Contents and Arrangement
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
This series consists of contact sheets, approximately 3600 black-and-white negatives, prints of various sizes, typescripts, and a bound volume pertaining to Robert Davidson, an artist from Masset, Haida Gwaii who is considered one of the foremost Haida carvers of the late 20th century. After meeting while Steltzer was working on Indian Artists at Work, Steltzer and Davidson developed a long-standing friendship. Her documentation of Davidson's poles, masks, jewelery, carvings, and potlatches, from the mid-1970s until 2004, provides a unique insight into the technique, community involvement, and philosophy surrounding Davidson's work, as well as into the Haida cultural revival of which he was a part. As children of a generation for whom government attempts at integration suppressed native artistic and cultural activities, Davidson and other Haida artists in the 1970s-2000s are credited with reviving traditional forms, as well as reinterpreting them. Photographs show Davidson at work in his studio, with his family at various events and celebrations, as well as individual pieces of art, which were often photographed over the course of their completion. Includes photographs and early drafts of Robertson's text for Eagle Transforming: The Art of Robert Davidson, published in 1994. As a result of a long working relationship with Steltzer, materials related to Robert Davidson can also be located in Series 4 and Series 6.
Folders include contact sheets and negatives with interspersed prints, unless otherwise noted in folder title or description. Several containers of general prints and a copy of the book are arranged at the end of the series.
- Arrangement
Original reverse chronological order was preserved.
Collection History
- Appraisal
Duplicate copies of bound volumes were removed from the collection.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
The Trustees of Princeton University hold the copyright for materials in this collection that were created by Ulli Steltzer. Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Series 8: Robert Davidson; Ulli Steltzer Papers, C1454, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
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Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- ReCAP - Remote Storage (rcpxm)
- Boxes 10-11; 21
NoteThis collection is stored partially onsite at Firestone Library and partially offsite at the ReCAP Facility.
