Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Richard D. Marshall Papers, 1969-2014, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.marsrich
Creators:
Marshall, Richard, 1947-2014
Dates:
1969-2014
Languages:
Collection is in English. Some digital video material is in German and Japanese.
Physical Description:
15.8 Linear feet
26.07 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of New York-based curator and art consultant Richard D. Marshall measure 15.8 linear feet and 26.07 GB and date from 1969-2014. The interviews, exhibitions and research files, client files, other professional files, printed material, photographic material of artwork, and born-digital material primarily reflect Marshall's work outside his role at the Whitney Museum. The exhibition and research files make up the bulk of the collection and document his independent curatorial and writing projects on artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jack Pierson, and Ed Ruscha, as well as his role in building the Lever House Art Collection. Sound and video recordings are also found in the collection, primarily with interviews and exhibition and research material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of New York-based curator and art consultant Richard D. Marshall measure 15.8 linear feet and 26.07 GB and date from 1969-2014. The interviews, exhibitions and research files, client files, other professional files, printed material, photographic material of artwork, and digital material predominantly reflect Marshall's work outside his role at the Whitney Museum. Sound and video recordings are also found in the collection, primarily with interviews and exhibition and research material.
Thirteen interviews with artists are in the form of transcripts and sound recordings. Interviews are with many artists that Marshall had organized exhibitions for, including Louise Bourgeois, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ed Ruscha, and many featured in the exhibition New Image Painting at the Whitney in 1978.
Exhibition and research files may contain correspondence with artists, galleries, and museums; writings and notes; printed and research material; press packages; photographic material; and administrative documentation related to exhibition logistics, such as floors plans, items lists, consignment records, and shipping receipts. The most robust files and groups of files relate to the artists that Marshall worked with repeatedly over the course of his career, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Robert Mapplethorpe, Joan Mitchell, Georgia O'Keeffe, Jack Pierson, and Ed Ruscha. Files relating to the Lever House Art Collection are also found here. The series contains sound and video recordings, as well as digital records containing broadcasts, documentaries, exhibition related material, writings, photographic material, and promotional material about artists from galleries.
Client files include correspondence, invoices, photographic material, floor plans, digital records, and other documentation related to Marshall's business as an independent art consultant.
Other professional files consists of business cards, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) Board of Trustee's files, and photographic material Marshall accumulated as art editor of the Paris Review.
Printed and digital material consists of books, exhibition announcements, catalogs, press packages, posters, and other material. Material relates to artists and movements Marshall was interested in.
Photographic material is of artworks and is largely unsorted and not identified with any specific project. Formats include black and white photographs, slides, digital photographs, and transparencies.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as seven series
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Interviews, 1972-2009 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, 0.173 GB; ER01)
  • Series 2: Exhibition and Research Files, circa 1970-2014 (11.5 linear feet; Box 1-12, OV 17-19, 23.40 GB; ER02-ER49)
  • Series 3: Client Files, 1998-2014 (1.5 linear feet; Box 12-14, 0.077 GB; ER50-ER51)
  • Series 4: Other Professional Files, circa 1980-2014 (0.9 linear feet; Box 14)
  • Series 5: Printed Material, 1969-2014 (0.5 linear feet; Box 15, OV 20, 2.27 GB; ER52)
  • Series 6: Photographic Material, 1990s-2000s (0.9 linear feet; Box 15-16, 0.145 GB; ER53)
  • Series 7: Unidentified Electronic Records, circa 2005 (1 folder; 1 folder)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Richard D. Marshall (1947-2014) was a New York-based curator and art consultant. Born in Los Angeles, Marshall attended the University of California, Irvine, and in 1973 moved to New York to attend the Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum. He then became a curator at the Whitney from 1974-1993, organizing many biennials and solo exhibitions. While at the Whitney, Marshall also worked as art editor of the Paris Review (1975-1990), and organized exhibitions at other institutions of artists including Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, and Robert Mapplethorpe. In 2003, he became curator of The Lever House Art Collection in New York, and worked with collectors Aby Rosen and Alberto Mugrabi to commission works for the lobby of the building by Tom Sachs, Urs Fischer, Liza Lou, Paula Hayes, and others. Marshall has also published monographs on Ed Ruscha, Jack Pierson, Alex Katz, Georgie O'Keeffe, Joan Mitchell, and Kenny Scharf.

Administration

Author
Hilary Price
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated in 2015 by the Richard D. Marshall Estate, via William T. Georgis, executor.
Processing Information
The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2016. 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
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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
Richard D. Marshall papers, 1969-2014. 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
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Transcripts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art consultants -- New York -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bourgeois, Louise, 1911-2010 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mapplethorpe, Robert (Robert Michael) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mitchell, Joan, 1926-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ruscha, Edward Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lever House (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whitney Museum of American Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pierson, Jack, 1960- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Basquiat, Jean-Michel, 1960-1988 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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