Annual Report October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017 Letter from the Director RESEARCH CENTERS EXHIBITION GALLERY Washington, DC Lawrence A. Fleischman Dear Friends, founding, the Luce Foundation’s gift 750 9th Street, NW Gallery will help us to renew our focus on Victor Building, Suite 2200 Located in the Thank you for making fiscal year 2017 diversifying the Archives’ holdings and Washington, DC 20001 Smithsonian (October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017) build awareness of these collections by T: 202.633.7940 Donald W. Reynolds another remarkable year for the Archives creating finding aids for greater online Research: 202.633.7950 Center for American Art of American Art. From acquiring 114 discoverability. and Portraiture New York, NY 8th and F Streets, NW collections and bringing our 200th fully digitized collection online to a successful Our digitization program received 300 Park Avenue South, Washington, DC 20001 Suite 300 annual benefit and engaging exhibitions generous support from the Terra at the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery, Foundation for American Art and the New York, NY 10010 AFFILIATED RESEARCH T: 212.399.5035 CENTERS this year was one of tremendous growth Walton Family Foundation in the form and achievement. In these pages, you of challenge grants that will further Amon Carter Museum, MAILING ADDRESSES will find highlights of the Archives of our mission of broadening access to Fort Worth, TX U.S. Postal Service American Art’s accomplishments made our collection. Their generous funding Boston Public Library, possible, in large part, by friends and has enabled us to increase the volume Archives of American Art Boston, MA Smithsonian Institution donors like you. and speed of digitization efforts, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 937 de Young Museum, greatly expanding the access to our Victor Building, Suite 2200 San Francisco, CA As a research center within the collections by users worldwide. The Terra Washington, DC 20013-7012 Huntington Library, Smithsonian Institution, the Archives Foundation’s $4 million challenge will San Marino, CA does receive federal support each year create an endowment for digitization FedEx/UPS for our operations. However, we must to sustain our program in perpetuity, Archives of American Art Smithsonian Institution secure more than half our operating providing long-term funding to invest in 750 9th Street, NW budget from private donors in order to the staff and infrastructure that make Victor Building, Suite 2200 fulfill our mission. This year, supporters our renowned program possible. Washington, DC 20001 across the globe have demonstrated their commitment to the Archives and The Walton Family Foundation’s current- our mission, inspiring us to take on use grant matches outright gifts to ambitious projects that will ensure digitization, allowing us to build the greater accessibility and diversity of our capacity of our digitization program unparalleled collection. even as we build the Terra endowment. We will be able to double the rate at With funding from the Henry Luce which we can bring collections online, Foundation we embarked on a three- making our program more efficient year African American Collecting and dynamic. With the support of the Initiative, which will support two new Terra Foundation, the Walton Family positions and an annual summer Foundation, and many other generous internship that will increase the friends of the Archives, we are in an representation of African American ever-stronger position to harness new artists in our collection. Although the innovative technologies as soon as they Archives has collected the papers emerge and explore new opportunities of African American artists from our to launch big, bold experiments. Without 2 this increased capacity, we would not more playful exhibition Before Internet be able to take on projects like one Cats: Feline Finds from the Archives funded by the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond of American Art, we explored artists’ J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts this enduring fascination with felines. From 42 72 114 year to digitize the enormous Macbeth playful sketches to studio companions, Oral histories Collections Collections Gallery collection. These gifts have truly cats make compelling muses to artists, recorded processed acquired transformed the Archives. whether they are expressive or aloof. The exhibition won acclaim and admiration Other generous donations that have from the media and visitors alike, been a catalyst for growth this year proving that cats have a timeless appeal came from: Marla Prather and Jonathan beyond the internet age. Schiller, who supported the oral history program; Joyce Menschel, who through As I take stock in all we have achieved the Vital Projects Fund supported this fiscal year, I want to extend my 147,048 the Archives of American Art Journal, gratitude to the many individuals who Digital images created our signature publication and the have made this year possible—our longest-running scholarly journal in the dedicated staff, our supportive Board field of American art; and The Brown of Trustees, generous donors, and the Foundation, whose grant answered the scholars and researchers who use our demand from the Archives’ researchers collections to explore the nation’s rich and global audience to bring more cultural and artistic heritage. I hope this collections online. annual report will inspire you to continue 341 972 Reproduction In-person visitors supporting our mission to collect and requests fulfilled consulted 4,319 containers In our exhibition space at the Lawrence preserve the untold stories that— of primary documents A. Fleischman Gallery in Washington, without a central repository such as the DC, our curatorial department presented Archives—might otherwise have been two exhibitions. In Expanding the lost. Once you have finished reading, I Legacy: New Collections on African encourage you to remain (or become) American Art, organized in celebration of an active member of the Archives of the opening of the Smithsonian National American Art community by sharing with 501,159 683.5 Museum of African American History us your research using our collections, Sessions on the website Linear feet of and Culture, letters, photographs, subscribing to our e-newsletter, and collections processed notebooks, and other rare materials following our blog and social media highlighted the stories and experiences channels for exciting announcements of African Americans in the art world and highlights from artists’ archives. in the twentieth century. Showcasing these voices and legacies demonstrates With gratitude, the power of the Archives of American Art’s collection to spark dialogue that Kate Haw 1,473,927 allows current and future generations to Director Page views on the website piece together the nation’s rich artistic and cultural heritage. In our second, ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART 3 ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Exhibitions Expanding the Legacy: New Collections on African American Art September 23, 2016 to March 21, 2017 Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, Washington, DC Before Internet Cats: Feline Finds from the Archives of American Art April 28, 2017 to October 29, 2017 Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, Washington, DC Charles Searles painting a mural, circa 1975 / unidentified photographer. Charles Searles papers, 1953-2010. ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART 4 ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Events Oct. 21, 2016 Feb. 8, 2017 Deputy Director Dr. Liza Kirwin presented the Archives’ collections to The Archives’ Head of Digital Operations Karen Weiss, Archivist Megan donors as part of a celebration of the Archives’ receipt of the inaugural Burdi, and Head of Reference Services Marisa Bourgoin presented to Don Tyson Prize from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. the German/American Provenance Research Exchange Program The Prize recognizes significant achievements in American art, as selected for Museum Professionals in New York, organized by the Smithsonian by a prestigious national jury of art historians and museum professionals. Provenance Research Initiative. Oct. 25, 2016 Feb. 16-18, 2017 The annual Archives of American Art Benefit awarded During the College Art Association Archives of American Art Medals to Steve Martin and (CAA) Annual Conference in New Catherine Opie; and the Lawrence A. Fleischman Award York City, the University of Chicago for Scholarly Excellence in the Field of American Art Press held a reception for the Archives History to Thomas Crow. of American Art Journal at its booth in the book fair. Guests met Editor Tanya Sheehan, Managing Editor Emily D. Shapiro, Deputy Director Dr. Liza Kirwin, members of the journal’s advisory board, and contributors to recent and forthcoming issues. Also at the CAA conference, Latino Collections Specialist Josh Franco co-chaired the panel “Mexico City Today,” and delivered a paper, “A Brief History of US Latinxs and Mexico City: Documents from the Archives of American Art.” Clockwise from Top Right: 1 Steve Martin, Catherine Opie, and Thomas Crow. 2 David J. Skorton, Barbara Fleischman, Arthur Cohen, and Kate Haw. 3 Archives of American Art Benefit. Benefit Photographer: Michael Seto. 5 Events June 5, 2017 Sept. 21-22, 2017 Trustees and friends of the Archives Director Kate Haw presented on the Archives collections and programs gathered to celebrate more than 40 at “State of the Art Archives,” an international conference in Berlin on years of dedication to the Archives of archives documenting modern and contemporary art. American Art by Gilbert H. Kinney. Gil first became a Trustee in 1974, and was elected President of the Board of Trustees in 1978. Over the decades, Gil Augusta Savage has been a champion for the Archives’ with her sculpture work both in Washington and New York, Realization, circa 1938 / hosting events in his home surrounded Andrew Herman, by his extraordinary art collection; photographer. bringing important new supporters to Federal Art Project, Photographic our ranks; and most recently, endowing Division collection, the Gilbert and Ann Kinney New York circa 1920-1965.