African Art in American Collections (Monograph : 1989)
African Art in American Collections (Monograph : 1966)
Extent:
83.1 cu. ft. (80 record storage boxes) (4 12x17 boxes) (2 16x20 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Brochures
Clippings
Newsletters
Floor plans
Maps
Color photographs
Black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white transparencies
Color transparencies
Color negatives
Glass negatives
Audiotapes
Artifacts
Place:
Cameroon
Date:
circa 1927-2009
Descriptive Entry:
These papers document the life and work of Warren M. Robbins, covering a wide swath of his life, from his early career in the Foreign Service to his work in cross cultural
communications and African art. A prolific writer, Robbins correspondence with such people as Maya Angelou, Ernie Barnes, Saul Bellow, Eliot Elisofon, Otto Fried, Buckminster
Fuller, Francoise Gilot, Chaim Gross, S. I. Hayakawa, Harry Holtzman, Frances Humphrey Howard, Herbert H. Humphrey, Ben Shahn, and Margaret Mead document the close relationships
he had with a wide range of people as well as reveal his personality and character.
The papers also include Robbins subject files and reveal his interests in African art, Piet Mondrian, and semantics among other things. Also included are records related
to the creation and administration of the Museum of African Art, the work it took to get it included as part of the Smithsonian, its transfer, and the difficulties and conflicts
Robbins experienced as a result. The records provide extensive coverage of the work involved in keeping the MAA a vibrant center of education, as well as documents the acquisition
of collection material and the production of exhibitions.
The papers also contain materials related to publications, including Robbins' African Art in American Collections, both the 1966 and 1989 editions. Also included
are materials related to his writings, lectures, and introductions of which he was known for. Of interest are the materials prepared by Roulhac Toledano in preparation for
an unpublished work: Before and After the Smithsonian, The Legacy of Warren Robbins, Founder, National Museum of African Art: A Biography of Letters and Essays.
Other highlights include audio recordings from the dedication of the Museum of African Art on September 21, 1966, as well as recordings of lectures and interviews; records
regarding the return of the Afo-A-Kom to the Kom people of Cameroon; records related to the acquisition of the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives; transcripts of oral history
interviews; and the numerous awards and honors received by Robbins including the Joseph Henry Medal.
Materials include correspondence, memoranda, invitations, publications, articles, reports, images, sound recordings, transcripts, awards, clippings, newsletters, brochures,
scrapbooks, pamphlets, mailings, maps, and floor plans. Some materials are in German and French.
Historical Note:
A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, BA, 1945 and the University of Michigan, MA, 1949, Warren Murray Robbins started his career as a secondary school teacher.
He later served in the United States Foreign Service, holding a variety of educational and curatorial posts in Germany and Austria. After returning to the United States, Robbins
established the Center for Cross Cultural Communication (CCCC) in 1962 to serve as an educational institute integrating, popularizing and utilizing the insights and perspectives
of the social sciences and the arts to foster international and interracial understanding as well as communication between the academic world and a broader public audience.
Once of first major projects of the CCCC was the creation in 1964 of the Museum of African Art (MAA). The museum was the extension of an interest in African art that Robbins
developed while in Europe. The museum was originally located in the Washington, DC residence of Frederick Douglass and became part of the Smithsonian Institution in1979 and
was later renamed the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) in 1981.
During the 15 years that the MAA was in operation, the CCCC operated under the Museum's name. Following the Museum's inclusion as part of the Smithsonian it reverted back
to its original corporate name with the inclusion of Robbins' name in the title to become the Robbins Center for Cross-Cultural Communication.
From 1964 to 1982, Robbins was the Director of the MAA, later becoming the Founding Director Emeritus and Senior Scholar from 1982-1995. In June of 1995, the Smithsonian
eliminated Robbins position as Founding Director Emeritus/Senior Scholar because of budgetary reasons. Subsequently Robbins sued the Smithsonian, but ultimately lost and was
not able to be reinstated.
After leaving the Smithsonian, Robbins continued his work at the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications to apply the perspectives and insights of the social sciences
and the arts in public education with particular emphasis on interracial understanding. Robbins passed away on December 4, 2008.
Chronology:
September 4, 1923 -- Born - Worcester, Massachusetts
1928-1937 -- Midland Street Elementary School
1938-1941 -- Classical High School
1941-1945 -- University of New Hampshire, Durham - BA English
1945-1949 -- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - MA History
August 1949-September 1950 -- Teacher, High School, Department of the Army, Dependent School System - Bremerhaven, Germany
September-December 1950 -- Teacher, High School, Department of the Army, Dependent School System - Nurnberg, Germany
January 1951-November 1951 -- Visiting Expert, Public Affairs Program, Department of State - Hicog, Germany
1951-1955 -- Education Officer, American Embassy, Department of State -Vienna, Austria
1955-1957 -- Cultural Affairs Officer, American Consulate General, United States Information Agency - Stuttgart, Germany
1957-1958 -- Public Affairs Officer, American Consulate General, United States Information Agency - Stuttgart, Germany
1958-1960 -- Deputy Chief, Cultural Centers and Program Unit, American Embassy - Bonn, Germany
1960-1961 -- Staff, U. S. Advisory Commission on Educational and Cultural Relations
1961-1962 -- Assistant to Deputy Assistant of State for Educational and Cultural Relations, Department of State
1962-1963 -- Course Chairman, Foreign Service Institute, Department of State
1962-2010 -- Founder and Director, Center for Cross Cultural Communications (CCCC) and later the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications
1964 -- Museum of African Art founded as a part of CCCC
1964-1982 -- Founder and Director, Museum of African Art/National Museum of African Art
1966 -- Establishment of the Frederick Douglass Institute for Intercultural Understanding
1978 -- President Carter signs bill authorizing the transfer of MAA to the Smithsonian
1979, August 13 -- Museum of African Art officially becomes part of the Smithsonian
1981 -- Museum of African Art changed names to the National Museum of African Art
1982 -- Sabbatical to Africa
1982-1995 -- Founding Director Emeritus and Senior Scholar, National Museum of African Art
1987 -- National Museum of African Art building opens in the Quadrangle on the National Mall
1995, June -- Terminated from National Museum of African Art
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Field notes
Date:
1918-1921, 1939
Scope and Contents:
This subseries of the Plains series consists of John P. Harrington's research on the Caddo, Pawnee, Wichita, and Comanche languages. Harrington accumulated a total of forty-two pages of original notes on Caddo, Pawnee, and Wichita. The information was taken in 1918 and 1921 in Anadarko, Oklahoma, and in Washington, D.C. Although linguistically unrelated, six pages of Comanche terms, also collected in 1918 in Anadarko, follow the Caddoan material.
The Caddo vocabulary consists of six pages of animal and miscellaneous terms obtained from Joe Edman on June 22,1918, at Anadarko, Oklahoma. A two-page copy of the animal terms (former B.A.E. ms. 4136) were given by Harrington to J. R. Swanton, who later deposited them in the B.A.E. archives naming Harrington as the collector (n.d.). The Pawnee section contains semantically arranged vocabulary of only a few words in each of ten categories, and fifteen pages of grammatical notes. Correspondence indicates that the information was recorded in Washington on February 18 to 21,1918, from James Murie, who was not paid for his time. Murie also provided additional random information in January 1921. There are also short typed extracts from Sapir and Boas. The Wichita files consists of six pages of grammatical notes emphasizing the pronouns and thirty-four cards dealing with numerals were given by Harrington to J. R. Swanton, who later deposited them in the B.A.E. archives (n.d.) (former B.A.E. ms. 4136pt.). He also recorded twenty-one pages of grammar and vocabulary from Eben Rose and John Haddon, June 1918, at Anadarko, Oklahoma. There is also a small selection of secondary Wichita material from Swanton.
The Comanche notes comprise six pages of random terms from Herbert Yernipcut taken on June 21, 1918, at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and three pages of miscellaneous vocabulary. There are two pages of names of Comanche Indians whose portraits were in one of DeLancey Gill's albums, obtained from a person identified only as Millet, and dated May 10, 1924. A letter dated May 26, 1924, from Comanche Albert Attock requests pictures of Chief Quanah Parker and Peyote Chief Blind Man.
Indians of North America -- Southern states Search this
Genre/Form:
Field notes
Collection Citation:
John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The preferred citation for the Harrington Papers will reference the actual location within the collection, i.e. Box 172, Alaska/Northwest Coast, Papers of John Peabody Harrington, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
However, as the NAA understands the need to cite phrases or vocabulary on specific pages, a citation referencing the microfilmed papers is acceptable. Please note that the page numbering of the PDF version of the Harrington microfilm does not directly correlate to the analog microfilm frame numbers. If it is necessary to cite the microfilmed papers, please refer to the specific page number of the PDF version, as in: Papers of John Peabody Harrington, Microfilm: MF 7, R34 page 42.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Digital media in the collection is restricted for preservation reasons.
Access to the Michiko Takaki papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Michiko Takaki papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Digital media in the collection is restricted for preservation reasons.
Access to the Michiko Takaki papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Michiko Takaki papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
