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By Sandy Kroeker and Jonas Kromer Yela
Collection Overview
Title: Allen S. Weller Program Collection, 1919-1989
ID: 12/1/21
Primary Creator: Weller, Allen Stuart (1907-1997)
Extent: 6.0 cubic feet
Arrangement:
Series 1 is arranged according to Weller's original order, grouped by type of performance (Orchestral concerts, Non-orchestral Concerts, and Theatre) and chronologically within each grouping.
Series 2 had no original order, and has been organized into three subseries based on location (Champaign-Urbana/UIUC, Greater Chicago Area, and Other Cities). Each subseries is organized alphabetically by the organization that produced the documented performance, and chronologically within each producing organization's materials.
Date Acquired: 06/20/2023
Subjects: Champaign, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, Concert Programs, Dance, Dance Department, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Music, Music, School of, Orchestra, Star Course, Theatre, Theatre Department, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Consists of programs from musical, theatrical, and dance performances from Champaign-Urbana, the University of Illinois, the greater Chicago area, New York, and other cities from 1919 to 1989.
Collection Historical Note
Allen Stuart Weller was born in 1907 and grew up in Chicago, where his father was a professor of geology at the University of Chicago. He developed an interest in art as a child, eventually going on to earn his Ph.D. in Art History. Weller served in the Air Force in Italy during World War II, cataloging and overseeing the repatriation of stolen artwork. He joined the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1947, served as the chair of the Art Department from 1948 to 1954, the dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts from 1954 to 1971, and the director of the Krannert Art Museum from its founding in 1961 through 1964. Weller authored several books on art history, including one on Chicago sculptor Lorado Taft.
At UIUC, Weller was instrumental to the founding and design of the Krannert Art Museum. He also played an important role in the School of Art and Design's Festival of Contemporary Arts. Beginning in 1948 and held biennially until 1974, the Festival formed the basis of the Krannert Art Museum's collections and established the University as an art collecting institution. Under Weller's leadership, the Festival helped generate serious attention for contemporary art, lending institutional legitimacy to a wide variety of American artforms.
Sources:
College of Fine and Applied Arts biography of Allen S. Weller
"Celebrating Art: From Plaster Casts to Contemporary American Art Festivals," by Muriel Scheinman in No Boundaries: University of Illinois Vignettes ed. by Lillian Hoddeson
Oral history interview with Allen S. Weller by Stephen Polcari for the Archives of American Art
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Acquisition Source:
Music and Performing Arts Library via the Press Building basement
Acquisition Method:
Materials were brought to SACAM in banker's boxes interfiled with a number of other unprocessed program collections.
Appraisal Information:
All of the programs in Weller's collections were annotated with a date, either a full date or the year, usually in the upper left corner. Comparison with Weller's handwriting confirmed this to be his system. Any programs that did not have this distinctive annotation or some other marking in Weller's handwriting were considered not to be part of the collection, and interfiled with the rest of the programs in the MPAL Small Special Collections.
Appraisal focus was on programs highlighting local performances at the University and the Champaign-Urbana community as well as the greater Chicago area. For the most part, programs from international performances were deaccessioned, except in instances where the performance was of significant historical interest or had some connection to other SACAM collections.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Bound Programs, 1919-1973],
[Series 2: Unbound Programs, 1924-1989],
[
All]
- Series 2: Unbound Programs, 1924-1989
- Consists of programs from musical, theatrical, and dance performances attended by Allen S. Weller from 1924 to 1989. Weller did not group these programs in bound manila envelopes and the series has been organized into three subseries based on location of the performances.
- Sub-Series 1: Champaign, Urbana, and the University of Illinois
- Consists of programs from performances attended by Allen S. Weller in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and at the University of Illinois from 1927 to 1989. Organized alphabetically by the organization that produced the performance, and chronologically within each producing organization's materials.
- Box 3
- Folder 16: Armory Free Theatre, 1978-1980
- Folder 17: Assembly Hall, 1970-1974
- Folder 18: Celebration Company, 1974-1987
- Folder 19: Champaign - Urbana Community Theatre, 1977-1978
- Folder 20: Champaign - Urbana Symphony, 1976-1979
- Folder 21: Champaign - Urbana Symphony, 1980-1988
- Folder 22: Department of Dance, 1959-1978
- Contains program for the dedication of Erlanger House.
- Folder 23: Experimental Music, 1927-1974
- Folder 24: Festival of Contemporary Arts, 1952
- Folder 25: Illinois Dance Theatre, 1977-1983
- Folder 26: Illinois Kabuki Theatre, 1974-1988
- Folder 27: Illinois Opera Theatre, 1986-1988
- Folder 28: Illinois Repertory Theatre, 1985-1988
- Folder 29: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 1976-1986
- Folder 30: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 1986-1988
- Folder 31: Krannert Center Foellinger Great Hall Series, 1985
- Folder 32: Krannert Center Foellinger Great Hall Series, 1986
- Box 4
- Folder 1: Krannert Center Foellinger Great Hall Series, 1987
- Folder 2: Krannert Center Foellinger Great Hall Series, 1988
- Folder 3: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1973-1974
- Folder 4: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1974-1975
- Folder 5: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1975-1976
- Folder 6: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1976-1977
- Folder 7: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1977-1978
- Folder 8: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1978-1979
- Folder 9: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1979-1980
- Folder 10: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1980-1981
- Folder 11: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1981-1982
- Folder 12: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1982-1983
- Folder 13: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1983-1984
- Folder 14: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1984-1985
- Folder 15: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1985-1986
- Folder 16: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1986-1987
- Folder 17: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1987-1988
- Folder 18: Krannert Center Marquee Series, 1988-1989
- Folder 19: Krannert Center New Chamber Music Series, 1985-1986
- Folder 20: Krannert Center New Chamber Music Series, 1987
- Folder 21: Lincoln Hall Theatre, 1936-1983
- Folder 22: Memorial Concerts, 1985-1987
- Folder 23: National Academy Ballet, 1975-1976
- Folder 24: National Academy of Dance, 1973
- Folder 25: Orchesis, 1952-1958
- Folder 26: Performance for Peace, 1983-1985
- Folder 27: Performing Artists, The, 1980
- Folder 28: Personal Papers and Newsclippings, undated
- Folder 29: Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, 1988
- Folder 30: School of Music, 1974-1976
- Folder 31: School of Music, 1977-1980
- Folder 32: School of Music, 1981-1985
- Folder 33: School of Music, 1986-1988
- Box 5
- Folder 1: Sinfonia da Camera, 1986-1988
- Folder 2: Star Course, The, 1959-1977
- Folder 3: Stravinsky Awards, 1987
- Folder 4: Student Performances, 1978-1987
- Folder 5: University of Illinois Bands, 1974
- Folder 6: University of Illinois YMCA, 1978-1980
- Folder 7: University Place Christian Church, 1978
- Folder 8: University Theatre, 1974-1977
- Folder 9: University Theatre, 1978-1985
- Folder 10: Virginia Theatre, 1983
- Sub-Series 2: Chicago Metropolitan Area
- Consists of programs from performances attended by Allen S. Weller in the Chicago Metropolitan Area from 1924 to 1988. Organized alphabetically by the organization that produced the performance and chronologically within each producing organization's materials.
- Box 5
- Folder 11: Art Institute of Chicago - Goodman Theatre, 1976-1980
- Folder 12: Auditorium Theatre, 1926-1939
- Folder 13: Chicago Allied Arts, 1926
- Folder 14: Chicago Chamber Music Society, 1926
- Folder 15: Chicago Public Library, 1974
- Folder 16: Court Theatre, 1981
- Folder 17: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1974
- Folder 18: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1975
- Folder 19: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1976
- Folder 20: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1977
- Folder 21: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1978
- Folder 22: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1979
- Folder 23: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1980
- Folder 24: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1981-1983
- Folder 25: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1988
- Folder 26: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1986-1987
- Folder 27: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1987-1988
- Folder 28: Lyric Theatre of Chicago, The, 1955
- Folder 29: Orchestra Hall, 1926-1927
- Box 6
- Folder 1: North Shore Music Festival, 1924-1927
- Folder 2: Ravinia Festival, 1975
- Folder 3: Reynolds Club Theater, 1976
- Folder 4: Stagebill, 1936-1988
- Folder 5: University of Chicago, 1926
- Folder 6: University of Illinois at Chicago, undated
- Sub-Series 3: Other Cities
- Consists of programs from performances attended by Allen S. Weller in cities other than Champaign, Urbana, and Chicago, Illinois from 1974 to 1987. Organized alphabetically by city and chronologically within each city's materials.
- Box 6
- Folder 7: Galesburg, Illinois, 1974-1977
- Folder 8: La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1974
- One program for Mamako Yoneyama's performance at the International Mime Festival.
- Folder 9: London, England, 1986
- Folder 10: New York City, New York, 1976-1986
- Folder 11: North Carolina, 1975-1987
- Folder 12: Oberlin, Ohio, 1978
- Folder 13: Sullivan, Illinois, 1978-1979
- Folder 14: Washington, D.C., 1979
- Folder 15: Williamsburg, Virginia, 1987
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Bound Programs, 1919-1973],
[Series 2: Unbound Programs, 1924-1989],
[
All]
Holdings 
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