Archives of American Art
The Archives of American Art is the world’s preeminent and most widely used research center dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary sources that document the history of the visual arts in America.
Artists often help us to break out of the paradigms to which we are knowingly and unknowingly accustomed. In this episode, New York- and Philadelphia-based artist Carolyn Lazard considers Emma Amos's resistances to white supremacy in the 1960s and Bruce Conner's disintegration of media's spectacular thrall in the 1970s as well as the legacies each artist left in their wake.
Mail art (alternatively called “correspondence art” or “postal art”) emerged as a form of artistic practice in which an international network of participants use the mail to make art and share it with others regarding culture and communications, creatively sidestepping the art market and, in many instances, eluding government censors.
National collector Josh T. Franco shares highlights from the Marjorie Kreilick papers that confirm her commitment to craft
The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, and the American Craft Council (ACC) are pleased to announce the acquisition of Paul J. Smith’s papers.
Original material can be consulted by appointment in our Washington, D.C. Headquarters.
Select holdings are available on microfilm at the Archives' offices in Washington, D.C. and at our New York Office.
Copies of unrestricted microfilm materials can be obtained through one of our affiliated research centers.
Get Involved
Internship, fellowship, and volunteer opportunities provide students and lifelong learners with the ability to contribute to the study and preservation of visual arts records in America.
A virtual repository of a substantial cross-section of the Archives' most significant collections.