Search Results

Creator:

Smithson, Robert  Search this

Names:

Dwan Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art  Search this

Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this

Atkinson, Terry, 1939-  Search this

Dibbets, Jan, 1941-  Search this

Dwan, Virginia  Search this

Flavin, Dan, 1933-  Search this

Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this

Haacke, Hans, 1936-  Search this

Heizer, Michael, 1944-  Search this

Holt, Nancy, 1938-  Search this

Insley, Will, 1929-2011  Search this

Jenney, Neil, 1945-  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Long, Richard, 1945-  Search this

Oppenheim, Dennis, 1938-2011  Search this

Valledor, Leo, 1936-1989  Search this

Wheeler, Dennis  Search this

Extent:

15.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Greeting cards

Photographs

Transcripts

Motion pictures (visual works)

Date:

1905-1987

bulk 1952-1987

Summary:

The papers of sculptor, writer, and earthworks artist Robert Smithson and his wife, sculptor, filmmaker, and earthworks artist Nancy Holt measure 15.1 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1987, with the bulk of the material dating from 1952 to 1987. The papers consist of Smithson's biographical material; business and personal correspondence, much of it with artists; interview transcripts; extensive writings and project files; financial records; printed material; a scrapbook of clippings; holiday cards with original prints and sketches; photographic material; and artifacts. Also found are project files related to Nancy Holt's motion picture film Pine Barrens and her seminal environmental work of art Sun Tunnels, including a video documentary about Sun Tunnels.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of sculptor, writer, and earthworks artist Robert Smithson and his wife, sculptor, filmmaker, and earthworks artist Nancy Holt measure 15.1 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1987, with the bulk of the material dating from 1952 to 1987. The papers consist of Smithson's biographical material; business and personal correspondence, much of it with artists; interview transcripts; extensive writings and project files; financial records; printed material; a scrapbook of clippings; holiday cards with original prints and sketches; photographic material; and artifacts. Also found are project files related to Nancy Holt's film Pine Barrens and her seminal environmental work of art Sun Tunnels, including a video documentary about Sun Tunnels.

Biographical material includes Robert Smithson's curriculum vitae, personal identification and medical documents, eight engagement/day planners Smithson and Holt maintained from 1966 to 1973, and Smithson's funeral register.

Correspondence is primarily with Smithson's family, friends, fellow artists, and business associates discussing personal relationships, proposed art projects, and exhibitions. Correspondents of note include Carl Andre, the Dwan Gallery (Virginia Dwan), Dan Graham, Will Insley, Ray Johnson, Gyorgy Kepes, Sol Lewitt, Lucy Lippard, and Dennis Wheeler. There is also substantial correspondence received by Holt upon Smithson's death in 1973, and between Holt and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art regarding Smithson's retrospective exhibition in 1982.

There are nine interview transcripts with Smithson discussing his works and his general philosophy on art, and one transcript of the Andrew Dickson White Museum's Earth Art Symposium (1969) featuring the following artists: Mike Hiezer, Dennis Oppenheim, Robert Smithson, Neil Jenney, Gunther Uecker, Jan Dibbets, Richard Long, and Hans Haacke.

Writings are substantial and include 73 drafts of published and unpublished essays by Smithson on art, artists, and works in progress. The series also includes poems by Smithson, six notebooks containing notes and sketches by Smithson, and drafts of writings sent to Smithson and Holt by friends and colleagues, including Carl Andre, Terry Atkinson, Dan Flavin, Dan Graham, and Jack Thibeau.

Project files contain correspondence, project instructions, diagrams and sketches, research materials, photographic material, and maps related to over 50 of Smithson's artworks. These include concepts, proposed projects, sculptures, non-sites, and earthwork projects, including Spiral Jetty, Broken Circle, and Spiral Hill.

Personal business records include gallery related loan arrangements and receipts for miscellaneous art supplies. Financial records include tax forms and preparation documents, including cancelled checks, receipts, statements, and related correspondence.

Printed materials include books, clippings, and periodicals related to Smithson, either containing writings or sketches by him, or containing articles reviewing his work. There are also exhibition announcements and catalogs of Smithson's group and solo shows from 1959 to 1985.

The scrapbook contains clippings of Smithson's published articles from 1966 to 1973 with annotated shorthand notes.

Artwork consists of Christmas cards collaged by Smithson, and sketches by Smithson and Leo Valledor.

Photographic materials include prints and negatives of Smithson with friends, promotional Hollywood movie stills, and original prints and copyprints of other artists' artwork.

Artifacts consist of a paper bag silkscreened with a Campbell's soup can (Warhol), promotional buttons (N.E. Thing Co.), various organic materials, and two art kits.

Nancy Holt's papers consist of correspondence, a grant application, printed materials, and project files and audio visual material related to her motion picture film Pine Barrens (1975) and her seminal environmental work of art Sun Tunnels (1975).

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 13 series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1905-1974 (Box 1; 14 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1959-1987 (Boxes 1-2, OV 21; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Interview Transcripts, 1966-1973 (Box 2; 11 folders)

Series 4: Writings, 1959-1975 (Boxes 2-3; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Project Files, circa 1950s-1982 (Boxes 4-5, Boxes 17-18, OV 20, OV 22-26, OV 36, RD 28-30, RD 32-35; 6.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, circa 1967-1970s (Box 5; 4 folders)

Series 7: Financial Records, 1962-1972 (Box 6; 1 linear foot)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1955-1985 (Boxes 7-11, Box 18, RD 31; 5.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Scrapbook, 1966-1973 (Box 11, Box 16; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 10: Artwork, circa 1950s-1970s (Box 11; 4 folders)

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1950s-1970s (Box 11, Box 18; 5 folders)

Series 12: Artifacts, circa 1950s-1970s (Box 11, Box 14, OV 19; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 13: Nancy Holt Papers, circa 1960s-1980s (Box 12-13, 15, OV 27, FC 37-38; 1.9 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Robert Smithson (1938-1973) was the pioneer of land and earthworks art. He was also a noted sculptor, painter, writer, and lecturer working primarily in New York City. Smithson's wife, Nancy Holt (1938-) was a noted sculptor and filmmaker and also worked as an earthworks artist.

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Smithson expressed an early interest in art, enrolling in classes at the Brooklyn Museum School and the Art Student's League in New York while still attending high school. Smithson's early works were primarily paintings, drawings, and collages. In 1959, he exhibited his first solo show of paintings at the Artists' Gallery in New York and had his first solo international show in Rome with the Galleria George Lester in 1961.

During the early to mid-1960s, Smithson was perhaps better known as a writer and art critic, writing numerous essays and reviews for Arts Magazine and Artforum. He became affiliated with artists who were identified with the minimalist movement, such as Carl Andre, Donald Judd, Nancy Holt, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris and others. In 1963, Smithson married sculptor and filmmaker Nancy Holt and a year later started to create his first sculptural works. In 1966, Smithson joined the Dwan Gallery, whose owner Virginia Dwan was an enthusiastic supporter of his work.

Smithson's interest in land art began in the late 1960s while exploring industrial and quarry sites and observing the movement of earth and rocks. This resulted in a series of sculptures called "non-sites" consisting of earth and rocks collected from a specific site and installed in gallery space, often combined with photographs, maps, mirrors, or found materials. In September 1968, Smithson published the essay "A Sedimentation of the Mind: Earth Projects" in Artforum that promoted the work of the first wave of land art artists. Soon thereafter, he began creating his own large scale land art and earthworks.

From 1967 to 1973, Smithson's productivity was constant as he wrote, lectured, and participated in several solo and group shows a year, both at home and abroad. He explored narrative art as essay in "The Monuments of Passaic" and fully committed to his idea of visiting sites and using them as the basis for creating non-sites, Non-Site, Pine Barrens, (1968); incorporated and documented the use of mirrors at sites in Mirror Displacement, Cayuga Salt Mine Project (1968-1969); and created his first site-specific works through liquid pours of mud, asphalt, and concrete, including Asphalt Rundown (1969). In 1969, he also completed his first earth pour at Kent State University with his project Partially Buried Woodshed. Later that year, he created the sculptural artwork for which he is best known, Spiral Jetty (1969) on the Great Salt Lake in Utah. This was the first of his pieces to require the acquisition of land rights and earthmoving equipment, and would be followed two years later by Broken Circle and Spiral Hill in 1971.

On July 20, 1973, while surveying sites in Texas for the proposed Amarillo Ramp, Smithson died in a plane crash at the age of 35. Despite his early death, Smithson's writings and artwork had a major impact on many contemporary artists.

Nancy Holt began her career as a photographer and video artist. Today, Holt is most widely known for her large-scale environmental works, Sun Tunnels and Dark Star Park. Holt has also made a number of films and videos since the late 1960s, including Mono Lake (1968), East Coast, West Coast (1969), and Swamp (1971) in collaboration with her late husband Robert Smithson. Points of View: Clocktower (1974) features conversations between Lucy Lippard and Richard Serra, Liza Bear and Klaus Kertess, Carl Andre and Ruth Kligman and Bruce Brice and Tina Girouard. In 1978, she produced a film about her seminal work Sun Tunnels.

Related Material:

The Archives also holds several collections related to Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt, including an oral history interview with Robert Smithson conducted by Paul Cummings in 1972; an interview with Robert Smithson conducted by Tony Robbin in 1968; Robert Smithson letters to George B. Lester, 1960-1963; and oral history interviews with Nancy Holt conducted by Scott Gutterman in 1992 and Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz in 1993.

Separated Material:

Non-archival library books, periodicals, and phonographs from Robert Smithson's personal library are currently stored offsite.

Provenance:

The papers of Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt were donated by Nancy Holt in several accretions between 1986 and 2011.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

The Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Earthworks (Art)  Search this

Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Greeting cards

Photographs

Transcripts

Motion pictures (visual works)

Citation:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987, bulk 1952-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.smitrobe

See more items in:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-smitrobe

Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R., 1937-  Search this

Subject:

Chicago, Judy  Search this

Andre, Carl  Search this

Stevens, May  Search this

Pearson, Henry  Search this

Darboven, Hanne  Search this

Henes, Donna  Search this

Hammond, Harmony  Search this

LeWitt, Sol  Search this

Edelson, Mary Beth  Search this

Judd, Donald  Search this

Johnson, Ray  Search this

Art Workers Coalition  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Alliance for Cultural Democracy  Search this

Studio International  Search this

University of Colorado  Search this

Political Art Documentation/Distribution  Search this

Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this

Addison Gallery of American Art  Search this

Women's Caucus for Art  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Photographs

Topic:

Curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Artists -- Political activity  Search this

Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Art criticism -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Feminism  Search this

Minimal art  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7895

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210062

AAA_collcode_lipplucy

Theme:

Women

Art Theory and Historiography

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210062

Collection Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Container:

Box 40, Folder 12-14

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1986-1987

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Collection Rights:

The Lucy R. Lippard papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Lucy R. Lippard papers / Series 3: Writings / 3.2: Writings by Others

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-lipplucy-ref2711

Collection Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Container:

Box 46, Folder 5

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1968-1969

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Collection Rights:

The Lucy R. Lippard papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Lucy R. Lippard papers / Series 6: Printed Material / 6.2: Other Printed Material

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-lipplucy-ref2890

Collection Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Container:

Box 48, Folder 12

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1960-1966

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Collection Rights:

The Lucy R. Lippard papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Lucy R. Lippard papers / Series 6: Printed Material / 6.2: Other Printed Material

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-lipplucy-ref2985

Collection Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Container:

Box 48, Folder 21

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1980-1982

Scope and Contents:

Oversized material housed in OV 71

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Collection Rights:

The Lucy R. Lippard papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Lucy R. Lippard papers / Series 6: Printed Material / 6.2: Other Printed Material

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-lipplucy-ref2990

Collection Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Container:

Box 25, Folder 19

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1979-1982

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Collection Rights:

The Lucy R. Lippard papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Lucy R. Lippard papers / Series 2: Correspondence / 2.2: Correspondence by Subject

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-lipplucy-ref2238

Creator:

Buchanan, Beverly, 1940-  Search this

Names:

Bernice Steinbaum Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Steinbaum Krauss Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Scott, Arden  Search this

Sims, Lowery Stokes  Search this

Extent:

18.3 Linear feet

1.07 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Photograph albums

Motion picture film

Date:

1912-2017

bulk 1970s-1990s

Summary:

The papers of African American sculptor, painter, and land artist Beverly Buchanan measure 18.3 linear feet and 1.07 gigabytes, and date from 1912 to 2017 with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 1990s. The collection contains biographical material; correspondence; writings; and exhibition and project files, including audiovisual documentation from Bernice Steinbaum Gallery/Steinbaum Krauss Gallery. Material related to professional activities; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; photographic material, including photograph albums; and artwork are also found in the collection.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of African American sculptor, painter, and land artist Beverly Buchanan measure 18.3 linear feet and 1.07 gigabytes, and date from 1912 to 2017 with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 1990s. The collection contains biographical material; correspondence; writings; and exhibition and project files, including audiovisual documentation from Bernice Steinbaum Gallery/Steinbaum Krauss Gallery. Material related to professional activities; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; photographic material, including photograph albums; and artwork are also found in the collection.

The Beverly Buchanan papers contain biographical material including address books, calendars, awards and education certificates, identification documents, family history research material, and a recorded interview with Marcia Yerman for Women in Art; correspondence with friends and colleagues including Lucy Lippard and Lowery Stokes Sims, and with galleries and museums such as Bernice Steinbaum Gallery/Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, the Georgia Museum of Art, and the High Museum of Art. Also included are writings such as artist's statements, journals and notebooks, notes, and writings by others about Beverly Buchanan; exhibition and project files including audiovisual documentation from Bernice Steinbaum Gallery and Steinbaum Krauss Gallery of various exhibitions; material related to professional activities including teaching files and grant and fellowship applications; personal business records such as sales and consignment records; printed material including clippings, exhibition and event announcements and catalogs, magazines, posters, a video recording of A World of Art profile, and other published material; and scrapbooks, including one documenting Buchanan's City Walls series, containing primarily photographs and artwork with some printed material. The collection also contains photographic material including photographs, snapshots, negatives, and photograph albums; and artwork including sketchbooks, drawings, folded cardboard artwork, and illustrated cards.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged as ten series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-2015 (Box 1, Boxes 19-20; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1919-1954, 1967-2017 (Boxes 1-2; 0.9 linear feet; ER01, 0.017 GB)

Series 3: Writings, 1960-circa 2009 (Boxes 2-3; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Exhibition and Project Files, 1974-2001, 2010-2017 (Boxes 3-4, OV 21, FCs 22-23; 1.9 linear feet; ER02, 0.020 GB)

Series 5: Professional Activities, 1962, 1979-2005 (Box 4, Box 19; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1966-2010 (Box 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1912, 1923-2014 (Boxes 4-7, Box 19, OV 21; 3.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1970-circa 1977 (Box 7, Box 20; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographic Material, circa 1920s-2013 (Boxes 7-13, Boxes 16-18, Box 20; 8.8 linear feet; ER03, 1.03 GB)

Series 10: Artwork, 1956-2013, undated (Boxes 13-15, Box 20; 0.7 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Beverly Buchanan (1940-2015) was an African American sculptor, painter, and land artist in Macon, Georgia. Born in Fuquay, North Carolina and raised in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Buchanan studied medical technology at Bennett College before going on to earn two master's degrees in parasitology and public health from Columbia University in 1968 and 1969. Her artistic career began in 1971 when she enrolled in a class at the Art Students League in New York City taught by Norman Lewis. She moved to Georgia in 1977.

Buchanan is most well known for her "shack" sculptures and paintings, depictions of houses tied to Southern identity and memory.

Buchanan has been included in exhibitions at institutions such as Cinque Gallery, Truman Gallery, the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, GA, the Chrysler Museum, and a traveling retrospective exhibition organized by the Montclair Art Museum. Her work is included in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, High Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Beverly Buchanan has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the Anonymous Was a Woman Award, and the Women's Caucus for Art lifetime achievement award, among others. She died in 2015 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Provenance:

The Beverly Buchanan papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2018 by Jane Bridges, Buchanan's friend and executor.

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. 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 Reference Services for more information.

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.

Occupation:

Sculptors -- Georgia  Search this

Painters -- Georgia  Search this

Topic:

Environmental art  Search this

African American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Photograph albums

Motion picture film

Citation:

Beverly Buchanan papers, 1912-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.buchbeve

See more items in:

Beverly Buchanan papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-buchbeve

Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Names:

Addison Gallery of American Art  Search this

Alliance for Cultural Democracy  Search this

Art Workers Coalition  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Political Art Documentation/Distribution (Organization)  Search this

Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this

Studio International (Firm)  Search this

University of Colorado -- Faculty  Search this

Women's Caucus for Art  Search this

Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this

Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this

Darboven, Hanne  Search this

Edelson, Mary Beth  Search this

Hammond, Harmony  Search this

Henes, Donna  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Judd, Donald, 1928-  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Pearson, Henry, 1914-2006  Search this

Stevens, May  Search this

Extent:

56.5 Linear feet

0.454 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Interviews

Photographs

Date:

1930s-2007

bulk 1960-1990

Summary:

The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 56.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 56.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

A small amount of biographical material comprises resumes and an address book.

Correspondence files document all aspects of Lippard's professional life including her relationships with artists such as Carl Andre, Judy Chicago, Hanne Darboven, Ray Johnson, Sol LeWitt, and Henry Pearson; feminist artists including Mary Beth Edelson, Harmony Hammond, Donna Henes, and May Stevens; political and art-related activist groups such as Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Art Workers Coalition, Political Art Documentation/Distribution, Printed Matter, and Women's Caucus for Art; galleries and museums including Addison Gallery of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, and publishers including Art International and Art Forum. The series also traces the development of Lippard's involvement in activist causes including censorship and the rights of artists, Central America and the impact of U.S. policy on the region, and equality and reproductive rights for women, as well as her interest in conceptual and minimalist art. The series includes scattered artwork and photographs of artists.

Writings are primarily by Lippard and include correspondence, manuscript drafts, extensive notes, and publication records for some of her best-known books such as The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood (1966), Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973), Eva Hesse (1976), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990), as well as essays for publications such as Art Forum and Studio International and contributions to exhibition catalogs. Also found are edited transcripts from conferences, symposia and interviews conducted by and of Lippard, some audio recordings of interviews and symposia, including an interview with Donald Judd, and notes and typescripts for lectures and speeches.

A small number of files document Lippard's teaching work during the 1970s and 1980s, primarily at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she taught several courses and seminars.

Exhibition files document Lippard's involvement with exhibitions she helped to organize or curate such as A Different War: Vietnam in Art (1989-1991) 557,087 and 955,000 (1969, 1970), 2,972, 453 (1971) c.7,500 (1973-1974) and those for which she wrote catalog contributions.

Printed material includes a collection of articles written by Lippard and a small amount of material concerning events, such as speaking engagements, in which Lippard was involved. Other printed material reflects Lippard's wide range of artistic, political and activist interests and documents exhibitions and performances and the activities of art-related and political groups. Material includes many exhibition catalogs, announcements, invitations, printed posters, news clippings, journal articles, brochures, pamphlets and other publications.

Artwork includes sixteen items by unidentified artists, including two by children. Photographs consist primarily of photographs of works of art in addition to a small number of photos of exhibition installations.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as eight series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 1-28, 51, OVs 54-63; 28.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1930s-1990s (Boxes 28-41, 51-52, OVs 64-66; 13.24 linear feet, ER01; 0.454 GB)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1966-1993 (Boxes 41, 52; 0.76 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibitions, 1960s-1990s (Boxes 42-45, 52, OVs 67-68; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1940s-2007 (Boxes 45-49, 52, OVs 69-77; 5.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork and Ephemera, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53; 4 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, 1950s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53, OV 71; 1.0 linear foot)

Biographical / Historical:

New York and New Mexico writer and art critic, Lucy R. Lippard, is the curator of numerous exhibitions and the author of over twenty-four books and other writings that trace the emergence of minimalist and conceptual art and document Lippard's commitment to feminism and political activism.

Born in New York City in 1937, Lippard earned a B.A. from Smith College in 1958 and an M.A. in 1962 from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. In the 1960s she began writing art criticism for the journals Art International and Artforum. In 1966 she curated the landmark exhibition Eccentric Abstraction at the Fischbach Gallery in New York City. Lippard then curated the first of four defining conceptual art exhibitions that became known as her "numbers" shows, each titled after the populations of the cities in which they took place, with catalogs in the form of a set of 10 x 15 cm index cards. Opening at the Seattle Art Museum in 1969, 557,087 was followed by 955,000 in Vancouver, Canada, a few months later. 2,972,453 was held at the Centro de Arte y Comunicacíon in Buenos Aires in 1971 and c.7500 opened in Valencia, California, in 1973-1974 before traveling to several other venues in the United States and Europe.

Lippard's first book, The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood was published in 1966, followed by Pop Art the same year, and a collection of her early essays, Changing, in 1971. Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973) and From the Center: Feminist Essays on Women's Art (1976) documented the emergence of conceptual art and the early years of feminist art respectively. In 1976 Lippard published her seminal book on the life and work of Eva Hesse.

Between 1977 and 1978 Lippard lived on a farm in Devon, England, and worked on a novel, The First Stone, about the role of politics in the lives of three generations of women. During her walks across the English countryside she became interested in landscape art and conceived of her book Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory which was subsequently published in 1983. Other books include Get the Message?: A Decade Of Art For Social Change (1984), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990). Lippard has also written regular columns on art and politics for the Village Voice, In These Times and Z Magazine, and has been a contributing editor of Art in America.

Lippard was radicalized during a trip to Argentina in 1968 when she was invited to be a juror at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. On her return to the United States she became heavily involved in anti-war activities and the Art Workers Coalition. She is a co-founder of several feminist and artist organizations including the feminist collective Heresies, which produced Heresies: A Feminist Journal on Art and Politics from 1977-1992, Ad Hoc Women Artists, Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Artists Call Against U.S. Intervention in Central America, Women's Action Coalition, and Women's Art Registry. In 1976 she was a founder of Printed Matter, a New York nonprofit dedicated to producing artists' publications. She also worked closely with Franklin Furnace, an artist-run space devoted to the promotion of artists' books, installation art, and video and performance art, and served on the organization's International Committee.

Lippard has been a visiting professor at the School of Visual Arts, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Queensland, Australia, and was Eminent Artist in Residence at the University of Wyoming Department of Art in 2015. She has received honorary doctorates in fine arts from Maine College of Art, the Massachusetts College of Art, Moore College of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, and others, and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants in criticism, the Smith College Medal, the ArtTable Award for Distinguished Service to the Visual Arts, and the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies Award for Excellence.

Lippard has lived in New Mexico since 1992 and works as a freelance writer and speaker.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Lucy Lippard conducted in 2011 March 15, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, funded by a grant from the A G Foundation.

Provenance:

Lucy R. Lippard donated her papers in several increments between 1972-1995, and 2006.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

The Lucy R. Lippard papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Art critics  Search this

Topic:

Curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Artists -- Political activity  Search this

Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Art criticism -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Feminism  Search this

Minimal art  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Photographs

Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:

AAA.lipplucy

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-lipplucy

Collection Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Container:

Box 45, Folder 20

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1967-1968

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Collection Rights:

The Lucy R. Lippard papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Lucy R. Lippard papers / Series 5: Exhibitions

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-lipplucy-ref945

Interviewee:

Ryman, Robert, 1930-2019  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul, 1933-1997  Search this

Subject:

Flavin, Dan  Search this

LeWitt, Sol  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

New York Public Library  Search this

Type:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Topic:

Painters -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this

Prints -- Technique  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12729

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212091

AAA_collcode_ryman72

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212091

Interviewee:

Antonakos, Stephen, 1926-2013  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul, 1933-1997  Search this

Subject:

Droll, Donald E.  Search this

Fischbach, Marilyn Cole  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Neon sculpture -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12023

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212217

AAA_collcode_antona75

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212217

Creator:

Smithson, Robert, 1938-1973  Search this

Holt, Nancy, 1938-  Search this

Subject:

Wheeler, Dennis  Search this

Valledor, Leo  Search this

Dibbets, Jan  Search this

Atkinson, Terry  Search this

Andre, Carl  Search this

Insley, Will  Search this

Heizer, Michael  Search this

Holt, Nancy  Search this

Dwan, Virginia  Search this

Flavin, Dan  Search this

Graham, Dan  Search this

Haacke, Hans  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Long, Richard  Search this

Oppenheim, Dennis  Search this

Jenney, Neil  Search this

Johnson, Ray  Search this

Kepes, Gyorgy  Search this

LeWitt, Sol  Search this

Dwan Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art  Search this

Type:

Interviews

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Greeting cards

Photographs

Transcripts

Motion pictures (visual works)

Topic:

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Earthworks (Art)  Search this

Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7105

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209239

AAA_collcode_smitrobe

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209239

Interviewee:

Rorimer, Anne, 1944-  Search this

Interviewer:

Richards, Judith Olch, 1947-  Search this

Subject:

Acconci, Vito  Search this

Asher, Michael  Search this

Broodthaers, Marcel  Search this

Buchloh, B. H. D.  Search this

Buren, Daniel  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

D'Harnoncourt, Anne  Search this

Geldzahler, Henry  Search this

Graham, Dan  Search this

Hesse, Eva  Search this

Hale, Robert Beverly  Search this

Kuh, Katharine  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

LeWitt, Sol  Search this

Lowry, Bates  Search this

Maxon, John  Search this

Morris, Robert  Search this

Nauman, Bruce  Search this

Newman, Muriel Kallis Steinberg  Search this

Rorimer, James J. (James Joseph)  Search this

Smith, Tony  Search this

Speyer, A. James  Search this

Stamos, Theodoros  Search this

Tucker, Marcia  Search this

Wegman, William  Search this

Weiner, Lawrence  Search this

Albright-Knox Art Gallery  Search this

Art Institute of Chicago  Search this

Bryn Mawr College  Search this

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Victoria and Albert Museum  Search this

Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Curators -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)15880

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)295421

AAA_collcode_rorime10

Theme:

Women

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_295421

Creator:

Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this

Subject:

Davis, Douglas  Search this

DeAk, Edit  Search this

Fasnacht, Heide  Search this

Huebler, Douglas  Search this

Lawler, Louise  Search this

LeWitt, Sol  Search this

Linn, Nancy  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Nonas, Richard  Search this

Rosler, Martha  Search this

Princenthal, Nancy  Search this

Ruscha, Edward  Search this

Sischy, Ingrid  Search this

Spiegelman, Art  Search this

Stuart, Michelle  Search this

Tacha, Athena  Search this

Weiner, Lawrence  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Architectural drawings

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5968

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)227906

AAA_collcode_prinmati

Theme:

Art Gallery Records

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_227906

Interviewee:

Roth, Moira  Search this

Interviewer:

Heinemann, Sue  Search this

Creator:

Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project  Search this

Names:

Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project  Search this

London School of Economics and Political Science -- Students  Search this

University of California, Berkeley -- Students  Search this

University of Vienna -- Students  Search this

Women's Caucus for Art  Search this

Antin, Eleanor  Search this

Baca, Judith Francisca  Search this

Bernardi, Claudia  Search this

Chadwick, Whitney  Search this

Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Jacob, Mary Jane  Search this

Kaprow, Allan  Search this

Kozloff, Joyce  Search this

Lacy, Suzanne  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Machida, Margo  Search this

Nochlin, Linda  Search this

Ringgold, Faith  Search this

Schapiro, Miriam, 1923-2015  Search this

Selz, Peter Howard, 1919-2019  Search this

Stevens, May  Search this

Extent:

5 Items (Sound recording, master: 5 memory cards (6 hr., 9 min.), secure digital, 1.25 in)

81 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Place:

Cornwall (England : County) -- Description and Travel

Europe -- description and travel

Date:

2011 April 22-24

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Moira Roth conducted 2011 April 22- 24, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History Project, at Roth's home, in Berkeley, California.

Roth discusses her childhood and family background; her "unconventional" mother attending the London School of Economics; her "romantic childhood" growing up in Cornwall, England; her family's move to Letchworth for her to attend St. Christopher, a Montessori school; taking in evacuees from London during the Battle of Britain in 1940; childhood colored with European culture, Jewish culture, and music; at 17 moving from England to Washington, D.C., to live with her Irish father who was working for the International Monetary Fund; her early "passion for travelling"; moving to New York City in 1952; meeting John Cage; her autobiographical writings; travels in Europe; studies at the University of Vienna and the London School of Economics; deciding to be a psychiatric social worker; majoring in sociology with a minor in art history; attending graduate school in art history; her interest in Duchamp; doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley; interviewing artists; her marriage to Bill Roth; teaching; early publications; performances at the Woman's Building in the late 1970s; editing the book "The Amazing Decade: Women & Performance Art in America, 1970-1980" (1983); traveling with Faith Ringgold; friendships with Linda Nochlin, May Stevens, Lucy Lippard and others; experimental theater; her interest in Noh theater; the Women's Caucus for Art at CAA; The Poor Farm contemporary art space; living in the Bay Area; "rethinking feminism in terms of Asian-American Women"; globalism; the fictional character she created, Rachel Marker; and other topics. She recalls Joyce Kozloff, Miriam Schapiro, Judy Chicago, Judy Baca, Claudia Bernardi, Eleanor Antin, Margo Machida, Mary Jane Jacob, Annika Marie, Whitney Chadwick, Suzanne Lacy, Allan Kaprow, Peter Selz, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Moira Roth (1933- ) is an art historian and writer in Berkeley, California.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Art historians -- California -- Interviews  Search this

Authors -- California -- Berkeley  Search this

Topic:

Art -- History -- Study and teaching  Search this

Asian American women  Search this

Britain, Battle of, Great Britain, 1940  Search this

Experimental theater  Search this

Feminism  Search this

Nō  Search this

Sociology -- Study and teaching  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Evacuation of civilians  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Refugees  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

This interview is part of the Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project, funded by the A G Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.roth11

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-roth11

Interviewee:

Rorimer, Anne  Search this

Interviewer:

Richards, Judith Olch  Search this

Creator:

Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project  Search this

Names:

Albright-Knox Art Gallery  Search this

Art Institute of Chicago -- Faculty  Search this

Bryn Mawr College -- Students  Search this

Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project  Search this

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) -- Employees  Search this

Victoria and Albert Museum  Search this

Acconci, Vito, 1940-  Search this

Asher, Michael  Search this

Broodthaers, Marcel  Search this

Buchloh, B. H. D.  Search this

Buren, Daniel  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

D'Harnoncourt, Anne, 1943-2008  Search this

Geldzahler, Henry  Search this

Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this

Hale, Robert Beverly, 1901-1985  Search this

Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970  Search this

Kuh, Katharine  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Lowry, Bates, 1923-  Search this

Maxon, John, 1916-  Search this

Morris, Robert, 1931-2018  Search this

Nauman, Bruce, 1941-  Search this

Newman, Muriel Kallis Steinberg  Search this

Rorimer, James J. (James Joseph), 1905-1966  Search this

Smith, Tony, 1912-1980  Search this

Speyer, A. James  Search this

Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997  Search this

Tucker, Marcia  Search this

Wegman, William  Search this

Weiner, Lawrence, 1942-  Search this

Extent:

147 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2010 November 15-16

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Anne Rorimer conducted 2010 November 15-16, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, at Rorimer's home, in Chicago, Illinois.

Rorimer speaks of her family background; her early life and education in New York City; her father, James Rorimer, and his influence as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; college life at Bryn Mawr; how she became interested in modern art; her internship at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London after college; her master's degree thesis on Tony Smith; her job as a curator at the Albright-Knox Gallery and then at the Art Institute of Chicago; memorable exhibitions at the AIC throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including the annual "American Exhibition," "Europe in the Seventies: Aspects of Recent Art," (1977), and "Idea and Image in Recent Art" (1974); her close relationship with Anne D'Harnoncourt; how she left the AIC in 1984 to write, "New Art in the '60s and 70s: Redefining Reality," (2001); her role in acquisitions of contemporary art at the AIC; her thoughts on art education; her work with collectors; the process of getting her book published and reactions to it; her curatorial projects in the 1980s and early 1990s that focused on conceptual art; her relationship with artists like Michael Asher and Daniel Buren; her extensive book collection; her thoughts on being a freelance curator and writer. She recalls Whitney Stoddard, Robert Beverly Hale, Theodoros Stamos, Leo Castelli, Henry Geldzahler, Anne D'Harnoncourt, Renee Marcuse, Bates Lowry, Tony Smith, Marcia Tucker, A. James Speyer, Bruce Nauman, Lawrence Weiner, Vito Acconci, William Wegman, Robert Morris, Lucy R. Lippard, Katharine Kuh, Sol Lewitt, John Maxon, Eva Hesse, Muriel Newman, Judith Kirschner, Dan Graham, Benjamin Buchloh, and Marcel Broodthaers.

Biographical / Historical:

Anne Rorimer (1944-) is a curator and art historian in Chicago, Illinois. Judith Olch Richards (1947-) is a former executive director of iCI in New York, New York.

General:

Originally recorded on 4 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 36 min.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Occupation:

Art historians -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this

Authors -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Curators -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

This interview is part of the Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project, funded by the A G Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.rorime10

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-rorime10

Creator:

Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this

Names:

Davis, Douglas  Search this

DeAk, Edit  Search this

Fasnacht, Heide, 1951-  Search this

Huebler, Douglas  Search this

Lawler, Louise  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Linn, Nancy  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Nonas, Richard, 1936-  Search this

Princenthal, Nancy  Search this

Rosler, Martha  Search this

Ruscha, Edward  Search this

Sischy, Ingrid  Search this

Spiegelman, Art  Search this

Stuart, Michelle, 1933-  Search this

Tacha, Athena, 1936-  Search this

Weiner, Lawrence, 1942-  Search this

Extent:

24.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Architectural drawings

Date:

1970-1990

Summary:

The records of Printed Matter, Inc., a non-profit artists' book publisher and distributor in New York, measure 24.9 linear feet and date from 1970 to 1990. Documentation on this organization includes artist, distributor, and client files; inventory records; legal and administrative records; general correspondence; ledgers, invoices, and other financial records; files arranged by subject; and architectural drawings of the interior office space. The administrative correspondence scattered across the various series shows Printed Matter's philosophy, operations, and relationships to artists. Many early notes and minutes are in Sol LeWitt's handwriting. Among the names to be found in the files are former staff members Edith deAk, Mike Glier, Nancy Linn, Ingrid Sischy, and Nancy Princenthal; founders Sol LeWitt and Lucy Lippard; and contracted artists, such as Douglas Davis, Heidi Fasnacht, Jenny Holzer, Douglas Huebler, Louise Lawler, Richard Nonas, Martha Rosler, Ed Ruscha, Art Spiegelman, Michelle Stuart, Athena Tacha, and Lawrence Weiner.

Scope and Contents:

The records of Printed Matter, Inc., a non-profit artists' book publisher and distributor in New York, measure 24.9 linear feet and date from 1970 to 1990. Documentation on this organization includes artist, distributor, and client files; inventory records; legal and administrative records; general correspondence; ledgers, invoices, and other financial records; files arranged by subject; and architectural drawings of the interior office space. The administrative correspondence scattered across the various series shows Printed Matter's philosophy, operations, and relationships to artists. Many early notes and minutes are in Sol LeWitt's handwriting. Among the names to be found in the files are former staff members Edith deAk, Mike Glier, Nancy Linn, Ingrid Sischy, and Nancy Princenthal; founders Sol LeWitt and Lucy Lippard; and contracted artists, such as Douglas Davis, Heidi Fasnacht, Jenny Holzer, Douglas Huebler, Louise Lawler, Richard Nonas, Martha Rosler, Ed Ruscha, Art Spiegelman, Michelle Stuart, Athena Tacha, and Lawrence Weiner.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Artist Files, circa 1970-1990 (Boxes 1-3; 3.0 linear feet)

Distributor Files, 1976-1988 (Boxes 4-6; 3.0 linear feet)

Client Files, 1971-1989 (Boxes 7-8; 2.0 linear feet)

Inventory Cards, circa 1970s-1980s (Boxes 9-10; 2.0 linear feet)

Legal and Administrative Records, 1976-1989 (Boxes 11-13; 2.6 linear feet)

Correspondence, 1975-1986 (Boxes 13-14; 0.7 linear feet)

Subject Files, 1972-1990 (Boxes 14-20; 6.0 linear feet)

Financial Records, 1975-1989 (Boxes 20-25; 5.5 linear feet)

Architectural Drawings, circa 1985 (OV 26; 0.1 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Printed Matter, Inc., a non-profit artists' book publisher and distributor in New York was established in 1976 by Sol LeWitt, Lucy Lippard, and others. The organization grew from a small business coalition of artists into the largest facility dedicated to publications made by artists in book form. By 1986, Printed Matter had published or disseminated books by more than 1800 artists. Its history also mirrors the trajectory of the downtown art scene in the 1970s and 1980s, for which it became a matrix, an outlet, and a representative.

Provenance:

Donated in 2001 by David Platzker for Printed Matter, Inc.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.

Occupation:

Publishers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Architectural drawings

Citation:

Printed Matter, Inc. records, 1970-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.prinmati

See more items in:

Printed Matter, Inc. records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-prinmati

Creator:

Starr, Nina Howell, 1903-2000  Search this

Subject:

Ghent, Henri  Search this

Uelsmann, Jerry  Search this

Morgan, Barbara Brooks  Search this

Evans, Walker  Search this

Savage, Naomi  Search this

Kanaga, Consuelo  Search this

Kernan, Margo  Search this

Connor, Linda  Search this

Brandt, Helene  Search this

Szarwarski, John  Search this

Mainardi, Patricia  Search this

Sherwood, Maggie  Search this

Ringgold, Faith  Search this

Daitz, Evelyne Z.  Search this

Coke, Van Deren  Search this

Cohen, Stephenie  Search this

Macdonald-Wright, Stanton  Search this

Kruger, Louise  Search this

Putnam, Wallace  Search this

Rose, Ruth Starr  Search this

Strand, Paul  Search this

Evans, Minnie  Search this

DiSpirito, Henry  Search this

Siskind, Aaron  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

International Women's Art Festival  Search this

Sharon Arts Center  Search this

Professional Women's Photographers, Inc.  Search this

Photographic Historical Society of New York  Search this

Southern Regional Council  Search this

Museum of American Folk Art  Search this

Type:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Interviews

Drawings

Sketches

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Prints

Topic:

Folk art -- United States  Search this

Civil rights  Search this

African American art  Search this

Folk art -- Photographs  Search this

Women photographers  Search this

Photography  Search this

African American artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6053

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216034

AAA_collcode_starnina

Theme:

African American

The Art Market

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216034

Creator:

Starr, Nina Howell, 1903-2000  Search this

Names:

International Women's Art Festival  Search this

Museum of American Folk Art  Search this

Photographic Historical Society of New York  Search this

Professional Women's Photographers, Inc.  Search this

Sharon Arts Center  Search this

Southern Regional Council  Search this

Brandt, Helene, 1936-  Search this

Cohen, Stephenie  Search this

Coke, Van Deren, 1921-  Search this

Connor, Linda  Search this

Daitz, Evelyne Z.  Search this

DiSpirito, Henry, 1898-1995  Search this

Evans, Minnie, 1892-  Search this

Evans, Walker, 1903-1975  Search this

Ghent, Henri, 1926-  Search this

Kanaga, Consuelo, 1894-  Search this

Kernan, Margo, 1927-  Search this

Kruger, Louise, 1924-  Search this

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973  Search this

Mainardi, Patricia  Search this

Morgan, Barbara Brooks, 1900-1992  Search this

Putnam, Wallace, 1899-1989  Search this

Ringgold, Faith  Search this

Rose, Ruth Starr, 1887-1965  Search this

Savage, Naomi, 1927-2005  Search this

Sherwood, Maggie, 1922-1984  Search this

Siskind, Aaron  Search this

Strand, Paul, 1890-1976  Search this

Szarwarski, John  Search this

Uelsmann, Jerry, 1934-  Search this

Extent:

21.2 Linear feet

21.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Interviews

Drawings

Sketches

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Prints

Date:

circa 1933-1996

circa 1933-1996

Summary:

The papers of photographer and art historian Nina Howell Starr measure 21.2 linear feet and date from circa 1933 to 1996. The papers contain research files about various art historical topics, museums and galleries, photography, and artists. There are extensive files documenting Starr's relationship as researcher, dealer, and friend of folk painter Minnie Evans. Additionally, the papers include biographical materials, writings, speeches, project files, printed material collected or authored by Starr, and hundreds of artistic and documentary photographs and negatives created by Starr depicting her travels, Minnie Evans' paintings, roadside folk art, and other topics.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of photographer and art historian Nina Howell Starr measure 21.2 linear feet and date from circa 1933 to 1996. The papers contain research files about various art historical topics, museums and galleries, photography, and artists. There are extensive files documenting Starr's relationship as researcher, dealer, and friend of folk painter Minnie Evans. Additionally, the papers include biographical materials, writings, speeches, project files, printed material collected or authored by Starr, and hundreds of artistic and documentary photographs and negatives created by Starr depicting her travels, Minnie Evans' paintings, roadside folk art, and other topics.

Biographical materials are scattered and include grant and publication applications, curriculum vitae, lists of artwork, and miscellany.

Starr's lectures, writings, and project files are arranged into one series. They include Starr's student writings, a notebook about Civil Rights, files documenting her work on a Florida public housing project, the Southern Regional Council, and the League of Women Voters. A few files of general writings and lectures mostly concern folk artist Minnie Evans and the exhibition Women Photograph Men, held at the International Women's Arts Festival in 1976.

Subject files on artists, art history topics, photographers and photography (including Starr's work), and on folk artist and friend Minne Evans comprise the bulk of the collection. The files are a mix of collated materials and primary sources created by Starr and others and many contain correspondence, notes, photographs, and a few sketches and orginal prints. Also included are materials related to professional and organizational groups in which Starr was involved, including the Professional Women's Photographers, Inc., the Photographic Historical Society of New York, and the Museum of American Folk Art; files on several of Starr's exhibitions; and files on artists that contain printed materials, correspondence, and photographs. The file on Ruth Starr Rose contains prints and drawings. There are also photographs taken by Stephanie Cohen. Particularly rich files are found for Stephanie Cohen; Van Deren Coke, Director of the George Eastman Company; Evelyn Daitz, Director of the Witkin Gallery; Henry DiSpirito; Walker Evans; the Fotofolio printing company; curator Henri Ghent; photographer Consuelo Kanaga and husband Wallace Putnam; Margot Starr Kernan; Lucy Lippard; Stanton Mac-Donald Wright; Sharon Arts Center; photographer Paul Strand; curator John Szarwarski; and photographer Jerry Uelsman.

The collection also documents the friendship between painter Minnie Evans and Starr, and Starr's business dealings on Evans' behalf. There is correspondence about and with Evans, several sound recordings of interviews conducted by Starr and others with Evans, many with transcripts, financial documents, publications about Evans including exhibition catalogs, clippings, journal articles and monographs, two posters, a scrapbook, and one sketch by Evans.

Printed material includes published articles, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and clippings about Starr.

Photographic materials are extensive and include photographs and slides taken by Starr of friends, family, artwork by Minnie Evans, events, exhibition openings, world travels, and folk art, especially roadside. Prominent artists and art historians photographed include: photographers Maggie Sherwood, Naomi Savage, Barbara Morgan, Linda Connor, Aaron Siskind, Consuelo Kanaga, Faith Ringgold, and Walker Evans; sculptors Louise Kruger and Helene Brandt; feminist and art historian Pat Mainardi; and curators Henri Ghent and John Szarkowski. Starr's artistic photographic work is also represented, and includes two silver gelatin prints of Minnie Evans, and subject studies on hands, people, and nature, among others.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 6 series.

Series 1: Biographical material, 1954-circa 1990 (8 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Writings, Speeches and Projects, 1933-1995 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Subject Files, circa 1939-1996 (8.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-10)

Series 4: Minnie Evans, 1962-1996 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 10-13, 23, OV 24)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1936-1995 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 13-16, 23)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1939-1993 (5.4 linear feet; Boxes 16-23, OV 24)

Biographical / Historical:

Nina Howell Starr (1903-2000) was a photographer, art dealer, and art historian who worked primarily in New York City. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1903 as Cornelia Margaret Howell, Starr attended Wellesley College and graduated from Barnard in 1926. Also in 1926, she married Nathan Comfort Starr, an English professor, and, over the years the couple lived in Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, and New York City.

In 1963, at the age of 60, Starr received the first M.F.A. in photography granted by the University of Florida. Starr exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions, including Magic Lantern (Photographer's Gallery, London, 1976), and the Strength of Women (Witken Gallery, 1991), and numerous shows featuring photographs of outsider art. Her "New Yorker" project became an exhibition in 2016. Her work is owned by several prominent museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography.

As art historian, self-proclaimed critic, and civil rights and feminist advocate, Starr lectured widely, wrote articles and letters to editors, and corresponded with many notable art world figures. She became especially interested in outsider and folk art. Starr met outsider artist Minnie Evans in 1962 and became Evans' lifelong friend, advocate, and representative dealer. She wrote about Evans and introduced Evans' works to galleries and other exhibition spaces in New York, including the Whitney Museum, where she guest-curated an exhibition of Evans' work in 1975.

Starr was an active member of professional organizations including the Photographic Historical Society of New York, Professional Women's Photographers, Inc., and the Museum of American Folk Art where she served on the Advisory Committee.

Nina Howell Starr died in 2000 in Connecticut at the age of 97.

Provenance:

The Nina Howell Starr papers were donated by Nina Howell Starr in 1996.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

The Nina Howell Starr papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Folk art -- United States  Search this

Civil rights  Search this

African American art  Search this

Folk art -- Photographs  Search this

Women photographers  Search this

Photography  Search this

African American artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Interviews

Drawings

Sketches

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Prints

Citation:

Nina Howell Starr papers, circa 1933-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

AAA.starnina

See more items in:

Nina Howell Starr papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-starnina