National Portrait Gallery

Brandon B. Fortune research material on the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

Summary

Collection ID:
NPG.CAP.00004
Creators:
Brandon Fortune
Dates:
1977-1993
bulk 1987-1991
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
6.75 Linear feet
Repository:
Research material gathered by Brandon B. Fortune regarding two exhibitions and one exhibition catalog about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; including correspondence with museums and collectors, and photocopied book pages. The exact title of the first exhibition is now unknown, but it was likely similar to "World's Columbian Exhibition, 1893: Department of Fine Arts." The second exhibition was entitled "American Art at the 1893 World's Fair-Revisiting the White City," which was accompanied by a book with the same title.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
These papers are the research materials of Brandon B. Fortune on the subject of painted portraiture from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The research material was compiled by Fortune for two exhibitions on the exposition, as well as a catalog for one of the exhibitions. The exact title of the first exhibition is now unknown, but it was likely similar to "World's Columbian Exhibition, 1893: Department of Fine Arts." The second exhibition was entitled "American Art at the 1893 World's Fair-Revisiting the White City," which was accompanied by a book with the same title.The research material includes correspondence with museums and collectors about portraits, photocopies of publications about portraits and artists, and handwritten notes.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically according to the artist's last name.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Brandon B. Fortune is chief curator and curator of painting and sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery, and has been with the museum since 1987. Fortune organized the first two triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competitions (2006 and 2009). In 2008 she served as co-curator for "Recognize! Hip-Hop and Contemporary Portraiture." Fortune was also chair of the curatorial team charged with creating the "Portraiture Now" series of exhibitions, which includes "Drawing on the Edge," "Asian American Portraits of Encounter," and "Framing Memory." In 1999 Fortune served as co-curator of the exhibition "Franklin & His Friends: Portraying the Man of Science in Eighteenth-Century America" and author of the accompanying publication. Her primary research includes eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American portraiture, such as the work of Charles Wilson Peale, and women portraitists of the later nineteenth century. She is a co-curator for the 2014 exhibition "Face Value: Portraiture in the Age of Abstraction." Fortune graduated from Agnes Scott College and received a master's degree and doctorate in art history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Administration

Author
Rebecca Murphy
Processing Information
The Brandon B. Fortune research material on the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition was processed by Rebecca Murphy in October 2014.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired from Brandon B. Fortune.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Brandon B. Fortune research material on the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, 1977-1993, bulk 1987-1991. Catalog of American Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use
The Brandon B. Fortune research material is owned by the Catalog of American Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
World's fairs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Expositions -- World's Columbian Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
1893 World's Columbian Exposition Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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