The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Papers 1914-2010
© 2013 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Nef, Evelyn Stefansson. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1914-2010 |
| Size: | 4.75 linear feet (8 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Evelyn Stefansson Nef was a puppeteer, librarian, and philanthropist. She was married to Committee on Social Thought founder John U. Nef, Jr. for 35 years. The collection contains her correspondence, personal papers and photographs, dating from 1914 to 2010. The bulk of the collection dates from 1964 to 2009. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Nef, Evelyn Stefansson. Papers [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Evelyn Stefansson Nef was born on July 24, 1913 to Bella Klein and Jenӧ Schwartz of Brooklyn. She had two older sisters, Rosalind and Julie, and a younger brother Myron. Her father died when she was 11, and Evelyn's emotionally fragile mother went mute from grief. Evelyn attended Washington Irving High School where she developed an interest in puppetry and marionettes. (The Schwartzes were a talented bunch; Julie went on to perform with the Ziegfeld Follies under the name Julie Jenner.)
With her mother unable to care for the family, Evelyn spent much of her time in her late teens in Greenwich Village, where she met artists, writers, and dancers, and was briefly involved with architect Buckminster Fuller. In 1932 she married puppeteer Bil Baird and began performing with his marionette theatre. Though she and Baird divorced after 4 years, she continued to perform through the end of the1930s.
In 1941, Evelyn married Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, 30 years her senior. During their marriage she served as a secretary and research assistant to Stefansson, and they amassed a large library of material on polar and subpolar regions. The Stefanssons and their library moved to Dartmouth College in 1951, where Vilhjalmur taught and Evelyn both taught and served as librarian for his collection. Evelyn herself wrote several books on polar geography and from 1969 to 1971 served as president of the Society of Women Geographers.
After Vilhjalmur Stefansson died in 1962, Evelyn moved to Washington D.C. to work for the American Sociological Association. In 1964 she met John U. Nef, Jr., professor in (and founder of) the interdisciplinary Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He proposed five days later and they were married in April of that year. Through Nef, Evelyn met such cultural and artistic luminaries as Saul Bellow and Marc Chagall, with whom the Nefs vacationed in France. In 1971, Chagall designed a mosaic for the Nef's garden.
In the 1970s Evelyn studied psychoanalysis and opened her own practice in Washington. She served on various boards, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Opera, the MacDowell Colony, and the International Longevity Center. The Nefs were prominent at social events and in the society pages through the 1960s and 1970s, and into the 1980s. John Nef died in 1988.
Evelyn Nef's life did not slow down after the death of her third husband. She continued to host musical evenings at her Georgetown home, whose guests included Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Her philanthropic work continued as well.
Between 1998 and 2002 Nef was awarded three honorary doctorates and the Icelandic Order of the Falcon Medal of Honor. Her autobiography, Finding My Way, the Autobiography of an Optimist, was published in 2002. Nef died of cancer on December 10, 2009.
The collection is divided into four series.
Series I, Personal, contains personal papers and ephemera, newspaper clippings, and memorials, arranged chronologically.
Series II, Correspondence, contains personal correspondence, arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Series III, Audio-Visual, contains photographs, negatives, and slides of Evelyn Nef, family, and friends. It also contains two CDs of poetry readings.
Series IV, Oversize, contains photographs of Evelyn and John Nef and friends, including the Chagalls and Hannah Arendt. Because many of them are undated, photos are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Of particular interest in the collection are photographs of, and correspondence related to, the mosaic designed by Marc Chagall for the Nef's garden in Washington, D.C. as well as many photographs of Chagall himself, most of them taken on vacation with the Nefs and his wife Vava (Valentina) in France. There is also a set of photographs from the baptism of Madeleine Albright's twins, and several of Hannah Arendt with John Nef. Other notable persons whose correspondence or photographs appear in the collection include Margaret Meade, Sandra Day O'Connor, Judith Leiber, Eleanor Jackson Piel, T. S. Eliot, Sir Neville Marriner, Yo-Yo Ma, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bill and Hilary Clinton, and Saul Bellow.
Nef, John U., Jr. Papers
Nef, Elinor Castle. Papers
University of Chicago. John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought. Records
Series I: Personal |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Marriage Certificate and Clipping, 1964 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Menus and Memorabilia, "SS France" Cruise, 1966 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Clippings – Society Pages, 1966-1970 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Clippings – Owen and Eleanor Lattimore, 1969-1989, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Clippings – 1969-2001 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Correspondence and Contributions – Eleanor Lattimore Memorial Booklet, 1970-1971 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Nef Foundation – Correspondence, and Papers, 1970 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Poem by "H. W. W.," 1982 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Committee on Social Thought – Honorary Dinner Invitation, 1989 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Leiber, Judith – Clippings, Correspondence, Catalog, 1990-2002 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | Clippings and Mailings – Chagall, 1995-1996 |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | Brendan Gill Dinner – Invite List, Drafts of Talk, 1996 |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | Evelyn Nef – Introduction of Saul Bellow, 1998 |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | Yo-Yo Ma/Silk Road Project Event – Correspondence, planning Materials, Photographs, 2009 |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | Clipping – Evelyn Nef Obituary, 2009 |
| Box 1 Folder 16 | Evelyn Nef Memorial Service – Program, Invitation, Remarks, 2010 |
| Box 1 Folder 17 | Evelyn Nef Memorial Booklet, Photographs, and Notes, 2010 |
| Box 1 Folder 18 | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine with Memorial, 2010 |
| Box 1 Folder 19 | Statement by J. Bird to National Geographic Society, undated |
Series II: Correspondence |
| Box 1 Folder 20 | Correspondence – Saul Bellow, 1998-2002, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 21 | Correspondence – "B," 1963-2000 |
| Box 1 Folder 22 | Correspondence –"C," 1969, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 23 | Correspondence – Chagall Mosaic, 1970-1972 |
| Box 1 Folder 24 | Correspondence – Chagall, Vava, 1976-1992 |
| Box 1 Folder 25 | Correspondence regarding Chagall Events/Exhibits, 1995 |
| Box 1 Folder 26 | Correspondence – de Angelis, Kodansha, Kodansha America, Inc., 1994 |
| Box 1 Folder 27 | Correspondence –"D-E," 1966-1972 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Correspondence – Eliot, Valerie and T. S., 1964-1969, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Correspondence – "F," 1963-1989 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Correspondence – "G," 1962-1991 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Correspondence – "H," 1963-1993 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Correspondence – Katz, Alex and Ada, 1974-2002 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Correspondence – "L," 1963-2007, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Correspondence – Lattimore, Owen and Eleanor, 1963-1969 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Correspondence – Lattimore, Owen, 1972-1978 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Correspondence – Lattimore, Owen, 1982-1987 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | Correspondence – Lattimore, David and Gerry, 1996-2005 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Correspondence regarding Owen Lattimore, 1990 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Correspondence – "M," 1981-2005 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Correspondence – Marriner, Molly and Neville [1 of 4], 1991-1996 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Correspondence – Marriner, Molly and Neville [2 of 4], 1997-2002 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Correspondence – Marriner, Molly and Neville [3 of 4], 2003-2006 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Correspondence – Marriner, Molly and Neville [4 of 4], 2007-2009 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Correspondence – Morazé, Monique, 1965-1993 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Correspondence –"N," 1974-1990, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Correspondence – Nef, John, 1964-1971 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Correspondence – "P," 1971-2006 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Correspondence and Pamphlets, PEN American Center, 2006-2008 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Correspondence –Piel, Gerard and Eleanor Jackson, 1981-2008 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | Correspondence – "S," 1974-2004 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Correspondence – University of Chicago Committee on Social Thought, 1989-1995 |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | Correspondence, Clippings, Releases – James von Sweden, Landscaping, 1989-2001 |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | Correspondence – Various, 2009 |
Series III: Audio-visual |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Photographs and Photocopies – Schwartz Family, 1914-1943, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 14 | Photographs – Owen and Eleanor Lattimore, circa 1930 |
| Box 3 Folder 15 | Photographs – Young Evelyn Nef (including photocopies), 1932, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef and Bil Baird, Marionettes, 1933-1934, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Photographs and Negative – Evelyn Nef at Marionette Theater, 1939 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Photographs – Notable Acquaintances, 1942, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Photographs and Note – Evelyn Nef in Russian Play, 1945 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef, Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Friends, 1952, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef, circa 1954, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | Photographs – Dartmouth College Activities, 1957-1989, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | Photographs – Birthday Party for Evelyn Stefansson Nef, circa 1960 |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | Photographs – John and Evelyn Nef and Friends, 1961-1978, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 10 | Photographs – Engagement Party (John and Evelyn Nef), 1964 |
| Box 4 Folder 11 | Photographs – John and Evelyn Nef, Wedding, 1964 |
| Box 4 Folder 12 | Photographs – John and Evelyn Nef, Wedding Portraits, 1964 |
| Box 4 Folder 13 | Photographs – Honeymoon, Florence and Rhodes, 1964 |
| Box 4 Folder 14 | Photographs and Negatives – Honeymoon in Paris, 1964 |
| Box 4 Folder 15 | Photographs – Marc and Vava Chagall, 1964 |
| Box 4 Folder 16 | Photographs – Nef Apartment, circa 1964 |
| Box 4 Folder 17 | Photographs – Lattimore Family and Nefs, 1964-1984, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 18 | Photographs – John and Evelyn Nef at Various Events, 1964-1976, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 19 | Slides – Marc Chagall and John Nef, Cap d'Antibes, France, 1965 |
| Box 4 Folder 20 | Photographs – John and Evelyn Nef, Cruise on "SS France," 1965-1966 |
| Box 4 Folder 21 | Photographs – Madeleine Albright and Family (Christening), 1965 |
| Box 4 Folder 22 | Photograph and Negative – Washington Post Article (Nefs), 1966 |
| Box 4 Folder 23 | Photographs and Note – John and Evelyn Nef at Point Farm, 1968 |
| Box 4 Folder 24 | Photographs and Note – Nefs, Chagalls, and Colwins, 1968 |
| Box 4 Folder 25 | Photographs – Marc Chagall and Others, 1968, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Photographs – Society of Women Geographers (SWG) – Evelyn Nef, 1968-1998 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Photographs and Slide – Marc Chagall's Birthday Party, 1970 |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Photographs – Nefs, Pierre Matisses, Chagalls – Cap d'Antibes, France, 1970 |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | Negatives, Photographs, and Contact Sheets – Evelyn Nef by Jacques Munch, Cap d'Antibes, 1970 |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | Photographs and Contact Sheet, Evelyn Nef, British Embassy Benefit, circa 1970 |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | Photographs – Marc and Vava Chagall, John and Evelyn Nef (with Note), 1970-1971 |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | Negatives and Contact Sheet – Chagalls, Kurtz, Schaffer, 1971 |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | Photographs – Tatiana de Fidler, 1971 |
| Box 5 Folder 9 | Photographs – Installation of Chagall Mosaic, 1971 |
| Box 5 Folder 10 | Photographs, Newsletter – Folger Library Events, 1972-1973, 1998 |
| Box 5 Folder 11 | Photographs and Contact Sheet – Evelyn and John Nef, Marc and Vava Chagall, Cap d'Antibes, France, 1973 |
| Box 5 Folder 12 | Contact Sheet and Photographs – Evelyn Nef by Mercedes Eichholz, 1973 |
| Box 5 Folder 13 | Photographs – Marc Chagall's Birthday Party, 1975 |
| Box 5 Folder 14 | Photographs – White House (Evelyn Nef), 1975-2003 |
| Box 5 Folder 15 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef, 1976-1982, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 16 | Photographs, Negatives, and Slide – Evelyn and John Nef, circa 1976-1978 |
| Box 5 Folder 17 | Photographs and Negatives – Evelyn Nef, Volunteer Achievement Award, 1978 |
| Box 5 Folder 18 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef and Lord Boyd Orr (with Note), 1978 |
| Box 5 Folder 19 | Photograph, Slide and Negative – Evelyn and John Nef, 1981 |
| Box 5 Folder 20 | Photograph and Slides – Evelyn and John Nef, Chagall Mosaic (from Baltimore Sun), 1981 |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | Photograph, Contact Sheet, Photocopy – Evelyn Nef and Friend Dancing/Chagall Mosaic, 1982, 1984 |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | Photographs and Notes – Evelyn Nef and Hugh Jacobsen, 1983, 1985 |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Photographs – John and Evelyn Nef, 1983, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | Photographs and Note – John and Evelyn Nef and J. Symington, 1985, 2003 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef and Friends, 1986-1992 |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | Photographs – Monique Morazé, 1987, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 7 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef, Mt. Sinai/Aging Research Event (with Note), 1987 |
| Box 6 Folder 8 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef at Various Events, 1990-1996 |
| Box 6 Folder 9 | Photo Album – Committee on Social Thought 50th Anniversary, 1992 |
| Box 6 Folder 10 | Photographs – 80th Birthday (by Mary Carswell), 1993 |
| Box 6 Folder 11 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef (incl. Photocopy), 1995-2003, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 12 | Photographs – University of Alaska Honorary Degree (Evelyn Nef), 1998 |
| Box 6 Folder 13 | Photographs, Negatives, Contact Sheets – Evelyn Nef with Chagall Mosaic, 1998, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 14 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef and Angela Lansbury at Kennedy Center Honors, 1999 |
| Box 6 Folder 15 | Photographs – National Organization on Disability Event (with Envelope), 1999 |
| Box 6 Folder 16 | Photograph – Evelyn Nef and Sandra Day O'Connor, 2000 |
| Box 6 Folder 17 | Photographs and Negatives – Evelyn Nef, Bobby Bristol, Mary, 2001 |
| Box 6 Folder 18 | Photographs – Washington Opera Balls (with Note) 2001, 2003 |
| Box 6 Folder 19 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef and Friends, 2001-2007 |
| Box 6 Folder 20 | Photographs Evelyn Nef at Various Events, 2003 |
| Box 6 Folder 21 | Photographs, Andre Siegfried, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 22 | Passport Photos – Evelyn Nef (with Sleeve), undated |
| Box 6 Folder 23 | Photographs and Negative – Evelyn and John Nef, Chagall Mosaic, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 24 | Photographs and Proofs – John and Evelyn Nef with Jim Douglas, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 25 | Photographs – Marc Chagall, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | Photographs and Slides – Self-Portraits, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | Framed photograph - Evelyn Stefansson Nef, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | CDs – David Grene Reading Poetry, 2002 |
Series IV: Oversize |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | Photographs – Chagall Mosaic, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef, 1972, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | Photographs and Correspondence – Evelyn Nef by Michelle Mattei, 2004 |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | Photographs – Evelyn and John Nef, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | Photographs – Evelyn and John Nef and Friends, circa 1966 |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | Photographs – Evelyn Nef, Monique Morazé, Eleanor Douglas, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | Photographs – Hannah Arendt and John Nef, circa1966 |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | Photographs – John Nef in Academic Regalia, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 9 | Photographs – John Nef at Work, undated |