Clinton Adams, 83; Led Renaissance of Lithography in U.S.

Clinton Adams, the printmaker and painter who was the longtime head of the Tamarind Institute at the University of New Mexico, has died. He was 83.

Adams, who was also a teacher, art critic and art historian, died May 13 of cancer at his home in Albuquerque.

“He wore many hats and all of them well,” said Marjorie Devon, head of the Tamarind Institute, which, along with its forerunner the Tamarind Workshop, is credited with resuscitating fine arts lithography in this country.

Born in Glendale, Adams studied art at UCLA in the early 1940s, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees before serving in the Army during World War II.

He returned to California after the war and began his work in lithography. He also taught at UCLA through the mid-1950s before taking an academic post at the University of Kentucky and later at the University of Florida.

Adams became involved with the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in the early 1960s. Started in Los Angeles by artist and printmaker June Wayne, the Tamarind Lithography Workshop’s mission was to develop American artists working in several media into masters of lithography.

Wayne was the institute’s first director, and Adams--then the dean of the college of fine arts at the University of New Mexico--was the workshop’s associate director. A Ford Foundation grant helped the institute get started.

During its first 10 years, Tamarind printed more than 2,900 lithographs by a diverse collection of artists from around the world.

After its Ford Foundation funding ran out in 1970, Adams--with Wayne’s blessing--helped pave the way for the workshop to move to the University of New Mexico, where its name was changed to the Tamarind Institute.

It continued its mission of training master printers and publishing the works of established printmakers and painters.

Adams headed the institute until 1985, when he retired from the institute and from teaching at the University of New Mexico.

As a historian, Adams wrote two of the most influential books on lithography: “American Lithographers 1900-1960: The Artists and Their Printers” and “The Tamarind Book of Lithography: Art and Techniques.” The Tamarind book, written with Garo Z. Antreasian and published three decades ago, is still considered a standard work on the subject.

A fine artist in his own right, Adams exhibited his work in more than 60 solo shows.

His paintings and lithographs are included in many public collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, son Michael and four grandchildren.