Una Hanbury papers

Object Details

Scope and Contents

The papers of Una Hanbury measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1994, with the bulk of the material from 1966 to 1990. The collection documents the sculptor's career and the dispersal of her estate through business records, project files, subject files, printed material, and photographs. There is also a small amount of material relating to her personal life including correspondence with friends and family and photographs from various stages of her life.

Summary

The papers of Una Hanbury measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1994, with the bulk of the material from 1966 to 1990. The collection documents the sculptor's career and the dispersal of her estate through business records, project files, subject files, printed material, and photographs. There is also a small amount of material relating to her personal life including correspondence with friends and family and photographs from various stages of her life.

Restrictions

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Provenance

The Una Hanbury papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by the artist's daughter, Jillian Poole, in 1999 and 2006.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into seven series. Series 1: Personal Papers, 1926-1983 (Box 1; 4 folders) Series 2: Business Records, 1965-1991 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet) Series 3: Project Files, 1961-1992 (Boxes 2-3; 1.8 linear feet) Series 4: Subject Files, circa 1924-1985 (Box 4, OV 7; 1.0 linear feet) Series 5: Estate of Una Hanbury, 1990-1994 (Boxes 4-5; 0.6 linear feet) Series 6: Printed Material, 1926-1990 (Box 5; 0.4 linear feet) Series 7: Photographs, 1910-1991 (Boxes 5-6, 0.3 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Una Hanbury (1904-1990) was a sculptor in Washington, D.C. and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hanbury was born in Middlesex, England, in 1904; the incorrect birth date of 1909 that she submitted to Who's Who and other biographical reference sources is cited in numerous published articles. Hanbury [née Rawnsley] exhibited artistic talent as a young child and received instruction from animal artist Frank Calderon. After graduation from London's Polytechnic School of Art, she studied for three years at the Royal Academy. Jacob Epstein was her most influential teacher. Soon after completing her formal education, Una Rawnsley became Una Hanbury and devoted herself full-time to being a wife and mother. During World War II she left England for Bermuda and brought her family to the United States once the war was over. Hanbury settled in Washington, D.C., where she resumed her sculpting career, completing many large scale commissions for public buildings such as the Medical Examiners Building, Baltimore, and St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Springfield, Virginia, among others. She developed a fine reputation as a portrait sculptor, and commissions included busts of Rachel Carson, Enrico Fermi, Buckminster Fuller, Laura Gilpin, Richard Neutra, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Oppenheimer, S. Dillon Ripley, and Andrés Segovia. In addition, animals--particularly horses--were a favorite subject since childhood; sculptures were commissioned by several zoos, and horse portraits often were commissioned by owners. In 1970, Una Hanbury relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she continued working well into old age and became a significant force in the art life of that region.

Creator

Hanbury, Una, 1904-1990

Archival Repository

Archives of American Art

Genre/Form

Photographs

Identifier

AAA.hanbuna

Creator

Hanbury, Una, 1904-1990

Names

Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain)

Saunders Sculpture International

Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964

Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-

Gilpin, Laura

O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Ripley, S. Dillon (Sidney Dillon), 1913-2001

Segovia, Andrés, 1893-

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Extent

5.3 Linear feet

Citation

Una Hanbury papers, 1910-1994, bulk 1966-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Processing Information

The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Catherine S. Gaines. The finding aid was modified by Stephanie Ashley in October 2001 prior to EAD conversion. All duplicates were returned to the donor at her request. The second accession was processed to a minimal level, merged into the collection, and the finding aid updated by Kimberley Henze in 2015.

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Una Hanbury papers

Occupation

Sculptors -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe

Sculptors -- Washington (D.C.)

Animal sculptors -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe

Animal sculptors -- Washington (D.C.)

Topic

Portrait sculpture, American

Animal sculpture

Women artists

Women sculptors

Date

1910-1994

Rights

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.