Charles Allmond papers

Summary

Creator: Allmond, Charles M., 1931-
Date(s): 1982-2013
Call Number: MSS 0673
Language: Materials entirely in English.
Abstract: The papers of Delaware artist Charles Allmond (born 1931) document over three decades (1981-2013) of his prolific career. The collection comprises 3 linear feet and oversize removals that include drawings, designs, slides, sculptures, as well as files of correspondence and documentation for exhibitions in which his work was included.
Physical Description:
  • 3 linear feet (3 boxes)
  • 1 oversize box
  • 1 oversize removal
Source: Gifts of Charles Allmond, 2003-2015.
Processing: Processed and encoded by Anita Wellner, April 2014. Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Alternative Format: Digital copies of the slides are available through the University of Delaware Library's Digital Collections website at Artstor.

If you wish to use the links to the digital objects presented in the Contents List, you MUST allow pop-ups from https://library.artstor.org Follow your browser's instructions on how to unblock pop-up windows from a specific website.

Biographical and Historical Notes

Wilmington, Delaware, sculptor Charles Allmond (born 1931) is primarily a direct carver in stone and wood who also produces limited editions of many of his works in bronze.

Native Delawarean Allmond is a graduate of P. S. duPont High School and holds degrees in agriculture and agronomy from the University of Delaware. He has worked as an agronomist, seed analyst, field man for a food processing business, and manager of a crop dusting service. Allmond also served in the U. S. Coast Guard from 1951 to 1956. After completing a degree at Temple University of Law in 1963, Allmond practiced law for thirty-one years. He has been active in civic and cultural affairs, as well as being the author of several scholarly and popular articles on agriculture, history, and law. After retiring from the practice of law in 1995, Allmond became a full-time sculptor.

As an artist who finds inspiration in the natural world, Allmond has a distinctive style which ranges from realism to abstract. His sculptures have been exhibited in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Sweden; in various venues, including over hundred different museums. Allmond's work is represented in public, corporate, and private collections; and he has received regional and national honors for his work. Allmond has been represented in solo exhibitions at the American Swedish Historical Museum; the Biggs Museum of American Art, the Delaware Division of the Arts, Wilmington, Delaware; and the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in New Jersey.

Allmond is a past president of the Society of Animal Artists (1995-1998) and has frequently been a judge at the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition held in Ocean City, Maryland. In 2004, Charles Allmond was a recipient of the Delaware Governor's Award for the Arts.

Sources

"Charles Allmond," Artist for Conservation. http://www.natureartists.com/artists (accessed April 18, 2014).

"Charles Allmond Sculptor," Press release (December 20, 1995).

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Delaware artist Charles Allmond (born 1931) document over three decades (1981-2013) of his prolific career. The collection comprises 3 linear feet and oversize removals that include drawings, designs, slides, sculptures, as well as files of correspondence and documentation for exhibitions in which his work was included.

Series I. Sketches and preliminary drawings, documents Allmond's working designs, patterns, and ideas for his sculptures. This series is arranged in alphabetical order by the title of the sculpture, or by Allmond's labeling on a particular drawing. In some cases the design material for a particular piece of sculpture will follow a progression from preliminary sketches to the final scale drawings used to create the sculpture. An image of the final sculpture is available in Series III. Slides, which complements the first series by providing photographic images of all of Allmond's completed works. Digital copies of slides are available through the University of Delaware Library's Digital Collections website at ARTstor Commons.

Series II. Shows and exhibitions, includes material related to exhibitions of Allmond's sculptures in shows, as well as solo and group exhibitions. The types of material found in this series include correspondence, exhibition announcements, invitations, receipts, programs, posters, postcards, artists' statements, notes, magazines, and catalogs. Notable solo exhibitions represented are: Second Nature: The Sculpture of Charles Allmond , at The American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2008); Finding the Joy-The Animal Sculpture of Charles Allmond , at the Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, Delaware (2003); Charles Allmond: Through the Mind's Eye , at the Delaware Division of the Arts, Wilmington, Delaware (2000); and Charles Allmond/Guy Coheleach: Point/Counterpoint , at the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, Oradell, New Jersey (1998).

The correspondence in the second series deals primarily with Allmond's participation in various shows and exhibitions; however, the files also provide information about Allmond's role in the Society of Animal Artists (an international organization of painters and sculptors who depict living creatures in their work), his donations of his work for charitable causes, and the sale of pieces of his sculpture through various galleries.

Series III. Slides, contains approximately 700 color images of Charles Allmond's sculptural works. The arrangement represents the artist's original organization of the slides in two binders by general subject, including abstracts, jars and earthenware, and human subjects; birds; animals; fish, shells, and sea life; and a category Allmond described as "early work." Allmond worked in a variety of media, including stone, wood, and bronze. Each slide included the work's title, medium, and dimensions. For many works, multiple views are available. The slides in these notebooks have been scanned and are available in digital format, and the slides have been returned to Mr. Allmond.

Series IV. Sculptures, comprises two original sculptures created by Charles Allmond. The first is a bronze piece titled "Love Birds," which was created in 2005 and is number 15 of 25. The second sculpture, "Northern Sphinx," which is number 6 of 8, was created in 1997 and is a representation of a polar bear in alabaster.

Series V. Biographical information and articles, provides information about Charles Allmond and his work through magazine articles, newspaper clippings, and press releases. Two additional items in the series are an article written by Allmond, titled "Gunning Bedford, Jr.," which appeared in Delaware Lawyer (1987), and a nineteenth-century notebook which belonged to Allmond's grandfather. The notebook contains his grandfather's notations and writings related to the Order of Masons, of which he was a 33rd degree Mason of a Delaware lodge.

This collection offers rich resources for the study a recognized contemporary American sculptor, whose work flows from the natural world, particularly showcasing birds, animals, and marine life.

Using these materials

Shelving Summary

  • Boxes 1-3: Shelved in SPEC MSS record center cartons
  • Box 4: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (18 inches)
  • Removals: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize mapcase

Access Information

The collection is open for research.

If you wish to use the links to the digital objects presented in the Contents List, you MUST allow pop-ups from http://www.sscommons.org Follow your browser's instructions on how to unblock pop-up windows from a specific website.

Preferred Citation

MSS 0673, Charles Allmond papers, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://www.lib.udel.edu/cgi-bin/askspec.cgi

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