An exhibition of selected works by artists affiliated with the DCAA. The show was curated by William Dorsey, Delilah Pierce, and Peter L. Robinson Jr. and exhibited at the Anacostia Museum of the Smithsonian Institution from January 1989 to March 1989. These records document the planning, organizing, execution, and promotion of the exhibition. Materials include correspondence, exhibit scripts, administrative records, loan agreements, floor plans, and catalogues.
Restrictions:
Use of materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
The papers of painter Richard W. Dempsey measure 2.9 linear feet and date from 1929 to 1989, with the bulk of the papers dating from the 1960s to the 1980s. The papers contain biographcial material, correspondence, writings, project and exhibition files, printed material, photographs, and artwork and notes related to planning artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Richard W. Dempsey measure 2.9 linear feet and date from 1929 to 1989, with the bulk of the papers dating from the 1960s to the 1980s. The papers contain biographical material, correspondence, writings, project and exhibition files, printed material, photographs, and artwork and notes related to planning artwork.
Biographical material consists of employment records; resumes, chronologies, and biographies; and compiled personal papers that may have once been part of scrapbooks. These materials are not bound, but have remained together and in the order in which they were received. This series also includes a folder of material related to Dempsey's wife, Vonja Kirkland Brooks.
Correspondence includes letters both sent, and received by the artist, primarily concerning the exhibition of Dempsey's paintings at the Franz Bader Gallery, the Atlanta University Gallery, Howard University, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the U.S. Embassies in Colombia and Jamaica, and with the Art in Embassies Program. Notable correspondents include Jack Perlmutter, Ethel Waters, and Jacob Lawrence. Personal and professional correspondence are intermingled throughout.
Writings include notes and drafts of lectures and other course materials, as well as excerpts and quotes from reviews of exhibitions of Dempsey's work. These excerpts, usually titled "comments," are frequently copied out by hand. Also included in this series are two folders of poetry.
Project and exhibition files include photographs; correspondence; lists; sketches and other plans; and printed material including clippings and exhibition announcements. Materials related to his Rosenwald Fellowship, his participation in the Art in Embassies program, his many exhibitions at Franz Bader Gallery, and his international exhibitions in Colombia and Jamaica are featured. Some files in this series may only include photographs or sketches.
Photographs are primarily of Dempsey's work and of exhibitions. There are some of the artist and of his Takoma Park, MD home and studio (designed by Harry Ormston of McLean, VA and occasionally featured in architecture articles).
Artwork is primarily composed of sketches, often with detailed planning notes for the completion of paintings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1930-1987 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1938-1985, undated (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1981, undated (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 4: Project and Exhibition Files, 1929-1986 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1930s-1989, undated (Boxes 2-3; 0.4 linear feet, OV 5)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1932-1981, undated (Boxes 3-4; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, 1965-1981, undated, (Box 4; 5 folders, OV 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Richard W. Dempsey (1909-1987) was a painter known primarily for his abstract works and his portraits of prominent African American individuals including Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, Thurgood Marshall, and Adam Clayton Powell. He was born in Ogden, Utah, but spent the majority of his youth in Oakland, California. He studied art at Sacramento Junior College, the California School of Arts and Crafts, and the Student Arts Center. Dempsey had four exhibitions in California before moving to Washington, D.C. to begin work as an engineering draftsman with the Federal Power Commission in 1941. He later transferred to a position as an illustrator with the General Services Administration (GSA), where he would spend the rest of his nearly 30-year government career.
In addition to his work with the GSA, Dempsey participated in the Art in Embassies program for decades, and his work was chosen by Congressman Adam Clayton Powell to hang in the Education Labor Committee rooms.
Dempsey was awarded a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in 1946 to paint 100 portriats of "Outstanding American Negros." He taught art courses at the Corcoran School of Art and at Glen Echo and received invitations to exhibit around the world in places like Haiti, Colombia, and Jamaica. He exhibited frequently in the U.S., most often with Franz Bader Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel 4368) including a photograph album chronicling Dempsey's 1951 trip to Haiti and other photographic material. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Richard Dempsey papers were initially lent for microfilming in 1990 by Vonja Kirkland Dempsey, Richard Dempsey's widow. After the collection was microfilmed, Vonja Kirkland Dempsey donated the bulk of the collection, excluding some photographic material, in 1990.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Biographical material includes employment records from Dempsey's time working at the Federal Power Commission, the General Services Administration (GSA), and inquiries related to teaching positions. The series also includes materials from courses he taught and resumes, choronologies, and biography information, possibly produced by or for galleries preceding exhibitions. There are some business and membership records, though this material appears elsewhere in the collection as well. Also included in this series are compiled personal papers. These materials may have originally been arranged in scrapbooks, but are no longer bound. They remain in the original order and are within the series in general chronological order. The final folder in this series includes materials related to Vonja Kirkland Brooks, Richard Dempsey's wife, and the donor of this collection.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Collection Citation:
Richard Dempsey papers, 1929-1989, bulk 1960s-1980s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
This series includes correspondence between Dempsey and friends, other artists, galleries, museums curators, art program directors, etc. primarily concerning exhibitions of Dempsey's work. Notable correspondents include Jack Perlmutter, Ethel Waters, a nd Jacob Lawrence. Personal and professional correspondence are intermingled throughout. Researchers should note that additional correspondence can be found throughout the collection, particularly in the biographical material and in some of the project and exhibition files.
Arrangement:
This series is arranged chronologically, with undated items appearing at the end.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Collection Citation:
Richard Dempsey papers, 1929-1989, bulk 1960s-1980s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
