Descriptive Entry

This record unit consists of approximately 800 posters, which primarily document exhibitions, programming, and collections at the National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA) and later, the National Museum of American Art (NMAA). Several posters serve as advertisements for the museum, incorporating imagery from artists' works within the collection. This collection of posters represents a vast range of topics and highlights local, regional, and renowned artists whose works were on exhibition at NCFA, NMAA, and elsewhere. The majority of the materials range in date from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. Of the 800 posters, 144 posters document contemporary exhibitions at or are individual prints from non-Smithsonian Institution museums and organizations. All exhibition posters in this collection were collected by Harry Lowe during his tenure as curator for NCFA.