The papers of art historian, educator, writer and psychologist Rudolf Arnheim measure 9.6 linear feet and date from 1919 to 1998. The papers document his career in New York, Michigan, and abroad through biographical material, correspondence, writings, lectures, diaries, printed material, and sound recordings.

James Faris (1936 – present) is an American cultural anthropologist and epistemologist who received his PhD from Cambridge University in 1966. He conducted fieldwork in the fishing settlement of Cat Harbour, Newfoundland, among the Nuba of Southeastern Kordofan in the Sudan, and among the Navajo in the American Southwest. His research specializations include cognitive anthropology, art and aesthetics, ritual, social organization and reproduction, anthropological linguistics, and visual anthropology and critical theory and representation. The James Faris Papers, 1960-2014, primarily document his fieldwork with the Nuba peoples of Southeastern Sudan. His papers also include materials related to representation of the Nuba peoples and various controversies in visual anthropology and documentary film that related to Leni Riefenstahl and her filmmaking among the Nuba. During the 1960s Faris was drawn into activism against the Vietnam War while at the University of Connecticut and his papers contain ephemeral materials on radical anthropology and racism from that period. The collection consists of field notes, correspondence, photographs, sound recordings, films (including scripts and transcriptions), videos, book and papers drafts, and news and magazine clippings.

This accession consists of the papers of Paul Forman, Curator in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History. The papers primarily document the legal case of Paul Forman v. Lawrence M. Small, and there is some personal material such as information pertaining to the legal case Zohra Lampert v. Paul Forman, ...

The papers of painter and arts administrator Francis Sumner Merritt measure 5.7 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to 1980. The bulk of the papers document his career as the founding director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Included are biographical materials, personal correspondence, writings and notes, professional files on Haystack and other institutions, printed material, and photographs.

This accession consists of recordings of programs and training courses created by the Conservation Analytical Laboratory. Topics covered include paper and photograph conservation. Materials include videotapes.

The collection documents the professional career of Chico O'Farrill, Cuban-born trumpet player, composer and arranger of Afro Cuban, bebop, and other styles of jazz.

Jerry Leach was one of the founding faculty members of the University of Papua New Guinea, serving as lecturer at the university from 1969 to 1973. During this period he studied folklore and culture change in the Trobriand Islands, which he described in his thesis "The Kabisawali Movement in the Trobriand Islands" (1978) and in his documentary film, "Trobriand Cricket: An Ingenious Response to Colonialism." This collection consists of audio recordings and transcripts of Trobriand Folklore recorded by Jerry Leach between 1969 and 1974 as well as audio recordings of the Kula Conference held at King's College, Cambridge, England, in July 1978.

The papers of painter, educator, and writer Louis Finkelstein measure 11.2 linear feet and date from 1930 to 2001. The papers document his career in New York through biographical material; correspondence with friends and colleagues; printed material such as exhibition catalogs, announcements, and published articles; sketches and sketchbooks; and professional material, including exhibition records and documents related to his time on the board of directors of the National Academy of Design. Also found are teaching materials and extensive writings, including notes and lecture outlines in over 40 notebooks and draft articles and lectures written by Finkelstein and others. The collection also includes over 40 sound recordings of lectures and audio notes by Finkelstein. Photographic materials include personal photographs, photographs of artwork, and slides used for lectures.

The papers or curator and writer John Caldwell measure 1.7 linear feet and date circa 1909 to 1996. The collection documents Caldwell's life and career through a variety of materials, such as biographical material including legal papers relating to the Caldwell Estate, letters from friends and colleagues, writings by Caldwell such as a draft version of a speech and draft essays, printed material including articles written by Caldwell for the New York Times, photographs of Caldwell, family members, dealers, donors, and artists, as well as a video recording documenting the 1985 Carnegie International.

The papers of Dorothy Dehner measure approximately 4.5 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1987, with the bulk of the material dating from 1951 to 1987. The collection documents the life and work of the sculptor. Papers include extensive correspondence, business and financial papers, writings, interviews, printed material, photographs, student papers, one item of art work, and scattered personal papers and material relating to David Smith.