Among the significant artists represented in its collection are Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Marcel Breuer, Rockwell Kent, John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, John Trumbull, and Alexander Calder. But it was best known for being a major birthing ground for American Figurative Expressionism as a whole, and Boston Expressionism, in particular, especially for mid-century Jewish American artists. Governance includes an executive committee, a council, and emeriti members. [9] The Archives also offers microfilm for interlibrary loan at no charge. Its extraordinary exhibitions and collection of modern and contemporary art are dedicated to helping you understand and enjoy the art of our time. These awards are presented at the Archives' annual benefit and have been rewarded to Mark di Suvero, Chuck Close, John Wilmerding and others. [19], The Archives mounts rotating exhibitions of its collections at the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington, D.C. 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.

In addition to documenting the works of many renowned American sculptors, the collection also includes a number of rare early photographs of outdoor sculpture and public monuments, artist portraits, and exhibition and installation views. With funding from the Terra Foundation for American Art Digitization Program, the Archives has fully digitized numerous collections, which are accessible on their website.

The collection includes the sketchbooks of Palmer Hayden, Horace Pippin's illustrated journal of his military service during World War I, and photographs of Alma Thomas. [12], The Archives relies heavily on grants and private donations to fund the archival processing and care of collections. In 2007, gallery owner Leo Castelli's family donated his papers to the Archives. Appointment Required. The Archives publishes the Archives of American Art Journal and curates exhibitions from its collections in the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in the Smithsonian’s Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture and its New York Research Center. [11] In 2012, the Archives celebrated the centennial birth of Jackson Pollock with an exhibition of Pollock's archives and artwork. The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture reopens to the public on September 18, 2020, with time entry passes required . Wednesday through Sunday In addition to the papers of artists, the Archives collects documentary material from art galleries, art dealers, and art collectors. In-person: Pushing the Envelope: Mail Art from the Archives of American Art is on view at the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in Washington, D.C. August 10, 2018–January 4, 2019; and the University of Kentucky Art Museum February 16–May 5, 2019. Topics range from Mexican muralism to Surrealism, New Deal art patronage and the Chicano Movement. Read the full chronology of exhibitions organized by the Archives of American Art. Examining how mail art has worked across divergent cultural circumstances—from McCarthy-era America, to Soviet Poland, to Chile under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet—this exhibition engages issues of circulation, collaboration, and community in and among specific national contexts during the second half of the twentieth century. It was founded in Detroit in 1954 by Edgar P. Richardson, then director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Lawrence A. Fleischman, a Detroit businessman and young collector. [11], To illuminate scholarship of the history of art in America through collecting, preserving, and making available for study the documentation of this country's rich artistic legacy. Friday Night in SoHo: Artists Talk on Art. [2]Concerned about the lack of material relating to American art, Richardson and Fleischman organized the Archives of American Art with the support of scholars and businessmen. The Archives of American Art’s exhibition space is located two blocks away from our D.C. Research Center in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture (8th and F Streets NW). In 2009 the Archives acquired 88 collections totaling 717 linear feet. Using primarily local, organic, and sustainable ingredients, the lunch menu includes salads, soups, quiche, sandwiches, and a selection of cheeses. Detroit Institute of Arts Research Library, Wikipedia Galleries, Libraries, and Museums project, Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, "Oral history interview with Arline Custer, 1975 April 7", "Archives of American Art Annual Report 2009", "Boris Mirski Gallery records, 1936-2000", "Leo Castelli's Cache of Art-History Gold", "The Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America", John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Archives_of_American_Art&oldid=968960758, Members of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, Smithsonian Institution research programs, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2011, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit the Terra Foundation Center for Digital Collections. Washington, DC 20013-7012, 202.633.7950 reference  (using original records) 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. Notable collections include the diary of Carlos Lopez, the sketchbooks of Emilio Sanchez, source material for Mel Ramos and research materials from Esther McCoy relating to Mexican architecture. [22], The Archives of American Art is one of nine research centers of the Smithsonian Institution. Mailing Address *Subject to early closure for non-public museum events. [3] In 1970 the Archives became part of the Smithsonian Institution, moving its processing center and storage facility from Detroit to the Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C.[4], Currently the collection and offices are located at the Victor Building, on 9th Street NW, only a few blocks away from the Old Patent Office Building. Friday Night in SoHo: Artists Talk on Art. The Archives mounts rotating exhibitions of its collections at the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington, D.C. A virtual repository of a substantial cross-section of the Archives' most significant collections. There is no public parking facility for the museum. The collection was given to Smithsonian American Art Museum Photograph Archives in 2004. Numerous internship, volunteer, and fellowship Opportunities are also available. READ OUR NEW VISITOR GUIDELINES. [17] Several key figures in Boston Expressionism, linked to Mirski, have also given oral history interviews to the Archives, including Hyman Bloom, David Aronson, Jack Levine, Marianna Pineda, Arthur Polonsky and Karl Zerbe. [13] The earliest letter in the collection was written by John Smibert in 1743, in which Smibert describes to his dealer his theories about the future of art in America. Today the Archives houses nearly 2,000 oral history interviews relating to American art.