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Learn more about the Archives and explore our scholarly and educational initiatives.

About Our Collections

Browse over fifty years of publications on American art including books, regional research guides, and the Archives of American Art Journal.

From 2012-2019, the Archives administered a graduate research essay prize funded by the Dedalus Foundation. The prize recognized original research by a graduate student that engaged deeply with the collections of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art.

Stay connected with the Archives of American Art through our news, updates, and the Archives of American Art blog.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the Archives and explore the projects and people that are working to preserve the history of the visual arts in America.

The Archives of American Art’s Teaching with Primary Sources program offers workshops and professional development fellowships that foster new approaches to teaching the history of art by engaging with primary sources.  

About the Archives

Founded at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1954, the Archives of American Art collects, preserves, and makes available primary sources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States.

Karen Maynor, Photograph of Andy Warhol writing a note on vacuum cleaner at “Art in Process V” exhibition, 1972.
Support the Archives

Your support of the Archives of American Art helps us achieve our mission to collect, preserve, and provide access to primary sources that document the history of the visual arts in America.