F. Curtis Canfield (AC 1925) Papers, 1929-1981

Canfield Papers, 1929-1981

3 records storage boxes, 1 archives box, 2 oversize flat boxes (4.5 linear ft.)

Abstract:

Drama professor and director. Collection includes course and lecture notes, as well as some correspondence, newspaper clippings, framed portraits and photographs, and material for Canfield's books.

Terms of Access and Use:

Restrictions on access:

There is no restriction on access to the F. Curtis Canfield Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.

Restrictions on use:

Requests for permission to publish material from the F. Curtis Canfield Papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Biographical Note

Fayette Curtis Canfield (AC 1925), drama professor and director, was born on July 29, 1903 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After his graduation in 1925, he worked at Amherst as Professor of Theatre and Dramatic Art until 1954. From 1938 onwards, he was also Director of Amherst's Kirby Theater. In 1954, he was appointed the first dean of the Yale University School of Drama, a position he held for thirteen years. He left Yale in 1967 to teach Theatre Arts at the University of Pittsburgh, where he stayed until his retirement in 1973. Canfield was a trustee of the National Theatre Conference from 1958 to 1964 and of the American Shakespeare Theatre Festival Academy from 1962 to 1968; and a member of the Century Association of New York from 1953 to 1971. He was awarded honorary degrees by Amherst and Emerson Colleges, and by Yale University. Canfield was married to Katherine F. Newbold on May 21, 1927. He died in Northampton on June 8, 1986, at the age of 82.

Canfield wrote and edited several books on theatre, including Plays of the Irish Renaissance (1929), Plays of Changing Ireland (1936), The Seed and the Sowers: A Chronicle of the Founding of Amherst College (1955), and The Craft of Play Directing (1963).

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The bulk of the collection is made up of notes and other materials relating to Canfield's courses, lectures, and speeches, spanning his careers at Amherst, Yale and the University of Pittsburgh. The papers also include some correspondence, newspaper clippings, and material for his books, as well as a few framed portraits and photographs.

This collection is organized into six series:

1. University of Pittsburgh, 1967-1973
2. Amherst College, 1929-1980
3. Yale University, 1954-1992
4. Miscellaneous, 1936-1981
5. Portraits and Photographs, 1946, n.d.
6. The Craft of Play Directing (book), ca. 1963

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

There is no restriction on access to the F. Curtis Canfield Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.

Restrictions on use:

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in F. Curtis Canfield Papers [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library

History of the Collection

Additional Information

Contact Information

Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Robert Frost Library
PO Box 5000
Amherst, MA 01002-5000

Phone: (413) 542-2299
Fax: (413) 542-2692

Email Reference Form: http://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/askus
URL: http://www.amherst.edu/library/archives

Language

English.

Sponsor

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Contents List

Series 1: UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH,	1967-1973

Merrill Trust	1972-73	Box 1: folder 1

Ibsen: Peer Gynt	1968-69	Box 1: folder 2

Records of the Merrill Fellowships		Box 1: folder 3

Albee; The Soundbox; The Puzzle; Tiny Alice; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Playbills and notes)		Box 1: folder 4

Notes for Speech 82	1972-73	Box 1: folder 5

Lecture notes for Speech 82	1968-69	Box 1: folder 6

O'Neill: Long Day's Journey...		Box 1: folder 7

Rostand: Cyrano de Bergerac	1973	Box 1: folder 8

Wilde: Lady Windermere's Fan		Box 1: folder 9

Shaw: The Doctor's Dilemma		Box 1: folder 10

Fry: The Lady's Not For Burning		Box 1: folder 11

Irish Drama - Juno		Box 1: folder 12

Shakespeare: The Tempest		Box 1: folder 13

Stoppard: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - Director's problems		Box 1: folder 14

Rice: The Adding Machine; Typist Shisgal		Box 1: folder 15

Speech 227 - Dramatic Literature and Styles	1978	Box 1: folder 16

Gorki: The Lower Depths	1973	Box 1: folder 17

Brecht: Mother Courage		Box 1: folder 18

Miller: Death of a Salesman; All My Sons		Box 1: folder 19

Absurdists		Box 1: folder 20

Pirandello		Box 1: folder 21

Odets		Box 1: folder 22

Chekhov: The Seagull		Box 1: folder 23

Eliot: Murder in the Cathedral		Box 1: folder 24

O'Neill: The Homecoming		Box 1: folder 25

Saroyan	1971	Box 1: folder 26

Ibsen: A Doll's House		Box 1: folder 27

Shakespeare comparisons		Box 1: folder 28

Strindberg: The Father		Box 1: folder 29

Dramatic Literature and Styles: The Hairy Ape	1973	Box 1: folder 30

O'Neill: Morning Becomes Electra		Box 1: folder 31

Clytemnestra		Box 1: folder 32

Oedipus		Box 1: folder 33

Tragedy III		Box 1: folder 34

Talk to Women's Association on the New York season	1969	Box 1: folder 35

Pittsburgh II	1968-69	Box 1: folder 36

Pittsburgh I	1968-69	Box 1: folder 37

Talk at Pittsburgh drama rally	1967	Box 1: folder 38

Rehearsal photos (?)		Box 1: folder 39

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern... - photos and playscript		Box 1: folder 40

Marat-Sade - playscript, notes		Box 1: folder 41

John Brown's Body	1973	Box 1: folder 42

Visiting British director - Tyrone Guthrie and FCC		Box 1: folder 43

Classical Tradition (folder empty)	1973	Box 1: folder 44

Talk at Massachusetts Chapter of AETA (folder empty)		Box 1: folder 45

Speech on Abbott Van Nostrand and the Samuel French plays (folder empty)	1980	Box 1: folder 46

Happy as Larry		Box 1: folder 47

Notes on John Brown's Body		Box 1: folder 48

Chekhov		Box 1: folder 49

Miscellaneous letters	1971-	Box 1: folder 50

Report on the future of the arts at University of Pittsburgh	1970	Box 1: folder 51

Mowatt: Fashion, or Life in New York		Box 1: folder 52

New York Times Book Review - review of Broadway, by FCC	1970	Box 1: folder 53

The Craft of Play Directing - by FCC - manuscript		Box 1: folder 54

The Craft of Play Directing - Permissions		Box 1: folder 55

Fashion, or Life in New York - newsclippings		Box 1: folder 56

Early miscellaneous clippings, programs, etc. by Ralph C. McGoun (AC 1927)	1930's	Box 1: folder 57

Sentiment cards		Box 1: folder 58

Series 2: AMHERST COLLEGE,	1929-1980

Order of exercises at Stanley King's Inauguration	1942	Box 2: folder 1

Letter to Andrew Canfield re: end of Navy and future	1946	Box 2: folder 2

The Seed and the Sowers, by FCC - written for 125th Anniversary of the Masquers	1946	Box 2: folder 3

Burgess Meredith (AC 1930)		Box 2: folder 4

Amherst reunion	1980	Box 2: folder 5

Kirby Theatre		Box 2: folder 6

Chapel Talk - An Amherst Astronomer	1954	Box 2: folder 7

Pouffer: The Shapes Arise manuscript		Box 2: folder 8

Irish phase	1929-	Box 2: folder 9

Oral History interviews with Hewlett		Box 2: folder 10

The Afterglow - a tribute to Robert Frost		Box 2: folder 11

Writings and copies by FCC		Box 2: folder 12

Talk to Amherst Faculty Club re: MIT WWII experiences		Box 2: folder 13

Older notes from courses at Amherst College		Box 2: folder 14

Miscellaneous talks - Hartford alumni	1947-48	Box 2: folder 15

Tad Mosel		Box 2: folder 16

Masquers Trip to Vienna	1933	Box 2: folder 17

Fashion - Abbott Van Nostrand		Box 2: folder 18

Letter from FCC on the impermanence of theater art		Box 2: folder 19

Senior Chapel speech	1947	Box 2: folder 20

Humorous talk on the occasion of the Class of 1923 Reunion		Box 2: folder 21

Jones Library	1947	Box 2: folder 22

M. Abbott Van Nostrand and his collection of the publications of the Samuel French Companies - President's House	1980	Box 2: folder 23

Chapel talk	1949	Box 2: folder 24

Evolution of a Playgoer		Box 2: folder 25

Class notes - Humanities 22	1954	Box 2: folder 26

Class notes - Dramatic Arts 43, Directing	1953	Box 2: folder 27

Williamstown, MA - The Reluctant Debutante		Box 2: folder 28

Address to the Amherst Alumni, New York	1946	Box 2: folder 29

Macmillan Company - Correspondence		Box 2: folder 30

Explanation of TV		Box 2: folder 31

Remarks - Prelude to Presentation of Award at Emerson College		Box 2: folder 32

Remarks at Memorial Service for Charles E. Rogers	1980	Box 2: folder 33

Memorial Service for David Morton - Johnson Chapel	1957	Box 2: folder 34

Memorial Services, for Eugene S. Wilson; Dan Seymour		Box 2: folder 35

Speech to Sabrina Society	1975	Box 2: folder 36

Chapel talks on Amherst College	1947	Box 2: folder 37

Class notes - Humanities 21, Medieval Drama		Box 2: folder 38

Class notes - Maeterlinck (Symbolism)		Box 2: folder 39

Class notes - Humanities 22, Dryden	1951	Box 2: folder 40

Lecture notes - Humanities 22	1951	Box 2: folder 41

Class notes - Humanities 22	1951	Box 2: folder 42

Speech to 45th Reunion of the Class of '52	1977	Box 2: folder 43

Speech to 45th Reunion of the Class of '33	1978	Box 2: folder 44

Class notes - Stage composition		Box 2: folder 45

Humanities - Finished work - Ibsen		Box 2: folder 46

Humanities - Finished work - Frye		Box 2: folder 47

Humanities - Finished work - O'Neill		Box 2: folder 48

Humanities - Finished work - Odets		Box 2: folder 49

Humanities - Finished work - Miscellaneous		Box 2: folder 50

Poetic Drama... Irish plays		Box 2: folder 51

Sean O'Casey		Box 2: folder 52

Irish plays	1957-59	Box 2: folder 53

Kaiser - Expressionism		Box 2: folder 54

Miscellaneous notes - clippings used in compiling		Box 2: folder 55

Humanities 126B		Box 2: folder 55

Talk at AETA - notes by President		Box 2: folder 56

Lecture notes - Evolution of a Playgoer	1934	Box 2: folder 57

Class notes - Early American Drama		Box 2: folder 58

Old notes for course on Greek and Roman theatre	1930-	Box 2: folder 59

Lecture notes - Dramatic History	1930-	Box 2: folder 60

Amherst Summer Theater:	1940?	Box 2: folder 61

Anderson - Winterset		Box 2: folder 61

O'Neill - Ah, Wilderness		Box 2: folder 61

Series 3: YALE UNIVERSITY,	1954-1992

Letters - Ralph Williams, John Whicher, Herschel Williams		Box 3: folder 1

Yale Alumni Magazine	1954	Box 3: folder 2

Tragedy of (Xenathaeis?) - 45 rpm vinyl disc		Box 3: folder 3

"Cole" - Yale salute to Cole Porter		Box 3: folder 4

Lecture - The Performing Arts - Toronto	1965	Box 3: folder 5

"Lost Portraits of Thomas Jefferson," Mead Art Gallery	1959	Box 3: folder 6

First speech at Yale as	1954	Box 3: folder 7

Drama		Box 3: folder 7

End of first school year at Yale	1955	Box 3: folder 8

Commencement addresses at Yale	1959-64	Box 3: folder 9

Lecture - The Yale Plan		Box 3: folder 10

Talk to Yale Club of New Haven	1961	Box 3: folder 11

Talk to Alumni group - Cincinnati and Louisville	1963	Box 3: folder 12

Honorary degree - Emerson College	1956	Box 3: folder 13

Honorary Degree - University of Pittsburgh	1973	Box 3: folder 14

Letter of Resignation - FCC to Kingman Brewster	1968	Box 3: folder 15

Speech to Yale alumni at Winter Park	1960	Box 3: folder 15A

Correspondence - Katherine Canfield to Yale School of Drama	1992	Box 3: folder 16

Series 4: MISCELLANEOUS,	1936-1981

Newsclippings from the American Press Clipping	1936	Box 4: folder 1

Service		Box 4: folder 1

Miscellaneous letters, articles, pamphlets, etc.		Box 4: folder 2

MIT Class of 1946 Reunion Book		Box 4: folder 3

Speech at 20th Navy Reunion, Provincetown, MA	1960	Box 4: folder 4

Speech at 35th Navy Reunion, Woodstock VT	1981	Box 4: folder 5

MIT Navy V-12 Unit	1943-46	Box 4: folder 6

Photograph - FCC at MIT	1945	Box 4: folder 7

TECHNIQUE (MIT Yearbook)	1945	Box 4: folder 8

Series 5: PORTRAITS AND PHOTOGRAPHS,	1946, n.d.

Sketched portrait, 10 x 13 1/2 - "To Curt Canfield with warm appreciation," signed "Stanley King"	1946	Box 5: folder 1

Unidentified portrait, B/W photo, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2		Box 5: folder 2

Unidentified portrait with Sabrina, color photo, 10 3/4 x		Box 5: folder 3

10 1/4		Box 5: folder 3

Professor Charles Morgan, B/W photo, 11 3/4 x 13 3/4		Box 5: folder 4

Series 6: THE CRAFT OF PLAY DIRECTING,	ca. 1963

Art and blueprints for Canfield's book The Craft of Play Directing.	ca. 1963	Box 6: folder 1

Search Terms

The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.

Subjects

Amherst College--Faculty.
Amherst College--Students.
Canfield, Curtis, 1903-
Theater--Massachusetts--Amherst.
Theater--Study and teaching (Higher)--Connecticut--New Haven.
Theater--Study and teaching (Higher)--Massachusetts--Amherst.
Theater--Study and teaching (Higher)--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
University of Pittsburgh--Faculty.
Yale University--Faculty.

Contributors

Amherst College. Class of 1925. Canfield.

Genre terms

Lecture notes--Amherst College.

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