Image credit: Ray Yoshida. Detail of a storefront sign in Chicago, between 1972 and 1981. Ray Yoshida papers, circa 1895-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. https://s.si.edu/icecream2020 #NationalIceCreamDay #IceCreamintheArchives #Summer #IceCream
In 1967 Jeff Donaldson penned an open letter to his friends and peers in the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC). The letter includes details about a forthcoming meeting of visual artists in which eight questions would be on the agenda. Jeff Donaldson (1932-2004) was an African American artist and educator who worked in Chicago and Washington, D.C. He was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and promoted the "TransAfrican" aesthetic. He also co-founded the AfriCOBRA artist collaborative in 1968 of which he was a lifelong member. In this short film inspired by Donaldson’s letter, artists Maren Hassinger, Shaun Leonardo, Mickalene Thomas, Jacolby Satterwhite, and Elia Alba answer the questions posed by Donaldson in his letter. Check out the digitized Jeff Donaldson papers here: s.si.edu/2ttKwwK
#BlackHistoryMonth #AfricanAmericanArtist
We hope you enjoyed our 12 days of gifmas, and whichever holiday you celebrate (Festivus, anyone?), we wish you a warm and happy one!
Frank di Gioia holiday card, 1957. Milch Gallery records, 1911-1995.
On the twelfth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Twelve windowpanes⭐#12daysofGIFmas
Un-Ichi Hiratsuka Christmas card to Prentiss Taylor, ca. 1970. Prentiss Taylor papers, 1885-1991.
On the eleventh day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Eleven sparkly trees 🌲 #12daysofGIFmas
Judy Petacque holiday card to Kathleen Blackshear and Ethel Spears, 197-?. Kathleen Blackshear and Ethel Spears papers, 1920-1990.
And now for a ballet in celebration of the birthday of artist and filmmaker Joseph Cornell. Happy birthday, JC!
Explore his fully digitized papers: https://s.si.edu/joseph-cornell
#josephcornell #gif #ballerina #paper #artistbirthdays #archives #americanart #dance #happybirthday
On the tenth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Ten festive ornaments ⭐ #12daysofGIFmas
Jill Sheedy Christmas card to James Mullen, 2000. James Mullen Christmas card collection, ca.1955-2003.
On the ninth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Nine blinking lights 💡 #12daysofGIFmas
Louisa Winslow Robins Christmas card, between 1930 and 1960. Louisa Robins papers, ca. 1930-1960.
On the eighth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Eight nuns a-running 🏃♀️ #12daysofGIFmas
Noche Crist Christmas card to Prentiss Taylor, between 1962 and 1975. Prentiss Taylor papers, 1885-1991.
On the seventh day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Seven ladybugs 🐞 #12daysofGIFmas
Harrison Cady Christmas card to Eric Hudson, 19--. Eric Hudson and Hudson family papers, 1900-1992.
On the sixth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Six nesting envelopes 💌. #12daysofGIFmas
Abril Lamarque Christmas card to unidentified recipient, 1930 Dec. Abril Lamarque papers, 1883-2001.
On the fifth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: FIVE HULA HOOPS ⭕ #12daysofGIFmas
Miné Okubo christmas card to unidentified recipient, 1959. Bob Stocksdale and Kay Sekimachi papers, circa 1900-2015.
On the fourth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Four flopping fish🐟. #12daysofGIFmas
Nancy Whorf holiday card to Peter Hunt, not before 1950. Peter Hunt papers, 1788-1968.
On the third day of GIFmas my true love gave to me: Three stacked sheep 🐑, two Tarzans, and a peacock in a pine tree. #12daysofGIFmas
Reiji Kimura Christmas card to Dorothy Canning Miller, 1966. Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013.
On the second day of GIFmas my true love gave to me: Two Tarzans 💪, and a peacock in a pine tree. #12daysofGIFmas
Nickolas Muray and Ruzzie Green Christmas card, 1936. Nickolas Muray papers, 1910-1978.
On the first day of ❄️GIFmas❄️, my true love gave to me: A peacock in a pine tree. #12daysofgifmas
Elaine Hulin Christmas card to Ray Gloeckler, 1992. Raymond Gloeckler papers, 1952-2008.
Archives of American Art Film
We couldn’t be more excited to premiere our new film by Rava Films at #aaagala2019! Here is a sneak peek, let us know what you think! We look forward to celebrating with you this Tuesday, October 22nd.
A special thanks to Adam Weinberg (Whitney Museum of American Art), Catherine Morris (Brooklyn Museum), Oliver Lee Jackson, and RAVA films.
#aaagala2019 #howardenapindell #academyofartsandletters #alexandernemerov #essexhouse #americanartcollector #americanart #savethedate #archivesparty #fallgala #nycgala #artgala
It’s official: our #aaagala2019 invitations have arrived! Spend an unforgettable evening with artists, dealers, collectors, and other art world luminaries to celebrate our 65th anniversary in the historic Essex House ballroom. Purchase your tickets to today and support the Archives’ mission while joining our distinguished honorees, jazz musicians from the Juilliard School, and a lively after party on October 22. We hope to see you there! Purchase tables and tickets: s.si.edu/33QIcO4
#aaagala2019 #howardenapindell #academyofartsandletters #alexandernemerov #essexhouse #americanartcollector #americanart #savethedate #archivesparty #fallgala #nycgala #artgala
Windows
On the twelfth day of GIFmas my true love gave to me: Twelve windowpanes. Merry GIFmas from the Archives of American Art! #12daysofGIFmas
Ornaments
On the tenth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Ten festive ornaments
#12daysofGIFmas
Blinking Lights
On the ninth day of GIFmas, my true love gave to me: Nine blinking lights
#12daysofGIFmas
Archives Road Trip: Colorado
Archives Road Trip: Colorado
This voluminous scrapbook compiled by artist Emanuel Martinez (b.1947) highlights many of his local and national achievements. Martinez was born in Denver and currently resides in Morrison. Discovering art and the Chicano Movement simultaneously in the 1960s fostered his transition from a troubled youth to a respected community leader. Today, he works with students throughout the southwest in the production of his bold murals that document and illustrate the Chicano experience. The city of Denver maintains many of these murals, providing a colorful and educational backdrop for tourists and residents alike.
Martinez’s scrapbook is on view in our exhibition, 'Off the Beaten Track: A Road Trip through the Archives of American Art,' on view through June 3 in our Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in Washington, D.C. http://s.si.edu/2BOjIpQ
All the Signs from Houston to Galveston and Back by Earl Staley, September 24, 1970.
Archives Road Trip: Texas
Painter Earl Staley (b. 1938) created this video 'All the Signs from Houston to Galveston and Back' on September 24, 1970. From the passenger side of his car, painter Staley filmed every sign on the road from Houston to Galveston, and back, with his Super 8 camera. Staley’s good friend and frequent collaborator, Bob Camblin, drove the car. Their road trip was a riff on Pop artist Ed Ruscha’s 1966 book, Every Building on the Sunset Strip. Staley and Camblin traveled more than 100 miles round trip on Interstate 45.
The video is on view in our exhibition, 'Off the Beaten Track: A Road Trip through the Archives of American Art,' on view through June 3 in our Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in Washington, D.C. http://s.si.edu/2BOjIpQ
Fiber artist Lenore Tawney (1907–2007) sent dozens of mail art collages to her close friend, filmmaker Maryette Charlton. They often feature intricate layers of found media and handwritten notes. Animals, especially cats, are a frequent motif. Tawney owned a sweet cat named Pansy.
These postcards are currently on view in our exhibit 'Before Internet Cats' http://s.si.edu/2o7sJWN
Thousands of sketches in the Archives of American Art offer insight into artists’ creative processes. This compilation of watercolor drawings by muralist and children's book illustrator Emily Barto (1896–1968) highlights the distinct personalities of several felines.
Barto's sketchbook is currently on view in our exhibit 'Before Internet Cats' http://s.si.edu/2o7sJWN
In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we're paging through a 1976 sketchbook by jewelry designer and silversmith Miye Matsukata (1922-1981). Born in Tokyo, Matsukata moved to the United States in 1940 to study art. She opened Atelier Janiye in Boston in 1950, where she sold her jewelry designs. In addition to her lovely sketchbooks, Matsukata's papers at the Archives include correspondence, exhibition files, photographs, and sales records.
The Archives is pleased to announce the acquisition of four scrapbooks created by Miriam Schapiro (1923-2015), documenting her career from 1952 to 1981.
Exhibition ephemera and photographs chronicle Schapiro's early abstract expressionist works, her leadership of the feminist art movement, and her influence on the Pattern & Decoration movement.
Painter Horace Pippin (1888-1946) was born on this day in 1888. Our collection of Pippin's notebooks and letters features this remarkable notebook recounting the artist's World War I experiences in detail from the time he left the United States on November 17th, 1917 with the 15th N.Y. Infantry for France. Pippin writes of life in the trenches and dug-outs, night forays and traveling through enemy territory, details of days and nights of battles and getting shelled, gassed, and machine gun fire by the Germans, and his perceptions of fighting alongside French and Algerian soldiers.
Pippin's notebooks and letters are fully digitized and available to browse on our website at http://s.si.edu/2l02IUL #BlackHistoryMonth
It's National Handwriting Day! Even in this age of emails, texts, and tweets, there is an ongoing fascination with the simple act of putting pen to paper. We preserve millions of handwritten documents in our collections. Our recent publication, 'Pen to Paper: Artists' Handwritten Letters from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art' reveals how letter writing can be an artistic act. http://s.si.edu/2kkMaL6
Kristen Anchor re-works Esta Nesbitt's sound and film piece.
Filmmaker Kristen Anchor will perform Esta Nesbitt's film and sound piece this coming Sunday, September 25, in Baltimore. Anchor re-worked the piece from film and sound found in the Archives' papers of artist Esta Nesbitt. We are delighted that Anchor will perform the piece again! If you’re in the area, don’t miss this chance to see this unique work. Read more: https://www.facebook.com/events/190273498057873/
