Smithsonian Archives of American Art

1954
Edgar Preston Richardson (b. 1902 d. 1985)
Diary, 1952-1980
Page from E. P. Richardson’s diary, 1952–80. E. P. (Edgar Preston) Richardson papers, 1893–1994. In 1954, E. P. Richardson (1902–1985), then director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, and collector Lawrence A. Fleischman (1925–1997) founded the Archives of American Art. While Richardson’s diary does not mention this significant event, he does note his purchase of two kachina dolls for the Fleischmans.

1955
Barnett Newman (b. 1905 d. 1970)
Barnett Newman letter to Clement Greenberg, 1955 Aug. 9
Letter from Barnett Newman to Clement Greenberg, 9 Aug. 1955. 2 pp. Clement Greenberg papers, 1937–1984. In his Partisan Review article, “American Type Painting,” critic Clement Greenberg (1909–1994) was the first to group Barnett Newman (1905–1970), Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still together as “color-field painters.” However, in this letter, Newman objects to “errors of fact,” taking issue with the ways Greenberg compared his technique to the others.

1956
Lee Krasner (b. 1908 d. 1984)
Lee Krasner letter to Jackson Pollock, 1956 July 21
Letter from Lee Krasner to Jackson Pollock, 21 July 1956. 1 p. Jackson Pollock papers, 1912–1975. Unable to convince her husband, Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), to join her in Paris in the summer of 1956, Lee Krasner (1908–1984) corresponded with him in New York. “I miss you & wish you were sharing this with me,” she wrote only three weeks before he died in an auto accident while she was still in Europe.

1957
Arnold Newman (b. 1918 d. 2006)
Alexander Calder, 1957
Alexander Calder, 1957. Photograph by Arnold Newman (b. 1918). Arnold Newman photographs of artists, ca. 1940–1960. By 1957, Alexander Calder (1898–1976) was a well-known and prolific sculptor. Pictured here in his Connecticut studio, Calder was no stranger to the camera. Portraits such as this made Calder’s face almost as iconic as his art.

1958
Frank Lloyd Wright (b. 1867 d. 1959)
Frank Lloyd Wright to Aline B. (Aline Bernstein) Saarinen., May 24, 1958
Letter from Frank Lloyd Wright to Aline B. Saarinen, 24 May 1958. 2 pp. Aline and Eero Saarinen papers, 1857–1972. In this letter to the associate art critic for The New York Times, architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1869–1959) sends an “S.O.S.” to save his most recent creation—the Guggenheim Museum building. Wright complains that James Johnson Sweeney, the museum’s director, whom he calls a “picture hanger,” plans to paint the interior “dead-white,” which would destroy the “organic” whole of the building.

1959
Edgar Preston Richardson (b. 1902 d. 1985)
Edgar Preston Richardson, N.Y. letter to Rockwell Kent, Detroit, Mich., 1959 June 15
Letter from E. P. Richardson to Rockwell Kent, 15 June 1959. 1 p. Rockwell Kent papers, ca. 1840–1993. The first director of the Archives wrote to artist Rockwell Kent (1882–1971) asking him to donate his papers. Kent was “naturally flattered” but not interested. Ten years later, Kent lost his home in a fire. The Archives salvaged his papers, which had been six feet under water.

1960
Charles Rapaport
Claes Oldenburg and 'The Street', May 1960
Claes Oldenburg with a figure for his work The Street at the Reuben Gallery, New York, May 1960. Photograph by Charles Rapaport. Rudi Blesh papers, 1909–1983. In the 1960s, Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929) and other artists experimented with a new form of theatrical art. They created environments for performances called “Happenings.” Oldenburg's earliest environment, The Street, consisted of grimy figures made of painted cardboard. The Street first appeared at the Judson Memorial Church before being reinstalled at the Reuben Gallery.

1961
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (b. 1929 d. 1994)
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Hyannisport, Mass. letter to James Whitney Fosburgh, 1961 Sept. 13
Letter from Jacqueline Kennedy to James Whitney Fosburgh, 13 Sept. 1961. 3 pp. James Whitney Fosburgh papers, 1937–1978. Jacqueline Kennedy (1929–1994) resolved to meet the "crying need for some good American pictures" in the White House, as there was "really nothing but late nineteenth-century Presidents in black." She called on painter James Whitney Fosburgh (1910–1978) to oversee the selection of the works, hoping “to acquire permanently … all the finest from this country's past.”

1962
Robert C. Florian
Harvey Littleton, Clayton Bailey, and Robert Florian among others at a Toledo Museum of Art workshop, 1962 June
Participants in the Toledo glass workshop, June 1962. Photograph by Robert C. Florian. Harvey K. Littleton papers, 1946–1975. In 1962, the Toledo Museum of Art hosted glass workshops in March and June. These sessions proved the viability of an artist working alone with a small furnace, which launched the studio glass movement in America.

1963
Pedro Guerrero
Alexander Calder's 'Mailbox', 1963 Apr.
Alexander Calder’s studio “mailbox,” April 1963. Photograph by Pedro Guerrero. Howard W. and Jean Lipman papers, 1848, 1916–2000. In 1963, just before this photo was taken, Alexander Calder (1898–1976) donated part of his papers to the Archives including letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, a scrapbook, and writings.

1964

'The Social Aspects of Nuclear Anxiety', 1964
Brochure, "The Social Aspects of Nuclear Anxiety," 1964. Ben Shahn papers, 1879–1990. Social realist artist Ben Shahn (1898–1969) often lent his art to political causes in the service of peace and tolerance.

1965
Eric Pollitzer
Hans Haacke with his 'Wave' sculpture, 1965
Hans Haacke with his Wave sculpture, 1965. Photograph by Eric Pollitzer. Rudi Blesh papers, 1920–1986. Conceptual artist Hans Haacke (b. 1936) wanted his audience to engage physically with his art, so he made “something the spectator handles, an object to be played with.” 1965 was a significant year for Haacke: he moved permanently to the U.S., and his water sculptures were exhibited in New York to critical acclaim.

1966

Marcel Breuer on the “Today” show, 1966
Marcel Breuer on the set of the Today show, 1966. Marcel Breuer papers, 1920–1986. Marcel Breuer (1902–1981) is one of the most influential architects and designers of the 20th century. He was interviewed on the Today show about his new building for the Whitney Museum of American Art on Madison Avenue, a dramatic cube-like structure with a tiered overhang above a sculpture court.

1967
Robert Morris (b. 1931 )
Felt, 1967
Robert Morris’s Untitled, 1967; and felt material used in the sculpture. Photograph by Rudolph Burckhardt. Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1939–1980. In the fall of 1967, Robert Morris (b. 1931) was just beginning to investigate the sculptural possibilities of felt. He cut, rolled, stacked, and hung the felt, allowing the pieces to take their own shape as they fell in a random arrangement. A year later, Morris articulated a new post-minimalist concern with the physical manipulation of materials and the effects of external forces, such as gravity and time.

1967
Rudy Burckhardt (b. 1914 d. 1999)
Robert Morris, 'Untitled, 1967' Felt, 12 x 6 ft., Collection of Ellen Johnson., 1967
Robert Morris’s Untitled, 1967; and felt material used in the sculpture. Photograph by Rudolph Burckhardt. Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1939–1980. In the fall of 1967, Robert Morris (b. 1931) was just beginning to investigate the sculptural possibilities of felt. He cut, rolled, stacked, and hung the felt, allowing the pieces to take their own shape as they fell in a random arrangement. A year later, Morris articulated a new post-minimalist concern with the physical manipulation of materials and the effects of external forces, such as gravity and time.

1968
Walter De Maria (b. 1935 )
Walter De Maria letter to Robert Scull, 1968 Oct. 25
Letter from Walter De Maria to Robert Scull, 25 Oct. 1968. 4 pp. Robert Scull papers, ca. 1968–1983. In 1968, artist Walter De Maria (b. 1935) gained an international reputation as a leader in earthworks, when he filled the Galerie Heiner Friedrich in Munich with dirt. In this letter to collector Robert Scull (1917–1986), De Maria apologizes for mistaken reports of Scull’s patronage in the European press. De Maria indicates his distrust of reporters for their “extensions of fact” and “assumptions.”

1969

13 demands, 1969 Jan. 28
“13 Demands” of The Art Workers Coalition, submitted to Mr. Bates Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art, 28 Jan. 1969. Virginia Admiral papers, ca. 1947–1980. When the kinetic artist Takis removed one of his own art works from the Museum of Modern Art in 1969, he was making the revolutionary claim that although MoMA owned the artwork, the artist had the right to control its exhibition and treatment. This prompted the formation of the Art Workers Coalition, the first act of which was to make “13 Demands” of MoMA, emphasizing artists’ rights.

1971
Nancy Spero (b. 1926 )
Nancy Spero letter to Lucy R. Lippard, 1971 Oct. 29
Letter from Nancy Spero to Lucy Lippard, 29 Oct. 1971. 1 p. Lucy Lippard papers, 1940s–1995. Artist Nancy Spero (b. 1926) defiantly states her feminist sensibilities in this letter to art writer and activist Lucy Lippard (b. 1937).

1971
Nancy Spero (b. 1926 )
Nancy Spero letter to Lucy R. Lippard, 1971 Oct. 29
Letter from Lucy Lippard to Gloria Steinem, 28 Feb. 1972. 1 p. Lucy Lippard papers, 1940s–1955. In December 1971, Gloria Steinem (b. 1934) launched Ms. magazine as a sample insert in New York magazine. Just two months later, Lucy Lippard (b. 1937), a feminist critic and activist, wrote to Steinem eager for an opportunity to write about women artists. While Lippard never had a column in Ms., she did write articles for the magazine that focused on women in the visual arts.

1973

Los Four: Almaraz/de la Rocha/Lujan/Romero, Nov. 10-Dec. 9, 1973
Exhibition catalog for Los Four: Almaraz/de la Rocha/Lujan/Romero , 10 Nov. – 9 Dec. 1973. UC Irvine and LACMA. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Research Material on Chicano Art, 1965–2003. In 1973, Carlos Almaráz (1941–1989), Frank Romero (b. 1941), Gilbert Lujan (b. 1940), and Beto de la Rocha (dates unknown) founded the art collective Los Four. Their collaborative murals and public installations brought Chicano street art to the attention of the mainstream art community of Los Angeles. Theirs was the first Chicano exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, for which Romero designed the foldout catalog.

1974

Sheet of stamps including John Frederick Peto's Old Time Letter Rack, 1974
Page of U.S. postal stamps, issued 1974. John F. Peto and Peto family papers, ca. 1880–1974. In 1974 the U.S. Postal Service issued a 10-cent stamp featuring works by trompe l'oeil, or “fool the eye,” painter John Frederick Peto (1854–1907). His Old Time Letter Rack (1894), in the Manoogian Collection, celebrates the material qualities of letters and stamps.

1975

Flyer “To the American AA Community from Artists meeting for Cultural Changes”, 1975
Open letter “To the American Art Community from Artists Meeting for Cultural Change,” 1975. Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1939–1980. This open letter to the American Art Community expresses artist dissatisfaction with the boundaries of cultural institutions in the mid-1970s. These artists were increasingly frustrated with what they perceived as “discriminatory” museum practices, particularly the exclusion of blacks and women from a three-century survey exhibition of American art.

1976

Empire State Building lighted for the Bicentennial, 1976
Empire State Building lighted for the Bicentennial, 1976. Photographer unknown. Douglas Leigh papers, 1903–1999. In 1976, Douglas Leigh (1902–1999), who brought animated billboards to Times Square, introduced colored exterior lighting to New York’s Empire State Building. This photograph shows the iconic tower lighted in red, white, and blue in celebration of the American Bicentennial. Today, the Douglas Leigh Organization remains the building’s lighting consultant.

1977
Miye Matsukata (b. 1922 d. 1981)
Miss Ilene Perlis. Stock Card for jewelry order, 1977
Stock Card, 1977. Miye Matsukata papers, 1924–1982. This card shows the plans and price for jewelry designed by Miye Matsukata (1922–1981), a Japanese-American jeweler famed for her multicultural influences and wide assortment of materials. In the mid-1970s, she studied with Arline Fisch at Boston University, where she learned to use textile techniques on metal. The piece planned here features a crocheted necklace and a South American-inspired pendant.

1978
Howard Finster (b. 1916 Dec. 02 d. 2001 Oct. 22)
Howard Finster letter to Herbert Waide Hemphill, ca. 1978
Letter from The Reverend Howard Finster to Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., ca. 1979. 1p; and postcard of Howard Finster’s Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1979. Herbert Waide Hemphill papers, 1929–1995. In 1979, self-taught artist Howard Finster (1916–2001) painted a portrait of folk art collector Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. (1929–1998). Finster wrote, “I have your painting about half don [sic] it will take about two more weeks to finish it. I think it is going to be one of the worlds [sic] master pieces.” He dubbed Hemphill, “the man who preserves the lone and forgotten.”

1979
Howard Finster (b. 1916 Dec. 02 d. 2001 Oct. 22)
Postcard of finished painting by Howard Finster, Herbert Wade Hemphill, Jr., 1979
Letter from The Reverend Howard Finster to Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., ca. 1979. 1p; and postcard of Howard Finster’s Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1979. Herbert Waide Hemphill papers, 1929–1995. In 1979, self-taught artist Howard Finster (1916–2001) painted a portrait of folk art collector Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. (1929–1998). Finster wrote, “I have your painting about half don [sic] it will take about two more weeks to finish it. I think it is going to be one of the worlds [sic] master pieces.” He dubbed Hemphill, “the man who preserves the lone and forgotten.”

1980
Christo (b. 1935 )
Christo memorandum to Ellen H. Johnson, 1980
Memorandum from Christo re: The Gates, 1980. Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1939–1980. This 1980 memo from Christo gives the early specifications for The Gates. Although Christo and Jeanne-Claude (both b. 1935) began developing the project in 1979, it was not installed in New York’s Central Park until February 12, 2005.

1982
Jim Hess
The panel 'Artistic Expressions in the Barrio' at the Califas conference on Chicano art and culture in California, held at the University of California at Santa Cruz., April 16-18, 1982
Panel discussion, “Artistic Expressions in the Barrio,” at the Califas conference, University of California at Santa Cruz, 16–18 April 1982. Photograph by Jim Hess. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Research Material on Chicano Art, 1965–2003. The Califas conference provided a forum for planning a major traveling exhibition of Chicano art. This panel examined the barrio, or sense of community, as the root of Chicano cultural expression. Participants included Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, Jose Montoya, Carmen Lomas Garza, Pedro Castillo, Sue Martinez, and Harry Gamboa, Jr. The conference represents the rise of critical methodologies that focus on race, gender, ethnicity, and social class.

1983
Kim Levin
Power, The East Village, 1983 Oct. 18
Newspaper clipping, “Power, The East Village” by Kim Levin, Village Voice, 18 Oct. 1983. Gracie Mansion Gallery records, 1982–1989. The East Village art scene of the 1980s spawned more than 180 galleries in and around Alphabet City — Avenues A, B, C, and D — an economically depressed and ethnically diverse neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The popular press celebrated the scene, a “baby-boom bohemia,” where one could find the trendiest art at low prices.

1985
Mary Miss (b. 1944 )
Mary Miss letter to Ellen H. Johnson, 1985 Feb. 24
Letter from Mary Miss to Ellen Hulda Johnson, 24 Feb. 1985. 2pp.; and announcement for reception of the South Cove, Battery Park City, 12 July 1988. Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1939–1980. In this letter to art historian Ellen Hulda Johnson (1910–1992), artist Mary Miss (b. 1944) mentions deadlines for several works including the South Cove, on which she collaborated with landscape architect Susan Child and architect Stan Eckstut. The piece is considered one of the most significant public works of art. It incorporates both natural and constructed elements to create a meditative, ecologically sensitive environment.

1986
Carol Saft
Group at Mr. Chow's restaurant in New York, ca. 1986
Artists at Mr. Chow restaurant in New York, ca. 1986. Photograph by Michael Halsband. Miscellaneous Photographs. In the 1980s, Mr. Chow, an elegant Chinese restaurant at 324 East 57th Street, was a common gathering place for New York celebrity artists and dealers, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Julian Schnabel, and Tony Shafrazi.

1986
Keith Haring (b. 1958 d. 1990)
Keith Haring button, ca. 1986
Keith Haring pin, ca. 1981. Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1939–1980. Keith Haring (1958–1990) became an underground celebrity in the 1980s by drawing chalk pictograms on the black paper covering out-dated ads in New York subways. The radiant baby design featured on this button was his signature image.

1987
Gustave Harrow
Bound volume of Legal records relating to Richard Serra v. United States General Services Administration et al., 1987
Legal records relating to Richard Serra v. United States General Services Administration et al., 1985–1987. Richard Serra’s (b. 1939) Tilted Arc (1981) sparked an eight-year legal battle, when erected at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. Those working in the area demanded that the giant structure be relocated, which Serra viewed as equivalent to destroying it. In 1989, the sculpture was removed. This historic case raised questions about the relationship between the artist and the public space.

1988
Philip Pearlstein (b. 1924 )
Philip Pearlstein letter to Sue (Sue A.) Scott, 1988 Jan. 21
Letter from Philip Pearlstein to Sue Scott, 21 Jan. 1988. 1 p. Letters to Sue Scott from artists, 1987–1988. Between 1987 and 1988, Sue Scott contacted artists represented in the Ellen and Jerome Westheimer Collection to request descriptions of their works for an exhibition at the Oklahoma Art Center. Philip Pearlstein (b. 1924), who is known for his cool realism, writes: “This work [Reclining Nude on a Leather Couch] from 1969 seems … to have an almost arcahaic [sic] classical quality … since departed from my work.”

1988

Announcement for reception of the South Cove Battery park, 1988 July 12
Letter from Mary Miss to Ellen Hulda Johnson, 24 Feb. 1985. 2pp.; and announcement for reception of the South Cove, Battery Park City, 12 July 1988. Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1939–1980. In this letter to art historian Ellen Hulda Johnson (1910–1992), artist Mary Miss (b. 1944) mentions deadlines for several works including the South Cove, on which she collaborated with landscape architect Susan Child and architect Stan Eckstut. The piece is considered one of the most significant public works of art. It incorporates both natural and constructed elements to create a meditative, ecologically sensitive environment.

1989
Roger Shimomura (b. 1939 )
California Sushi a performance by Roger Shimomura, 1989
Part of the script for California Sushi by Roger Shimomura (b. 1939), 1989. Roger Shimomura papers, 1965–1990. Painter, printmaker, and performance artist Roger Shimomura’s California Sushi is a suite of short performance pieces with three components: a large screen TV monitor, projected slides, and a solo performer. Shimomura’s work investigates his own Japanese American identity and issues of tolerance and tension.

1990

Sheet of three stickers, 'Stop Helms' possibly produced by ACT-UP, ca. 1990
Sheet of “Stop Helms” stickers, ca. 1990. Probably produced by ACT-UP. Lucy Lippard papers, 1940s–1995. In 1990, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) launched a yearlong boycott of Philip Morris’ Marlboro cigarettes and Miller beer to protest the company’s support of Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, an outspoken opponent of AIDS funding and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

1992
Chuck Rosenak (b. 1927 )
Mamie Deschillie (b. 1920) wearing her finest silver and turquoise jewelry with one of her cardboard cutouts at her home in Fruitland, New Mexico, ca. 1992
Mamie Deschillie, ca. 1990–1992. Photograph by Chuck Rosenak. Chuck and Jan Rosenak Research Material, 1990–1997. In the early 1990s, Chuck and Jan Rosenak searched for Navajo art to include in their book, The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art (1994). Chuck Rosenak photographed the artists. Here, Mamie Deschillie, wearing her finest jewelry, poses with one of her cardboard cutouts at her home in New Mexico. The Rosenaks’ books reflect the expanding audience for American folk art.

1992

Reuben Kadish at Stonehenge, 1992
Reuben Kadish at Stonehenge, 1992. Photographer unknown. Reuben Kadish papers, 1851–1995. In early 1992, Reuben Kadish (1913–1992) visited ancient stone monuments while touring Cornwall and Wales. That summer, a major retrospective of his work, primarily inspired by the ancient sculpture of places like Mexico and India, was held at the Art Gallery of the State University at Stony Brook. Kadish died of complications from chronic leukemia in September 1992.

1995

Guerrilla Girls letter to Arthur Coleman Danto, 1995 May 20
Letter from the Guerilla Girls to Arthur C. Danto, 20 May 1995. Arthur Coleman Danto papers, 1979–1998. Since their founding in 1985, the Guerrilla Girls have been committed to raising awareness of the art world's attitudes toward women. To conceal their identities, they adopt the names of dead female artists and wear gorilla masks for public appearances. They have published several books and other literature to demand recognition and respect for female artists.

1996
Dale Chihuly (b. 1941 )
Dale Chihuly letter to Arthur Coleman Danto, 1996 Jan. 8
Letter (fax) from Dale Chihuly to Arthur C. Danto, 8 Jan. 1996. Arthur Coleman Danto papers, 1979–1998. In this illustrated New Year’s greeting fax to Arthur Danto (b. 1924), Dale Chihuly (b. 1941) expresses his excitement about the grand finale of his two-year “Chihuly over Venice” project. The architectural glass art project culminated in the hanging of fourteen chandeliers at various sites in Venice.

1997
LeRoy Neiman (b. 1927 )
Wheaties cereal box cover with Roger Staubach, 1997

1998
Dan Owen Dailey (b. 1947 )
Dan Dailey letter to William Daley, 1998 Oct. 14
Letter from Dan Dailey to William Daley, 14 Oct. 1998. William P. Daley papers, 1905–2003. Glass artist Dan Dailey (b. 1947) cites William Daley (b. 1925) as his most influential professor at the Philadelphia College of Art. Dailey is currently a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art, where he founded the Glass Department in 1973. In this letter to his mentor, Dan Dailey reflects on the importance of teaching art as both student and professor.

1999
Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920 )
Wayne Thiebaud letter to Hassel Smith, 1999
Sketch with note from Wayne Thiebaud to Hassel Smith on the reverse, 1999. Hassel Smith papers, 1916–2003. Hassel Smith (b. 1915) is considered a West Coast legend for his role in the Bay Area Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1950s and 60s. This sketch by fellow Californian artist Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920) accompanied a note thanking Smith, his longtime friend, for visiting the University of California in Davis, where Thiebaud serves as Professor Emeritus.