The papers of African American arts administrator and director of Cinque Gallery, Ruth Jett, measure 7.8 linear feet and 0.242 gigabytes, and date from 1914 to 2014. The collection contains biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues including William Branch, Vinie Burrows, John and Vivian Hewitt, Langston Hughes, and Charles and Frances White; and administrative and professional files which include material related to the American Society of African Culture, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Cinque Gallery, the Cinque Artists Program at the Romare Bearden Foundation, the Library of Congress Center for the Book, and the Schomburg Corporation. The collection also includes writings, primarily typescript copies of literary works by others, including Langston Hughes and Ossie Davis, as well as notes; printed material such as clippings, exhibition and event announcements, books and magazines, and press releases; and photographic material including photographs, snapshots, negatives, and slides depicting Ruth Jett and other individuals, travel, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace fellows and events, and works of art. Also found is a small amount of artwork including a sketchbook, sketches, a painting, and a print.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of African American arts administrator and director of Cinque Gallery, Ruth Jett, measure 7.8 linear feet and date from 1914 to 2014. The collection contains biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues including William Branch, Vinie Burrows, John and Vivian Hewitt, Langston Hughes, and Charles and Frances White; and administrative and professional files which include material related to the American Society of African Culture, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Cinque Gallery, the Cinque Artists Program at the Romare Bearden Foundation, the Library of Congress Center for the Book, and the Schomburg Corporation. The collection also includes writings, primarily typescript copies of literary works by others, including Langston Hughes and Ossie Davis, as well as notes; printed material such as clippings, exhibition and event announcements, books and magazines, and press releases; and photographic material including photographs, snapshots, negatives, and slides depicting Ruth Jett and other individuals, travel, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace fellows and events, and works of art. Also found is a small amount of artwork including a sketchbook, sketches, a painting, and a print.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in seven series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1914-2014 (Box 1, OV 9; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1952-2014 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Administrative and Professional Files, 1954-2009 (Boxes 2-5, OV 9; 3.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, 1949-circa 1990s (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1928, 1949-2014 (Boxes 5-7, OVs 9-13; 2.1 linear feet, ER01; 0.242 GB)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1947-2010 (Boxes 7-8, OV 14; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, undated (Box 8, OV 14; 3 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Ruth Jett (1920-2014) was an art administrator and Director of the Cinque Gallery, New York, N.Y.
Born and raised in Alabama, Ruth Jett attended Miles College in Birmingham before moving with her mother and some siblings to Harlem, New York. In the early 1950s, Jett worked with the Committee for the Negro in the Arts, overseeing early productions by several Black playwrights including William Branch, Alice Childress, Ossie Davis, and Julian Mayfield. From the 1950s until her retirement in 1978, Jett held a variety of positions at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, notably managing the Fellowships in Diplomacy program for a number of years.
After she retired from the Carnegie Endowment, Ruth Jett worked with a number of cultural and arts organizations, including the Library of Congress Center for the Book, the Schomburg Corporation/ Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Friends of the Symphony of the New World.
Ruth Jett served on the Cinque Gallery Board of Directors beginning in 1981. She was appointed Executive Director in 1989 and served in that position until the early 2000s. When the gallery closed in 2004, she then worked with the Romare Bearden Foundation on the Cinque Artists Program to continue the gallery's legacy and commitment to supporting artists.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Cinque Gallery records, 1959-2010, bulk 1976-2004.
Provenance:
The Ruth Jett papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2018 by Juan Rodriguez, a friend of Jett.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Archival audiovisual recordings must be digitized for research access. Researchers may access digitized audiovisual materials in the Archives' Washington, D.C. or New York, N.Y. Research Centers by appointment. 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:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The records of Los Angeles Heritage Gallery measure 13.8 linear feet and date from 1944-2000 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960-1998. The majority of the collection consists of artists' files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the gallery's representation of its contemporary artists and gallery exhibitions, including biographical information, correspondence, and printed materials. About half of the artists' files are related to artist Charles White. Gallery records also include business correspondence, business records and additional printed materials.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Los Angeles Heritage Gallery measure 13.8 linear feet and date from 1944-2000 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960-1998. The majority of the collection consists of artists' files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the gallery's representation of its contemporary artists and gallery exhibitions, including biographical information, correspondence, and printed materials. About half of the artists' files are related to artist Charles White. Gallery records also include business correspondence, business records and additional printed materials.
Business correspondence and records contain incoming and outgoing correspondence with clients and galleries regarding artwork sales, consignments and exhibition loans; contracts, many with artists and lithographers; biographical information about Benjamin Horowitz; and other day-to-day business records.
Printed material documents exhibitions held at Heritage Gallery through exhibition announcement, catalogs, clippings, and posters, as well as a handful of printed materials for exhibitions held at other galleries and museums.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Series 1: Artists' Files, 1944-2000, bulk 1960-1998 (11.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-12, 15-16, OV 17)
Series 2: Business Correspondence and Records, 1945-1997 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 12-13)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1960s-1990s (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 13-14, 16)
Biographical / Historical:
Founder Benjamin Horowitz (1912-2004) was born in New York City and moved to Hollywood shortly before the outbreak of World War II. He began a career as a writer of detective fiction but was interrupted by the draft.
Horowitz opened Heritage Gallery in the early 1960s on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. His early dedication to African-American artists, chief among them Charles White to whom he gave more than 51 one-person exhibitions, distinguished the gallery.
Horowitz was the co-founder of the Art Dealers Association of California and also worked as an appraiser.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art holds several collections related to Heritage Gallery and Benjamin Horowitz, including the William Gropper papers and the Charles Wilbert White papers. Also found in the Archives is an oral history interview with Benjamin Horowitz conducted by Molly Saltman as a part of "Art and Artists" interviews, 1965-1966.
Provenance:
The Heritage Gallery records were donated by Benjamin Horowitz, founder of the gallery, in two accessions in 1998 and 2000.
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.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California
Citation:
Heritage Gallery records, 1944-2000, bulk 1960-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collection Care Preservation Fund.
Addresses and contact lists include a list from an unidentified exhibition at Heritage Gallery. Awards and honors include two Internationale Buchkunst-Ausstellung awards, and an InterGrafik 76 award; announcements of White's elections to Associate (1971) and Academecian (1974) of the National Academy of Design; and records related to a 1965 Grammy award nomination in category of Best Album Cover-Graphic Arts for the RCA album Gould: Spirituals for Orchestra, Copland: Dance Symphony. A reproduction of this album cover can be found in Series 7: Printed Material.
Also found are biographical notes and resumes for various stages of White's career; bibliographies of writings about White and his work; a 1979 expression of condolence in memory of Charles White from Los Angeles Mayor, Tom Bradley; White's high school report cards; a 1975 Southern Poverty Law Center membership card; a wedding announcement for Charles and Frances White; and a logo designed for White by David Green who, at the time, was a retired chairperson of the Otis Art Institute sculpture department.
Material relating to Elizabeth Catlett, White's first wife, includes a letter, a published article by Catlett, news clippings and announcements related to Catlett's Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in 1945, and a catalog for a 1947 group exhibition at Barnett-Aden Gallery.
Interviews include a sound recording of an interview with Charles White conducted by Karl Fortess, and a folder of interview transcripts. Transcripts do not include questions of the interviewer but appear to be answers to questions or biographical sketches. The second interview in the transcript file appears to be a transcript of Charles White's answers during the Archives of American Art's oral history interview conducted by Betty Hoag in 1965.
Arrangement:
Folders are arranged alphabetically by record type.
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
