The papers of Milt Kemnitz have been divided into three series. The first series, ARTWORK, focuses on the artwork itself, and its reproduction and dissemination. This includes the following subseries: Drawings of Buildings, Other Projects, Publications and Galleries, Exhibits, Auctions & Art Fairs. The second series, called SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS, has three subseries, Art Organizations & Associations, Correspondence and Miscellaneous Personal Material. Much of this material concerns his career as an artist but relates less directly to the actual artwork than the material in the first series. The third series, SOUTHERN WHITE MIGRATION TO DETROIT IN THE 1930s, consists of research materials and reports resulting from Kemnitz' research as a member of a University of Michigan sociology seminar on metropolitan community organization.
Milton Kemnitz is one of Ann Arbor's best known artists. His drawings and paintings all have a unique, identifiable style and have been widely reproduced -- on greeting cards, shopping bags, calendars and magazine covers. His work also appears on the walls of the city -- both inside and outside. In 1974 the mayor of Ann Arbor recognized his contributions and declared a "Milt Kemnitz Day."
Kemnitz was born in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree from the College of Literature, Arts and Sciences, in 1933. During World War II he served as a merchant seaman, and started to paint on a stint to the Mediterranean. Once the war was over, he returned to Ann Arbor, and together with his wife and collaborator Eddie, whom he married in 1939, has made the city his home ever since.
His work has been shown in numerous group and one-man shows, mainly in galleries in his home state. The Forsythe Gallery in Ann Arbor represented him for decades, and he has had connections with many other galleries over the years. His work is in the collections of many museums, institutions and corporations. He has published several books of drawings: Old West Side, Michigan Memories (1965), Ann Arbor Now and Then (1972)and London and Back (1977). Eddie helped him design and edit the books, a role she often filled in conjunction with Milt's larger projects.
Kemnitz did many commissioned pieces, especially drawings of buildings for individuals and corporations. In addition to these commissions, he often donated artwork or his expertise to support local activities. For instance, he sat on the Ann Arbor Sesquicentennial Committee and designed the commemorative silver bar, did lettering and drawings for the "Y" for over a decade, and helped keep The Ark, a local performance space, open.
In addition to supporting the arts in Ann Arbor, an effort that included membership in the Ann Arbor Art Association and numerous other organizations, Eddie and Milt were involved in other local causes. The biggest effort was to "Save Bird Hills Park" in 1971. This was a grassroots effort to fight the building of luxury condominiums on what had been parkland. The city agreed to buy the land from the developer and leave it as parkland if the people of Ann Arbor could raise one-fourth of the purchase price. 1500 people pledged a total of $90,000 but the developer still got the land.
His involvement with local organizations includes over fifty years of membership in the First Unitarian Universalist Church. Naturally, he did quite a bit of work for them over the years. In addition to his drawing of the church, which was used on programs and stationary for years, he experimented with a new medium and created a memorial stained glass window dedicated to Edward H. Redman, who had been minister from 1943 to 1960.
