Skip to main content

Chris Petteys papers and collection of women artists

 Collection
Identifier: SC125

Scope and Contents

The Chris Petteys papers and collection of women artists contains the personal papers of Chris Petteys and the Petteys family's private collection of artwork, produced mainly by women artist. The Chris Petteys papers including her research on women artist and women produced artwork, correspondence and writings from members of her family, as well as personal writings from Petteys herself. Within Petteys' research are annotated books, artist files with catalogues, correspondence, images, and articles, and the index card records of the sources she used. The collection of women artist contains 51 pieces of artwork created by female artists within Petteys' collection, all varying in subject matter and medium.

Dates

  • 1854 - 2000
  • Existence: 2016

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. Please contact Archives and Special Collections for further information.

Biographical Information

Chris Petteys was born Marie. A. Christner in Sterling, Colorado on August 21, 1927. Petteys graduated from Sterling High School and attended Colorado State College for two years before leaving to join a local accounting firm in Sterling. She later attended Northeastern Junior College and attained her bachelor’s degree from Loretto Heights College. She married Robert Petteys of Sterling in 1955 and had three children. Spurred by her love of music and the arts, Petteys began her collection of women artists in the 1970s. Petteys’ first acquisition was a piece by Helen Frankenthaler and soon after collecting became her passion. In collecting artwork by women, Petteys quickly realized that information on female artists was limited and what was available was often inaccurate. Petteys then began a massive research project working to compile information on female artists from all over the world and create a dictionary titled, International Dictionary of Women Artists Born Before 1900. Over the course of twelve years, the dictionary ballooned to over 21,000 entries and was declared a monumental contribution to the field of art history and female artists.

Petteys also served on the board of the Sterling Arts Council and served two terms as trustee of the Denver Art Museum. She also served as a member of the Museum’s PR Council for a number of years and was involved with various projects at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling. Petteys was also a founding board member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. In May 2001, the University of Northern Colorado awarded Petteys an honorary doctorate degree for her contributions to the art world. She passed away on February 14, 2006.

Extent

99.95 Linear Feet (51 boxes and 16 map case drawers)

Language of Materials

English

German

Swedish

French

Additional Description

Abstract

The Chris Petteys papers and collection of women artists contain the personal papers of Chris Petteys and artwork collected by the Petteys family. The Chris Petteys papers include research files, index cards and publications collected and created by Chris Petteys while researching women artist. The product of her research resulted in the book, Dictionary of Women Artists Before 1900, published in 1986. The Chris Petteys collection of women artist is the Petteys familey's private collection of artwork containing work by mainly women artist.

Collection Arrangment

This collection is arranged into the following series and sub-series:

Series 1: Personal papers

Sub-series 1: Journal; Sub-series 2: Correspondence; Sub-series 3: Invoices; Sub-series 4: Newspapers

Series 2: Reference Resources

Sub-series 1: Artist files; Sub-series 2: Reference cards

Series 3: Artwork

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Petteys family donated the collection of artwork, art related publications, and the research work of Christ Petteys to the UNC at various intervals between 2008 and 2010. It was stored in the Lydia Ruyle room at the School of Art and Design until transferred Archives and Special Collections in various intervals between 2016 and 2017.

Separated Materials

The collection of publication donated with the papers and artwork was placed in the University Libraries main circulating collection and are available here: Chris Petteys Collection

Processing Information

Inventoried by Shirley Soenksen. Collection was processed by Petteys interns Darcy Wallshein (Fall 2017) and Erin Lascot (Spring 2018). Additional inventories created by intern Lucy Albers-Mead (Spring 2023) and volunteer Sterling Thomsen (Summer & Fall 2024).

Subjects

Collecting Areas

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Chris Petteys papers and collection of women artists
Status
In Progress
Author
Shirley Soenksen. Revised by Darcy Wallshein. Updated by Erin Lascot. Revised and updated by Melissa Gurney Schultz
Date
2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Revision Statements

  • 2016/08/09: Finding aid with inventory created by Shirley Soenksen.
  • 2017: During the fall semester of 2017, the collection was processed and a new finding aid was created by intern Darcy Wallshein.
  • 2018: During the spring semester of 2018, a finding aid was created in ArchivesSpace and additional processing of the collection was completed by intern Erin Lascot.
  • 2023/01/26: Collection renamed, previous name: Chris Petteys papers and artwork. Additional processing was completed and the finding aid was updated. Serie renamed and rearranged. Series 2:Publications removed and publications cataloged. Series 3:Personal Writings changed to Personal papers combined with Series 4:Invoices and Correspondence Binder moved under Personal Papers as a subseries. mmgs

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of Northern Colorado Repository

http://library.unco.edu/archives
Contact:
University Libraries
James A. Michener Library L119
Campus Box 48
Greeley CO 80639

Staff Interface | Visit ArchivesSpace.org | v3.3.1 | Send Feedback or Report a Problem