Audubon Artists records, 1944-2001

Collection Information

Size: 6.7 Linear feet

Summary: The records of New York based Audubon Artists, a national exhibiting organization of painters, sculptors, and graphic artists, measure 6.7 linear feet and date from 1944-2001. The collection documents the organization's adoption of its constitution and first major expansion in the mid-1940s, and its subsequent growth to the present day. The records include correspondence with artist members, administrative files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material including an almost complete run of annual exhibition catalogs and prospectuses, and photographs of artwork, juries, and other groups involved in the annual exhibitions from the 1970s to 1999.
Administration and correspondence files document all aspects of the organization's activities and include founding documents; records of individual officers including presidents Domenico Facci, Joseph Domareki, Mark Freeman, Hughie Lee-Smith, Renee McKay and Frederic Whitaker, and historians Michael Engel and Jan Gary; correspondence with members and prospective members including artists such as John Taylor Arms, Thomas Hart Benton, Peter Blume, Stuart Davis, Walt Disney, Lyonel Feininger, Malvina Hoffman, William Meyerowitz, Henry Varnum Poor, Stow Wengenroth, and Stark Young; agenda, meeting minutes and reports to the Executive Board; and the correspondence and related records of various committees.
Exhibition files document a variety of activities related to exhibition planning, and include correspondence, entry forms, information on juries and awards, and lists of selected artwork and award winners.
Financial records include scattered treasurer correspondence and notes, records of bills paid, and some reports, investment and tax records from the 1960s-1990s.
Printed material includes an early brochure issued in 1944, and a brochure on the organization's history by Jan Gary, as well as annual exhibition catalogs and/or prospectuses from 1944 to 2000.
Photographic material consists of copy prints and negatives of photographic material used in the annual exhibition catalogs, including photos of artwork, juries and scattered exhibition installations.

Biographical/Historical Note

Audubon Artists, a national exhibiting society of painters, sculptors, and graphic artists, was founded in New York, New York, in 1940. The organization took its name from the homestead of John James Audubon where it met in December, 1941, to discuss a less regional name than the one it had initially adopted: Professional Arts Group of Washington Heights. The group's association with Audubon, however, begins and ends with the name.

Provenance

The records were donated by Audubon Artists in 1978 (via Mark Freeman, president) and 2001 (via David Pena, president).

Language Note

The collection is in English.

Funding

The Audubon Artists records were processed in 2015 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art