Florence Treadwell Boynton
Florence Treadwell Boynton | |
|---|---|
 Florence Treadwell Boynton, from a 1911 newspaper | |
| Born | Florence Elizabeth Treadwell December 25, 1876 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 23, 1962 (age 85) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Spouse | Charles Calvin Boynton |
| Children | 8 |
Florence Elizabeth Treadwell Boynton (December 25, 1876 – March 23, 1962) was an American educator, artist, designer, and social reformer. She was "California's chief exponent of rhythmic gymnastics,"[1] and promoted "Open Air Motherhood", a parenting philosophy that maximized children's outdoor time.
Early life[edit]
Florence "Mina" Treadwell was born in San Francisco in 1876, the daughter of miner and inventor John Bartlett Treadwell[2] and Mary "May" Sulgwynn Wentworth Treadwell; the family understood May Wentworth to be the daughter of inventor Isaac Singer.[3] Florence Treadwell was raised in Oakland, where she and Isadora Duncan were close friends from girlhood.[4][5]
Career[edit]
Treadwell taught music and dance, and opened an open-air dance studio in her Berkeley home, called the Temple of Wings[6] (sometimes misnamed "Temple of Winds"),[7][8] inspired by Isadora Duncan's work.[4][5][9] She started four seasonal dance festivals. She promoted "Open Air Motherhood," a parenting philosophy that maximized children's outdoor time, beginning with outdoor birth,[1] with attendant reforms in clothing,[10] footwear, diet, and education.[11] "It is not necessary that all women of a country be mothers," she said in 1911. "But it is necessary that all the children of a country be mothered and cared for in the best possible way."[12]
Personal life[edit]
Florence Treadwell was engaged to Augustin Duncan and William Randolph Hearst before she married attorney Charles Calvin Boynton.[3] They had eight children together.[13] Her husband died in 1960, and she died in Berkeley, in 1962, at the age of 85.[14] Her home and studio, the Temple of Wings, is listed in the California State Historic Resources Inventory, and in 1991 was designated City of Berkeley Landmark.[7][15][16]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Wales, R. Ellis. "Allow Us to Introduce: Florence Treadwell Boynton" Good Housekeeping 52(4)(April 1911): 449-452; quote on 449.
- ^ "Contest Filed Against Will by Bay Matron". Oakland Tribune. 1932-06-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Riess, Suzanne B. (1978). "Florence Treadwell, and Berkeley", an oral history interview with Boynton's son, Judd Boynton. Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library.
- ^ a b Mckeon, Olive (2020-09-01). "Florence Treadwell Boynton in Progressive Era Berkeley: Early Modern Dance and California's Political Unconscious". Dance Chronicle. 43 (3): 243–269. doi:10.1080/01472526.2020.1819100. ISSN 0147-2526. S2CID 227241122.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Margaretta K. (1985) "Dance for Life: Isadora Duncan and her California Dance Legacy at the Temple of Wings" Isadora Duncan Archive.
- ^ Grieg, Michael (1959-01-25). "The Temple of the Wings". The San Francisco Examiner. pp. 158, 159. Retrieved 2022-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Berkeley Landmarks :: The Temple of Wings". Berkeley Heritage. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ Miller, Michael (August–September 2010). "Concrete Memories Brought to Life by the Concretist". Concrete Decor. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ Cerny, Susan (January 26, 2002). "Dance theories of Isadora Duncan were taught in Berkeley for years". Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ "Mrs. Boynton Declares Modern Woman's Garb Almost Indecent". Oakland Tribune. 1909-12-03. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Weinstein, Dave (2008). It Came from Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World. Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-1-4236-0254-5.
- ^ Boynton, Florence Treadwell (1911-03-22). "Open Air Motherhood". The Chattanooga News. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'God of the Open Air' Inspires Children in Wall-less Home with Spirit That Drives Out the Jazz Demon". Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. 1919-08-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Moffat, Frances (1962-03-27). "Inside Society: In Life, in Death A Non-Conformist". The San Francisco Examiner. pp. 21, 22. Retrieved 2022-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Temple of Wings Historical Marker". Historic Marker Database. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ Ketcharp, Diana (1991-10-07). "On the Wings of Uncertainty". Oakland Tribune. pp. B1, B2. Retrieved 2022-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.