Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Richard Tuttle Papers, circa 1935-2018, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.tuttrich
Creators:
Tuttle, Richard, 1941-
Dates:
circa 1935-2019
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
26.6 Linear feet
4.14 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of New York City and New Mexico based postminimalist artist Richard Tuttle date from circa 1935-2018. The collection measures 26.6 linear feet and 4.14 GB. The evolution of Tuttle's art practice is well documented through biographical material; paper correspondence and email; writings and over 200 richly illustrated notebooks; exhibition and gallery files; residency and visiting artist files; book projects and print edition files; personal business records; printed material; photographic material; and sketches. The illustrated notebooks comprise a significant bulk of the collection and document Tuttle's visual explorations, travel, language studies, and inner life over six decades. Paper correspondence, particularly Tuttle's frequent letters to his parents over four decades, communicate personal and professional developments in detail. Other notable collection material includes biographical items documenting Tuttle's childhood, high school, and college life, as well as limited edition and one of a kind artist books. The collection contains born-digital material, consisting of emails, writings, images of artwork and installations, a presentation, and video recording. There is a 2.1 linear feet unprocessed addition to the collection including fabric samples for projects, receipts, printed material, sketches, installation photographs, notes and notebooks, and correspondence. A portion of the addition contains electronic media.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of New York City and New Mexico based postminimalist artist Richard Tuttle date from circa 1935-2018. The collection measures 26.6 linear feet and 4.14 GB. The evolution of Tuttle's art practice is well documented through biographical material; paper correspondence and email; writings and over 200 richly illustrated notebooks; exhibition and gallery files; residency and visiting artist files; book projects and print edition files; personal business records; printed material; photographic material; and sketches. The illustrated notebooks comprise a significant bulk of the collection and document Tuttle's visual explorations, travel, language studies, and inner life over six decades. Paper correspondence, particularly Tuttle's frequent letters to his parents over four decades, communicate personal and professional developments in detail. Other notable collection material includes biographical items documenting Tuttle's childhood, high school, and college life, as well as limited edition and one of a kind artist books. The collection contains born-digital material, consisting of emails, writings, images of artwork and installations, a presentation, and video recording.
There is a 2.1 linear feet unprocessed addition to the collection including fabric samples for projects, receipts, printed material, sketches, installation photographs, notes and notebooks, and correspondence. A portion of the addition contains electronic media.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as eleven series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1941-2017 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1, 10-11, 26)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1954-2018 (1.7 linear feet, Boxes 1, 11-12; 0.26 GB, ER01-ER02)
  • Series 3: Writings and Illustrated Notebooks, 1963-2018 (8 linear feet, Boxes 2-5, 12-17, 26; 0.001 GB, ER03)
  • Series 4: Exhibition and Gallery Files, 1977-2018 (1.4 linear feet, Boxes 5-6, 17; 0.09 GB, ER04-ER05)
  • Series 5: Residencies and Visiting Artist Files, 2002-2017 (1.2 linear feet, Boxes 7-8, 17; 2.79 GB, ER06)
  • Series 6: Book Projects and Print Edition Files, circa 1969-2017 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, 17, 26, oversize 27)
  • Series 7: Personal Business Records, circa 1989-2017 (0.7 linear feet, Boxes 9, 17; 0.163 GB, ER07)
  • Series 8: Printed Material, circa 1960-2018 (5.7 linear feet; Boxes 9-10, 17-22, oversize 30)
  • Series 9: Photographic Material, circa 1935-2018 (2.4 linear feet, Boxes 21-25, oversize 28; 0.519 GB, ER08-ER12)
  • Series 10: Sketchbooks and Sketches, circa 1950-2018 (0.2 linear feet; Box 25, oversize 29)
  • Series 11: Unprocessed Addition, circa 2003-2019 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 31-32; oversize 33)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Richard Tuttle (1941- ) is a postminimalist artist and author working in New York City and New Mexico. Born in Rahway, New Jersey, Tuttle attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut from 1959-1963. After earning his Bachelor's degree, he moved to New York City, where he spent one semester at Cooper Union before working as a gallery assistant to Betty Parsons. Tuttle had his first exhibition at the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1965.
Tuttle works in a variety of media including sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, and artist's books, and is best known for his minimal and intimate works. He has exhibited extensively internationally and has been the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture and the Art Institute of Chicago Biennial Prize.
Richard Tuttle is married to the poet Mei-mei Berssenbrugge.

Administration

Author
Hilary Price
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2018.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated to the Archives of American Art by Richard Tuttle in 2017, 2018, and 2020.

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
Richard Tuttle papers, circa 1935-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Richard Tuttle conducted by James McElhinney in 2016.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- New Mexico Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- New Mexico Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Betty Parsons Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Berssenbrugge, Mei-mei, 1947- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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