The records of the American Art Research Council, a cooperative research group headquartered at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, measure 3 linear feet and date from 1935 to 1956. The records include Chairman Juliana Force's correspondence, administrative correspondence, advisory committee files, miscellaneous administrative files, scattered financial records, and printed materials.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the American Art Research Council, a cooperative research group headquartered at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, measure 3 linear feet and date from 1935 to 1956. The records include Chairman Juliana Force's correspondence, administrative correspondence, advisory committee files, miscellaneous administrative files, scattered financial records, and printed materials.
Correspondence consists of Chairman Juliana Force's correspondence with museums, curators, and others, in addition to general AARC correspondence on various subjects. The Advisory Committee series consists of correspondence, lists, reports, and meeting minutes.
Administrative records include assorted material such as reports on paintings owned by private individuals and art centers, correspondence and drafts on a special issue of Art in America, a bibliography, and surveys. Survey files consist of survey responses and indexes of results for several surveys conducted by the AARC.
Financial records consist of assorted material such as contribution records, ledgers, bank statements, and cancelled checks. Printed materials include clippings, academic journals, bulletins, and press releases.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-1947 (1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Advisory Committee, 1942-1947 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 3: Administrative Records, 1935-1950 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 4: Financial Records, 1942-1956 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1942-1947 (0.2 linear feet; Box 5)
Biographical / Historical:
The American Art Research Council (AARC) was founded in 1942 when the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City proposed that museums across the country establish a collaborative centralized organization for American art research. In April 1942, directors and representatives of 15 prominent museums met and founded the AARC.
Headquartered in and administered by the Whitney Museum, the AARC broadened its scope to include staff from over 30 museums and universities across the country. The organization formed a Committee on Research consisting of experts and scholars of American art that authenticated art, shared research records about artists, and conducted multiple surveys on various subjects. The AARC also facilitated researchers by sharing their information in catalogs and publications.
Provenance:
The American Art Research Council records were donated by the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1978 as part of a larger donation of museum records.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Facility.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
