A Finding Aid to the Robert Reed Papers, 1944-circa 2014, in the Archives of American Art

Scope and Contents

The papers of artist and educator Robert Reed measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1944 to circa 2014. The collection includes correspondence with artists Robert Birmelin, Philip Guston, Howardena Pindell, and others; professional files documenting Reed's business with galleries, exhibitions, guest books for The Tree for Mine Series in Reed's hometown, Charlottesville, Va., and material relating to Joseph Albers; and printed materials containing catalogs and announcements for Reed's exhibitions dating from the 1960s to the 2010s, a few exhibition posters, and art reproductions.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as 3 series.

Biographical / Historical

Robert Reed (1938-2014) was a painter and educator in New Haven, Connecticut, who was influential in the history of abstraction and African American art in the 20th century. He received a B.S. from Morgan State University in 1958, a B.F.A. Yale University School of Art 1960, and a M.F.A. from Yale in 1962. He studied with Jon Schueler and Joseph Albers, and was influenced by his colleague at Skidmore College, Philip Guston. Reed became a member of Yale's faculty in 1969 and taught at the university for almost 50 years. During his tenure as director of the Yale Summer School of Music and Art from 1970 to 1974, he formed the Institute for Studio Studies in Auvillar, France as part of the summer school program. Reed was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from the College Art Association in 2004, a Yaddo fellowship, and was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.