MS 11 Clara Lee Tanner Papers, 1924-1997

Materials from MS 11 Clara Lee Tanner Papers grouped by cultural affiliation. To access the full collection guide on Arizona Archives Online, click here.

To access archival materials, contact larc@arizona.edu.

Biographical Note

Clara Lee Frapps Tanner (1905-1997) was born in Biscoe, North Carolina, but moved to Tucson when she was two years old. She graduated from Tucson High School in 1923 and entered the University of Arizona where she earned a double bachelor’s degree in archaeology and English. After studying with Byron Cummings, Tanner became one of the first graduates in the anthropology program, receiving her master’s degree in 1928. She did additional post-graduate work with Alfonso Caso at the National University of Mexico in 1949 and was a visiting professor at Denver University in 1949 and at Colorado College in 1980.

Tanner began teaching in the anthropology department at the University of Arizona in 1928. She continued guiding students for the next fifty years, retiring in 1978. During these years, Tanner became an authority on the arts and crafts of Southwestern American Indians. Her interests encompassed almost every art form imaginable, but her best-known books, published in the 1950s to 1970s, focused on painting, pottery, jewelry, and baskets. Her extensive research resulted in influential publications, exhibitions, and voluminous research files.

Clara Lee married John Frederic Tanner (191-2010) in 1938, and they had one child, Sandra Lee Elers. The Tanner home was in Tucson where John had a business selling fine American Indian arts and crafts at the Yucca House and the Desert House Crafts (later known as Kaibab Shops). He and his wife were important agents in increasing the visibility of Indian artists and building a knowledgeable audience for appreciating tribal arts and crafts.

Quantity: 109 boxes