Reese Papers

Scope & Content Note

The papers of William F. Reese are arranged in five series, Blue Raven Publishing, General Correspondence, Painting Workshops, Subject Files, and Photographs.

Series 1: Blue Raven Publishing (1978-1989)
This is the largest series in the collection and primarily concerns the writing, design, and publication of the William F. Reese book by Mary Balcomb. All aspects of the book’s production are covered including Reese’s extensive handwritten drafts of his artistic philosophy and other opinions about art for the Artist’s Notes section of the book, which is perhaps the most interesting material in the collection; working drafts of the manuscript with notes, changes, and corrections; design prototypes for the cloth cover, dust jacket, section titles, and the book itself including a final pre-publication mock-up of the entire book; the selection of a printer and the printing process; contracts with writer Mary Balcomb, book designer Amie Balcomb, and entrepreneur Gene Lynn, who loaned Reese the money to publish the book (to be repaid out of sales profits); and correspondence, including extensive correspondence with writer Mary Balcomb touching on many aspects of the book and its publication. Other aspects of book publication covered in the collection include marketing the book through the placement of advertising, the solicitation of consideration for a variety of book awards, sending books for review, direct mail marketing through flyers and book review reprints, and invitations to book signing events. Bookstore sales of the book are documented by a number of invoices, while several receipt books and a cashbook show sales directly to individuals.

The Balcomb book was published by Reese’s own company under the name Blue Raven Publishing, and so many technical aspects of publishing a book are included such as securing a copyright, an International Standard Book Number, and a Library of Congress catalog number. Several aspects related to setting up Blue Raven Publishing are also covered including the design and registration of the Blue Raven logo and trademark. In addition to the extensive material on the publication of the William F. Reese book, the collection has some additional Blue Raven material such as scattered financial records, material on Reese’s efforts to market his equestrian themed etchings to “horse people,” and a venture to use several of Reese’s paintings as the decoration for “wearable art” shirts.

Series 2: General Correspondence (1973-1991)
This series is primarily concerned with Reese and his art-related activities. Correspondents include Clyde Aspevig, Mel Fillerup, Mrs. Wilson Hurley, Ramon Kelly, actor George Montgomery, Ben Stahl, and Hollis Williford. Topics include positive comments about the William F. Reese book, compliments from persons who own or would like to own Reese’s artwork, artist and gallery friends discussing the business of art including compensation and the problems of producing work for which there is no prearranged buyer, gallery and museum correspondence about receiving or returning Reese’s work, requests to do workshops and demonstrations, and appreciative comments about help and critiques given by Reese. Among the most interesting correspondence are letters from Mexican friend Alberto Rodriguez in which he talks about illegally immigrating to the United States; a letter in which Reese critiques the work of Washington artist Clayton Rippey and Rippey’s response, which is both appreciative and defensive; several letters about Reese’s attempts to obtain payment from a gallery that apparently sold one of his paintings and then bounced Reese’s check; a letter from artist Ben Stahl in which he makes a pointed comment about western artist Olaf Wieghorst; and a letter from Oklahoma City businessman Allen Coles that relates positive comments about Reese from guests at a party attended by Reese.

Series 3: Painting Workshops (1982-1991)
This series consists of material about a series of painting workshops conducted by Reese in the 1980s in Washington State, Jackson, Wyoming, Scottsdale, Arizona, and other locations. The material is of two types, correspondence from persons interested in attending the workshops and documents relating to the administration of the workshops. Although much of this correspondence is quite repetitive, there are also a number of letters that give insight into Reese’s abilities as an art instructor. A number of letters thank Reese for how much was learned during past workshops and how much his insights are appreciated, including those that favorably compare the quality of Reese’s workshops with other workshops attended in the past. Some letters thank Reese for helping them find their own artistic vision, while others discuss painting theory. The workshop participants seem to be both “weekend painters” and more accomplished artists who have achieved a certain degree of success. Workshop administrative files include class rosters, financial records, workshop information sheets prepared by Reese for his prospective students, some documentation about marketing the workshops through advertising, and a variety of mailing lists and slips of paper containing contact information for potential future workshop participants.

Series 4: Subject Files (1975-1992)
This series comprises a small amount of subject specific material collected by Reese. Included are a number of exhibition invitations and programs featuring Reese and others; financial records, including his painters union withdrawal card (dated 1975) and some property insurance records; several art-related newsletters; some scattered notes about the sale of art and other topics; publicity news clippings about Reese; early drafts and correspondence related to Art West and Southwest Art articles on Reese; and two draftsman-like sketches of a chuck wagon that may have been drawn by Reese.

Series 5: Photographs
This is a small series mostly documenting the William F. Reese book. Included are the majority of the photographs and artwork images featured in the book, either as print, negative, or 4 x 5 transparency. Many of the prints have crop marks and other notations for the printers. The artwork transparencies are enclosed in Mylar sleeves with notations about the painting title, size, media, size in the finished book, and the page on which the image appears. There are also some notations about the quality of the transparency and several of the images appear in multiple versions of varying quality. Additional transparencies of Reese paintings that do not appear in the book are also part of the collection. A small number of photographs that originally accompanied correspondence are also included, with the source noted on the separation sheets.