Robert Moody Laughlin is an American ethnologist specializing in the study of Mayan language, history, customs, and folklore. He spent the majority of his career working for the Smithsonian Institution, first with the Bureau of American Ethnology, then with the Department of Anthropology. He has been a curator emeritus with the department since his retirement in 2006. The Robert Moody Laughlin papers (1899-2016, bulk 1954-2016) document his research and professional activities and primarily deal with language and folktales he recorded and studied, as well as the culture and history of the Tzotzil and other Mayan groups in the Chiapas region. His involvement in language education and training, advocacy for the Tzotzil and language and cultural revitalization, and administrative matters at the Smithsonian are also represented. The collection consists of materials created for books and other publications, field notes, research materials, correspondence, administrative files, sound recordings, video recordings, photographs, and electronic records.

The papers of painter, sculptor, author, and illustrator Esphyr Slobodkina measure 1.9 linear feet and date from circa 1925 to 1995. Found within the papers are personal and professional correspondence, including letters from Ilya Bolotowsky, George L.K. Morris, and Paul Kelpe; writings, including a copy of the autobiography Notes for a Biographer (vol. 1); printed materials; photographs; and material on the American Abstract Artists, including administrative records, business correspondence, and publications.

An album of photographs taken between 1905 and 1907 by H.G.L. Smith or his associates to document his hunting trips in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and the accompanying African workers.

The records of the Area Gallery measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1958-1977 (bulk dates 1959-1964). Area Gallery was one of the Tenth Street Co-ops in New York City, and operated from 1958-1965. Materials in this collection include artist bios, price lists, black and white photos of artwork; financial records with annotations; member lists, exhibition lists, and daily notes; gallery sign-in sheets; correspondence, including letters to and from the gallery and regarding rent issues; and an extensive scrapbook containing exhibition posters, photos of artwork, announcements, exhibition reviews, and clippings.

This accession consists of materials relating to the inaugural events surrounding the opening of the National Museum of African Art building in the Quadrangle in 1987. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, invitations, invitation lists, and black and white photographs.

These records primarily document the administration of the NMNH during the tenures of Kier, Fiske, and Hoffman. A small amount of files were created by Talbot, and Acting Directors James F. Mello, 1979, and James C. Tyler, 1985 and 1988. The records document the research, exhibition, and educational missions of the NMNH. They also document ...

Scrapbook compiled by an unidentified person, containing materials relating to the Spanish-American War Peace Jubilee event in Washington, D.C. The items in the scrapbook consist mostly of clippings, and a disassembled program book from the parade and other events that took place during the Jubilee. The pages of the program book contain numerous ad...

The State of the Arts videorecordings measure 2.4 linear feet and consist of 30 videocassettes (U-matic) and three sets of handwritten notes, all created during the production of a pilot episode for a broadcast television documentary series on contemporary art in 1979. Four stories were produced for the pilot: a staged debate on modern art at the Museum of Modern Art; an investigation into the economics of the contemporary art market, a collaboration between video artist Nam June Paik and sound artist Liz Phillips, and an extended interview with sculptor George Segal on the occasion of his 1979 retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Video footage includes raw footage for each segment and edited versions of the economics of art story, the Nam June Paik and Liz Phillips story, and the George Segal story. The reporter and interviewer for the program was Barry Nolan.

This accession consists of records created and maintained by Louise Allison Cort, Curator of Ceramics, documenting the coordination and publicity of the exhibition "Basketmaker in Rural Japan." Materials include correspondence, much of which is in Japanese; memoranda; color photographs, transparencies, and negatives of Hiroshima Kazuo, Ja...

This accession consists of records documenting the research and development of the exhibition "Visual Music: 1905-2005." The bulk of the materials were created by Judith Zilczer, Curator of Paintings, 1992-2003, with a smaller amount of material created by Kerry Brougher, Curator and Chief Curator, 2000-2014. Zilczer continued to work on the ...