The collection is arranged as 11 series. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1937-2012 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 37) Series 2: Family and Inherited Papers, circa 1900-2017 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, 38, OV 43) Series 3: Correspondence, 1952-2019 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 4-7) Series 4: Writings, 1948-2010s (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 7-8, 42) Series 5: Project and Exhibition Files, 1950s-2019 (8.2 linear feet; Boxes 8-16, 37, OV 45) Series 6: Teaching Files, 1948-2013 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 16-20, 37, OV 44) Series 7: Other Professional Activities, circa 1960s-2018 (4.0 linear feet; Boxes 20-24, 46) Series 8: Personal Business Records, 1960-2019 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 24-26, OV 43) Series 9: Printed Materials, 1908-2019 (4.5linear feet; Boxes 26-30, 39, OV 43, OV 45) Series 10: Photographic Materials, circa 1900-2010s (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 30-33, 40) Series 11: Artwork, circa 1940s-2010s (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 33-36, 41)
Access Note / Rights:
Material regarding the Guerrilla Girls is access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Summary:
The papers of African American painter and printmaker Emma Amos measure 37.1 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 2019. The collection documents Amos's family history, her professional life, and the intersection of her heritage and artwork. Found in the collection are biographical materials, family and inherited papers, correspondence, writings, project and exhibition files, teaching files, other professional records, personal business records, printed and photographic materials, and artwork.
Citation:
Emma Amos papers, circa 1900-2019. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives of American Art are: Oral history interview with Emma Amos, 1968 October 3 and Oral history interview of Emma Amos, 2011 November 19-26.
Biography Note:
Emma Amos (1937-2020) was an African American painter and printmaker in New York, N.Y.
Amos was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a prominent family that had connections to Hale Woodruff, Zora Neale Hurston, and W.E.B. DuBois. Her mother, India DeLaine Amos, received a degree in anthropology from Fisk University in Tennessee and her father, Miles Green Amos, was a pharmacist and graduate of Wilberforce University in Ohio. In 1923, Miles Amos, with his uncle Moses Amos, established the Amos Drug Store which became a social and intellectual center of the neighborhood.
Amos graduated from Booker T. Washington High School at 16. She enrolled at Antioch College where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1958. During her time at Antioch, Amos would spend part of the year attending classes and the rest of the year working in cities like Washington, D.C., New York, and Chicago where she frequented the local galleries and museums. During her fourth year, she traveled to study at the London Central School of Art with Anthony Harrison. After graduating from Antioch, she returned to London to get a degree in etching in 1960. She later received a Master of Art from New York University in 1966.
At the beginning of Amos's career, she went to New York because of the lack of opportunities in Atlanta. In New York, Amos began teaching art at the Dalton School. She started working with printmakers like Robert Blackburn eventually taking a job with designer Dorothy Liebes in 1961 who she worked for until 1969. Later, Amos taught textile design at Newark School of Art. In 1980, she began teaching at the Mason Gross School of Art at Rutgers University eventually becoming Chair of the Visual Arts department. Amos retired in 2008.
Amos was a member of the influential artist collectives Spiral, Heresies, and Guerrilla Girls. She was the creator and host of the WGBH television program about crafts, Show of Hands (1977-1978). She has exhibited her work in numerous exhibitions including Emma Amos, Paintings and Prints, 19821992 and Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power .
Amos died in Bedford, N.H. in 2020.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2020 by Emma Amos as part of the Archives' African American Collecting Initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
