A Finding Aid to the Nancy Davidson Papers, 1970s-2016, in the Archives of American Art

Scope and Contents

The papers of New York based interdisciplinary artist Nancy Davidson measure 5 linear feet and date from 1970s-2016. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, illustrated notebooks and notes, gallery and exhibition files, printed material, photographic material, and two sketchbooks. Nearly one linear foot of correspondence arranged chronologically is both personal and professional. Notable correspondents include Michiko Itatani, Joyce Kozloff, Eunice Lipton, Sabra Moore, and Nancy Spero. Galleries and museums include Marianne Denson Gallery; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; N.A.M.E. Gallery, of which Davidson was an artist member; the Walker Art Center; and White Columns. Over thirty notebooks capture Davidson's work process, evolution of ideas, related sketches in pen and pencil, reflections from readings and lectures, and notes from critiques with fellow artists Rosemary Mayer, Joyce Kozloff, Ray Yoshida, and Richard Halstead. A large sequence of printed material includes announcements, books, bulletins, newsletters, calendars, clippings, exhibition catalogs, periodicals, press releases, programs, and a few other items of printed matter relating to Davidson's professional career.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as seven series.

Biographical / Historical

Nancy Davidson (1943- ) is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and installation in New York, NY. She grew up in Chicago and received a Bachelor's degree from Northeastern Illinois University, a BFA from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After completing her graduate degree in 1975, Davidson began her professional career in Chicago before moving to New York in 1979. While initially working in painting and drawing, Davison has become most well known for her works in sculpture investigating the feminized body. She has exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and in numerous galleries across the country. Davidson was a professor at Purchase College SUNY from 1984-2008.