The papers or curator and writer John Caldwell measure 1.7 linear feet and date circa 1909 to 1996. The collection documents Caldwell's life and career through a variety of materials, such as biographical material including legal papers relating to the Caldwell Estate, letters from friends and colleagues, writings by Caldwell such as a draft version of a speech and draft essays, printed material including articles written by Caldwell for the New York Times, photographs of Caldwell, family members, dealers, donors, and artists, as well as a video recording documenting the 1985 Carnegie International.

The collection measures 13.3 linear feet, dates from the 1880s-1997 and documents the life and varied career of Rudolph Schaeffer, artist, designer, teacher, writer, collector of Asian art, and pioneer in the field of color study who founded the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in San Francisco in 1926. The papers include biographical information, correspondence, subject files, writings, diaries, journals, artwork, scrapbooks, sound recordings, and photographs.

The papers of painter and muralist John Milton Ramm measure 11 linear feet and date from 1900 to 1992. Found within are biographical materials, family correspondence, personal business records, notes and notebooks, travel journals and other writings by Ramm and his father, John Henry Ramm. Art work consists of sketches, sketchbooks, watercolor sketches, mural designs, and other drawings by John Milton Ramm and John Henry Ramm. Also found are numerous photographs of family, friends, travels and voyages, and San Francisco cityscapes, as well as photographs of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires taken by John Henry Ramm.

Personal papers of Alexander Van Valen documenting his participation in the California Gold Rush, 1849-1850.

The papers of art critic and historian Alfred Victor Frankenstein measure 19.1 linear feet and date from 1875 to 1985. The bulk of the collection consists of Frankenstein's research and writing files on American painting, particularly artists working in the nineteenth-century. There are extensive files on artists John Haberle, William Michael Harnett, and William Sidney Mount. The collection also includes biographical material, correspondence, general writings and notes, professional activities files, personal business records, printed materials, photographs, and unidentified sound recordings.

The papers of Jan Butterfield measure 15 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 1997. Papers contain hundreds of recorded interviews with and lectures by artists, panel discussions of artists and art historians, as well as extensive writings by Butterfield. Also found are project files, personal business records, printed materials, photographs, and additional sound and video recordings related to art subjects.

The papers of San Francisco based Beat photographer Patricia Jordan measure 2.3 linear feet and date from 1870, 1949-1984. The papers include correspondence, much of it illustrated and with Beat artists and poets, writings, exhibition files, printed materials, photographs, and artwork.

The Emmy Lou Packard papers measure 9.4 linear feet and date from 1900 to 1990, and focus on the career of painter, printmaker, muralist, and sculptor Emmy Lou Packard. Also found are extensive materials relating to Packard's personal and professional relationship with muralist Diego Rivera and painter Frida Kahlo, with whom Packard lived for one year in Mexico. Papers include correspondence, financial records, notes, writings, exhibition files, photographs, and printed material.

The papers of California painter, printmaker, and art instructor Dorr Bothwell date from 1900-2006, and measure 10.6 linear feet and 1.72 GB. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, notes and writings, five diaries, art work and 19 sketchbooks, three scrapbooks, printed material, and print and digital photographs.

The papers of San Francisco painter and arts instructor Elmer Bischoff measure 4.4 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1990, with the bulk of the material dating from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. Found within the papers are biographical materials, scattered correspondence, notes and notebooks, teaching and student files, printed materials, artwork and two sketchbooks, and photographs and negatives of Bischoff, his family, post World War II Europe, and artwork studies.