Wilfred Byron Shaw (1881–1959) was an American writer and sketch artist.

Early life

edit

He was born in 1881 in Adrian, Michigan,[1] to Byron L. Shaw (1843–1933) and Olive Stockwell (1842–1919).[2]

His father's brother was the farmer and artist Horatio Shaw.[3]

Education

edit

Shaw graduated from the University of Michigan in 1904.[1] He also attended art school in Chicago.[4]

Career

edit

University administration

edit

Soon after graduation, he was named the general secretary of the Alumni Association (a job he held until 1929)[1][5] and editor of the Michigan Alumnus.[1] In 1909, he accompanied President Harry Burns Hutchins (and other UM employees) on a trip to Chicago, Des Moines, and Omaha, to meet with UM alumni.[5]

In 1912, he was part of the committee who approved maize and blue as official University of Michigan colors.[6]

In 1913, he helped to organize the Association of Alumni Secretaries.[5]

In 1929, he was appointed director of alumni relations, a position that the Regents established for continuing education and other services to graduates. He retired from this position in 1951.[1]

Shaw was a sketch artist, often drawing university buildings for inclusion in The Ann Arbor News.[7][8] Sixteen of his drawings are owned by the University of Michigan Museum of Art.[9] His portrait of Fred Newton Scott is owned by the National Portrait Gallery.[10]

He was also known for drawing caricatures of his colleagues. These are currently in storage at the Bentley Historical Library.[11][12]

He also designed the logo for the University of Michigan's "atomic research center," the "Phoenix Project," in 1948.[13][14][15][16]

Writing

edit

In 1918, Shaw published James Burrill Angell and the University of Michigan.[17]

In 1920, Harcourt, Brace, and Howe published his book The University of Michigan, about the history of the university.[18][19]

In 1934, Shaw founded and served as the first editor of the Michigan Alumnus Quarterly Review.[1][20][21]

In 1936, he published "A Bibliography of the University of Michigan."[22]

Personal life

edit

He married Marion B. Dickinson (1883–1958), and they had two children, Brackley Shaw (1913–1996) and Penelope Shaw (1921–1996).[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f Shaw, Wilfred Byron. "Wilfred B. Shaw pamphlets and reprints". quod.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Wilfred Byron Shaw 1881-1959 - Ancestry®". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "Horatio Shaw: The Farmer-artist Of Michigan | AMERICAN HERITAGE". www.americanheritage.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Exchange: Notre Dame". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Ann Arbor/Univ History". um2017.org. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  6. ^ "Maize and Azure Blue". um2017.org. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "First U-M Building". Ann Arbor District Library. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "M. L. Burton Tower Visioned In Its Future Setting". Ann Arbor District Library. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "Exchange|Search: artist:"Wilfred Byron Shaw"". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Fred Newton Scott". npg.si.edu. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "Slide Over Here". Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "Prof. Clarence Johnston by W. B. Shaw". Bentley Image Bank, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  13. ^ "Atomic Research Symbol". Ann Arbor District Library. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project". University of Michigan Arts & Culture. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018.
  15. ^ Whitehouse, Brad (November 22, 2017). "Peacetime promise: The Phoenix Project". Michigan Engineering. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018.
  16. ^ "Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project". um2017.org. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Shaw, Wilfred Byron (1918). James Burrill Angell and the University of Michigan.
  18. ^ Shaw, Wilfred Byron (1920). The University of Michigan. Harcourt, Brace, and Howe.
  19. ^ "The University of Michigan, Wilfred Shaw". www.hellenicaworld.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  20. ^ Michigan Alumnus Quarterly Review. Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. 1936.
  21. ^ Shaw, Wilfred Byron; University of Michigan. (1934). "Quarterly review. A journal of university perspectives". Michigan Alumnus: Quarterly Number: v.
  22. ^ "A Bibliography 200 Years in the Making | Bentley Historical Library". Retrieved August 28, 2020.