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Eugene Francis Heil papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 6140

Scope and Contents note

The collection consists largely of photos, slides, and negatives packaged and labeled by subject/client and are of various pieces of architecture, world scenery, models, etc. It also contains assorted pamphlets on natural history, art, and antiquities, as well as diaries, financial information, scrapbooks, stationary, newspaper clippings, the script for "Out of This World," various awards, biographical information, assorted brochures and articles on art and fashion, travel brochures, postcards, magazines, and correspondence. It also includes manuscripts and some of the research of Joseph Earl Arrington, including work on panoramic photographs and the Nauvoo Temple. The collection dates span from 1917 to 1968.

Dates

  • 1917-1968

Creator

Conditions Governing Access note

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use note

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from the Eugene Francis Heil papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

Eugene Francis Heil (1925-1968) was a photographer in New York.

Gene Heil was born 25 March 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. He began the study of the violin at eight, and became concertmeister of the St. Louis Philharmonic by sixteen. After high school, he served with the Navy Seabees in the South Pacific (New Guinea and the Philippines) during the Second World War. He was battalion photographer and was later encouraged to cultivate it as a medium in the fine arts.

After two years of military service, he attended the world-famed Parsons School of Design in New York City for three years; he also spent a term at the Parsons Atelier in Paris, which included an extensive tour of the arts of France and Italy. In 1950, he became a protégé of Lady Mendl at Versailles, and later, of Andre Ostier in Paris. He photographed members of the French government and aristocracy for French magazines. Gene photographed mainly fashion and architecture in Europe, Africa, North and South America.

Over the years, he was a photographer for the National Audubon Society, from 1946 to 1949, and for Ostier Associates, from 1949 to 1952; and a Public Relations Officer for the U.S. Army, from 1952 to 1954. He founded Gene Heil Studios (for General Commercial Photography and Interior Design) in 1954, and it remained open until his death.

Gene joined the Church in June 1963 and devoted his artistic talents to the Lord's service, as well as to Cole Porter’s 'Out of This World.' As of May 1967, he was Assistant to the Director of the Research Project on World Music within the School of International Affairs of Columbia University. He was also employed with Aladdin Business Service (seasonal sales of resort brochures, postcards, photography, and commemorative Church books), from 1963 to 1968. He married Lillian Elinor Harmon 10 June 1967. He died in an automobile accident a year later.

Extent

14 cartons (14 linear ft.)

1 oversize box (1.66 linear ft.)

2 boxes (1 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Custodial History note

Donated by Lillian Heil in 1981.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Donated; Lillian Heil; 1981.

Appraisal note

LDS scholarship and historiography (Collection development policy of 20th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts, August 2007).

Related Archival Materials note

See also the Lillian H. Heil papers (MSS 6139) and the Joseph E. Arrington papers (MSS 4194).

Processing Information note

Processed; Amanda Clark; August 2007.

Title
Register of the Eugene Francis Heil papers
Status
Completed
Author
Amanda C. Clark, Karen Glenn, student processors; John M. Murphy, curator
Date
2008
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States