An exciting day this week when Eunice Parsons brought her papers to the PNAA (Pacific Northwest Artists Archive) at the Willamette University Library. Roger Hull and archivist Mary McRobinson have been actively collecting the “papers” (correspondence, drawing books, clippings, photographs, exhibition announcements, cassette interviews) of Oregon artists since 1997…an invaluable resource for researchers working on regional art. Eunice came with artist/gallerist Cary Doucette who has helped Eunice organize the papers. Eunice and Roger Hull recorded her observations of the materials on hand as a few of the boxes were opened…
Right on top was a letter Eunice had written to artist Ted Waltz and his wife Carol in LA back in the 70’s…
…and then a Christmas card from artist Milton Wilson…
the box of drawing books…
and the prints and blocks of a print that was shown at the Smithsonian Institution …
a day of fascinating stories and, when Eunice is in the room, of great good humor and fun. Eunice will turn 98 this summer and she decided the time had come to get organized, with Cary’s help. It was a little hard for her to leave these things behind so we got some lunch and heard a few more stories NOT for publication. Thank you Eunice for this generous and important gift….
The PNAA will further organize the material and provide an on-line finding aid available on the library website for researchers.
On The Way 
This is so cool, what a great preservation. I love the photos of her doodles and the beautiful correspondence.
frankly, you two (R & B) are making a valuable contribution to the documentation of northwest artists that goes above and beyond any remuneration or even acknowledgment of your efforts. eunice is a beautiful soul and a remarkable artist. the tenderness of this exchange, the letting go of and the sensitive gratitude for the gifts of a lifetime’s work, shine through this post. as always, bonnie, you manage to capture both the poignancy and the fun of the moments. love this kind of telling “ephemera” the “papers” of an artist represents. another fine post. thank you.
What a treasure trove! I am so excited and grateful every time I use papers of local pioneer families at the local historical society research center. How lucky for Willamette to be the recipient of the details of these artists’ lives!
Archives are about living on…and the voices are so strong…
beautiful and amazing things – – and what a gift!