Smithsonian Institution Archives

Exhibition Records, circa 1968-1976

Summary

Collection ID:
SIA.FARU0361
Creators:
National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution). Office of Exhibitions
Dates:
circa 1968-1976
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
14.5 cu. ft. (29 document boxes)
Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry
Records in this record unit document the exhibition research and activities of the National Portrait Gallery and its Office of Exhibitions. Particularly well represented are exhibitions mounted between 1974 and 1976, with materials documenting research and publications on numerous artists, paintings, prints, broadsides, books, documents and letters. A large amount of correspondence reflects contacts with artists, donors, and national and international art institutions and galleries, and the public reactions to the exhibitions.
The records provide documentation for the creation and preparation of exhibitions during two important periods in the United States history: exhibitions of African American art during the period immediately following the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s, and exhibitions with themes and celebratory messages for the observance of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution in 1976. The records also document both the Gallery's history and functions of different departments.
Included in the records are correspondence between curators, artists, museum specialists and professionals, including art organizations; correspondence and memoranda with other Smithsonian curators; local galleries and studios; research notes on artists and their work; loan agreements; condition reports; exhibition reports and scripts; checklists; schedules and catalogs; architectural designs and plans; exhibition floor plans and charts; photographs, prints and color slides of exhibition objects and artists; biographies of artists; press releases; exhibition reviews; magazine and journal articles; excerpts from books; lecture notes and programs and schedules; and committee minutes. Included are administrative records, such as budgetary estimates and projections, travel and shipping vouchers and insurance policy materials.
The records are grouped by exhibition; and each exhibition constitutes a series. Users should however consult the current edition of the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives in order to identify additional related records in other record units for the National Portrait Gallery.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives cannot provide any information on art works given or loaned anonymously. Researchers who wish to obtain permission to see such information will be referred to the Office of the Registrar, National Portrait Gallery.

Historical Note

Historical Note
Before the Office of Exhibitions was created in 1974, individual curators in the National Portrait Gallery were responsible for organizing the Gallery's exhibitions. Upon the creation of the Office, Beverly J. Cox was named Curator of Exhibitions and became head of the office.
The Office was responsible for the design, preparation, installation, maintenance and dismantling of exhibitions. The Office continues to carry out these responsibilities, including negotiating and administering exhibition loans and coordinating plans for changing and permanent exhibition galleries.

Administration

Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 361, National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution), Office of Exhibitions, Exhibition Records

More Information

Notes

SI Records


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Cox, Beverly J. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sadik, Marvin S. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abroad in America: Visitors to the New Nation 1776-1914 (Exhibition) (1976: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Presidency in Cartoons, 1789-1977 (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Self-Portraits, 1670-1972 (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Augustus Saint-Gaudens: The Portrait Reliefs (Exhibition) (1969: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Charles Fenderich: The Washington Years, 1837-1848 (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Christian Gullager: Portrait Painter of Federal America (Exhibition) (1976: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Elisha Kent Kane (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
A Glimmer of Their Own Beauty: Black Sounds of the Twenties (Exhibition) (1971: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Homage to Thomas Eakins (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
James Weldon Johnson (Exhibition) (1970: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
John Muir (Exhibition) (1970: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mary McLeod Bethune (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
A Man for All Seasons: The Life and Portraits of John Quincy Adams (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
A Nineteenth-Century Gallery of Distinguished Americans (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
President's Medals 1789-1977 (Exhibition) (1977: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Portraits from the American Stage, 1771-1971 (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Portraits from The Americans: The Democratic Experience (Exhibition) (1975: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
The Spirit of Fact: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth and Hawes, 1843-1862 (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculpture Court (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
This New Man: A Discourse in Portraits (Exhibition) (1968: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Thomas Alva Edison (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington: From Banneker to Douglass, 1791-1870 (Exhibition) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington in the New Era 1870-1970 (Exhibition) (1972: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wedgewood Portraits of the American Revolution (Exhibition) (1976: Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Portraits, American Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum exhibits Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art museums Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white photographs Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Illustrations Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Smithsonian Institution Archives
Washington, D.C.
Contact us at osiaref@si.edu