“The world's largest and most widely used resource on the history of art in America”.

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute

Archives of American ArtArchives of American Art

Smithsonian InstituteSmithsonian Institute

How it was createdHow it was created

• The Archives of American Art was founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1954

• Founders: – Edgar P. Richardson, then Director of the

Detroit Institute of Arts – Lawrence A. Fleischman, Detroit

businessman and active young collector

• Initial goal was a microfilm repository of papers already housed in other institutions

And how it grewAnd how it grew

• Joined the Smithsonian Institution in 1970

• Smithsonian mission to increase and spread knowledge

• Today, the Archives includes over 16 million items, 5,000 collections, 2,000 oral history interviews

Mission Mission

“To illuminate scholarship of the history of art in America through collecting, preserving, and making available for

study the documentation of this country's rich artistic legacy”

Purpose: Research

Washington, D.C. and NYCWashington, D.C. and NYC

• 750 9th St. N.W. at H Street - one block north of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery

Warm archival typesWarm archival types

Staff positionsStaff positions

1. Director 2. Asst. Director for Operations3. Curator of Manuscripts4. Chief Collections Processing5. Registrar6. Information Resources Manager7. Information Technical Specialist 8. Library Technician9. Library Technician/Special Projects10. Web Developer

Liza Kirwin, CuratorOf Manuscripts

Staff – more titlesStaff – more titles1. Archivists/Processing 2. Archivists/Processing Special Projects3. Administrative Officer 4. Administrative Specialist5. Archives Specialist, Curatorial6. Archives Specialist, Acquistions 7. Archives Technicians, Reference8. Archives Technicians, Special Projects9. Microfilm Technician 10. Digital Imaging Technician11. Journal Editor & Assistant Editor

Joan Lordpicking upa donation at donor’s

house

CollectionsCollections

• Span over 200 years of American art

• Primary sources– letters & diaries – manuscripts– records of museums, galleries and schools– photographs of art figures and events– works of art on paper

• Significant in the history of art

Accumulations by individualsAccumulations by individuals

• Artists & photographers

• Curators & administrators

• Artists’ models

• Art dealers

• Art critics, journalists, editors

• Historians, collectors

• Librarians

Records from corporate bodiesRecords from corporate bodies

• Auction Houses (illustrated catalogs)

• Framing shops (designs & techniques)

• Manufacturers (bronze foundries)

• Museums & galleries

• Programs (Federal Art Project)

• Publishers (bios, interviews )

• Universities & art schools (educators & trends)

• Personal papers of individuals, records of organizations

• Letters from, or references to, prominent figures in American cultural history

• Significant body of unpublished manuscript material

• Documentation on major American artists or major art trends

Digital collections onlineDigital collections online

• Funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art

• Online features– Copyright policies on use– Proper citations – Guidelines for potential donors

• Search images, oral histories, inside the finding aids

“most useful to researchers”“most useful to researchers”

• PERSONAL LETTERS • PROFESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE • Drafts or copies of OUTGOING LETTERS• DIARIES OR JOURNALS • SKETCHBOOKS, LOOSE SKETCHES, STUDIES• PHOTOGRAPHS, SLIDES, FILM, VIDEOTAPES

LECTURES, ADDRESSES, ARTICLES • AUDIOTAPES• SCRAPBOOKS, CLIPPINGS, exhibition catalogues,

announcements• TEACHING MATERIALS• RESEARCH files• FINANCIAL PAPERS

Message to donorsMessage to donors

• “Only a small portion of all records have archival value”

• “Enduring value is found in records that document, as they occur, decision making and the conduct of affairs”

Photograph of Yasuo

Kuniyoshi, ca. 1940, takenin his studio

during his work for the Federal

Art Project, NYC. Photographed

by [Max] Yavnofor the Federal

Art Project, NYC, Photographic

Division.

Photograph of Yasuo

Kuniyoshi, ca. 1940, takenin his studio

during his work for the Federal

Art Project, NYC. Photographed

by [Max] Yavnofor the Federal

Art Project, NYC, Photographic

Division.

Collection of Yasuo KuniyoshiCollection of Yasuo Kuniyoshi

Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers, 1921-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Historical significanceHistorical significance

• Three-page letter to George Biddle, written 3 days after Pearl Harbor

• “…a few short days have changed my stature in this country, although I myself have not changed at all. ...Artists, art executives, museums and the press have been contacted affirming my loyalty to this county and its war effort."

Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers, 1921-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

ResourcesResources

• Archives of American Art [home page]

http://www.aaa.si.edu/home.cfm

• Archives of American Art Journal

• Textbook…

Questions…

Thank you!