I Found it in the Archives: An inventive kind of yearbook, the 1955 Columbian

Blogs across the Smithsonian will give an inside look at the Institution’s archival collections and practices during a month long blogathon in celebration of October’s American Archives Month. See additional posts from our other participating blogs, as well as related events and resources, on the Smithsonian’s Archives Month website.

In this episode of “I Found it in the Archives,” Curator of Manuscripts, Liza Kirwin explores the relationship between artist William T. Wiley and his high school art teacher, James McGrath, through the lens of this highly inventive yearbook. Wiley was on the yearbook staff, and McGrath was the faculty advisor for the 1955 Columbian, at Columbia High School in Richland, Washington.

Explore more:

• Oral history interview with William T. Wiley, 1997 Oct. 8-Nov. 20

Liza Kirwin, who is currently acting director, has served as an archives technician, a regional collector, and the curator of manuscripts at the Archives of American Art. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park and manages the Archives’ exhibition, acquisition, and oral history programs. She is the author of numerous articles and books about the Archives’ holdings. Her most recent publication, Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists’ Enumerations from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010), is also a traveling exhibition, most recently at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City.