The collection consists entirely of diaries kept by Dan Wiesendanger from 1976 until mid-1995, a year before his death. The diaries fall into three groups: (1) general daily accounts, (2) "Opinions on Painting", and (3) miscellaneous. The general daily accounts document the events in Wiesendanger's life, his friends, and family, including reminiscences of his earlier life. The volumes beginning with No. 11 contain many photographs, some dating back to the 1940s. The "Opinions on Painting", also known as "Red Books" or "Art News", document Wiesendanger's work as an artist and his activities within the artists' communities of Los Angeles and Pasadena. The volumes include accounts and photographs of many of Wiesendanger's paintings; newspaper clippings and photographs of the work of other artists he considered particularly important; and the activities of various art societies in Los Angeles and Pasadena. The miscellaneous volumes document events Wiesendanger considered of particular interest: the first Iraq War in 1991; the Shasta Dixieland Jazz Festival in Redding, California, in April 1991, and the Medford Jazz Jubilee in Medford, Oregon, in October 1991; and a trip back to Wisconsin, which he knew would be his last, to attend the wedding of a niece in 1995.