Descriptive Entry

This collection documents the development of the Archives of American Art (AAA), chiefly the period since acquisition of AAA by the Smithsonian in 1970, though some records from its earlier history in Detroit and New York are also included. These records contain minutes, files, and correspondence of the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Committee; and correspondence of Edgar P. Richardson and William E. Woolfenden, the first two directors. For the post-1970 period, records and correspondence document the Archives' acquisition by the Smithsonian; correspondence of Garnett McCoy, Deputy Director; field office correspondence of Robert Brown, director of the New England office, 1975-1986; field office correspondence of Paul J. Karlstrom, director of the west coast office, 1974-1975; field office correspondence of Susan Hamilton, director of the New York office, 1981-1987; records of the AAA's automated cataloging project, 1986-1989; records of AAA's project to create a central source for information on New Deal art projects, 1963-1965; and editorial files of the Archives of American Art Journal.