London Symphony Orchestra digital recording of the music which they inspired (Albany Records TROY 053). Thomas' art is in numerous public and private collections, including those of the state of Hawaii, Orange County (California) Museum, and the Hirshhorn at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Thomas won numerous awards, grants, and scholarships, such as the National Endowment for the Arts grant, two Yaddo Fellowships, and commissions from Delta Airlines, and the State of Hawaii Foundation of Culture and the Arts. (Adapted from statement prepared by Peter R. Underwood, Discovery Antiques, Kealakekua, Hawaii)
Extent
23.17 Linear Feet (19 boxes)
Arrangement
The collection is organized in the following general manner:
- Biographical; Grid Theory; Teaching Materials
- Art Gallery Exhibitions
- Business
- Business; Articles; Critiques; Press Clippings and Releases; Reviews
- Correspondence, A-F
- Correspondence, G-W
- Slides and Photographic Negatives of Mr. Thomas's Artwork
- Photographs and Other Reproductions of Mr. Thomas's Artwork; Miscellaneous Material
- Studies
- Studies; Color Strips, Wheels, and Palettes Used for Individual Works
- Miscellaneous Color Strips, Wheels, and Palettes Not Linked to Specific Works
- Ka Lei No Kane and Pupu-Kani-Oe
- Books and Magazines Owned by Mr. Thomas
- John Paul Thomas Artwork
Notes from original collection processor and arranger, Dave Hoing: The collection arrived at the library already well organized by Jerré Tanner. Where possible I have remained true to Mr. Tanner's folder labels and content organization and descriptions. Thus, I did not rearrange the contents of each individual folder chronologically or alphabetically. Nor did I create an itemized list of the specific contents, beyond a general description of the kind of material each folder contains. I combined subjects and materials that seemed logically to go together, but in many cases it was neither feasible nor desirable to place all related material into the same box. For example, although boxes 5 and 6 are designated for Mr. Thomas's correspondence, many of the subdivisions listed below also contain correspondence of some kind. Those letters relate to specific topics or works of art. Rather than filing them in boxes 5 and 6 with the bulk of the correspondence, I left them in the folders about those topics or works, as Mr. Tanner had sent them to us. A note about the correspondence: For most letters the envelopes were discarded, particularly if an entire folder was dedicated to correspondence to and from a single individual. Where correspondence from multiple sources exists other than boxes 5 and 6, the envelopes were retained only if they contained pertinent information. Photographs are arranged in the same manner as correspondence.. Boxes 7 and part of 8 are devoted specifically to photographs, slides, and other reproductions of Mr. Thomas's art, but again, many of the individual files elsewhere also contain photographs and reproductions, and I left those where they were.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Initial shipments of this collection were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 2010 by Jerré Tanner, who wrote a symphony inspired by "Boy with Goldfish". Much larger portions of the collection arrived in 2013 and 2014.
Processing Information
Several small initial shipments of material processed and inventory developed by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, February 3, 2014; most of the collection processed and inventory developed by Library Associate David Hoing, January-February 2015; updated, March 1, 2016 (GP). Last updated October 2017 (dh). Linear feet count updated on August 7, 2017.
- Title
- John Paul Thomas Collection
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script