Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Marvin Harden Papers, circa 1936-2005, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.hardmarv
Creators:
Harden, Marvin, 1935-
Dates:
circa 1936-2005
Languages:
The collection is in English.
Physical Description:
2.2 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of African American painter, printmaker, and educator Marvin Harden measure 2.2 linear feet and date from circa 1936 to 2005. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence, teaching files, exhibition files, printed material, artwork, and photographs. Correspondents include Joyce Tremain, Judy Chicago, Marion Lerner Levine, Jud Fine, Houston Conwill, Sandy Ballatore-Nelson, Nancy Lee Riegelmen, Eugene Anderson, Connor Everts, Pleter Plagens, Jan Stussy, Caroll Toon, William Wilson, and others. Artwork includes a book of etchings Natural Selections (1991).

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of African American painter, printmaker, and educator Marvin Harden measure 2.2 linear feet and date from circa 1936 to 2005. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence, teaching files, exhibition files, printed material, artwork, and photographs. Artwork includes a book of etchings Natural Selections (1991).
Biographical material includes papers pertaining to Harden's education and family history, including an essay written by his sister Lura Harden Miller.
Correspondence is with artists, colleagues, and organizations, including Eugene Anderson, Sandy Ballatore-Nelson, William Brice, Judy Chicago, Houston Conwill, Connor Everts, Jud Fine, Marion Lerner Levine, Pleter Plagens, Nancy Lee Riegelmen, Jan Stussy, Caroll Toon, William Wilson, Dobrick Gallery, Eugenia Butler Gallery, Gloria Cortella, Inc., Hank Baum Gallery, Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, among others.
Teaching files primarily document Harden's career as an art educator at California State University, Northridge. Materials include teaching awards, assignments, course outlines, notes, and miscellaneous writings by Harden about his teaching philosophy. The files also contain correspondence and photographs with students, a student exhibition guest register, committee notes, memorandums, and evidence pertaining to an employment-related grievance with the university.
Exhibition files include announcements, correspondence, exhibition catalogs, floor plans, insurance documents, loan agreements, photographs, press releases, and price lists.
Printed material consists of announcements and invitations, exhibition catalogs, and a loose clippings scrapbook with articles and reviews about Harden's artwork and exhibitions. Also found is a copy of the first volume of the Journal published by the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, which includes a photograph of Harden and references to his involvement in developing the organization.
Artwork includes two sketches and an artists' book entitled natural selections which contains 12 aquatint etchings by Marvin Harden.
Among the black and white and color photographs are portraits and snapshots of Marvin Harden, family members, and colleagues, as well as Harden's home, studio, and land at Inwardness Ranch located near Cambria, California.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1950-1991 (Box 1; 5 folders)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1964-2005 (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Teaching Files, circa 1964-2003 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1966-2004 (Boxes 1-2; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1964-2003 (Box 2; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Artwork, 1989-2000 (Box 2; 2 folders)
  • Series 7: Photographs, circa 1936-2001 (Box 2; 7 folders)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Marvin Harden (1935- ) is an African American painter, printmaker, and educator living and working in California. Harden received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1963. While there, Harden studied under John Paul Jones, Jan Stussy, and William Brice. He also became friends with UCLA classmate and feminist artist, Judy Chicago.
Harden's first solo exhibition was in 1964 at Ceeje Galleries in Los Angeles, California. His drawings, paintings, and prints have been exhibited widely in museums, galleries, and universities in southern California, and also in New Mexico, New York, and Texas, among other locations. Harden has also been the recipient of artists' fellowships awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art.
Harden became a Professor of Art at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 1968, and in 1984 he received a Distinguished Teaching Award and Exceptional Merit Service Award. During his career at CSUN, Harden established the art department's graduate teaching assistant program.

Administration

Author
Elissa L. Jerome
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Marvin Harden papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Marvin Harden in 2005.
Processing Information
The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Elissa L. Jerome in 2016.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Marvin Harden papers, circa 1936-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Printmakers -- California Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Etchings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Visitors' books Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Study and teaching -- Philosophy Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- California Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plagens, Peter Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ballatore-Nelson, Sandy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Riegelman, Nancy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anderson, Eugene Newton Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Toon, Caroll Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Conwill, Houston, 1947-2016 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dobrick Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chicago, Judy, 1939- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brice, William, 1921-2008 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jan Turner Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
California State University, Northridge -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wilson, Willam, 1934-2013 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stussy, Jan, 1921-1990 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lerner Levine, Marion Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Miller, Lura Harden Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gloria Cortella, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hank Baum Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eugenia Butler Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fine, Jud Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Everts, Connor Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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