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Woman's Building records

Creator:
Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Names:
Feminist Studio Workshop  Search this
Women's Graphic Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this
De Bretteville, Sheila Levrant  Search this
Raven, Arlene  Search this
Extent:
32.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides
Artists' books
Date:
1970-1992
Summary:
The records of the Woman's Building feminist arts organization in Los Angeles measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1970-1992. Originally founded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven in 1973, the Woman's Building served as an education center and public gallery space for women artists in southern California. The records document both the educational and exhibition activities and consist of administrative records, financial and legal records, publications, curriculum files, exhibition files, grant funding records and artist's works of arts and prints. A significant portion of the collection documents the Women's Graphic Center, a typesetting, design, and printing service operated by The Woman's Building.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the Woman's Building measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1970 to 1992. The organization played a key role as an alternative space for women artists energized by the feminist movement in the 1970s. The records document the ways in which feminist theory shaped the Building's founding core mission and goals. During its eighteen year history, the Building served as an education center and a public gallery space for women artists in Los Angeles and southern California; the records reflect both functions of the Building's activities.

The Administrative Files series documents the daily operations of the Building, with particular emphasis on management policies, budget planning, history, cooperative relationships with outside art organizations and galleries, special building-wide programs, and relocation planning. Included in this series are the complete minutes from most Building committees from 1974 through closing, including the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council. The General Publicity and Outreach series is particularly complete, containing publicity notices from most events, exhibits, and programs held at the Woman's Building, including brochures, announcements, programs, invitations, press releases, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles.

The Woman's Building's educational programs centered on courses offered by the Feminist Studio Workshop and the Extension Program. While the Workshop provided a two-year program for women interested in fully developing their artistic talent, the Extension Program offered a broad range of classes, specifically oriented to working women interested in art and art vocations. The records fully document both programs, focusing on the course development and descriptions, teacher contracts, class evaluations, budget planning, and scholarship programs. Although the Archives does not have the entire slide library, there are files concerning the establishment and administration of the library, as well as a few folders of slides.

The Gallery Programs series houses the records of the visual, performing, literary and video arts events held at the Woman's Building. Administrative files detail the daily operation of the gallery spaces. The files in the remaining subseries are primarily arranged by event and contain proposals, announcements, publicity, and artist biographies.

The Women's Graphic Center became a profit-making arm of the Woman's Building in 1981 but the typesetting and design equipment had been used by staff and students since 1975. The records in this series focus on the work produced at the Center, including general projects and artist designs and art prints. Many of the design and printing examples were produced for Woman's Building events and programs.

The Artist's Works of Art series includes artist books, resumes, correspondence, postcards, and samples of art in the form of sketches, drawings, and prints. There is also material related to Woman's Building projects. Especially noteworthy is the "What is Feminist Art?" project where artists gave their responses in various formats and mediums from text to pieces of artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, circa 1970-1991 (Box 1-9, 32; 9 linear feet)

Series 2: Educational Programs, 1971-1991 (Box 10-14; 4.9 linear feet)

Series 3: Gallery Programs, 1973-1991 (Box 14-20, OV 54; 5.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Women's Graphic Center, circa 1976-1989 (Box 20-23, 32, OV 33-50; 5.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Artists' Works of Art, circa 1972-1990 (Box 24-25, OV 51-53; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 6: Grants, 1974-1992 (Box 25-30; 5.3 linear feet)
Historical Note:
In 1973, artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven founded the Feminist Studio Workshop (FSW), one of the first independent schools for women artists. The founders established the workshop as a non-profit alternative education center committed to developing art based on women's experiences. The FSW focused not only on the development of art skills, but also on the development of women's experiences and the incorporation of those experiences into their artwork. Central to this vision was the idea that art should not be separated from other activities related to the developing women's movement. In November of 1973 the founders rented workshop space in a vacated building in downtown Los Angeles and called it The Woman's Building, taking the name from the structure created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The FSW shared space with other organizations and enterprises including several performance groups, Womanspace Gallery, Sisterhood Bookstore, the National Organization of Women, and the Women's Liberation Union.

When the building they were renting was sold in 1975, the FSW and a few other tenants moved to a three-story brick structure, originally designed to be the administrative offices of the Standard Oil Company in the 1920s. In the 1940s, it had been converted into a warehouse and consisted of three floors of open space, conducive to publically available extension classes and exhibitions offered by the Woman's Building staff and students. By 1977, the majority of the outside tenants had left the Woman's Building, primarily because they were unable to sustain business in the new location. The new building was more expensive to maintain and the FSW staff decided to hire an administrator and to create a board structure to assume the financial, legal, and administrative responsibility for the Building. The funds to operate came from FSW tuition, memberships, fund-raising events, and grant monies.

In 1981, the Feminist Studio Workshop closed, as the demand for alternative education diminished. The education programs of the Building were restructured to better accommodate the needs of working women. The Woman's Building also began to generate its own artistic programming with outside artists, including visual arts exhibits, performance art, readings, and video productions. That same year, the Woman's Building founded the Women's Graphic Center Typesetting and Design, a profit-making enterprises designed to strengthen its financial base. Income generated from the phototypesetting, design, production, and printing services was used to support the educational and art making activities of the Building.

When the graphics business closed in 1988, the Woman's Building suffered a financial crisis from which it never fully recovered. The Building closed its gallery and performance space in 1991.
Related Material:
Among the other resources relating to the Woman's Building in the Archives of American Art is an oral history with Suzanne Lacy on March 16, 1990, March 24, 1990, and September 24, 1990. While not credited as a founding member, Lacy was among the first group of staff of the Woman's Building which she discusses in her interview.

The Getty Research Institute also holds a large collection on the Woman's Building which includes a wide range of material relating to its exhibitions, activities, and projects.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art donated 5 boxes of video tape from the collection to the Long Beach Museum of Art, Video Annex in 1994. According to documentation, this was the desire of Sandra Golvin and the Board of Directors of the Woman's Building. Printed material collected but not produced by the Woman's Building regarding feminism was transfered to Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
Provenance:
The Woman's Building records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1991 by Sandra Golvin, President of the Board of Directors. An small addition of a set of "Cross Pollination" posters was donated in 2019 by by ONE Archives at University of Southern California Libraries via Loni Shibuyama, Archives Librarian.
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Function:
Nonprofit organizations -- California
Arts organizations -- California
Genre/Form:
Slides
Artists' books
Citation:
Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.womabuil
See more items in:
Woman's Building records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw938796dfe-5dbf-49e9-96e7-5a8745391f13
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-womabuil
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Online Media:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Creator:
United Telegraph Workers.  Search this
Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this
Extent:
452 Cubic feet (871 boxes and 23 map folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Administrative records
Articles
Books
Clippings
Contracts
Drawings
Photographs
Patents
Newsletters
Photograph albums
Scrapbooks
Specifications
Technical documents
Date:
circa 1820-1995
Summary:
The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.
Scope and Contents:
The collection is divided into twenty-six (26) series and consists of approximately 400 cubic feet. The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into twenty-seven series.

Series 1: Historical and Background Information, 1851-1994

Series 2: Subsidiaries of Western Union, 1844-1986

Series 3: Executive Records, 1848-1987

Series 4: Presidential Letterbooks and Writings, 1865-1911

Series 5: Correspondence, 1837-1985

Series 6: Cyrus W. Field Papers, 1840-1892

Series 7: Secretary's Files, 1844-1987

Series 8: Financial Records, 1859-1995

Series 9: Legal Records, 1867-1968

Series 10: Railroad Records, 1854-1945

Series 11: Law Department Records, 1868-1979

Series 12: Patent Materials, 1840-1970

Series 13: Operating Records, 1868-1970s

Series 14: Westar VI-S, 1974, 1983-1986

Series 15: Engineering Department Records, 1874-1970

Series 16: Plant Department Records, 1867-1937, 1963

Series 17: Superintendent of Supplies Records, 1888-1948

Series 18: Employee/Personnel Records 1852-1985

Series 19: Public Relations Department Records, 1858-1980

Series 20: Western Union Museum, 1913-1971

Series 21: Maps, 1820-1964

Series 22: Telegrams, 1852-1960s

Series 23: Photographs, circa 1870-1980

Series 24: Scrapbooks, 1835-1956

Series 25: Notebooks, 1880-1942

Series 26: Audio Visual Materials, 1925-1994

Series 27: Addenda
Biographical / Historical:
In 1832 Samuel F. B. Morse, assisted by Alfred Vail, conceived of the idea for an electromechanical telegraph, which he called the "Recording Telegraph." This commercial application of electricity was made tangible by their construction of a crude working model in 1835-36. This instrument probably was never used outside of Professor Morse's rooms where it was, however, operated in a number of demonstrations. This original telegraph instrument was in the hands of the Western Union Telegraph Company and had been kept carefully over the years in a glass case. It was moved several times in New York as the Western Union headquarters building changed location over the years. The company presented it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1950.

The telegraph was further refined by Morse, Vail, and a colleague, Leonard Gale, into working mechanical form in 1837. In this year Morse filed a caveat for it at the U.S. Patent Office. Electricity, provided by Joseph Henry's 1836 "intensity batteries", was sent over a wire. The flow of electricity through the wire was interrupted for shorter or longer periods by holding down the key of the device. The resulting dots or dashes were recorded on a printer or could be interpreted orally. In 1838 Morse perfected his sending and receiving code and organized a corporation, making Vail and Gale his partners.

In 1843 Morse received funds from Congress to set-up a demonstration line between Washington and Baltimore. Unfortunately, Morse was not an astute businessman and had no practical plan for constructing a line. After an unsuccessful attempt at laying underground cables with Ezra Cornell, the inventor of a trench digger, Morse switched to the erection of telegraph poles and was more successful. On May 24, 1844, Morse, in the U.S. Supreme Court Chambers in Washington, sent by telegraph the oft-quoted message to his colleague Vail in Baltimore, "What hath God wrought!"

In 1845 Morse hired Andrew Jackson's former postmaster general, Amos Kendall, as his agent in locating potential buyers of the telegraph. Kendall realized the value of the device, and had little trouble convincing others of its potential for profit. By the spring he had attracted a small group of investors. They subscribed $15,000 and formed the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Many new telegraph companies were formed as Morse sold licenses wherever he could.

The first commercial telegraph line was completed between Washington, D.C., and New York City in the spring of 1846 by the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Shortly thereafter, F. O. J. Smith, one of the patent owners, built a line between New York City and Boston. Most of these early companies were licensed by owners of Samuel Morse patents. The Morse messages were sent and received in a code of dots and dashes.

At this time other telegraph systems based on rival technologies were being built. Some companies used the printing telegraph, a device invented by a Vermonter, Royal E. House, whose messages were printed on paper or tape in Roman letters. In 1848 a Scotch scientist, Alexander Bain, received his patents on a telegraph. These were but two of many competing and incompatible technologies that had developed. The result was confusion, inefficiency, and a rash of suits and counter suits.

By 1851 there were over fifty separate telegraph companies operating in the United States. This corporate cornucopia developed because the owners of the telegraph patents had been unsuccessful in convincing the United States and other governments of the invention's potential usefulness. In the private sector, the owners had difficulty convincing capitalists of the commercial value of the invention. This led to the owners' willingness to sell licenses to many purchasers who organized separate companies and then built independent telegraph lines in various sections of the country.

Hiram Sibley moved to Rochester, New York, in 1838 to pursue banking and real estate. Later he was elected sheriff of Monroe County. In Rochester he was introduced to Judge Samuel L. Selden who held the House Telegraph patent rights. In 1849 Selden and Sibley organized the New York State Printing Telegraph Company, but they found it hard to compete with the existing New York, Albany, and Buffalo Telegraph Company.

After this experience Selden suggested that instead of creating a new line, the two should try to acquire all the companies west of Buffalo and unite them into a single unified system. Selden secured an agency for the extension throughout the United States of the House system. In an effort to expand this line west, Judge Selden called on friends and the people in Rochester. This led, in April 1851, to the organization of a company and the filing in Albany of the Articles of Association for the "New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company" (NYMVPTC), a company which later evolved into the Western Union Telegraph Company.

In 1854 there were two rival systems of the NYMVPTC in the West. These two systems consisted of thirteen separate companies. All the companies were using Morse patents in the five states north of the Ohio River. This created a struggle between three separate entities, leading to an unreliable and inefficient telegraph service. The owners of these rival companies eventually decided to invest their money elsewhere and arrangements were made for the NYMVPTC to purchase their interests.

Hiram Sibley recapitalized the company in 1854 under the same name and began a program of construction and acquisition. The most important takeover was carried out by Sibley when he negotiated the purchase of the Morse patent rights for the Midwest for $50,000 from Jeptha H. Wade and John J. Speed, without the knowledge of Ezra Cornell, their partner in the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company (EMTC). With this acquisition Sibley proceeded to switch to the superior Morse system. He also hired Wade, a very capable manager, who became his protege and later his successor. After a bitter struggle Morse and Wade obtained the EMTC from Cornell in 1855, thus assuring dominance by the NYMVPTC in the Midwest. In 1856 the company name was changed to the "Western Union Telegraph Company," indicating the union of the Western lines into one compact system. In December, 1857, the Company paid stockholders their first dividend.

Between 1857 and 1861 similar consolidations of telegraph companies took place in other areas of the country so that most of the telegraph interests of the United States had merged into six systems. These were the American Telegraph Company (covering the Atlantic and some Gulf states), The Western Union Telegraph Company (covering states North of the Ohio River and parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota), the New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company (covering New York State), the Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph Company (covering Pennsylvania), the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company (covering sections of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois), and the New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company (covering the southern Mississippi Valley and the Southwest). All these companies worked together in a mutually friendly alliance, and other small companies cooperated with the six systems, particularly some on the West Coast.

By the time of the Civil War, there was a strong commercial incentive to construct a telegraph line across the western plains to link the two coasts of America. Many companies, however, believed the line would be impossible to build and maintain.

In 1860 Congress passed, and President James Buchanan signed, the Pacific Telegraph Act, which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to seek bids for a project to construct a transcontinental line. When two bidders dropped out, Hiram Sibley, representing Western Union, was the only bidder left. By default Sibley won the contract. The Pacific Telegraph Company was organized for the purpose of building the eastern section of the line. Sibley sent Wade to California, where he consolidated the small local companies into the California State Telegraph Company. This entity then organized the Overland Telegraph Company, which handled construction eastward from Carson City, Nevada, joining the existing California lines, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Sibley's Pacific Telegraph Company built westward from Omaha, Nebraska. Sibley put most of his resources into the venture. The line was completed in October, 1861. Both companies were soon merged into Western Union. This accomplishment made Hiram Sibley leader of the telegraph industry.

Further consolidations took place over the next several years. Many companies merged into the American Telegraph Company. With the expiration of the Morse patents, several organizations were combined in 1864 under the name of "The U.S. Telegraph Company." In 1866 the final consolidation took place, with Western Union exchanging stock for the stock of the other two organizations. The general office of Western Union moved at this time from Rochester to 145 Broadway, New York City. In 1875 the main office moved to 195 Broadway, where it remained until 1930 when it relocated to 60 Hudson Street.

In 1873 Western Union purchased a majority of shares in the International Ocean Telegraph Company. This was an important move because it marked Western Union's entry into the foreign telegraph market. Having previously worked with foreign companies, Western Union now began competing for overseas business.

In the late 1870s Western Union, led by William H. Vanderbilt, attempted to wrest control of the major telephone patents, and the new telephone industry, away from the Bell Telephone Company. But due to new Bell leadership and a subsequent hostile takeover attempt of Western Union by Jay Gould, Western Union discontinued its fight and Bell Telephone prevailed.

Despite these corporate calisthenics, Western Union remained in the public eye. The sight of a uniformed Western Union messenger boy was familiar in small towns and big cities all over the country for many years. Some of Western Union's top officials in fact began their careers as messenger boys.

Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century the telegraph became one of the most important factors in the development of social and commercial life of America. In spite of improvements to the telegraph, however, two new inventions--the telephone (nineteenth century) and the radio (twentieth century)--eventually replaced the telegraph as the leaders of the communication revolution for most Americans.

At the turn of the century, Bell abandoned its struggles to maintain a monopoly through patent suits, and entered into direct competition with the many independent telephone companies. Around this time, the company adopted its new name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

In 1908 AT&T gained control of Western Union. This proved beneficial to Western Union, because the companies were able to share lines when needed, and it became possible to order telegrams by telephone. However, it was only possible to order Western Union telegrams, and this hurt the business of Western Union's main competitor, the Postal Telegraph Company. In 1913, however, as part of a move to prevent the government from invoking antitrust laws, AT&T completely separated itself from Western Union.

Western Union continued to prosper and it received commendations from the U.S. armed forces for service during both world wars. In 1945 Western Union finally merged with its longtime rival, the Postal Telegraph Company. As part of that merger, Western Union agreed to separate domestic and foreign business. In 1963 Western Union International Incorporated, a private company completely separate from the Western Union Telegraph Company, was formed and an agreement with the Postal Telegraph Company was completed. In 1994, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. was acquired by First Financial Management Corporation. In 1995, First Financial Management Corporation merged with First Data Corporation making Western Union a First Data subsidiary.

Many technological advancements followed the telegraph's development. The following are among the more important:

The first advancement of the telegraph occurred around 1850 when operators realized that the clicks of the recording instrument portrayed a sound pattern, understandable by the operators as dots and dashes. This allowed the operator to hear the message by ear and simultaneously write it down. This ability transformed the telegraph into a versatile and speedy system.

Duplex Telegraphy, 1871-72, was invented by the president of the Franklin Telegraph Company. Unable to sell his invention to his own company, he found a willing buyer in Western Union. Utilizing this invention, two messages were sent over the wire simultaneously, one in each direction.

As business blossomed and demand surged, new devices appeared. Thomas Edison's Quadruplex allowed four messages to be sent over the same wire simultaneously, two in one direction and two in the other.

An English automatic signaling arrangement, Wheatstone's Automatic Telegraph, 1883, allowed larger numbers of words to be transmitted over a wire at once. It could only be used advantageously, however, on circuits where there was a heavy volume of business.

Buckingham's Machine Telegraph was an improvement on the House system. It printed received messages in plain Roman letters quickly and legibly on a message blank, ready for delivery.

Vibroplex, c. 1890, a semi-automatic key sometimes called a "bug key," made the dots automatically. This relieved the operator of much physical strain.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Additional moving image about Western Union Telegraph Company can be found in the Industry on Parade Collection (AC0507). This includes Cable to Cuba! by Bell Laboratory, AT & T, featuring the cable ship, the C.S. Lord Kelvin, and Communications Centennial! by the Western Union Company.

Materials at Other Organizations

Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware.

Western Union records (Western Union Right of Way and Other Agreements, 1848-1990, bulk: 1910-1989 and the Western Union Locality Files, 1892-1995, bulk: 1910-1989) form part of the MCI Communications Corporation Records, 1849-1999. See accession 2225.

First Data Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Records of First Data Corporation and its predecessors, including Western Union, First Financial Management Corporation (Atlanta) and First Data Resources (Omaha). Western Union collection supports research of telegraphy and related technologies, and includes company records, annual reports, photographs, print and broadcast advertising, telegraph equipment, and messenger uniforms.

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1867

This collection includes correspondence, mostly to Spencer F. Baird, from members of the Scientific Corps of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, including Kennicott, Dall, Bannister, and Elliott; copies of reports submitted to divisional chiefs from expedition staff members; newspaper clippings concerning the expedition; copies of notes on natural history taken by Robert Kennicott; and a journal containing meteorological data recorded by Henry M. Bannister from March to August, 1866.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts (apparatus and equipment) were donated to the Division of Information Technology and Society, now known as the Division of Work & Industry, National Museum of American History.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Western Union in September of 1971.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Communications equipment  Search this
Communication -- International cooperation  Search this
Electric engineering  Search this
Electric engineers  Search this
Electrical equipment  Search this
Electrical science and technology  Search this
Telegraphers  Search this
Telegraph  Search this
Genre/Form:
Administrative records
Articles
Books
Clippings
Contracts
Drawings
Photographs -- 19th century
Patents
Photographs -- 20th century
Newsletters
Photograph albums
Scrapbooks -- 19th century
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Specifications
Technical documents
Citation:
Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0205
See more items in:
Western Union Telegraph Company Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b72e8493-288c-4bd0-84d5-011155da30a7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0205
Online Media:

Celebrating A Century of Airmail: A Discussion of the Wiseman Cooke Flight with Smithsonian Curators

Creator:
National Air and Space Museum  Search this
Type:
Lectures
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2011-05-13T18:29:36.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Aeronautics;Flight;Space Sciences  Search this
See more by:
airandspace
Data Source:
National Air and Space Museum
YouTube Channel:
airandspace
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_-B_V-Qg_ZBM

Frances Colpitt papers, 1932-2022

Creator:
Colpitt, Frances  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Frances Colpitt papers, 1932-2022. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Theme:
Women  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)22263
AAA_collcode_colpfran
Theme:
Women
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_22263

Frances Colpitt papers

Creator:
Colpitt, Frances  Search this
Extent:
9.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
1932-2022
Summary:
The papers of Frances Colpitt measure 9.0 linear feet and date from 1932 to 2022. The papers document Colpitt's career as an art historian and educator through artist files, research writing project records, teaching files, other professional activities files, printed materials, sound recordings of interviews and lectures, video recordings, and born-digital materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Frances Colpitt measure 9.0 linear feet and date from 1932 to 2022. The papers document Colpitt's career as an art historian and educator through artist files, research writing project records, teaching files, other professional activities files, printed materials, sound recordings of interviews and lectures, video recordings, and born-digital materials.

Artist files consist of notes, articles and clippings, exhibition announcements and some catalogs, interview transcripts, and some photographs of artwork related to various artists.

Research writing projects records consist of files on various topics related to abstract art and Los Angeles art compiled by Colpitt for essay and book projects. The files primarily contain photocopies of research articles from the 1930s-1990s with some of Colpitt's notes, but do not typically contain drafts of writings.

Teaching files contain course materials for courses taught by Colpitt at the University of Southern California, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Texas Christian University. Records include some lecture notes.

Professional activity files consist of administrative material related to teaching positions, some curatorial projects, and contract writing work.

Printed materials include a copy of Colpitt's dissertation, articles, and exhibition catalogs for exhibitions Colpitt either wrote essays for or helped curate.

Also found are sound recordings of interviews Colpitt conducted with artists and sound recordings of some of Colpitt's lectures.

A series of unidentified born-digital material remains unprocessed.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Artist Files, 1933-2022 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 2: Research Writing Projects, 1930-2022 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 3-6)

Series 3: Teaching Files, 1981-2021 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)

Series 4: Professional Activity Files, 1977-2020 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 8-9)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1975-2018 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 9)

Series 6: Audio Interviews and Lectures, 1980-1983 (0.3 linear feet; Box 9)

Series 7: Unprocessed Born-Digital Material, undated (0.2 linear feet; Box 9)
Biographical / Historical:
Frances Jean Colpitt (1952-2022) was an art historian, art museum curator, and educator in Fort Worth, Texas, who specialized in American art after the 1960s and wrote extensively on abstract art.­

Colpitt was born in 1952 and completed her undergraduate studies in Fine Arts at the University of Tulsa in 1974. Colpitt then went on to receive a PhD in art history from the University of Southern California in 1982. Colpitt taught at the University of Southern California from 1988 to 1990, the University of Texas San Antonio from 1990 to 2005, and at Texas Christian University from 2005 to 2021. Colpitt died in 2022.
Provenance:
Donated in 2023 by the Estate of Frances Jean Colpitt via Mary Margaret Colpitt, estate 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 in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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:
Art historians -- Texas -- Fort Worth  Search this
Educators -- Texas -- Fort Worth  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Frances Colpitt papers, 1932-2022. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.colpfran
See more items in:
Frances Colpitt papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9770fd7c2-9ca2-4d7f-b926-74afd493792f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-colpfran

Evangeline J. Montgomery papers

Creator:
Montgomery, Evangeline J.  Search this
Names:
Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006  Search this
Jones, Lois Mailou, 1905-1998  Search this
Saar, Betye  Search this
Waddy, Ruth G. (Ruth Gilliam), 1909-2003  Search this
Extent:
26.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
1928-2018
Summary:
The papers of African American artist, curator, and arts administrator Evangeline "EJ" Montgomery measure 26.1 linear feet and date from 1929-2019. The papers relate to Montgomery's career and involvement in the African American art scene in California and Washington, D.C. The collection includes biographical materials consisting of calendars and appointment books, certificates and awards, records regarding Montgomery's personal art collection, resumes and biographies, and other personal records; correspondence with colleagues and friends such as Benny Andrews, Willis Bing Davis, Edmund Barry Gaither, Eugene Grigsby, Dele Jegede, Samella Lewis, Nzegwu Nkiru, and A.M. Weaver; professional activity files documenting Montgomery's career as a consultant, curator, member, and volunteer for a myriad of organizations including the American Association for State and Local History, National Conference of Artists, and the Oakland Museum; and research files and notes on African and African American arts and history, Black media, Black photographers, the museum profession, and the artists Betye Saar, Lois Mailou Jones, Nike Davies-Okundaye, Romare Bearden, Ruth Waddy, Sam Gilliam, and Sargent Johnson. Also included are files regarding Montgomery's career as an artist containing material on the Brandywine Workshop, interviews with Floyd Coleman and for The Historymakers, sales and consignment records, and other material; printed and documentary material consisting of art reproductions, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and posters regarding Montgomery and other African American artists; artwork by Montgomery, including student sketchbooks, and others; photographic material of Montgomery, friends and colleagues, events, personal snapshots, and works of art; and unidentified audiovisual material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist, curator, and arts administrator Evangeline "EJ" Montgomery measure 26.1 linear feet and date from 1929-2019. The papers relate to Montgomery's career and involvement in the African American art scene in California and Washington, D.C. The collection includes biographical materials consisting of calendars and appointment books, certificates and awards, records regarding Montgomery's personal art collection, resumes and biographies, and other personal records; correspondence with colleagues and friends such as Benny Andrews, Willis Bing Davis, Edmund Barry Gaither, Eugene Grigsby, Dele Jegede, Samella Lewis, Nzegwu Nkiru, and A.M. Weaver; professional activity files documenting Montgomery's career as a consultant, curator, member, and volunteer for a myriad of organizations including the American Association for State and Local History, National Conference of Artists, and the Oakland Museum; and research files and notes on African and African American arts and history, Black media, Black photographers, the museum profession, and the artists Betye Saar, Lois Mailou Jones, Nike Davies-Okundaye, Romare Bearden, Ruth Waddy, Sam Gilliam, and Sargent Johnson. Also included are files regarding Montgomery's career as an artist containing material on the Brandywine Workshop, interviews with Floyd Coleman and for The Historymakers, sales and consignment records, and other material; printed and documentary material consisting of art reproductions, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and posters regarding Montgomery and other African American artists; artwork by Montgomery, including student sketchbooks, and others; photographic material of Montgomery, friends and colleagues, events, personal snapshots, and works of art; and unidentified audiovisual material.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1967-2015 (1.0 linear feet; Box 1, OV 27)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1963-2014 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 2-4)

Series 3: Professional Activity Files, 1963-2017 (7.6 linear feet; Boxes 4-11)

Series 4: Research Files and Notes, 1928-2018 (4.0 linear feet; Boxes 11-16)

Series 5: Files Regarding Montgomery's Career as an Artist, 1970-2016 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 16-17)

Series 6: Printed and Documentary Materials, 1964-2018 (7.2 linear feet; Boxes 17-23, 26, OVs 27-29, 31-34

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1957-2006 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 23, 26, OV 30)

Series 8: Photographic Materials and Moving Images, circa 1965-2017 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 23-27, OV 27)

Series 9: Unidentified Audiovisual Materials, circa 1990s (1 folder; Box 25)
Biographical / Historical:
Evangeline "EJ" Montgomery (1930- ) is an African American artist, curator, and arts administrator in California and Washington, D.C.

Montgomery was born in New York and moved to Harlem in New York City after the divorce of her parents, Oliver and Carmelite Thompson. Upon graduating from Seward Park High School in 1951, Montgomery worked painting faces on dolls and statues. In 1955, she married Ulysses "Jim" Montgomery and moved to Los Angeles. In California she began working for jewelry designer Thomas Usher while attending Los Angeles City College. She continued her education at California College of the Arts (California College of Arts and Crafts) where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1969. During the late 1960s, Montgomery began curating exhibitions. From 1971 to 1976, she was curator for Rainbow Sign Gallery in Berkeley. Other roles Montgomery held were as the national exhibits workshop coordinator at the American Association for State and Local History and as program development consultant at the African American Museums Association. From 1976 to 1979, she was art commissioner for the city of San Francisco.

Montgomery moved to Washington, D.C. in 1980 to serve as the community affairs director for Howard University's WHMM-TV station. She then began working for the United States Information Agency (USIA) as a program officer in their Arts America program in the early 1980s. In her role, she worked to promote cross-cultural exchanges through art, specializing in American exhibitions touring abroad. Montgomery retired from the USIA in 2008.

As an artist, Montgomery gained recognition for her work in printmaking and metalworking. She was the recipient of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities fellowship in 2012 and an Excellence in the Arts Award from the Brandywine Print Workshop in 2004. Due to her diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in the 1990s, Montgomery had to stop working with metal but continued her printmaking work.
Provenance:
The Evangeline J. Montgomery papers were donated in 2019 by Evangeline J. Montgomery, as part of the Archives' African American Collecting Initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
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 References 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:
Art museum curators -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Art museum curators -- California  Search this
Printmakers -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Metal-workers -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Metal-workers -- California  Search this
Printmakers -- California  Search this
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American art museum curators  Search this
Black Arts movement  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women printmakers  Search this
Women arts administrators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Evangeline J. Montgomery papers, 1928-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.montevan
See more items in:
Evangeline J. Montgomery papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9915d0dc7-2f94-41bd-9b8b-d04432f7df32
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-montevan
Online Media:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

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
Heresies Collective, Inc.  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:
88.9 Linear feet
0.454 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Sound recordings
Interviews
Photographs
Date:
1930s-2010
bulk 1960-1990
Summary:
The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 88.9 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.

There is a 35.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015, 2021 and 2023 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley numerous notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence." Materials date from circa 1965-2010.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 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.

There is a 35.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015, 2021 and 2023 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley numerous notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series:

Missing Title

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)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1965-2010, (Boxes 78-113; 35.4 linear feet)
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, 2006, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
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 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:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Artists -- Political activity  Search this
Art criticism  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Women art critics  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Minimal art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.lipplucy
See more items in:
Lucy R. Lippard papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9101c6a69-dde9-42ed-94cc-d03650c249ed
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-lipplucy
Online Media:

Evangeline J. Montgomery papers, 1928-2018

Creator:
Montgomery, Evangeline J.  Search this
Subject:
Andrews, Benny  Search this
Saar, Betye  Search this
Jones, Lois Mailou  Search this
Waddy, Ruth G. (Ruth Gilliam)  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Evangeline J. Montgomery papers, 1928-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American art museum curators  Search this
Black Arts movement  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women printmakers  Search this
Women arts administrators  Search this
Theme:
African American  Search this
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)21682
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)398437
AAA_collcode_montevan
Theme:
African American
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_398437
Online Media:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2010, bulk 1960-1990

Creator:
Lippard, Lucy R.  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 (Firm)  Search this
University of Colorado  Search this
Political Art Documentation/Distribution (Organization)  Search this
Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this
Addison Gallery of American Art  Search this
Women's Caucus for Art  Search this
Heresies Collective, Inc.  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2010, bulk 1960-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Artists -- Political activity  Search this
Art criticism  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Women art critics  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Minimal art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)7895
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210062
AAA_collcode_lipplucy
Theme:
Women
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210062
Online Media:

William C. Sturtevant papers

Topic:
Handbook of North American Indians
Creator:
Sturtevant, William C.  Search this
Names:
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)  Search this
Six Nations  Search this
Extent:
220 Linear feet (The total extent of the collection is 191.41 linear feet (consisting of 473 document boxes and 2 record boxes) plus 254 sound recordings, 94 computer disks, 42 card file boxes, 85 oversize folders, 9 rolled items, 18 binder boxes, and 3 oversize boxes. Of the total extent, 4.79 linear feet (14 boxes) are restricted.)
Culture:
Indians of North America -- Southeast  Search this
Indians of North America  Search this
Iroquois  Search this
Seminole  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Realia
Research
Notes
Office files
Theses
Slides (photographs)
Sound recordings
Exhibition catalogs
Field notes
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Microfilms
Newsletters
Manuscripts
Memorandums
Articles
Card files
Books
Artifacts
Negatives
Date:
1952-2007
Summary:
This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and other professional activities. The collection is comprised of books, sound recordings, research and field notes, realia, artifacts, clippings, microfilm, negatives, slides, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, memorandums, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, and bibliographies.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and his involvement in various professional activities. The collection is comprised of research and field notes, sound recordings, realia, clippings, negatives, slides, prints, published and unpublished writings, correspondence, memorandums, conference papers and meeting notes, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, bibliographies, student files such as class notes and papers from Sturtevant's years as an anthropology student, teaching materials including lecture notes and exams, daily planners, passports, military records, artwork including prints and lithographs, maps, and computer files.

The materials in this collection document Sturtevant's career as a preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, university professor, his role as General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, and his contributions to the field of Anthropology. From his early work with the Seminole Indians of Florida to his forays into Burma, and his decades-long study of how Native Americans have been depicted in artistic and popular culture, Sturtevant's diverse intellectual interests are represented in his research files. A copious note taker, Sturtevant captured his observations and opinions of everything from meetings with colleagues to museum exhibits. Sturtevant's commitment to the anthropological profession can be found in the notes and programs of the many conferences, symposiums, and lecture series he attended and at which he presented. He also held numerous leadership positions in various professional associations and sat on the board of directors/trustees for several cultural organizations including Survival International and the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation. Sturtevant was respected for his vast knowledge of indigenous peoples and he received a voluminous amount of correspondence from colleagues who often included copies of their papers and grant proposals. He kept many of these works, which, it appears he used as reference material. Sturtevant's own work is reflected in his writings; he published over 200 scholarly papers, articles, and books.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized in 14 series: 1. Correspondence, 1951-2008; 2. Research Files, 1851, 1860s, 1880s, 1890, 1939-2006; 3. Writings, 1952-2006; 4. Professional Activities, 1952-2006; 5. Smithsonian, 1954-2008; 6. Handbook of North American Indians, 1971-2007; 7. Biographical Files, 1933-2007; 8. Student Files, 1944-1985; 9. Subject Files, 1902-2002; 10. Photographs, 1927-2004; 11. Artwork, 1699-1998; 12. Maps, 1949-1975; 13. Sound Recordings, 1950-2000; 14. Computer Files, 1987-2006.
Biographical/Historical note:
William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007), preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, and university professor, was best known for his contributions to Seminole ethnology, as curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, and for his work as the general editor of the Handbook of North American Indians.

Sturtevant's passion for studying Native peoples began at a young age. In third grade "after a class on American Indians, he asked his father what kind of people study Indians, and his father replied, 'Anthropologists.' Sturtevant decided then that he would make anthropology his career" (Merrill 11). After graduating with honors from the University of California at Berkeley in 1949, Sturtevant went on to Yale University to complete his graduate work in anthropology. When it came time to decide on what area of North America he should focus his research, one of his faculty members at Yale, Irving Rouse, "suggested he consider the Seminoles of south Florida. By the end of his first fieldwork season, Sturtevant was convinced that the dearth of ethnographic information about these Seminoles and their status as one of the least acculturated of all North American Indian societies justified ethnographic research among them and offered the possibility of making an important contribution to North American ethnology" (Merrill 13). Sturtevant spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 conducting preliminary fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole and in 1952 he took up temporary residence at Big Cypress Reservation to undertake research for his dissertation, "The Mikasuki Seminole: Medical Beliefs and Practices." This work focused on Seminole medicine, but also included Sturtevant's analysis of Seminole worldview, religion, history, inter-ethnic relations, material culture, economy, kinship, language, and social organization.

In 1954, while he was finishing his dissertation, Sturtevant made the transition from student of anthropology to professional anthropologist. He was hired as an instructor in Yale's Anthropology Department and began his career in museum work as an assistant curator of anthropology at the Yale Peabody Museum. After receiving his PhD from Yale in 1955, Sturtevant moved on to the Smithsonian Institution, where he accepted a position as a research anthropologist at the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE). This position afforded Sturtevant the chance to continue to explore his many research interests in ways that a full time professorship or museum curatorship could not. Over the next ten years he studied the Catawba in South Carolina; the Seneca and Cayuga nations of the Iroquois League in New York, Oklahoma, and Ontario; continued his work with the Seminole; visited European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture; and spent a year in Burma. In 1963, Sturtevant and his wife, Theda Maw, the daughter of a prominent Burmese family, took their three young children to Burma so that they could visit with Maw's family. Sturtevant took this as an opportunity to branch out from his Native American research and spent the year visiting neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examining archival materials, studying the Burmese language, learning about Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, and taking photographs. He also collected 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian.

When Sturtevant returned from Burma, he found the BAE had been dissolved. In 1965, he was transferred from the now-defunct BAE to the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), where he became curator of North American Ethnology, a position he held for the next forty-two years. During his tenure at NMNH Sturtevant oversaw all the North American ethnology collections, planned exhibitions, served on committees, and sponsored interns and fellows. One of Sturtevant's primary duties at NMNH was serving as the General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, "a major multi-volume reference work summarizing anthropological, linguistic, and historical knowledge about native peoples north of Mexico" (Jackson). Each volume was designed to represent a geographic or topical area of Americanist study. As General Editor, Sturtevant selected volume editors, chapter authors, oversaw office staff, and proofread manuscripts over the course of production.

Besides focusing on the Handbook, much of Sturtevant's time was taken up by responsibilities he held outside the Institution. Sturtevant was extremely involved in professional anthropological associations and held many leadership positions. Fresh out of graduate school, he began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington in 1957. He later became a member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society, served as book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist from 1962-1968, was a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums and was both vice president and president of the committee once it became the Council for Museum Anthropology, was on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives, served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation from 1976-1982 and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986, and sat on the Board of Directors of Survival International from 1982-1988. He was President of the American Society for Ethnohistory, the American Ethnological Society, the American Anthropological Association, and the Anthropological Society of Washington. Sturtevant also taught classes at Johns Hopkins University as an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology, served as a consultant on exhibits at other museums, and reviewed manuscripts for scholarly publications.

Sturtevant remained active in the profession throughout his later years. After divorcing Theda Maw in 1986, he married Sally McLendon, a fellow anthropologist, in 1990 and they undertook several research projects together. Sturtevant was recognized for his dedication and contributions to the field of anthropology in 1996 when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Brown University, and in 2002 when his colleagues published a festschrift in his honor, Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant.

Sturtevant died on March 2, 2007 at the Collingswood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rockville, MD after suffering from emphysema.

Sources Consulted

Estrada, Louie. 2007. William C. Sturtevant; Expert on Indians. Washington Post, March 17. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602273.html, accessed August 31, 2012.

Jackson, Jason Baird. 2007. William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007). http://museumanthropology.blogspot.com/2007/03/william-c-sturtevant-1926-2007.html, accessed August 31, 2012.

Merrill, William L. 2002. William Curtis Sturtevant, Anthropologist. In Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant. William L. Merrill and Ives Goddard, eds. Pp. 11-36. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

1926 -- Born July 26 in Morristown, NJ

1944 -- Entered the University of California at Berkeley as a second-semester freshman

1944 -- Attended summer school at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City where he took courses on Mexican archaeology and South American ethnology

1945 -- Drafted into the United States Navy

1946 -- Received an honorable discharge from the Navy with the rank of pharmacist's mate third class and returned to UC Berkeley

1947 -- Attended the University of New Mexico's summer field school in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

1949 -- January: Received his Bachelor's degree with honors in anthropology from UC Berkeley

1949 -- Began graduate studies at Yale University

1950-1951 -- Spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 in Florida conducting fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole

1951 -- Conducted his first research study of the Iroquois, a classification of Seneca musical instruments, their construction and use, with Harold Conklin

1952 -- May: Moved to Big Cypress Reservation in Florida to conduct research for his dissertation. He focused on Seminole medicine, but also collected physical anthropological data such as blood-type frequencies, handedness, and color blindness

1952 -- July 26: Married Theda Maw

1954 -- Hired by Yale University as an instructor in the Department of Anthropology and as an assistant curator of anthropology in the Yale Peabody Museum

1955 -- Received PhD in anthropology from Yale University

1956 -- Joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) as a research anthropologist

1957 -- Began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington

1957 -- Traveled to Rock Hill, South Carolina to collect linguistic data from Sam Blue, the last member of the Catawba tribe to have maintained some proficiency in the Catawba language. While there, he made a small collection of Catawba pottery for the United States National Museum

1957-1958 -- Spent seven weeks continuing his research among the New York Seneca

1959 -- Returned to Florida to study Seminole ethnobotany. He also collected ethnographic materials, especially objects made for the tourist market, which he deposited in the United States National Museum

1959-1960 -- Member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society

1960 -- July and August: Visited 17 European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture

1961-1962 -- Spent the summers of these years conducting ethnographic fieldwork among the Seneca-Cayuga in Oklahoma

1962 -- October: Visited the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada to conduct fieldwork among the Seneca and Cayuga there

1962-1968 -- Book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist

1963 -- October: Spent the year in Burma; visited neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examined photographs in several archives, studied the Burmese language, and read extensively about the country's history and culture. Assembled notes on Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, took hundreds of photographs, and made a collection of 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian

1964 -- Visited Inle Lake in the Southern Shan States southeast of Mandalay, where he examined local approaches to artificial island agriculture

1964-1981 -- Became a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums, which became the Council for Museum Anthropology in 1974. Sturtevant was the Council's first vice president, serving two terms between 1974 and 1978, and was its president from 1978 to 1981

1965 -- Became curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History after the dissolution of the BAE

1965-1966 -- President of the American Society for Ethnohistory

1966 -- Named the editor of the Handbook of North American Indians

1967-1968 -- Fulbright scholar and lecturer at Oxford University's Institute of Social Anthropology

1969 -- Began serving on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives

1974-1989 -- Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University

1976-1982 -- Served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986

1977 -- President of the American Ethnological Society

1980-1981 -- President of the American Anthropological Association

1981 -- Spent part of the spring semester at the University of California Berkeley as a Regents Lecturer

1982-1988 -- Board of Directors of Survival International

1986 -- Divorced Theda Maw

1986-1987 -- Smithsonian Fellow at Oxford University's Worcester College

1990 -- Married Sally McLendon

1992 -- President of the Anthropological Society of Washington

1996 -- Awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters at Brown University

2007 -- Died March 2 in Rockville, MD
Related Materials:
Other materials relating to William C. Sturtevant at the National Anthropological Archives are included in the following collections:

Manuscript 4504

Manuscript 4595

Manuscript 4806

Manuscript 4821

Manuscript 4972

Manuscript 7045

Photo Lot 59

Photo Lot 79-51

Photo Lot 80-3

Photo Lot 81R

Photo Lot 86-68 (6)

Photo Lot 86-68 (7)

American Society for Ethnohistory records

Committee on Anthropological Research in Museum Records

Handbook of North American Indians records

Records of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History

Gordon Davis Gibson Papers, Sound Recordings

SPC Se Powhatan Confederacy Mattapony BAE No # 01790700

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913800

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913900

DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04914000

Negative MNH 1530

Negative MNH 1530 B

Sturtevant is listed as a correspondent in the following NAA collections:

Administrative file, 1949-1965, Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology

John Lawrence Angel Papers

James Henri Howard Papers

Donald Jayne Lehmer Papers

John Victor Murra Papers

Records of the Society for American Archaeology

Albert Clanton Spaulding Papers

Waldo Rudolph Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel Papers

Copies of sound recordings made by William C. Sturtevant can be found at The California Language Archive at UC Berkeley in two collections, The William Sturtevant collection of Creek/Seminole sound recordings, which includes 31 minutes of Northern Muskogean linguistic field recordings from 1951, and The William Sturtevant collection of Mikasuki sound recordings, which includes 33 minutes of Mikasuki linguistic field recordings from 1951. Two sound tape reels of Seminole music Sturtevant recorded in Florida in 1951 can be found at Wesleyan University's World Music Archives. Folk songs on these recordings include "Scalping Sickness," "Bear Sickness with blowing," "Bear sickness without blowing," "Lullaby," "Feather Dance," "Snake Dance," and "Crazy Dance." Performers include Josie Billie, Lee Cypress, Harvey Jumper, Boy Jim, Charlie (Johnny?) Cypress, Little Tiger Tail, Billy Ossiola, and Charlie Billy Boy.
Separated Materials:
One video tape, "Seminole History and Tradition", was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives. Series 2.2, Tukabahchee Plate: Glass negative of spectrogram from FBI (Box 135), removed for storage with other glass plate negatives.
Provenance:
These papers were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives by the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History.
Restrictions:
Files containing Sturtevant's students' grades have been restricted, as have his students' and colleagues' grant and fellowships applications. Restricted files were separated and placed at the end of their respective series in boxes 87, 264, 322, 389-394, 435-436, 448, 468, and 483. For preservation reasons, his computer files are also restricted. Seminole sound recordings are restricted. Access to the William C. Sturtevant Papers requires an apointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Botany  Search this
Anthropology  Search this
Archaeology  Search this
Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this
History  Search this
Linguistics  Search this
Genre/Form:
Realia
Research
Notes
Office files
Theses
Slides (photographs)
Sound recordings
Exhibition catalogs
Field notes
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Microfilms
Newsletters
Manuscripts
Memorandums
Articles
Card files
Books
Artifacts
Negatives
Citation:
William C. Sturtevant papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.2008-24
See more items in:
William C. Sturtevant papers
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3b2223e72-e872-41c5-ae7b-abd0b27eaf6a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-2008-24
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Alessandra Moctezuma, 2020 July 22

Interviewee:
Moctezuma, Alessandra  Search this
Interviewer:
Espinosa, Fernanda  Search this
Subject:
Pandemic Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Video recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Alessandra Moctezuma, 2020 July 22. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Mexican American artists  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Pandemics  Search this
COVID-19 (Disease)  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women art teachers  Search this
Theme:
Latino and Latin American  Search this
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)21992
AAA_collcode_moctuz20
Theme:
Latino and Latin American
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_21992

Oral history interview with Evangeline J. Montgomery

Interviewee:
Montgomery, Evangeline J.  Search this
Interviewer:
Elliott, Claude L.  Search this
Extent:
25 Items (WAV files (3 hours., 16 min.), digital, wav )
65 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2021 June 15 - December 7
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Evangeline J. Montgomery conducted 2021 June 15-December 7, by Claude L. Elliott for the Archives of American Art, at Montgomery's home at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in Rockville, MD.
Biographical / Historical:
Evangeline "EJ" Montgomery (1930- ) is an African American artist, curator, and arts administrator in California and Washington, D.C. Montgomery has advocated for racial justice and public equity across media. She is especially known for her metallurgical works and abstract lithographs as well as her work with the US State Department to foster arts education domestically and abroad.
Related Materials:
The Archives also holds the papers of Evangeline J. Montgomery.
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:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art museum curators -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Metal-workers -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Printmakers -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
Women artists  Search this
African American printmakers  Search this
Women printmakers  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.montgo21
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c3bea9e1-6d68-40a2-a6c7-7907d601b25e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-montgo21
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Dan Cameron

Interviewee:
Cameron, Dan (Daniel J.)  Search this
Interviewer:
Proctor, Jacob  Search this
Extent:
20 Items (sound files (4 hrs., 58 min.), digital, wav)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2022 November 7 and 22
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Dan Cameron conducted 2022 November 7 and 22, by Jacob Proctor for the Archives of American Art, at The Archives of American Art office at 300 Park Ave South, New York, NY.­
Biographical / Historical:
Dan Cameron (1956- ) is a curator known for expanding the horizons of representation in American museums. Based in New York, Cameron has also worked in Los Angeles and New Orleans, where he was the founding director of Prospect New Orleans.
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:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art museum curators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Art museum curators -- Louisiana -- New Orleans  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.camero22
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw979bf13b8-d75d-4be1-82ad-4176267fc05a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-camero22

Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers, 1958-1969

Creator:
Gore, Marian L.  Search this
Subject:
Mallary, Robert  Search this
Lebrun, Rico  Search this
Kuntz, Roger  Search this
Luna, Mario  Search this
Leavitt, Thomas W.  Search this
Gerchik, Paul  Search this
Greene, Balcomb  Search this
Hopps, Walter  Search this
Hansen, Jurgen  Search this
Goeritz, Mathias  Search this
Elliot, James  Search this
Carter, Earl  Search this
Lipchitz, Jacques  Search this
Cremean, Robert  Search this
Brigante, Nicholas P.  Search this
Blair, Streeter  Search this
Ankrum, Joan  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this
Albert, Michel (artist)  Search this
Wayne, June  Search this
Nevelson, Louise  Search this
Geoffrey, J. Iqbal  Search this
Vicente, Esteban  Search this
Wark, Robert R.  Search this
Schwaderer, Fritz (Fritz Karl)  Search this
Tamayo, Rufino  Search this
Robles, Esther  Search this
Schniede, Otto  Search this
Cuevas, José Luis  Search this
Ortiz, Emilio  Search this
Falkenstein, Claire  Search this
Comara Gallery  Search this
Dwan Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Silvan Simone Gallery  Search this
KPFK (Radio staion : Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Ankrum Gallery  Search this
Ceeje Gallery  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Photographs
Interviews
Transcripts
Citation:
Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers, 1958-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Curators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Gallery owners -- California  Search this
Artists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Theme:
Art organizations  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6118
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216328
AAA_collcode_goremari
Theme:
Art organizations
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216328
Online Media:

Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers

Creator:
Gore, Marian L.  Search this
Names:
Ankrum Gallery  Search this
Ceeje Gallery  Search this
Comara Gallery  Search this
Dwan Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
KPFK (Radio staion : Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Silvan Simone Gallery  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Albert, Michel (artist)  Search this
Ankrum, Joan  Search this
Blair, Streeter, 1888-1966  Search this
Brigante, Nicholas P., 1895-1989  Search this
Carter, Earl  Search this
Cremean, Robert, 1932-  Search this
Cuevas, José Luis, 1934-  Search this
Elliot, James, 1943-2011  Search this
Falkenstein, Claire, 1908-1997  Search this
Geoffrey, J. Iqbal, 1939-  Search this
Gerchik, Paul  Search this
Goeritz, Mathias, 1915-1990  Search this
Greene, Balcomb, 1904-1990  Search this
Hansen, Jurgen  Search this
Hopps, Walter  Search this
Kuntz, Roger, 1926-1975  Search this
Leavitt, Thomas W.  Search this
Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964  Search this
Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973  Search this
Luna, Mario  Search this
Mallary, Robert, 1917-1997  Search this
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Ortiz, Emilio, 1936-  Search this
Robles, Esther  Search this
Schniede, Otto  Search this
Schwaderer, Fritz (Fritz Karl), 1901-  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro, 1896-1974  Search this
Tamayo, Rufino, 1899-1991  Search this
Vicente, Esteban, 1903-2001  Search this
Wark, Robert R.  Search this
Wayne, June, 1918-2011  Search this
Extent:
2.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Photographs
Interviews
Transcripts
Date:
1958-1969
Summary:
The Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1958 to 1969, with all sound recordings dated between 1962 and 1964. The core of the collection consists of 37 radio programs recorded by Marian Gore for KPFK radio in Los Angeles, California, consisting of interviews with artists, collectors, gallerists, and museum curators. A series of artist files contains notes, correspondence and other materials related to her interview subjects, and a printed materials series contains mainly exhibition posters, programs, and announcements produced by the art spaces with which her subjects were affiliated.
Scope and Contents:
The Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1958 to 1969, with all sound recordings dated between 1962 and 1964. The core of the collection consists of 37 radio programs recorded by Marion Gore for KPFK radio in Los Angeles, California, consisting of interviews with artists, collectors, gallerists, and museum curators. A series of artist files contains notes, correspondence and other materials related to her interview subjects, and a printed materials series contains mainly exhibition posters, programs, and announcements produced by the art spaces with which her subjects were affiliated.

The "Art Scene" Interviews series contains 36 interviews from Gore's "Art Scene" radio series of interviews relating to the contemporary art scene in Los Angeles, particularly galleries and artists showing on La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood. Also found is a single episode of another KPFK program called "Seen at the galleries" and hosted by Earl Carter, featuring an interview with Jacques Lipchitz on the occasion of his retrospective at UCLA. Two interviews, with Mathias Goeritz and David Siqueiros, were conducted in Mexico City. Other interview subjects include Michel Albert, Josef Albers, Joan Ankrum, Streeter Blair, Nick Brigante, Robert Cremean, José Luis Cuevas, James Elliott, Claire Falkenstein, Balcomb Greene, Paul Gerchik, Jurgen Hansen, Walter Hopps, Roger Kuntz, Rico Lebrun, Dr. Thomas Leavitt, Jacques Lipchitz, Mario Luna, Robert Mallary, Louise Nevelson, Emilio Ortiz, Esther Robles, Otto Schniede, Fritz Schwaderer, Rufino Tamayo, Esteban Vicente, Robert Wark, and June Wayne.

Artist files include mainly brief, typewritten notes created for Gore's radio interviews, with the questions she asked her interview subjects and brief introductory or concluding remarks. Correspondence is also found in files for Robert Cremean, Iqbal Geoffrey, Balcomb Greene, Robert Mallary, Emilio Ortiz, and Esteban Vicente. Louise Nevelson's file also contains a transcript of her interview with Gore. Also found scattered in some files are notes, photographs, clippings, press releases, resumes, and exhibition programs. Note that not every person in this series has a corresponding sound recording in Series 1, and not every interviewee in Series 1 has a corresponding file in this series.

Most of the material in the Printed Materials series consists of exhibition announcements, programs, and posters from Galleries in the Los Angeles, California area, particularly those along La Cienega Boulevard. Of these, Ankrum Gallery, Ceeje Gallery, Comara Gallery, Dwan Gallery, Ferus Gallery, and Silvan Simone Gallery on Olympic Boulevard contain the most material, with many of the other files containing only one or two pieces. Of note are original prints promoting exhibitions at the Ferus and Ceeje Galleries, and a poster for an art walk along La Cienega Boulevard in the file for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 3 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: "Art Scene" Interviews (1.3 linear feet, Boxes 1-2, 4)

Series 2: Artist Files (0.2 linear feet, Boxes 2, 4)

Series 3: Printed Materials (0.7 linear feet, Boxes 3-4, OV 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Marian L. Gore (1914-2009) volunteered as a radio interviewer for KPFK between 1962-1964, conducting a series of interviews with Los Angeles-area artists, curators, collectors, and gallerists in response to a growing awareness of Los Angeles' rapidly growing role as a creative center and art market.

Born Marian Lucille Moore on Feb. 27, 1914, in Los Angeles to Fred and Lucille Moore. Fred Moore, an attorney, defended Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in the infamous 1921 trial. Following her divorce in the early 1960s, Gore approached the radio station KPFK, who was looking for someone to interview local artists. In a 1997 letter that accompanied her donation of the collection to the Archives, Gore writes,

"The early 1960's were an interesting and probably unique period for the Southern California art world. In Los Angeles on La Cienega Boulevard galleries had sprung up like mushrooms, and on Friday nights those who were interested in this scene would go from one gallery to another noting what artists were featured and what trends were apparent. It was a pleasurable way to meet artists as well as a social event where one could see friends and exchange impressions.

"Because I was searching for something to do, at the suggestion of a friend I had gone to radio station KPFK to volunteer my services in any way possible. It turned out to be a most fortuitous time for this offer. The management was interested in possible intervie3ws with artists, and so it all began. I had never done an interview in my life and was astounded to discover how easy it was to get artists, gallery owners, and even museum personnel to talk aobut what they did. Once this began I was swaped with requests for taped interviews, far more than I could manage."

Gore later became an antiquarian bookseller specializing in books on food and drink. She retired in 1994 and donated her book collection to the Los Angeles Public Library.
Provenance:
Donated 1997 by Marian Gore.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Curators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Gallery owners -- California  Search this
Artists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Photographs
Interviews
Transcripts
Citation:
KPFK "Art Scene" interviews, 1950-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.goremari
See more items in:
Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b8a530a5-0d06-4fcc-95c4-d1f0648c0264
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-goremari

Oral history interview with John Coplans, 1975 April 4-1977 August 4

Interviewee:
Coplans, John Rivers, 1920-2003  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Subject:
Alloway, Lawrence  Search this
Blum, Irving  Search this
Fried, Michael  Search this
Hopps, Walter  Search this
Leider, Philip  Search this
Rose, Barbara  Search this
Artforum  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John Coplans, 1975 April 4-1977 August 4. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art publishing -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12787
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212318
AAA_collcode_coplan75
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212318
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Nancy Hom, 2020 August 30

Interviewee:
Hom, Nancy, 1949-  Search this
Interviewer:
Ho, Melissa  Search this
Subject:
Pandemic Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Video recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Nancy Hom, 2020 August 30. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Asian American illustrators  Search this
Asian American curators  Search this
Chinese American art  Search this
Chinese American artists  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women arts administrators  Search this
Pandemics  Search this
COVID-19 (Disease)  Search this
COVID-19 (Disease) and the arts  Search this
COVID-19 (Disease) -- Social aspects  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women illustrators  Search this
Theme:
Asian American  Search this
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)21990
AAA_collcode_hom20
Theme:
Asian American
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_21990

Oral history interview with Josine Ianco-Starrels, 1989 June 15

Interviewee:
Ianco-Starrels, Josine, 1926-2019  Search this
Interviewer:
Bowman, Ruth, 1923-  Search this
Subject:
Long Beach Museum of Art  Search this
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery  Search this
Lytton Center of the Visual Arts  Search this
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Josine Ianco-Starrels, 1989 June 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women museum curators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12700
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211918
AAA_collcode_iancos89
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_211918

Adelyne Dohme Breeskin papers

Creator:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Names:
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this
National Museum of American Art (U.S.)  Search this
Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this
Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926  Search this
MacIver, Loren, 1909-  Search this
Extent:
2.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
circa 1934-1986
Summary:
The papers of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington D.C. art historian and museum curator Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, measure 2.5 linear feet and date from circa 1934-1986. The papers provide scattered documentation of Breeskin's career, focusing on writings and lectures delivered in the United States and abroad, and briefly documenting her work as an art exhibition juror, as a consultant, and as a teacher of a community art course. The collection also includes papers documenting some of Breeskin's research on Loren MacIver, Mary Cassatt, and others, and is comprised of biographical material, personal and professional correspondence with artists, friends, and colleagues, manuscript and lecture notes and drafts, professional files, sound recordings, and a few photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington D.C. art historian and museum curator Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, measure 2.5 linear feet and date from circa 1934-1986. The papers provide scattered documentation of Breeskin's career, focusing on writings and lectures delivered in the United States and abroad, and briefly documenting her work as an art exhibition juror, as a consultant, and as a teacher of a community art course. The collection also includes papers documenting some of Breeskin's research on Loren MacIver, Mary Cassatt, and others, and is comprised of biographical material, personal and professional correspondence with artists, friends, and colleagues, manuscript and lecture notes and drafts, professional files, sound recordings, and a few photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1938-1986 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 4-6)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1970 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings and Lectures, circa 1934-1981 (1 linear foot; Boxes 1-2)

Series 4: Professional Files, 1945-1984 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Biographical / Historical:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin (1896-1986) was an art historian and museum curator in Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. She was the first woman to be named director of a major American museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Adelyn Dohme took her first museum job in the print department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she worked with Kathryn B. Child under the supervision of William Mills Ivins. She left the museum in 1920 to marry violinist Elias Breeskin, and the couple had three children before divorcing in 1930.

Following her divorce, Breeskin returned to her native Baltimore and took a position as a curator with the Baltimore Museum of Art. In 1942 she was appointed director of the museum and remained in that position until 1962. As director she gave Milton Avery and Mary Cassatt's graphics their first museum shows.

Breeskin served as commissioner for the American contingent of the Venice Biennale in 1960 and was director of the Washington Gallery of Modern Art from 1962-1964. She then became a special consultant in twentieth-century art for the Smithsonian's National Collection of Fine Art and served as the museum's curator of contemporary painting and sculpture from 1968 to 1974.

Breeskin authored two catalogue raisonnés of Mary Cassatt's work, and conducted extensive research for a monograph on Loren MacIver, although the monograph was ultimately not published. In 1985 Breeskin received the Smithsonian Institutions highest award, the Gold Medal for Exceptional Service, and at the time of her death in 1986, was senior curatorial adviser.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds oral history interviews with Adelyn Breeskin conducted by Paul Cummings in 1974, and Julie Haifley in 1979.
Provenance:
Portions of the collection were donated to the Archives of American Art in a series of gifts from Adelyn Breeskin, 1979-1985. Material relating to Loren MacIver was donated 1979-1987 by Breeskin and Robert Frash, who had possession of Breeskin's research materials on MacIver for an exhibition on MacIver he curated in California. Letters from Georgia O'Keeffe, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, and Lawrence Calcagno, an exhibition catalog for Calcagno, and the file on Milton Avery, were donated by the National Museum of American Art on January 28, 1981. The birthday book was a gift from Breeskin's daughter, Gloria Breeskin Peck, in 2015. The sound recordings were transferred from the National Museum of American Art, circa 1984.
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 audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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:
Art museum curators -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art museum directors -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin papers, circa 1934-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.breeadel
See more items in:
Adelyne Dohme Breeskin papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98710b071-3f06-4f02-a54b-d26d215a0ed4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-breeadel
Online Media:

Herschel Browning Chipp papers, 1964-1974

Creator:
Chipp, Herschel Browning, 1913-1922  Search this
Subject:
Leutze, Emanuel  Search this
Hicks, John Donald  Search this
Turner, Justin G.  Search this
University of California, Berkeley. University Art Museum  Search this
Citation:
Herschel Browning Chipp papers, 1964-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)5688
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208523
AAA_collcode_chiphers
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208523

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