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Catalog Data

Creator:
Print Council of America  Search this
Names:
Print Council of America. Newsletter  Search this
Degas, Edgar, 1834-1917  Search this
Fine, Ruth, 1941-  Search this
Haverkamp Begemann, Egbert  Search this
Ostrow, Stephen E.  Search this
Reed, Sue Welsh  Search this
Extent:
24.5 Linear feet
3.02 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Date:
1951-2020
Summary:
The records of the Print Council of America measure 24.5 linear feet and 3.02 GB, and date from 1951 to 2020. The collection includes administrative files, correspondence and subject files, interviews, some in digital format, exhibition and project files, financial records, and printed materials that document the council's founding and activities as a non-profit, professional organization of print specialists.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the Print Council of America measure 24.5 linear feet and 3.02 GB, and date from 1951 to 2020. The collection includes administrative files, correspondence and subject files, interviews, some in digital format, exhibition and project files, financial records, and printed materials that document the council's founding and activities as a non-profit, professional organization of print specialists. Administrative files consist of general administrative records and files for memberships, board of directors, trustees, committees, and digital photographs. Correspondence and subject files contain a mixture of correspondence, writings, and printed material for various correspondents and topics. The oral history project consists of twenty digital sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with council members Alan Fern, Ruth Fine, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, Stephen E. Ostrow, Sue Reed, Robert Waddell, and others. Files for exhibitions include American Prints Today 1959 and 1962 , the VII São Paulo Biennial exhibition Eleven American Printmakers (1963), the New York World's Fair of 1964-1965, and 30 Contemporary American Prints (1964). Project files include documentation for the Index to Print Catalogues Raisonné database, other publishing and research projects, surveys, a print collection in India, the People-to-People Program, the sales of an Edgar Degas work, and project proposals. Financial records consist of cash vouchers, check stub books, financial reports, disbursement and cash receipt ledgers, The Lessing and Edith Rosenwald Foundation grant information, paid bills, and tax information. In printed materials are issues of Print Council's Newsletter, press releases, print sales and exhibition catalogs, reprints of advertisements, informational flyers created by the council, and a booklet marking the council's 50th anniversary.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series. Series 1: Administrative Files, 1955-2016 (9.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-7, 24-28, OV 29; 0.26 gigabytes, ER01) Series 2: Correspondence and Subject Files, 1953-2016 (5.9 linear feet; Boxes 7-12) Series 3: Oral History Project, 2006-2016 (0.4 linear feet; Box 13; 2.76 gigabytes, ER02-ER20) Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1956-2005 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 13-16, OV 29) Series 5: Project Files, 1956-2013 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 16-19, OV 29) Series 6: Financial Records, 1956-1995 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 19-21) Series 7: Printed Materials, 1951-2016 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 21-22)
Biographical / Historical:
The Print Council of America (est. 1956- ) is a non-profit, professional organization of print specialists in Boston, Massachusetts. The idea of a print council began in 1954 when a group of prominent art collectors, curators, and scholars gathered in New York to discuss creating a national organization that could promote prints and print collecting. After much discussion, by-laws and other legal documentation were drawn up by Joshua Binion Cahn, a legal advisor for the Print Council of America, to establish the organization. Some of the earliest members of the council, including Adelyn Breeskin, Gustav von Groschwitz, Una Johnson, William Lieberman, A. Hyatt Mayor, Elizabeth Mongan, Paul J. Sachs, and Carl Zigrosser, were led by Lessing J. Rosenwald, an art collector and son of Julius Rosenwald, who was part owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company. Rosenwald's mission was to "foster the creation, dissemination, and appreciation of fine prints, old and new," and to encourage and professionalize the preservation, administration, and study of print collections in the United States and Canada. Eventually the organization evolved to become an authority on print standards, educating print professionals and collectors on how to prevent fraudulent practices by learning ways to identify authentic or "original" prints. As an authority on prints, the council published numerous guides and directories of print resources. One of the council's most notable accomplishments was the compilation of European, American, and Japanese print resources into the Index of Print Catalogues Raisonné online database. The council also aimed to provide its members with an avenue to share ideas through holding annual meetings. After the closing of the organization's New York office in 1973, annual and semi-annual meetings continued to be a valuable resource for members. Today, the council continues to provide educational tools and resources for print professionals.
Provenance:
The Print Council of America records were donated in multiple installments from 1981 to 2020 via former council presidents Andrew Robinson, Sue Reed, Jay Fisher, Marjorie B. Cohn, and James A. Ganz and in 2020 via Jane Myers McNamara, Coordinator, Oral History Program.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Occupation:
Art dealers  Search this
Topic:
Curators -- United States  Search this
Printmakers  Search this
Prints  Search this
Prints -- societies, etc  Search this
Prints -- Technique -- United States  Search this
Function:
Arts organizations
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Citation:
Print Council of America records, 1951-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.princoun
See more items in:
Print Council of America records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91764af3b-0da1-43a4-a5b7-9d4c8bab3662
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-princoun