Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Isabel Peterson Papers, circa 1940-1980, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.peteisab
Creators:
Peterson, Isabel
Dates:
circa 1940-1980
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.7 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of curator Isabel Peterson measure 0.7 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 1980. The collection document's Peterson's work as United Seamen's Service, Inc., art exhibition director curating the annual Art Exhibition by Merchant Seamen of the United Nations. Found are biographical materials on Peterson, correspondence, interview transcripts, photographs, printed material, a mixed-media scrapbook, and writings.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of curator Isabel Peterson measure 0.7 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 1980. The collection document's Peterson's work as United Seamen's Service, Inc., art exhibition director curating the annual Art Exhibition by Merchant Seamen of the United Nations. Found are biographical materials on Peterson, correspondence, interview transcripts, photographs, printed material, a mixed-media scrapbook, and writings.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
New York curator Isabel Peterson, began her full-time career during World War II. As art exhibition director for the United Seamen's Service, Inc., her primary responsibility was the annual Art Exhibition by Merchant Seamen of the United Nations.
After founding the Music Box Canteen for United States Service men and women in 1941, Peterson was asked by Vice Admiral Emory S. Land of the War Shipping Administration, to establish a recreation department for wartime merchant seamen. Peterson developed, organized, and directed the annual exhibition of paintings by merchant seamen of the United Nations from 1943 to 1946. The exhibitions were shown in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. and in other museums throughout the United States.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Sponsor
Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 1983 by Isabel Peterson.
Existence and Location of Copies
The collection is available on 35mm microfilm roll 3770 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2023 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

Using the Collection

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.
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
Isabel Peterson papers, circa 1940-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Scrapbooks Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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