Allan Randall Freelon papers, 1830-2018

Scope and Contents

The papers of African American painter and educator Allan Randall Freelon, who was based in Pennsylvania, measure 4.4 linear feet and date from 1830 to 2018. The collection contains biographical material, including appointment books and family history material; correspondence; writings; material related to professional activities, including exhibitions and school visits; personal business records, including estate records; printed material; scrapbooks; photographic material; and artwork and artifacts.

Biographical material include address lists, certificates, appointment books, and family history material.

Correspondence includes a mixture of personal and professional correspondence with families, friends, galleries, museusm, and and Philadelphia area schools.

Writings consist of Freelon's MFA thesis, notes and notecards. There is also a fair amount of writings by others, such as essays, poems, reports, and even a travel diary from 1879-1880 by someone with the initials "I. J. G."

Materials related to professional activities include exhibition, project, and committee files. There are also assorted materials related to Freelon's work as the Art Director for Philadelphia public schools.

Also included are personal business records, which contain estate records (which includes a audiovisual recording), auction records, condition reports, inventories, property records, and sale records.

Printed material consists of clippings, magazines, newsletters, and exhibition catalogs and announcements.

There are three scrapbooks, which primarily contains a mixture of photographic material, correspondence, and printed material.

Photographic materials include slides, photographs, and negatives of Freelon, his paintings, studio, friends and family, and various other location.

Artwork and artifacts include sketchbooks, sketches, and one souvenir spoon from the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition of 1926.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Allan Randall Freelon papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2019 by Nnenna and Maya Freelon as part of the Archives' African American Collecting Initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Nnenna is the widow of Phil Freelon, Allan Randall Freelon's grandson. Maya Freelon is Nnenna and Phil's daughter.

Sponsor

Processing Information

The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2021 with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation. The collection was fully processed and prepared for digitization by Rihoko Ueno in 2023 with funding provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.