Bryson Burroughs photographs of artwork measure 0.6 linear feet and date from circa 1935 and circa 1983. The collection consists of glass plate negatives and copy prints of artwork, primarily paintings, by Burroughs.

The papers of curator and art historian Julia P. Herzberg measure 7.6 linear feet and date from 1977-2018. Included are Herzberg's files on exhibitions and artists containing correspondence, printed material, interview transcripts, and notes and drafts by Herzberg. Artists include Wilfredo Lam, Doris Salcedo, Ana Mendieta, and Jorge Tacla among others.

The papers of curator Riva Castleman measure 10.6 linear feet and 7.83 GB, and date from 1930-2013 with one printed item dating from 1871. The collection contains biographical material, correspondence including mail art, writing project files, notebooks, interviews, project files, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. The collection richly documents Castleman's writing and research process and contains dozens of manuscripts for books, catalogs, and essays, as well as related correspondence and research including audio interviews and sound recordings. Several of Castleman's books about contemporary printmaking, such as Prints of the 20th Century (1976) and American Impressions (1985), are extensively documented, as are many of the catalogs she produced to accompany Museum of Modern Art exhibitions, including Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective (1987) and The Prints of Andy Warhol (1990). Some records are in born-digital form including correspondence, manuscript drafts, and audio conversations with Tatyana Grosman. Other interviews are on sound cassettes.

The papers of exhibition curator Sanford Schwartz measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1948-2011. The papers document the preparation and organization of two exhibitions curated by Schwartz, the Myron Stout retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1980, and The Early Work of William King at Alexandre Gallery in New York City in 2007. Materials regarding Provincetown, Massachusetts painter Myron Stout (1908-1987) include correspondence with Stout and lenders to the exhibition; notes, writings, and sketches by Schwartz pertaining to the exhibition; and photographs of Stout, including one with Hans Hofmann teaching in Provincetown in 1948. Material regarding sculptor William King (1925-1990) includes correspondence between Schwartz and King, exhibition research and notes, photographs of artwork, and printed material.

Curator, and gallery director Thomas S. Holman's research materials on Reginald Marsh, 1970-1989, measure 1.8 linear feet. Research materials consist of correspondence, notes, printed material, writings, and images accrued during the course of exhibition research that Holman pursued while he was curator of collections at the Minnesota Museum of American Art and director of the Bell Gallery, Brown University. Reginald Marsh research, mainly conducted from 1982-1983, comprises the vast majority of the collection. In addition, there are research files for proposed Charles Demuth and Charles Sheeler exhibitions. Grant research compiled in 1989 concerns a mural exhibition.

The papers of curator and museum director Marcia Tucker measure 2.4 linear feet and date from 1973-1994. The collection documents Tucker's tenure as the Director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York through artists' files, correspondence, project files, printed material, and photographs. The papers also reflect Tucker's activities as an advocate for women in the arts.

The Wendy Jeffers research material on Niles Spencer measures 3.0 linear feet and dates from circa 1930-2015. The material was compiled by Jeffers for an exhibition and catalog she produced of Spencer's work for the Whitney Museum in 1990 and for research toward an updated catalogue raisonné. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence, provenance research on individual artworks, writing, and photographic material. Jeffers' material expands on Dorothy C. Miller's research completed while organizing a Spencer exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1954.

The papers of New York museum director and independent curator Thomas M. Messer measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1949-2010. Material includes correspondence, a diary transcript, and printed material that reflect Messer's long career, primarily as director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection and documents the relationships he built with artists, art historians, curators, and others colleagues. Notable correspondents include Francis Bacon, Will Barnet, Larry Bell, Alberto Burri, Pol Bury, Marc Chagall, Chryssa, Jean Dubuffet, Max Ernst, Dan Flavin, Helen Frankenthaler, Alberto Giacometti, Richard Hamilton, Jean Hélion, Grace Knowlton, Rosemarie Koczy, Jirí Kolár, Katharine Kuh, Agnes Martin, Henry Moore, George Rickey, Charles Simonds, Clyfford Still, Jack Tworkov, and many others.

The papers of New York art historian, museum director, curator, writer, and educator, Alan R. Solomon, measure 9.9 linear feet and date from 1907-1970, with the bulk of the material dating from 1944-1970. Through biographical material, correspondence, interview transcripts, writings and notes, teaching and study files, subject files, exhibition files, business records, printed material, and photographs, the collection documents Solomon's education, his early teaching appointments at Cornell University, and his subsequent direction of many diverse curatorial and research projects relating to contemporary American art, particularly the transition from Abstract Expressionism to later modern movements, and the thriving New York City art scene.

The Samuel J. Wagstaff papers, circa 1932-1985 comprise 6.4 linear feet of correspondence, writings, miscellaneous records, printed material, and photographs documenting Wagstaff's professional and personal relationships with artists and photographers, his career as an art curator, and his position as an important collector of paintings and photographs. Correspondence with artists and others such as curators, arts organizations, galleries, and museums, reflects the diversity of contemporary American art and includes individuals associated with the abstract expressionist, Fluxus, pop, earth, conceptual, and minimalist art movements.