Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Betty Blayton-Taylor Papers, 1929-2016, bulk 1970s-2000s, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.blaybett
Creators:
Taylor, Betty Blayton, 1937-2016
Dates:
1929-2016
bulk 1970s-2000s
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
7.1 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of African American painter and art administrator Betty Blayton-Taylor measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2016, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 2000s. The collection contains biographical material including resumes, awards, family papers, autograph books from her time in school, and mix tapes; correspondence with colleagues, friends, and other artists including Frank Wimberley, Howardina Pindell, and Eugene Grigsby; and writings including artist statements and notes. Also included are files related to the Children's Art Carnival, an arts education organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, for which she served as executive director for many years. These files include board and committee files, budget and financial documents, correspondence, and reports. Files related to the Harlem Textile Works, another organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, include board and committee files, correspondence, business plans, and reports. The collection also includes material related to professional activities including exhibition files, committee files, consignment and sale agreements, financial documents, and property files; printed material including exhibition announcements, catalogs and programs, newspaper clippings, published books, and recorded conference proceedings; a scrapbook containing primarily clippings, as well as some correspondence and other printed material; and photographic material including photographs, negatives, slides, and digital images.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of African American painter and art administrator Betty Blayton-Taylor measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2016, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 2000s. The collection contains biographical material including resumes, awards, family papers, autograph books from her time in school, and mix tapes; correspondence with colleagues, friends, and other artists including Frank Wimberley, Howardina Pindell, and Eugene Grigsby; and writings including artist statements and notes. Also included are files related to the Children's Art Carnival, an arts education organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, for which she served as executive director for many years. These files include board and committee files, budget and financial documents, correspondence, and reports. Files related to the Harlem Textile Works, another organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, include board and committee files, correspondence, business plans, and reports. The collection also includes material related to professional activities including exhibition files, committee files, consignment and sale agreements, financial documents, and property files; printed material including exhibition announcements, catalogs and programs, newspaper clippings, published books, and recorded conference proceedings; a scrapbook containing primarily clippings, as well as some correspondence and other printed material; and photographic material including photographs, negatives, slides, and digital images.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged as nine series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1929, 1937-1938, 1951-2014 (Box 1, OV 8; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1952, 1968-2016 (Boxes 1-2, 0.7 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Writings, 1978, circa 1990s-2000s (Box 2, 0.2 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Children's Art Carnival, 1968-2011 (Boxes 2-3, 1.1 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Harlem Textile Works, 1983-2012 (Box 3, 0.3 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Professional Activities, 1967-2013 (Boxes 3-4, 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 7: Printed Material, 1967-2015 (Boxes 4-5, OV 8; 1.3 linear feet)
  • Series 8: Scrapbook, 1965-2009 (Box 5, 1 folder)
  • Series 9: Photographic Material, 1954-2000s (Boxes 5-7, OV 8; 2.5 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Betty Blayton-Taylor (1937-2016) was an African American artist and art administrator in New York, New York.
Born and raised in Virginia, Blayton-Taylor attended Palmer Memorial Institute, a private boarding school in North Carolina. She earned a bachelor's degree in fine art from Syracuse University and continued her studies at the Art Students League of New York and the Brooklyn Museum School.
Betty Blayton-Taylor was a founding member of the Studio Museum in Harlem and served on the board from 1965 to 1977. She co-founded the Children's Art Carnival, an organization designed to engage disadvantaged youth in the arts, and served as executive director from 1969 until 1998. Blayton-Taylor also co-founded and served on the board of Harlem Textile Works, which grew out of the Children's Art Carnival and offered fabric design workshops and other arts education. She also served on boards of other organizations, including the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and the Arts and Business Council in New York City, and worked as an arts education consultant.
In addition to her dedication to arts education organizations, Blayton-Taylor exhibited in both solo and group shows across the country. Her work is included in collections of institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. She died in 2016 in the Bronx, New York.

Administration

Author
Rayna Andrews
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Betty Blayton-Taylor papers were donated in 2018 by Oscar Blayton, Betty Blayton-Taylor's brother and executor.
Processing Information
The collection was minimally processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2019 with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Betty Blayton-Taylor papers, 1929-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library also holds the Children's Art Carnival Records, 1971-1995.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Children's Art Carnival (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Harlem Textile Works (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Printmaking Workshop Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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