Organization of Black American Culture Search this
Conference on the Functional Aspects of Black Art Search this
World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Photographs
Interviews
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
12.5 Linear feet; 0.003 Gigabytes
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 12 series. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1954-2004 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 1, OV 14) Series 2: Correspondence, 1957-2004 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 1) Series 3: Interviews, 1959-1997 (1.7 Linear feet; Boxes 1-3) Series 4: Writings, 1963-2003 (0.5 Linear feet; Box 3) Series 5: Artist Files, 1928-2003 (1.1 Linear feet; Boxes 3-4) Series 6: Exhibition Files, circa 1966-2000 (1.3 Linear feet; Boxes 4-6, 0.002 GB: ER01-ER02) Series 7: Professional Files, 1960s-2005 (5.2 Linear feet; Boxes 6-11, OV 14, 0.001 GB; ER03) Series 8: Research Files, 1930-2001 (0.4 Linear feet; Box 11) Series 9: Teaching Files, 1961-2002 (0.6 Linear feet; Boxes 11-12) Series 10: Personal Business Records, 1966-2001 (0.2 Linear feet; Box 12) Series 11: Printed Material, 1918-2003 (0.5 linear feet; Box 12) Series 12: Photographs and Personal Sound Recordings, 1956-2003 (0.4 Linear feet; Box 13)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Summary:
The papers of African American artist and educator Jeff Donaldson measure 12.5 linear feet and 0.003 GB and date from 1918 to 2005, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1960s to 2005. The collection documents Donaldson's work as a professional artist, his academic career at Howard University, and his leadership role in the Black Arts Movement through biographical material, a small amount of professional and personal correspondence, personal business records, writings by Donaldson and others, research files, artist files, sound recordings of interviews Donaldson conducted with over 40 artists, teaching files, exhibition files, printed and digital material, and photographs. Also found are detailed records of his professional activities and leadership roles in AfriCOBRA, CONFABA, FESTAC, and the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC), including documentation on the Wall of Respect mural.
Citation:
Jeff Donaldson papers, 1918-2005, bulk 1960s-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2018 and is available on the Archives of American Art website. Materials which have not been digitized include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates. In some cases, exhibition catalogs and other publications have only had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages digitized.
Some of the sound recordings in the collection were digitized for research access and are available at Archives of American Art offices. Researchers may view the original reels for the archival notations on them, but original reels are not available for playback due to fragility.
Funding:
Funding for the digitization of the Jeff Donaldson papers was provided by the Walton Family Foundation.
Use Note:
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.
Biography Note:
Jeff Donaldson (1932-2004) was an African American artist and educator who worked in Chicago and Washington, D.C. He was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and promoted the "TransAfrican" aesthetic.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
Donated 2015 by Jameela Donaldson, Jeff Donaldson's daughter.
Digitization Note:
This site provides access to the papers of Jeff Donaldson in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2019, and total 18,712 images.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
