Guide to the John H. Hauberg Papers
1949-1998

Biographical Note

John H. Hauberg was a businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and patron of the arts who helped to shape the civic, political and cultural landscapes of Seattle for over four decades.

John H. Hauberg was born in 1916 in Rock Island, Illinois. His father, John Henry Hauberg, was an attorney, businessman and noted local historian. His mother, Susanne Denkmann, was the daughter of lumber giant F.C.A. Denkmann, an early partner of Frederick Weyerhaeuser. Both of his parents were active in Rock Island's civic and cultural life.

Hauberg first came to the Pacific Northwest in 1938 while still a student at Princeton University and spent a summer working in Weyerhaeuser Company logging camps. He returned to Princeton, but left the University for good in 1939. He went to work once again in the forest products industry, first in the mills in Everett, then in the Midwest for Weyerhaeuser. After serving in the Army from 1943-1946, Hauberg entered the University of Washington School of Forestry (now the College of Forest Resources) and earned a bachelor's degree in 1949.

At a time when the forest industry knew little of reforestation, Hauberg recognized and was troubled by the wasted potential of logged-off lands. Stands of red alder, a tree then considered to have no commercial value, were taking over where old growth cedar forests once stood. Hauberg envisioned putting these lands back into production of commercially valuable Douglas fir. But he first needed to create a bureaucracy-free environment in which he could explore the problems of forest regeneration over the long term. In 1948, while still a student at the University of Washington, Hauberg began purchasing logged-off lands near Stanwood, about 50 miles north of Seattle. He sought out tracts with tree stumps from old growth timber, indicators of the land's tree-growing potential. He quickly acquired his first 5000 acres by buying smaller family-owned properties.

Family and professional obligations left Hauberg only the weekends to devote to his tree farm. He continued to purchase tracts of land in the face of increasing competition from large timber company. In 1950, with the help of friends he planted his first Douglas fir seedlings. After about five years of experimenting with planting and spraying methods, Hauberg and the forester he later hired were able to find the right combination of actions that led to Douglas fir regeneration on high site, or highly fertile, lands. His innovative research attracted the attention of other forest products companies. Eventually, the Pilchuck Tree Farm would grow to some 15,000 acres, with over 11,000 acres in plantation. It continues to be the site of research in forest resource management practices as well as a commercially successful enterprise.

In spite of his success in the timber industry, Hauberg is perhaps more widely known as a generous benefactor of the arts and prolific collector of artworks. His art interests range from contemporary to Pre-Columbian American and from fine arts to crafts. He has a special interest in Native American art and culture, which he traces back to his father. The elder Hauberg was a student of the Indian tribes near Rock Island and avid collector of Indian relics. As a youth Hauberg spent two summers working with a Sauk Indian chief and a Fox Indian chief to construct a summer and winter house in the museum that would house his father's collection of Indian artifacts. Thus, when in 1950 University of Washington anthropologist Erna Gunther sought Hauberg's help in raising funds for the Burke Museum to purchase a collection of Northwest Native art, he responded eagerly. Hauberg and friend Phil Padelford raised the necessary $10,000 in just three days. In gratitude Gunther allowed Hauberg and Padelford to each purchase one item from the collection. Hauberg chose a raven rattle. That piece, for which he paid $25, became the first in what was to become the largest collection of Coastal Native Indian art in private hands. He would donate the bulk of this collection to the Seattle Art Museum in 1994. Hauberg also built an extensive collection of Pre-Columbian art.

Hauberg has been a patron and friend of many noted contemporary Northwest artists, including Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, and Paul Horiuchi. His long association with the painter Mark Tobey was especially notable. Tobey left Seattle for Basel in 1960. Hauberg, however, was committed to establishing an enduring Tobey presence in the Pacific Northwest. Among his first major art gifts was the Tobey mural, Journey of the Opera Star, that he and his first wife, Anne Gould Hauberg, commissioned for the newly constructed Seattle Opera House. In the late 1960s, the Haubergs proposed establishing a Tobey museum as part of a larger cultural center they envisioned on the Pilchuck Tree Farm property. The Pacific Northwest Arts Center was incorporated to serve as the umbrella non-profit organization for the Tobey Museum and other projects. To secure Tobey's cooperation Hauberg paid Tobey a substantial monthly stipend. The payments, which began in 1971, would continue for the remainder of Tobey's life. In return, Tobey executed a will which left his entire estate to a Seattle-area arts institution. Tobey subsequently made another will that left his estate to his companion, Mark Ritter. The existence of contradictory wills set the stage for a contest over the estate following Tobey's death in April 1976. A PNAC-commissioned film of Tobey in Basel was completed in 1972. Plans for a rural Tobey museum, however, were scrapped prior to Tobey's death, due to funding and logistical problems. The Pacific Northwest Arts Center was absorbed into the Seattle Art Museum, which eventually received Tobey's memorabilia and art works in Tobey's Seattle studio from the artist's estate. The memorabilia later came to the University of Washington Libraries as the Mark Tobey Papers, Seattle Art Museum Archives.

Hauberg has left his imprint on two of the Seattle area's important art institutions. His association with the Seattle Art Museum has spanned five decades. He was first named a trustee of the museum in 1950. In 1973, he succeeded Dr. Richard E. Fuller as President of the Seattle Art Museum. Fuller, the museum's founder, had operated it for 50 years as practically a private enterprise. It fell to Hauberg to turn the institution into a self-sustaining one. During his tenure as President the Seattle Art Museum was embroiled in the battle over the estate of Mark Tobey.

The museum also staged the hugely successful "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibit, which helped to stabilize the museum's precarious finances. After stepping down as President in 1977, Hauberg continued to serve as a museum trustee and played a significant role in the decision to site the new museum building in downtown Seattle.

Hauberg's association with the renowned Pilchuck Glass School dates from the school's very beginnings. In 1971, through the textile artist Jack Lenor Larsen, Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg became acquainted with Dale Chihuly, a young glass artist and instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Chihuly and fellow artist Ruth Tamura, armed with no more than $2000 in grant money and enthusiasm, proposed to run an outdoor summer workshop in glass art. The Haubergs stepped in to provide not only a site at the Pilchuck Tree Farm, but crucial financial and in-kind support for the workshop. The success of the 1971 summer session led the Haubergs to underwrite the workshop the following two summers and place it under the administration of the newly established Pacific Northwest Arts Center. During the mid-1970s the glass workshops began to evolve into a permanent entity. A non-profit, independent Pilchuck School was incorporated in 1976 ("Glass" would be added later), and a permanent campus was constructed on land deeded to the school by Hauberg. Yet for the remainder of the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, even as an administrative and fund-raising structure developed, Hauberg remained deeply involved in the school's operations. His personal leadership and financial support eased Pilchuck's growing pains and laid the foundation for the school's long-term success.

Following the example of his parents, Hauberg assumed an active role in Seattle's civic life and took a keen interest in public policy issues. He was a long-time member of The Diet, a select group of community opinion leaders who met monthly to hear speeches by fellow members. With the assistance of Christopher Bayley and Camden Hall, he authored a lengthy report entitled "The Present State of Future Problems-Project 1965." This widely read document examined sources of Washington state revenue and expenditures and recommended a course of action for the state's political leadership.

Hauberg has served on the boards of numerous educational, community and professional organizations with a diversity of missions. He has shown a special interest in the needs of the developmentally disabled. Hauberg was instrumental in the establishment of what became the Child Development and Mental Retardation Center at the University of Washington and founded Victoria Ranch, Inc., a residential training center for the developmentally disabled in Stanwood, Washington.

Scope and Content

The John H. Hauberg papers (1949-1998; bulk 1949-1991) document Hauberg's many civic activities, his private art collecting interests, his innovative tree farming operation, and his social and family life. The accession, which measures 14.1 cubic feet, contains biographical material, correspondence, minutes, financial records, reports, speeches and writings, notes, a limited number of photographs, posters, audio cassette tapes, ephemera and clippings The papers are divided into four general areas following Hauberg's staff's characterization and physical arrangement of his files:

Personal: This portion of Hauberg's papers is made up largely of Hauberg's personal correspondence. The bulk of it dates from 1950 to 1966 and follows Hauberg's chronological arrangement. Hauberg's letters to his friends and family provide a narrative of his personal, civic and professional interests and activities during those dynamic years. Correspondence on specific topics can also be found in the subject series files. Major correspondents include Grace Bartlett, Louis D. Hauberg, Pearl Bennett, Beulah Dunlap and Robert Meech. General correspondence files labeled "Personal" have been indexed by correspondent. Hauberg's travels during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, for leisure and for the study of art, are documented by his trip files. A cassette tape recording and transcript of an oral history interview which Hauberg did for the Archives of Northwest Art project may be found in the biographical features series. The interview focuses largely on Hauberg's art-related activities.

Civic: This portion of Hauberg's papers is comprised largely of correspondence, minutes, financial records, speeches and writings, and reports. These materials document Hauberg's involvement in a variety of civic, professional and philanthropic organizations during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Each organization constitutes its own subgroup; larger subgroups have been refined to the series level.

The sheer number of subgroups suggest the level of Hauberg's civic involvement. Of the organizations represented in the papers, the most significant is the Seattle Art Museum. Although Hauberg began his association with SAM in 1950, the materials date largely from his tenure as President of the Museum from 1973-1977. Two significant events that occurred during Hauberg's tenure are well documented by the SAM materials. The battle over Mark Tobey's estate is recounted by the extensive correspondence to and from the attorneys representing the opposing parties. Major correspondents include attorneys Arthur Barnett and Heng-Pin Kiang. The King Tut sub-subgroup documents the activities of the King Tut committee, which coordinated the highly successful Treasures of Tutankhamen exhibit in 1978. A major correspondent in the King Tut sub-subgroup is Ewen Dingwall, coordinator of the exhibition. Only the early phases of planning for the museum's expansion to downtown Seattle are covered by the material.

Hauberg's Diet speeches appear in The Diet subgroup. They reveal his thinking on a broad range of issues. Several of the speeches deal with his experiences in the timber industry and the logging restrictions imposed by the listing of the Northern spotted owl as an endangered species. Other topics include mental retardation and Coastal Native culture. Hauberg's work with the Virginia Wright Fund and the UW College of Forest Resources Visiting Committee are among his more fully documented activities.

Among Hauberg's speeches and writings is his lengthy 1963 report, "The Future of Present State Problems-Project 1965," which he co-authored with Christopher Bayley and Camden Hall.

The papers represent only a sampling of Hauberg's civic involvement. Documentation of Hauberg's work with the developmentally disabled is incomplete. His tenure as General Manager of the Seattle Symphony from 1950-1952 is not documented. Also absent are materials related to Hauberg's lengthy term as Finance Chair of the Washington State Republican Party. References to these activities may be found in Hauberg's personal correspondence.

Art: This portion of the accession documents Hauberg's private art collecting and his involvement in various arts organizations, excluding the Seattle Art Museum. It includes correspondence, minutes, catalogs, cassette tapes, photographs, clippings and ephemera. Major correspondents include the artist Mark Tobey (whose incoming letters are photocopies) and such prominent art dealers as Marian Willard, Andre Emmerich, Xavier Foucade, and Edward H. Merrin. The art acquisition series documents Hauberg's art purchases, primarily in the 1960s and early 1970s. Consequently, his Pre-Columbian art purchases, which were made in the period 1965-1971, are more fully documented than his purchases of Coastal Native art. Hauberg's art acquisition files were maintained both by gallery and by art genre. The many exhibits in which pieces from Hauberg's collections have been shown are documented in the art loans subject series. The art gift subject series documents his gifts to the Seattle Art Museum and other institutions as well as his and Anne Gould Hauberg's commissioning of the Tobey Mural.

The Pilchuck Glass School subgroup contains materials related to the Pilchuck Glass School from its first summer workshop through the early 1990s and consists chiefly of correspondence, minutes, financial records, course catalogs, clippings and ephemera. Most of the Pilchuck Glass School materials were arranged in large annual files. These materials have been sorted by series. While events leading to Hauberg's initial decision to support the project are not documented, the materials do trace the Pilchuck Glass School's evolution from an experimental workshop in the wilderness to an established and respected educational institution. The papers are rich in correspondence from Dale Chihuly. Other major correspondents include Pilchuck trustees Jack Lenor Larsen, Robert Seidl, and Thomas Buechner and executive director Alice Rooney. Runs of files maintained by three of Pilchuck's early executive directors, Mimi Pierce, Tom Bosworth and Alice Rooney, are included with the Pilchuck material.

The Pacific Northwest Arts Center (PNAC) subgroup consists of correspondence, financial records and photographs. The materials primarily document the development of the proposed Tobey Museum in Snohomish County, but also contain some material related to the Pilchuck Glass Workshops. Major correspondents include James S. Plaut and Henry Klein, consultants for the Tobey project; and Robert Gardner, who worked on the Tobey film. Other arts subgroups include the American Crafts Association, the American Federation of Art, Friends of the Crafts, and Friends of the Art Museum, Princeton University.

Business: This portion of the Hauberg papers is comprised of records of the Pacific Denkmann Company, Pilchuck Tree Farm's parent corporation, as well as Pilchuck Tree Farm materials which predate PDCo's incorporation in 1953. They consist of correspondence, minutes, financial records, reports, newsletters, photographs and clippings. The historical features series contains a deposition transcript in which Hauberg recounts the history of the Pilchuck Tree Farm. Hauberg's letters to his father document his first land purchases as well as his early reforestation work. Correspondence to, from and about Duane Weston, Pilchuck's forester from 1963, document the more routine operations of the tree farm through the 1960s and 1970s. Of special interest is the run of Pilchuck Tree Farm Notes newsletter, in which Pilchuck's history, forest management practices, and company philosophy are discussed. The Tatoosh Company subgroup documents the unsuccessful attempt by PDCo's subsidiary to build a recreational development in the early 1970s. Files maintained by Pacific Denkmann executive John Aram are also included.

Restrictions on Use

Literary rights to the John H. Hauberg papers have been transferred to the University of Washington. The literary rights to the Diet speeches of members other than John H. Hauberg are retained by their authors and their heirs. Written permission is required prior to publication or quotation.

Restrictions on Access

Open to all users

Access to archival recordings: Due to the fragility of archival tape recordings, potential users may be required to arrange for transfer to digital format before the material can be accessed. Please contact Special Collections for further information.

Related Material

The University of Washington Libraries also holds papers of Hauberg's first wife, Anne Gould Hauberg. They document some of their shared interests in contemporary art.

The Pilchuck Glass School and Pacific Northwest Arts Center are documented by the papers of LaMar Harrington.

The Mark Tobey Papers, Seattle Art Museum Archives and the Arthur Barnett Papers also document Hauberg's relationship with the artist Mark Tobey. The Tobey Papers contain the original copies of Tobey's letters to the Haubergs.

The papers of Hauberg's father, John Henry Hauberg are at Augustana College, in Rock Island, Illinois.

Acquisition Info

The papers were donated by John H. Hauberg in 1997 and 1998 (Accession nos. 2850-4, 2850-5 and 2850-6).

Processing Info

The papers were processed in 1999. Three previous accessions (2850-1, 2850-2, 2850-3) were merged into this accession during processing. Hauberg's papers were generally organized by subject or organization. Files of this nature have been characterized as small subgroups, subject series or general correspondence. Their original file headings have been preserved where appropriate; in other cases, the original file name can be found in brackets.

Bibliography

Abbot, Helen, ed., The Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, (New York : Rizzoli; Seattle, WA : Seattle Art Museum, 1995). The work includes an introduction by Hauberg.

Oldknow, Tina, Pilchuck: A Glass School, (Seattle : Pilchuck Glass School in association with the University of Washington Press, 1996) Hauberg contributed to this history of the Pilchuck Glass School.

Hauberg, John H., A Midwestern Family, 1848-1948, (Rock Island, IL: 1950). Hauberg also contributed to this family history of the Hauberg family compiled by his father.

Inventory