The National Museum Act (NMA) of 1966 affirmed the Smithsonian Institution's traditional role of assisting other museums and authorized the Institution to strengthen its activities of service to them. Funds appropriated to the Smithsonian for the implementation of the National Museum Act were made available primarily by grants and contracts ...

Personal papers of Dr. Kranzberg from his undergraduate years at Amherst College through his professional career. Collection documents his involvement with development of the new field of history of technology and his role as principal founder of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT); work as consultant and advisor to domestic and international agencies, colleges, and universities; personal affiliations, lectureships, publications; and teaching and administrative activities for more than 40 years as a college professor.

Frank Spencer was a historian of biological anthropology who began his career as a medical laboratory technician. His papers include correspondence, manuscripts, notes, research files, teaching materials, photographs, and audiotapes. Spencer's research on the Piltdown hoax as well as the Piltdown research of Ian Langham, whose work Spencer continued after his death in 1984, and Spencer's research on the life and career of Aleš Hrdlička for his dissertation are both represented in the collection.

The records of the Perls Galleries measure 79.6 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1997. Founded by Klaus Perls in 1937 and operating until 1997, the gallery dealt primarily in modern French art and the artwork of Alexander Calder. Found within the records are extensive correspondence (circa 44 linear feet) with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and collectors; photographs and negatives of inventory and other artwork; exhibition files, scattered financial records; and exhibition catalogs and clippings.

Most of the correspondence is directed to Goode, with lesser amounts to True, Walcott, and Rathbun. Also, a small amount of correspondence is addressed to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, (Baird, 1878-1887; and Samuel P. Langley, 1887-1906) but is generally referred to the Assistant Secretary for response. Much of the material is...

The Marcel Breuer papers, 1920-1986, contain biographical material, correspondence, business and financial records, interviews, notes, writings, sketches, project files, exhibition files, photographs, and printed material that document the career of architect and designer Marcel Breuer.

The papers of painter, collage artist, and printmaker Nancy Spero measure 26.4 linear feet and 19.12 GB and are dated 1940s-2009. Biographical material, correspondence and other files documenting Spero's personal and professional relationships, interviews, video recordings, and writings, records of Spero's many exhibitions and projects, files highlighting the major subjects that galvanized her, business records, and printed, digital, and photographic material, offer detailed insight into the career of one of the earliest feminist artists.

The papers of California ceramicist Beatrice Wood measure 26.6 linear feet and date from 1906 to 1998, with the bulk dating from 1930-1990. There is extensive correspondence with gallery owners, fellow artists, clients, friends, and family. The collection also contains biograpical materials, personal business records, writings, printed materials, photographs, and works of art. Of particular interest are the 28 diaries that Wood maintained from 1916 until her death in 1998 and 42 glazing formula notebooks dating from 1934-1997. Also found are documents of Steven Hoag and Esther Rosencranz, her husband and aunt respectively, that consist of correspondence, business records, and photographs given to the Archives of American Art as part of the Beatrice Wood papers.

This collection deals chiefly with Durant's tenure as Assistant Director for Astronautics at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). Perhaps the single topic of greatest interest is the effort to obtain a building for NASM, which was accomplished on July 1, 1976, when the new museum opened. A parallel theme concerns the drive to plan and com...

These records document the history, operation, and activities of the AOU, 1883-1977. For many years the papers were scattered in the hands of various officers until 1969 when the Committee on Archives was established. In 1974 the collection was brought together at the Smithsonian Institution. Among the records include those of Hoyes Lloyd, ...