The papers of art collector Charles Rand Penney measure 23.1 linear feet and date from 1923 to 1994 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945 to 1994. The majority of the collection consists of Penney's art collection files, which include printed materials, correspondence, notes, and photographic materials. Also found within the papers are catalogs from exhibitions that featured artwork from Penney's collection.

The papers of writer, art critic and collector Bernard Harper Friedman, 1926-2011, bulk 1943-2010, measure 30.6 linear feet. Extensive professional and personal correspondence, 41 diaries, a large number of his published and unpublished writings, and subject files document Friedman's career as a writer, relationships with cultural institutions and art world figures, and his personal life. Also included are biographical materials, interviews, printed material, 5 scrapbooks and photographs.

The papers of Hungarian-born artist, art theorist, and educator, Gyorgy Kepes, measure 21.2 linear feet and date from 1909-2003, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1935-1985. The papers document Kepes's career as an artist and educator, and as founder of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), through biographical material, correspondence, writings by Kepes and others, project files, exhibition files, printed material, sketchbooks, artwork, sound recordings and motion picture films, and photographic material.

The scattered records of the New York contemporary American art Eva Lee Gallery measure 4.0 linear feet and date from 1921-1973. Artist files contain provenance notes, photographs of artwork, records of sales and consignments, exhibition catalogs from other galleries, and reference information on numerous contemporary artists, many represented by the gallery. There are also scattered letters and artwork from artists, scattered sales records of J.B. Neuman's New Art Circle Gallery, and a photocopy of an auction catalog for Korvettes Art Galleries in Douglastan, New York. A significant amount of information is found within the collection about Alexander Calder, Lovis Corinth, Salvadore Dali, Lyonel Feininger, George Grosz, Robert Indiana, Harry Lieberman, Rene Magritte, John Marin, Lowell Nesbitt, Ben Shahn, Victor Vasarely, and Max Weber.

The papers of sculptor and art instructor, Eugenie Gershoy, measure 7.2 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1983. The collection documents Gershoy's career through biographical material, correspondence, business records, notes, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.

The papers of architect and designer Florence Knoll Bassett, measure approximately 2 linear feet dating from 1932 to 2000. Through correspondence, sketches, drawings, designs, subject files, photographs, and printed material, the collection selectively documents Knoll Bassett's education, her work with Knoll Associates from the 1940s until her resignation in 1965, and projects undertaken since her retirement. It is an important source of information on the development of interior architecture and design from the 1940s to the 1970s.

The papers of art historian and museum director Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner measure 6.9 linear feet and date from 1853 to 1977. Found within the collection are biographical materials, including information on the Lepsius and Valentiner families; correspondence with family, friends, art collectors, and art historians; seven diaries; additional writings and notes; printed materials; three clippings scrapbooks; artwork in the form of prints and woodcuts; and photographs of Valentiner and his family and friends, including two photograph albums.

The papers of art collector Emily Hall Tremaine measure 8.9 linear feet and date from 1890 to 2000. Found within the papers are biographical materials on the Hall, von Romberg, and Tremaine families, including a sound cassette on the Tremaines; personal correspondence; art collection files, which include inventory binders, records of sales and donations, artist files, exhibition loan files, and reproduction request files; 2 scrapbooks documenting Tremaine's first marriage to Baron Maximilian von Romberg; and photographs of Tremaine, her family and friends, and works of art from her collection. There are also materials related the 1984 exhibition The Tremaine collection: 20th Century Masters at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, including a video recording of Philip Johnson's exhibition lecture.

The records of the Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts, measure 36 linear feet and date from 1927-circa 1985, with the bulk of the material spanning the organization's active years, 1947-1967. The collection documents the arts and cultural programming organized by the ICA through correspondence, artists' files, program and exhibition files, administrative and financial records, printed materials and photographs. Also found are administrative, student, and teacher records of the ICA school; records of the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Project; and some personal papers of the ICA's founder, Robert Richman.

The Howard W. and Jean Lipman papers measure 46.6 linear feet and span the years 1916 to 2000, with one brochure maintained in a research file dating to 1848. The bulk dates for the collection are 1932 to 1992. The papers primarily concern the art collecting activities and interests of the Lipmans which included modern American sculpture, American folk art, and other contemporary American paintings. Found within the papers are correspondence files, notes and printed material that served as research and reference material, along with financial material. The collection also contains writings, notes, and editorial material used by Jean Lipman in her dual roles as an editor for Art in America magazine and as a respected art critic and author.