This accession consists of records which document the research, development, fundraising, publicity, production, and execution of exhibitions at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery. Staff represented include Virginia M. Mecklenburg, Senior Curator, Painting and Sculpture, SAAM; Kenneth R. Trapp, Curator-in-Charge, Renwi...

The Robbins Center Collection includes posters advertizing the Museum of African Art (now the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution) and its exhibits, exhibit brochures, a watercolor painting and photographs by Eliot Elisofon, and museum signage.

The papers of African American artist and educator Jeff Donaldson measure 12.5 linear feet and date from 1918 to 2005, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1960s to 2005. The collection documents Donaldson's work as a professional artist, his academic career at Howard University, and his leadership role in the Black Arts Movement through biographical material, a small amount of professional and personal correspondence, personal business records, writings by Donaldson and others, research files, artist files, sound recordings of interviews Donaldson conducted with over 40 artists, teaching files, exhibition files, printed material, and photographs. Also found are detailed records of his professional activities and leadership roles in AfriCOBRA, CONFABA, FESTAC, and the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC), including documentation on the Wall of Respect mural.

This accession consists of exhibition records created and maintained by the Exhibitions Manager, Marie Elena Amatangelo, in her work planning and coordinating exhibitions at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery. Exhibitions represented include "High Fiber;" "Modernism in American Silver: 20th Century Design;" "American ...

The papers of painter, printmaker, and curator Jacob Kainen measure 33.3 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2009, with the bulk of the material from 1940-2001. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence/subject files including personal correspondence to and from friends and family members and professional correspondence and records concerning Kainen's activities as an artist, curator, teacher, and art collector. The collection also contains biographical material, writings, diaries, calendars, inventories, interview transcripts, printed material, photographs, works of art by other artists, and nine scrapbooks.

The records of the Fendrick Gallery measure 106.4 linear feet and span the years 1952 to 2001. The bulk of the collection is comprised of artist's files that document the gallery's relations with and representation of over 300 contemporary artists and sculptors, including Robert Arneson, William Bailey, Daniel Brush, Wendell Castle, Robert Cottingham, James Drake, John Dreyfuss, Walter Dusenbury, Roger Essley, Helen Frankenthaler , Sam Gilliam, Jasper Johns, Raymond Kaskey, Claude and Francois Lalanne, Albert Paley, Joseph Raffael, Carol Summer, and numerous other artists. Also found are subject, exhibition, commission, administrative, and financial files, as well as files documenting the gallery's relationship with other museums and galleries.

Film to tape transfer of 16mm color positive work print.

The collection consists of 6,567 color slides taken by Dr. Marilyn Houlberg during various field studies among the Yoruba in southwest Nigeria between 1961 and circa 2005. The images depict Yoruba art and culture with a special focus on artisans, art objects, body arts, costume, festivals, hairstyles, indigenous photography, weaving and textiles. Cultural events depicted include Balufon festivals, Egungun and Gelede masquerades, social events (weddings, christenings, funerals), and religious ceremonies (initiation and animal sacrifice). Also included are various scenes of daily life, architecture, food preparation, markets, portraits and landscapes. Houlberg extensively documented Yoruba artists in the process of creating their art, including carvers Yesufu Ejigboye, Runshewe, and Lamidi Fakeye, as well as the final pieces themselves. Houlberg documentated art in situ, such as Yoruba house posts, shrines, wall art and wood doors and art objects, including Gelede masks, Ibeji (twin) and Eshu figures, Osanyin staffs, and Ogboni and Shango shrines. Manuscript and printed materials, including Houlberg's resume, thesis, and numerous published articles are also available in this collection.

Thirty-three videotaped interviews of Nobel Prize laureates, conducted in Lindau, Germany, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the United States. The interviews form the core of the Nobel Voices Video History Project and the exhibition "Nobel Voices." Documents and preserves examples of the quest for innovation and its important messages for future generations.

This accession consists of National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) exhibition records created during the tenures of Warren M. Robbins, Director, 1964-1982; John E. Reinhardt, Acting Director, 1982-1983; Sylvia H. Williams, Director, 1983-1996; Roslyn A. Walker, Director, 1997-2002; and Sharon F. Patton, Director, 2003-2008. Exhibitions include:...