Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Constance Glenn Papers, 1960s-2014, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.glencons
Creators:
Glenn, Constance, 1933-
Dates:
1960s-2014
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
17.1 Linear feet
6.88 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of writer, art historian, and curator Constance Glenn measure 17.1 linear feet and 6.88 GB and date from the 1960s to 2014. The material documents Glenn's career through correspondence, writings, book project files, exhibition documentation, professional records, research files, printed and digital material, and some photographs. Also well documented is Glenn's tenure as Museum Director and educator at California State University, Long Beach.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of writer, art historian, curator and museum director Constance Glenn measure 17.1 linear feet and 6.88 GB and date from the 1960s to 2014. The papers consist of material related to Glenn's writings and book projects, curated exhibitions, professional associations, research, involvement with California State University, Long Beach, and printed and digital material. Exhibition openings, panel discussions, and interviews are present in the format of sound and video recordings. Also included are correspondence, photographs, and a small series related to Glenn's interest and experience in art collecting, including price lists, inventories, and provenance records.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged as 11 series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1983-1993 (Box 1, 7 folders, ER01; 0.758 GB)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1972-2014 (Box 1-2, 0.8 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Writings, 1981-2011 (Box 2-4, 2 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Book Projects, 1984-1999 (Box 4-6, 2.5 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Artist Files, 1976-2005 (Box 6-7, 1 linear feet, ER02-ER05; 2.54 GB)
  • Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1979-2003 (Box 7-10, 2.1 linear feet, ER06-ER07; 3.53 GB)
  • Series 7: Professional Files, 1979-2007 (Box 11-12, 1.3 linear feet)
  • Series 8: California State University, Long Beach, Files, 1975-2001 (Box 12-13, 1.8 linear feet, ER08; 0.051 GB)
  • Series 9: Art Inventory and Sales Records, circa 1960s-1980s (Box 13-14, 1 linear feet)
  • Series 10: Printed Material, 1960s-2014 (Box 14-15, 1.8 linear feet)
  • Series 11: Photographs, circa 1960s-2000s (Box 16-17, 2 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Constance Glenn (1933-) is an art historian, writer, and curator in California. Glenn was the founding director of the University Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach. She received her Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Kansas in 1955, and completed her Masters of Arts in Fine Art from California State University as she simultaneously founded the University Art Museum at CSULB in 1973. During her career at CSULB, the University Art Museum grew from a small gallery-sized exhibition space to a nationally-celebrated contemporary art museum. Glenn also founded the Graduate Certificate Program in Museum Studies at CSULB, and taught art history and museum studies courses at the university.
Exhibitions curated by Glenn include Frances Benjamin Johnson: Women of Status and Station (1979); Eric Fischl: Scenes Before the Eye (1986-1987); James Rosenquist: Time Dust/The Complete Graphics (1962-1992); The Great America Pop Art Store: Multiples of the Sixties (1997); and Candida Hofer: Architecture of Absence (2004). In addition, Glenn served as a consulting curator for A Happening Place (2003), curated by Cheryl Harper for the Gershman Y in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
As an art historian and writer, Glenn participated in lectures and panel discussions as well as published essays, articles, and books. Glenn was an editor and feature writer for Antiques & Fine Art, Angeles Magazine, and Architectural Digest; contributed biographical articles to the Dictionary of Art and Encyclopedia Americana; and was involved with professional associations such as the J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts, Art/LA, Association of Art Museum Directors, and the Archives of American Art.
Glenn was married to art dealer Jack Glenn (1933-2014).

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 Constance Glenn in 2016.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2019. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

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 References 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
Constance Glenn papers, 1960s-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women authors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art museum curators -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
California State University, Long Beach Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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