The exposition records of this collection provide an account of the Smithsonian's involvement in twenty-two domestic and foreign expositions between 1876 and 1908. The depth of coverage in the records is uneven, but they still convey a wealth of information about Smithsonian participation in expositions, chiefly during the last quarter of...

This accession consists of accepted Smithsonian Foreign Currency Program grant records, which document international funding requests for development in museum collections, scholarly research initiatives, and public programs. The material consists of correspondence, memoranda, and notes; grant applications; applicant proposals; financial repor...

The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

This accession consists of records which document the work of the Department of Exhibitions and Collections Management in the preparation and development of exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), as well as the design and publicity involved with exhibitions and the loan of art objects both to and from the museum. Staff represented...

This collection contains the professional papers of anthropologist Marvin Harris. Harris was a prominent anthropologist, best known for developing the controversial paradigm of cultural materialism. He authored several important books in the field of anthropology and taught at Columbia University and The University of Florida. The papers include correspondence, research materials, his publications, unpublished manuscripts, conference papers, lectures, subject files, teaching files, computer files, and photographs.

The majority of materials are portrait sittings of individuals but there are also formal portraits of couples, families, groups, and organizations.

The Myron Bement Smith collection consists of two parts, the papers of Myron Bement Smith and his wife Katharine and the Islamic Archives. It contains substantial material about his field research in Italy in the 1920s and his years working on Islamic architecture in Iran in the 1930s. Letters describe the milieu in which he operated in Rochester NY and New York City in the 1920s and early 1930s; the Smiths' life in Iran from 1933 to 1937; and the extensive network of academic and social contacts that Myron and Katharine developed and maintained over his lifetime. The Islamic Archives was a project to which Smith devoted most of his professional life. It includes both original materials, such as his photographs and notes, and items acquired by him from other scholars or experts on Islamic art and architecture. Smith intended the Archives to serve as a resource for scholars interested in the architecture and art of the entire Islamic world although he also included some materials about non-Islamic architecture.

The Scurlock photographic studio was a fixture in the Shaw area of Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1994, and encompassed two generations of photographers, Addison N. Scurlock (1883-1964) and his sons George H. (1920- 2005) and Robert S. (1916-1994). Subseries 4.6 consists of black and white silver gelatin negatives. An overview to the entire Scurlock collection is available here: Scurlock Studio Records

This accession consists of files from Robert Wagner, Chief Administrative Officer of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA). These records contain memoranda and correspondence from various zoos, parks, aquariums, animal farms, and breeding grounds within the United States. Materials also include a variety of information on various ...

This accession consists of video and audio recordings and film created or maintained by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG). The majority of the recordings document lectures, speeches, talks, prominent visitors, exhibitions and other events at the museum, including the HMSG groundbreaking and dedication. Other recordings are ...