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Guide to the Edith Harvey Heron Collection
MSS-2005-01
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Title: Edith Harvey Heron collection
Dates: 1895-1980
Collection number: MSS-2005-01
Creator:
Heron, Edith Harvey, 1895-1980
Collection Size:
3 linear feet
1 archive box and 1 flat drawer
Repository:
San Jose State University Library
San Jose, California 95192-0028
Abstract:
The Edith Harvey Heron Collection (1895-1980) documents this California artist's professional work and history. The collection
includes watercolors, drawings, etchings, miscellaneous art, prints, newspaper articles, pamphlets, photographs, and professional
records. The materials provide background information on Heron's artistic interests and development, as well as on her educational
and employment history.
Physical location: Vault 1, Range 20B
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections and Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions
also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational
purposes.
Edith Harvey Heron collection, MSS-2005-01, San Jose State University Library Special Collections and Archives.
Processing completed by Lynne Vieth, 2005. EAD encoding by Bernard Yeh, 2005.
Edith Harvey Heron, the daughter of William S. and Ada Heron, was born January 2, 1895, in San Jose, California, After graduating
from San Jose High School in 1914, she attended San Jose Normal School and graduated in 1918. Following a short-term teaching
career in art therapy, she attended the California School of Arts and Crafts for two years (1920-22) and in 1929 earned a
B. A. degree in art at San Jose State College. Heron spent most of her life in the Bay Area working as an artist.
Heron began her early career as an occupational art therapist and teacher. She first taught pottery and basketry at the Stockton
State Hospital from 1918 to 1920. From 1920 to 1922, she taught weaving and furniture design at the Livermore Sanatorium.
In the summer of 1926, Heron returned to San Jose State College and in 1929 earned her degree in art. In 1942, the same year
that the term "art therapy" was officially coined by British artist Adrian Hill, Heron taught arts and crafts to Japanese-Americans
in the Poston, Arizona, internment camp.
Heron became a well-known watercolorist. Her early work focused on the Monterey Peninsula, but travel abroad inspired her
to complete some of her most important paintings, including
Old Tom, Monterey and
Gloucester Fish Wharf, which garnered first-place awards from the National League of American Pen Women in 1937 and 1939, respectively; the latter
work received the Logan Medal for Watercolor from the National Society for Sanity in Art that same year. Heron's work also
appeared in several shows and exhibitions, such as those mounted by Seven Arts Gallery, Carmel, 1932; Los Angeles Art Museum,
1932; Bond Street Gallery, London, 1933; Stanford University, 1934; Oakland Art Museum, 1934; Morton Gallery, New York City,
1935; National Association of Women Artists, New York City, 1936; Montalvo Gallery, Saratoga, 1941; Palace of the Legion of
Honor, San Francisco, 1940; Treasure Island World's Fair, San Francisco, 1940; and Southside Art Association, Chicago, 1942.
In 1974, Heron donated twelve paintings to the San Jose Public Library and an additional six to San Jose State University,
including
Old Tom, Monterey. Heron is listed in
Artists of the American West (1981),
Dictionary of Women Artists (1985), and
An Encyclopedia of Women Artists of the American West (1998). She was a life member of the National Association of Women Artists, New York City, and an artist member of the National League of Pen Women, Berkeley branch. She died March 6, 1980.
The Edith Harvey Heron Collection (1895-1980) documents the California artist's professional work and history. The collection
includes watercolors, drawings, etchings, miscellaneous art, prints, newspaper articles, pamphlets, photographs, and professional
records. The materials provide background information on Heron's artistic interests and development, as well as on her educational
and employment history. The collection is divided into Series I, Images and Documents, and Series II, Artwork.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Heron, Edith Harvey, 1895-1980--Sources.
Women artists--California--Sources.
Index Terms Related to this Collection
San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives