Haynes Ownby papers, 1902-2015

Scope and Contents

The papers of Haynes Ownby measure 9.9 linear feet and date from 1902 to 2015. The papers document Ownby's career as an artist and writer through correspondence; poetry, manuscripts of plays, writings on art, and other writings; notebooks and journals on his life and and drafts of letters and ideas for plays and other writing projects; resumes, awards, exhibition files, and other professional activity; articles, clippings, exhibitions announcements and catalogs, and other printed material; photographs of Ownby, his friends and family and slides of artwork; and oral interviews with Ownby, interviews with other artists, recordings of plays, and other sound and video recordings.

Correspondence consists of letters with colleagues and friends in regards to exhibitions, research on Hans Hofmann and Myron Stout, and in regards to plays he wrote and board games he created.

Writings are on on the topics of art, poetry, and literary works. Articles include "Jarry, Picasso and the Twentieth Century," "Alfred Jarry, the Savage God," and "On Buddhism and Herman Hesse." Literary works include "Patchwork" manuscript, "Weekend in 52" script, and "The Artist, the Patron, His Wife." Journals kept by Ownby document his day-to-day life. Other notebooks contain notes and ideas for his various literary projects, and drafts of outgoing letters. Some notebooks also contain sketches.

Professional activity files consist of awards, resumes, some sketches, some financial materials like a receipt book and applications for grants and fellowships, and exhibition files. Also included are the research materials and transcribed journals on Myron Stout that Ownby worked on. Some of the items include documents related to creating Kruztrax game, "USA on Paper" exhibition, Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc. grant, and the NEA Visual Artists Fellowship.

Printed material consists of articles and clippings related to Ownby's artisitic and literary works, exhibition announcements and catalogs, announcements and invitations to productions of his plays, and some exhibition announcements for fellow artists.

Photographic material consists of photographs of Ownby, photographs of Ownby's studio, photographs and slides of Ownby with friends in and around Provincetown, and photographs and slides of artwork.

Sound and video recordings consist of 36 audio cassettes and 4 video cassettes of interviews with Ownby, Ownby interviewing artists such as Tina Dickey, recordings of some of his recollections and journal entries, and recordings of some of his plays.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated in 2022 by JoAnn Heiser, Executor, Haynes Ownby estate.

Processing Information

The collection was processed, and a finding aid created by Ricky Gomez in 2023.