Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Virginia Admiral Papers, 1945-1978, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.admivirg
Creators:
Admiral, Virginia, 1915-2000
Dates:
1945-1978
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.6 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of painter and poet Virginia Admiral measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1945-1978. The scattered papers include identification cards, correspondence with artists and friends, personal business records, and printed material. Found are files relating to the Art Workers' Coalition, a group that sought to pressure the Museum of Modern Art and others to implement political and economic reforms to their practices.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of painter and poet Virginia Admiral measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1945-1978. The scattered papers include identification cards, correspondence with artists and friends, personal business records, and printed material. Found are files relating to the Art Workers' Coalition, a group that sought to pressure the Museum of Modern Art and others to implement political and economic reforms to their practices.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Virginia Admiral (1915-2000) was a painter and poet based in New York City, New York. She was the ex-wife of Robert De Niro and mother of actor Robert De Niro Jr.
Virginia Admiral was born in Oregon in 1915 and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. She worked for the Federal Arts Project in Oakland, California in 1938 but enrolled at the Hofmann School in New York City two years later. It was at the Hofmann school, where she studied under its founder Hans Hofmann, that she met fellow artist Robert De Niro. They married and had a son, Robert De Niro Jr., who would later become an actor. Admiral and De Niro divorced in 1945.
Admiral's work was included in the 1948 Peggy Guggenheim exhibition at the Venice Biennale. Also an activist and a writer, Admiral participated in the anti-Vietnam War movement, and wrote for True Crimes magazine. She died in 2000 in New York City, New York.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Sponsor
To process this collection, this project received Federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Virginia Admiral donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1979 and 1980.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, with a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2020, with funding provided by the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Virginia Admiral papers, 1945-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to the original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Poets -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women authors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art Workers Coalition Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mapplethorpe, Robert (Robert Michael) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Niro, Robert, Sr., 1922-1993 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-7950
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions