The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives' record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Progra...

The papers of curator and art critic David S. Rubin measure 23 linear feet and 57.68 gigabytes and date from 1960 to 2017. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, interviews, correspondence, writing projects and notes, artists' files, exhibition files, professional files, subject and research files, printed materials, and photographic materials documenting Rubin's work in California, Arizona, and other locations throughout the United States.

The Marlene Park and Gerald E. Markowitz research files on New Deal art are dated 1931-1999 and measure 5.8 linear feet. The research files document New Deal art projects and artists through some original correspondence with artists, printed material, interview transcripts, and several sound recordings of interviews with artists of the period. Subject files relate to WPA era art and art projects; many contain numerous photocopies of records from the Personnel Records Center and the U. S. Treasury Relief Arts Projects now in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Publicity photographs of musicians and entertainers, mostly jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, but including many rock and even a few classical performers. The collection also contains tape recorded radio interviews conducted between 1970 and 2003. In addition there are posters relating to musical performances.

The Chuck and Jan Rosenak research material dates from circa 1938-2008 and measures 17.6 linear feet. The collection contains research files for four books by the Rosenaks and includes letters, writings, notes, printed matter, tape-recorded interviews with artists, and photographic material.

The papers of realist painter Raphael Soyer date from 1933 to 1989 and measure 3.9 linear feet. They document Soyer's career as a painter, printmaker, and writer. Found within the papers are scattered biographical materials, including several transcripts of interviews with Soyer; extensive personal and professional correspondence; writings and notes by Soyer and others; scattered legal and financial records; exhibition materials, clippings and other printed material; and photographs of Soyer in his studio, with artists and friends, and at art events. Also found are one sketch and a facsimile of Soyer's 1968 sketchbook produced by Forum Gallery.

The collection is the result of research conducted by Dr. Alixa Naff relating to the study of the early Arab immigrant experience in the United States from about 1880-World War II. The study began with oral history interviews in 1962 and became a major project in 1980 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It documents the assimilation of Arabic speaking immigrants in the United States.

The papers of southern California Pop artist Billy Al Bengston measure 10.4 linear feet and date from circa 1940s to 1989, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960 to 1988. The collection documents the life and work of the artist through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, gallery and museum files, teaching files, project and commission files, scattered artwork, printed materials, and photographs.

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.

These records consist of professional correspondence and administrative and research files of a number of curators from the Department of Painting and Sculpture. Included are correspondence and memoranda with HMSG staff, artists, galleries, and other museums; loan agreements, checklists, scripts, and installation plans for HMSG exhibitions; ...