Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Ira Licht papers, 1963-1991, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.lichtira
Creators:
Licht, Ira Richard, 1938-
Dates:
1963-1991
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear feet
Repository:
The Ira Licht papers measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1963-1991. The papers document Licht's career as an art historian and museum professional. Included is professional and personal correspondence with artists during his career as curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, coordinator of Art in Public Places, National Endowment for the Arts, and tenure as director of the University of Miami's Lowe Art Museum. The letters are from many notable artists at early stages in their careers, which provides insight into how they built success from an early point. There are also artist and exhibition files which document working relationships with and about artists and exhibitions Licht curated, as well as printed materials such as exhibition invitations and posters.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Ira Licht papers measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1963-1991. The papers document Licht's career as an art historian and museum professional. Included is professional and personal correspondence with artists during his career as curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, coordinator of the Art in Public Places Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, and director of the University of Miami's Lowe Art Museum and relate to projects and funding. The letters are from many notable artists at early stages in their careers, which provides insight into how they built success from an early point. Some letters have photographs and printed material enclosed. Artist files are arranged alphabetically by name and include writings on and by artists, resumes and project descriptions, photographic prints, slides of artists' artwork, press clippings, correspondence and exhibition catalogs. Exhibition files consist of planning documents, exhibition catalogs, correspondence related to and press releases for exhibitions Licht curated. Of note is an catalog for Bodyworks a 1975 group exhibition Licht curated for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. The papers also include printed material which consists of exhibition announcements, invitations, and posters.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
  • Series 1: Correspondence, 1969-1991 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Artist and Exhibition Files, 1963-1991 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 1-2)
  • Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1972-1984 (0.1 Linear feet; Box 2)
  • Series 4: Printed Material, 1967-1978 (0.1 Linear feet; Box 2)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Ira Licht (1938- ) is a museum director, curator and art historian in Miami, Florida. During his career he served as the curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1974-1976); coordinator of the Art in Public Places Program of the National Endowment for the Arts (1976-1978); and director of the University of Miami's Lowe Art Museum (1978-1989). Licht was closely connected with artists associated with 20th century minimalism, conceptualism, and land art. Artists who are represented by at least one piece of correspondence (postcards and/or letters) in the papers include: Duane Hanson, Pat Steir, Carl Andre, Ana Mendieta, Jackie Ferrara, Romare Bearden, Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Adrian Piper, Lawrence Wiener, Dan Flavin, Laurie Anderson, Dan Graham, Robert Graham, Lynda Benglis, Dennis Oppenheim, Red Grooms and Christo.
Ira Licht is married to Jennifer Licht who was an associate curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Administration

Author
Sabine Lipten
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated in 2019 by Ira Licht.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sabine Lipten in 2022.

Using the Collection

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.
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.
Preferred Citation
Ira Licht papers, 1963-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art museum directors -- Florida -- Miami Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians -- Florida -- Miami Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art museum curators Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lowe Art Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Endowment for the Arts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, Ill.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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