Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Norman B. Colp Papers, circa 1973-2005, in the Archives of American Art

Summary
Collection ID:
AAA.colpnorm
Creators:
Colp, Norman
Dates:
circa 1973-2005
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4 Linear feet
0.031 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of conceptual artist and curator Norman B. Colp measure 4 linear feet and 0.031 GB and date between circa 1973 and 2005. The papers shed light on Colp's career through biographical material, project files, personal business records, printed and digital material, and sound and video recordings.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The papers of conceptual artist and curator Norman B. Colp measure 4 linear feet and 0.031 GB and date between circa 1973 and 2005. The papers shed light on Colp's career through biographical material, project files, personal business records, printed and digital material, and sound and video recordings.
Biographical material includes correspondence with artists, museums, galleries, and municipalities, two sound recordings of interviews, biographical sketches, and a note from Colp's mother. Project files relate to works of art and exhibitions curated by Colp. Personal business records contain some inventories, expenses, sales and trade files as well as the records of Colp's various donations to archives, museums, and libraries between 1983 and 2004. Printed material includes postcards, catalogs, and invitations from group and solo exhibitions, reviews of Colp's artwork and his curated shows, and an artist-made Xerox calendar.
Arrangement
Arrangement
This series is arranged as 4 series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1974-2005 (Box 1; 10 folders)
  • Series 2: Project Files, circa 1973-2004 (Box 1-2; 1 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1975-2005 (Box 2; .8 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Printed Material, 1974-2004 (Box 2-4; 2 linear feet, ER01; 0.031 GB)
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Norman B. Colp was a conceptual artist and curator from New York City.
Colp received his bachelor's degree in art from Queens College in 1967, and took classes at the Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design. Colp's artistic projects include 63 Artists' Objects (1974) and 24 Small Scale Art Thefts (1975), in which he "borrowed" door stops from 24 galleries and museums around the United States; both projects were exhibited individually as solo exhibitions. Additionally, in 1991 Colp was commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority to install Commuter's Lament or a Close Shave, a poem and one photograph on nine porcelain tiles found in the Times Square subway.
Colp's solo exhibitions include those held at Hundred Acres Gallery in New York, and Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, England. He was also represented in group exhibitions at the Alternative Center for International Arts, Franklin Furnace, Artworks, and Boca Rotan Museum of Art, among others. Exhibitions curated by Colp include those held at the Center for Book Arts, Georgia State University Art Gallery, and White Plains Public Library. His work is found in the permanent collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, International Center of Photography, New York Public Library and many other museums and institutions.
Administration
Author
Christopher DeMairo
Sponsor
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by Norman B. Colp in 1993 and 2005.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2020. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
The 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.
Preferred Citation
Norman Colp papers, circa 1973-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing 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.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Conceptual art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions