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SUMMARY

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE

Gladys LeBlanc was born October 31, 1918, in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. Coming from a long family line of spinners, Gladys learned how to card and spin cotton when she was eight years old. She married Alexis Clark on January 26, 1935, and the couple had four children. LeBlanc family members were demonstrators and instructors in brown cotton weaving for Louisiana State University’s Louisiana Handicrafts Project during the 1940s. Clark and her husband grew and harvested their own cotton which Clark in turn used for her weaving projects.

Clark became an accomplished spinner and weaver in the Acadian tradition, receiving numerous awards and accolades, including the Acadian Folk Heritage Award from the Acadiana Arts Council (1996), a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1997), and the Governor’s Arts Award from Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor Mitchell Landrieu (2004). Clark is one of the last traditional Cajun weavers of coton jaune (literally “yellow cotton,” although it has a brown appearance).

Clark demonstrated her work at various public events, including the Louisiana Native Crafts Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, and the Louisiana Folklife Festival.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Gladys Clark Papers consist of correspondence, photographs, and printed materials from Acadian textile weaver Gladys Clark, dating from approximately 1890 to 2004. Highlights include photographs from and correspondence relating to Clark’s trip to Washington, D.C., in 1997, where she was received by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton at the White House as a recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. The collection also includes printed materials from other awards she received, including the Governor’s Arts Award in 2004, and from various festivals and workshops in which she participated, including the Festival of American Folklife (1985) and the Louisiana Folklife Festival (1991).

SERIES LIST AND DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Awards, 1997-2004

This series contains correspondence, invitations, and other items relating to two awards Clark received: the Governor’s Arts Award (2004) and the National Heritage Fellowship Award (1997). The National Heritage Fellowship Award materials include a note to Clark signed by then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton thanking her for weavings Clark had given her and a handwritten note of congratulations from Clinton to Clark.

Series II. Photographs, c. 1890-2004

This series consists of photographs and digital images related to her career as an Acadian weaver and spinner. The majority of the photographs in the “Career” folder date from the mid-1940s and show Clark and family members in traditional Acadian clothing demonstrating their weaving techniques. The folder also contains photographs from Clark’s later years and of her weavings, as well as a compact disc containing digital images of selected photographs. This series includes a “Family” folder with photographs of Clark’s family, dating primarily from the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Series III. Printed Materials, 1948-2004

This series contains printed materials such as newsletters, certificates, articles, and clippings detailing Clark’s career. The newsletters are from the Acadiana Weavers and Spinners Guild and span approximately six years. The articles and clippings are from various newspapers and include information on events at which Clark demonstrated her weaving skills. The series also includes a genealogy of the Hebert family; Clark’s mother was Colastie Hebert, who married Ambroise LeBlanc on April 2, 1910.

INDEX TERMS

Materials relating to these people, places, and things can be found in the collection as indicated by the series number.

CONTAINER LIST