Elmer Ray Pearson papers and visual materials, 1929-1986, bulk 1939-1984

Advance appointment required to view color material in cold storage or negatives in cool storage; please email research@chicagohistory.org.

Materials were a gift of Per and Lars Pearson, 1991 (accession #: 1991.0205).

Elmer Ray Pearson papers and visual materials (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and series/box/folder of a specific item.

The Elmer Ray Pearson papers and visual materials were acquired by the Chicago Historical Society in 1991, from Elmer Ray Pearson’s sons, Per and Lars. The collection was accumulated by Ray Pearson through the years he was associated with the New Bauhaus, School of Design, and Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology from about 1950 to the early 1980s. The collection is estimated to contain 2,000 photoprints and 75 contact sheets, 300 negatives, 120 color slides, and 34 16 mm. film reels. It consists of paper ephemera such as announcements of art exhibitions, exhibition panels, pamphlets relating to the Institute of Design, and correspondence and papers from the Institute of Design and its faculty. The photographs include student photographs of building designed by Louis Sullivan; photographs of the Institute's campus, staff, and students; photographs by faculty and students; photographs of student and faculty work; documentary films showing student exhibition and faculty and student interviews; experimental films by faculty and students; periodicals and other printed material; portfolios of prints and photographs by faculty and students of the Institute of Design.

This collection is an accrual of three previously seperate collections, the Ray Pearson's Institute of Design collection of visual materials (accession #1991.0205), the Ray Pearson Papers (accession #1991.0205) and a Prints and Photographs collection (accession #1989.682).

Elmer Ray Pearson (1921-1986), known professionally as Ray Pearson, was a professor at the Institute of Design from 1950 until the early 1980s. Born in January of 1921 in Michigan, Pearson moved to Chicago early in his life. He graduated from Lane Technical High School in Chicago and received his Bachelors of Science in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology studying under Mies Van Der Rohe and Ludwig Hilberseimer. Pearson also served four years in the United States Army, and worked as an architect for multiple firms in Chicago.

Pearson was a photographer, designer, and craftsmen. After working for architectural firms in Chicago, Pearson changed careers and became an Associate Professor at the Institute of Design. Pearson began teaching in 1950, and he taught courses at the Institute of Design on both two-dimensional and three-dimensional design. He also taught and organized the Basic Workshop in Art Education and Design for the majority of his time at the school. Pearson was a faculty member of the Institute of Design for over three decades, and had a lot of connections and influence through his many years there. Connections include Moholy-Nagy, Walter Gropius, Cosmo Campoli, and countless others who were key players in Chicago Design. He was also a Lecturer in Art at what is now known as the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Institute of Design, formerly known as both “The New Bauhaus” and The School of Design, was founded in Chicago in 1937 by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Being a former member of the Bauhaus, the German school or architecture and design, Moholy-Nagy brought many of the Bauhaus’ ideals to the Institute of Design creating a program that provided a “total education”. This meant that students worked with a variety of subjects and mediums rather than specializing in just one area. Students would first take the Foundation Course at the institute, which generally took up the first two semesters of their study. Foundations were crucial to Bauhaus thought, so the Basic Workshop, taught by Pearson, was very important as the first step towards further education. The school was officially renamed the Institute of Design in 1944 and officially became part of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1949, where it remains today.

Related collections at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Ray Pearson collection of visual materials (1985.0818); visual materials from the Institute of Design, part 1 (1995.0221); the Illinois state signs collection (1986.0205); and a publication cataloged separately: The Shaker Image.

• SubjectDesign - Study and Teaching - Illinois - Chicago
• Names
  • Pearson, Elmer R.
  • Institute of Design (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Illinois Institute of Technology. Institute of Design
• Geographic CoverageChicago (Ill.) - Buildings, structures, etc. -1930-1979

The collection is arranged in ten series, which mainly correspond to the visual material formats found in the collection.

Series I. Photoprints, contact sheets (8x10 in. or smaller) (19 boxes)

Series I contains the majority of the photoprint materials in this collection including contact prints. This series is arranged according to the subject matter of the photographs. Subjects include buildings designed by Louis Sullivan, The Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Institute of Design Exhibitions, and Institute of Design faculty and student work.

Series II. Oversize photographs (16x20 in. or smaller) (2 boxes)

Series II is comprised from the rest of photographic material, which are oversize materials. This series has also been arranged according to the subject matter of the photographs similarly to Series I.

Series III. Photonegatives (2 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.) (N0229) (1 box)

Series III (2 ¼ x 2 ¼ in. negatives) consists of black and white negatives, many of which correspond to photoprints and contact prints in Series I. Images which exist in both negative and print form have been assigned item numbers (0001 to 0104) which link the different formats.

Series IV. Photonegatives (4x5 in.) (N0230) (1 box)

Series IV (4 x 5 in. negatives) also consists of black and white negatives, many of which correspond to photoprints and contact prints in Series I. Images which exist in both negative and print form have been assigned item numbers (0001 to 0104) which link the different formats.

Series V. Color slides (T0136) (1 box)

Series V are color slides showing many of the graphic materials in the collection, as well as illustrations from books about the Bauhaus School.

Series VI. Institute of Design printed materials (17 boxes and 3 OS folders)

Series VI contains most of the graphic material of the collection. This group is arranged according to the subject matter of the materials. Subjects include Art Exhibition Announcements, Pamphlets on the Institute of Design, papers relating to the Institute of Design and Illinois Institute of Technology, and information on the many faculty members associated with the school. The bulk of this series is made up of the Institute of Design papers, which includes correspondence, course information, and exhibition information. The papers on the faculty members are also a substantial part of this series. These papers also include correspondence, art exhibition pamphlets, and other paper materials relating to specific persons associated with the Institute of Design.

Series VII. Published materials (3 boxes)

Series VII consists of published materials, including publications on IIT faculty and the Institute of Design itself, as well as periodicals containing articles on IIT members such as Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Nathan Lerner, and Harry Callahan.

Series VIII. Portfolios, bound albums, and exhibition posters (1 box, 3 volumes, and 6 OS folders)

Series VIII contains portfolios of prints, photographs, and assignments by faculty and students of the Institute of Design. There are also six oversize folders of large scale exhibition panels and posters.

Series IX. Audio cassettes (1 box)

Series IX consists of four audio recordings from 1985-1986.

Series X. Film reels (16 mm.) (box 1-34)

Series X is comprised of 16 mm. film reels arranged either by title, when provided, or by subject matter. Most of the films are black and white and silent, although there are some color and sound films in the collection.