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The Roswell Museum Federal Art Center Main Menu

Who Worked Here?

1 Rainey Woolsey Profile of a Roswell Museum Staff Member

This page lists all of the known employees who worked at the Roswell Museum between 1937 and 1942, when it was a federal community art center. Links to each person's name will take the visitor to a page describing that person's job, the kinds of documents that reference them, and when available, images of those documents. This section will expand as more documents are digitized and uploaded. While this page has endeavored to include everyone listed in the archive, there may be additional individuals whose names remain unknown at the present time.

The Roswell Museum had a small staff, with an average of 3-4 people working at any given time. The WPA certified prospective employees and assigned positions based on skill level or experience. Available positions at the museum included custodian, gallery attendant, secretary, and director, although these jobs often overlapped. Volunteers also assisted with daily tasks. Directors oversaw all the Museum’s operations and reported to the FAP’s State Director for New Mexico, Russell Vernon Hunter (1900-1955). A highly involved administrator, Hunter visited Roswell and the other art center sites regularly. He later became director of the Roswell Museum in 1950.

Due to its location in a relatively rural region with limited access to museum professionals, the Roswell Museum often relied on nonprofessionals to keep curatorial and administrative roles filled. Several of the museum's acting directors, for example, were initially hired as custodians or gallery attendants, but moved into the position when vacancies demanded it. Staff assignments were not permanent, moreover, but were revisited every six months, with personnel regularly moving to different locations.

Examining the labor of the people who worked at the Roswell Museum is a crucial way to acknowledge their presence. We may not know how these individuals felt about their experiences working here, but we can at least recognize the work they did. This is especially important for service-focused roles such as custodial work, jobs that produced limited opportunities to produce the kind of written documents that get preserved in archival repositories. Even if we are limited to time sheets and other indirect references, we can at least begin to appreciate how all of the Roswell Museum's employees worked to make this institution a successful cultural resource.

The Roswell Museum's Staff, in chronological order, 1937-1942

Rainey Woolsey (1937-1938): Gallery Attendant
Domingo Tejada (1937-1938): Carpenter
Trinidad Bernal (1937-1938): Assistant Carpenter
Robert B. Sprague (1937-1938): Director
Mary Katherine Higgs (1938): Cataloguer

Roland Dickey (1938-1940): Director
Andrew Long (1938): Custodian
John Marfyak (1938-1939): Art Instructor
Abraham Slifkin (1938-1939): Art Instructor
Juanita Lantz (1939): Art Instructor
Ruth Covey (1939): Gallery Attendant, Acting Director
Chester Faris (1939-1941): Gallery Attendant, Secretary
Dale Casey (1940): Art instructor
Thomas Rockey (1940): Custodian, Instructor
Merrick Melson (1940): Custodian
Leonard Hunt (1940-1941): Custodian, Carpenter
Lucy Bond (1940-41): Director
Bertha Rose (1941-1942): Gallery Attendant, Acting Director
Rafael Villalobos (1940-1942): Custodian

References

Chaduri, Nupur, Sherry J. Katz, and Mary Elizabeth Perry. Contesting Archives: Finding Women in the Sources. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2010.

Dever, Maryanne, editor. Archives and New Modes of Feminist Research. London: Routledge, 2017.

Shirazi, Roxanne. "Reproducing the Academy: Librarians and the Question of Service in the Digital Humanities." In Making Things and Drawing Boundaries: Experiments in the Digital Humanities. Edited by Jentery Sayers. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017.

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Roland Dickey Sara Woodbury
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Leonard Hunt Sara Woodbury
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Lucy Bond Sara Woodbury
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Bertha Rose Sara Woodbury
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Trinidad Bernal Sara Woodbury
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Merrick Melson Sara Woodbury
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Rafael Villalobos Sara Woodbury
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Abraham Slifkin Sara Woodbury
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Juanita Lantz Sara Woodbury
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Mary Katherine Higgs Sara Woodbury
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Robert Sprague Sara Woodbury
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Becoming the Roswell Museum and Art Center Sara Woodbury
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Other New Mexico Art Centers Sara Woodbury
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Classes Sara Woodbury
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Exploring the Roswell Museum Archive Sara Woodbury
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The Community Art Center Project Sara Woodbury
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Introduction Sara Woodbury
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Woolsey Report, page 1 Sara Woodbury Staff members were expected to submit reports reviewing their activities. This report comes from Rainey Woolsey, who served as Gallery Attendant between 1937 and 1938. Transcription: "The Gallery at the Roswell Museum has a new exhibition on drawing showing a variety in style and execution in ink, pencil, crayon, and chalk. This exhibition, assembled in California, is one of many arranged for the federal art centers by (illeg) in Washington, DC. In this show, Nevada and California artists are represented. Several pictures represent (something) for decoration of public buildings, those by Helen Foris and Dorothy Puccinelli are sketches for a mural....
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1. Job Description for Rainey Woolsey
2. Note from Second Grade Class at East Side School to Rainey Woolsey, n.d. This note represents one of the few direct responses from visitors to the museum, in this instance a class of second graders. Rainey Woolsey worked at the Roswell Museum as a gallery attendant between 1937 and 1938. Transcription: "Dear Mrs. Woolsey, We liked our visit at the museum. We learned many interesting things. We thank you for inviting us. Second Grade East Side School." Courtesy of the Roswell Museum and Art Center archive.
3. Report from Rainey Woolsey, Page 2 Transcription: (First sentence illegible) “This group of drawings will hang until December 15th. Visitors to the gallery will find (illeg) “Roswell Museum Federal Art Center the First Year” by Paul Horgan. Captain Horgan won the Harper Prize of 1933 for “The Fault of Angels”, a novel. He is the author of “Main Line West”, “A Lamp on the Plains”, “The Return of the Weed”, “The Habit of Empire” and many other publications. He is librarian of New Mexico Institute at Roswell, one of state advisors for the Federal Art Project of N.M. Paul Horgan has been active in organizing Roswell Museum Federal Art Center and constantly vigilant in promoting its interests—thru the " (see page 3 for continuation)
4. Report from Rainey Woolsey, Page 3 Transcription: (First sentence illegible) “…the above article is reprinted from the Golden Anniversary of the Roswell Daily Record for October 3, 1938. Captain Horgan is chairman of the recently organized “Roswell Friends of Art” this function of this group is to further the interest of and bring together those who might enjoy art activities at Roswell Museum Federal Art Center. On Wednesday nite December 7 the Archaeological and Historical Society younger members will sponsor a game party at the museum. The idea being to bring your table and game for fun and the museum. Pay a small fee—refreshments will be served during the evening.” (see page 4 for conclusion)
5. Report from Rainey Woolsey, Page 4 Transcription: “There will be a meeting open to the public Monday nite at 7:30 o’clock at the Roswell Museum for the purpose of discussing the work shop plan and to enroll those interested. Mr. Marfyak and Mr. Slifkin artists from the New York City Federal Art Project are here for several months to establish and teach classes for children and adults. Mr. Marfyak and Mr. Slifkin will be present Monday nite and invite your cooperation-” (end of document)
6. Research topics for Rainey Woolsey, 1938
7. Woolsey Report, page 1 Staff members were expected to submit reports reviewing their activities. This report comes from Rainey Woolsey, who served as Gallery Attendant between 1937 and 1938. Transcription: "The Gallery at the Roswell Museum has a new exhibition on drawing showing a variety in style and execution in ink, pencil, crayon, and chalk. This exhibition, assembled in California, is one of many arranged for the federal art centers by (illeg) in Washington, DC. In this show, Nevada and California artists are represented. Several pictures represent (something) for decoration of public buildings, those by Helen Foris and Dorothy Puccinelli are sketches for a mural....
8. Work Hours for Rainey Woolsey Compared to today's 40-hour week minimum, staff members at the Roswell Museum worked fewer hours in the 1930s, reflecting limited budgets and funding. In the case of Gallery Attendant Rainey Woolsey, 30 hours a week, or 120 hours per month, was the maximum amoung allotted, with the workday lasting from 1:30-5:30 pm. The first hour would be spent preparing reports , with the gallery opening to the public at 2. Courtesy of the Roswell Museum and Art Center archive.
9. Who Worked Here?

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