Amerson (Price) Papers, 1964-1999

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Summary

Title:
Price Amerson Papers
Dates:
1964-1999
Creators:
Amerson, Price.
Abstract:
The Price Amerson Papers document Amerson’s activities as the creator and director of the Richard L. Nelson Gallery, the Fine Arts Collection at UC Davis, a lecturer, and artist.
Extent:
6 linear feet
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Price Amerson Papers, D-338, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains materials from 1964-1999, including correspondence, course materials, art publications, and publications by Amerson.

Biographical / historical:

L. Price Amerson was the creator and director of the Richard L. Nelson Gallery and the Fine Arts Collection at the University of California, Davis, from 1976 until his unexpected passing in 1999. Amerson was born in 1941 and earned a bachelor's degree in art and design from Texas Tech University and a PhD in art history from Pennsylvania State University. Amerson joined the UC Davis Art Department faculty in 1972, and taught courses in museum studies during which he guided many young artists and museum specialists. He founded the Richard L. Nelson Gallery at UC Davis in 1976 and was considered a visionary for the many types of exhibitions he organized and for displaying works by hundreds of UC Davis art students and world-famous faculty members. Under his leadership as the director of the gallery, frequent exhibitions of a wide range of historical and contemporary works were displayed and included creations from internationally known artists such as Fred Wilson, Guerrilla Girls, and Ansel Adams. As the director of the Fine Arts Collection at UC Davis, Amerson significantly expanded its collection which included noteworthy works by Wayne Thiebaud, Roy De Forest, Jay DeFeo, and Joseph Yoakum, as well as the Nagel Collection of Asian Art. The gallery ran beyond Amerson’s tenure and closed in 2015 to make way for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. Along with managing the Richard L. Nelson Gallery and the Fine Arts Collection, Amerson strove to increase the public’s access to art through his writings. His books, exhibition catalogs, and brochures discussed artists such as Manuel Neri, Michael Tompkins, and Ciel Bergman and topics such as Sacramento Valley landscapes. Amerson reached beyond the UC Davis campus by serving as a juror for shows at the Davis Art Center and the Matrix Gallery in Sacramento, participating as a panelist for San Francisco art programs and the San Francisco Arts Commission, serving on Yolo County Arts Council committees, and teaching classes through University Extension. One of Amerson's prominent accomplishments was commissioning Robert Arneson for the five Egghead bronze sculptures scattered across the UC Davis campus. Commissioned through UC Davis' Art in Public Places group and created between October 1991 and May 1994, Arneson’s Egghead series consists of See No Evil/Hear No Evil, Eye on Mrak (Fatal Laff), Bookhead, Yin & Yang, and Stargazer. Since their installment on campus, these large bronze sculptures grew to be popular with students, faculty, and campus visitors and provide a visual reminder of Amerson and Arneson’s legacies at UC Davis. Amerson and his wife of fifteen years, Deborah Born, married in 1984 and lived in Woodland, California. A passionate rose gardener, Amerson’s private rose collection was a popular attraction when he would open it for public visits during the Woodland garden tour. He was also one of the founders of the Woodland Library Rose Club and played an essential role in installing rose gardens at the Woodland Library. Amerson died on September 17, 1999, at 58 years old.

Processing information:

The biography was written by Sacramento State Public History graduate student Peter Doyle. Michelle Trujillo updated this finding aid in 2026.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by UC Davis, Special Collections staff.
Date Prepared:
July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Price Amerson Papers, D-338, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Website