The papers of painter and educator Nora Chapa Mendoza measure 4.1 linear feet and 1.78 gigabytes, and date from circa 1963-2013. Biographical material includes résumés and awards, as well as other miscellaneous biographical material. Correspondence is mostly professional in nature and reflects her relationships with artists galleries and other professional organizations throughout her career, incl. Personal business records document select exhibitions and relationships with galleries such as the Partners Gallery, and include artwork inventories, consignments, and pricelists. Project files document specific projects including commissions and educational initiatives, as well as key conferences related to international labor relations and indigenous civil rights. Writings include artist statements, lectures and notes and sketches. Printed material documents the career of Nora Chapa Mendoza as well as and the art and Hispanic cultural scenes in Detroit in the form of announcements, clippings, catalogs, magazines and books. Photographic material documents various exhibitions, workshops, conferences, and trips.

These records consist primarily of administrative subject files maintained by the Office of the Director, documenting his or her activities in the museum, in the Institution, and with outside people and organizations. Also included are files on the National Museum of American Art Commission, its meetings, and its commissioners. Some materials ...

The papers of painter, stained glass artist, and muralist Violet Oakley measure 56.4 linear feet and date from 1841-1981. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, and project drafts; diaries and journals; financial material; artwork; printed material, including scrapbooks; and photographs, 3 albums, 322 glass plate negatives, and 1600 film negatives of Oakley, her family and friends, and her work.

The papers of photographer Nickolas Muray measure 1.5 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1978. Found within the papers are biographical materials; business and personal correspondence, including a handful of letters from Frida Kahlo; writings; teaching files, primarily of photography courses taught at New York University; printed material; artwork; and photographic materials of Muray, his family and friends, and his work. There is a 0.6 linear feet Unprocessed Addition which includes biographical material, correspondence, photographs, research notes and a diary about Africa, and a subject file on the book The Revealing Eye, Personalities of the 1920s, written by Paul Gallico with photographs taken by Muray, 1967.

The papers of Richard Rathbun document his early investigations in geology and paleontology; his college career at Cornell University, 1871-1872; his work as geologist on the Geological Commission of Brazil, 1875-1878; and his scientific and administrative careers with the United States Fish Commission and United States National Museum. O...

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.

The Ruel P. Tolman Collection contains official correspondence; biographical information; photocopies of prints, drawings and photographs; and scrapbooks. Included are papers relating to Tolman's work as a graphic artist, his interest in miniature painting, and his participation in arts-related organizations. Of particular interest are four s...

The papers of American art collector Keith Warner measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1935 to 1975. Correspondence, collecting files, and artwork detail Warner's role as a collector of art in the mid-twentieth century. Present in the collection are materials related to Alexander Calder, Roland Dorcely, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Piet Mondrian, Alfred Stieglitz, and Max Weber.

Scrapbooks, correspondence, exhibition files, photographs, and printed materials.

The papers of enamelist and sculptor, Fred Uhl Ball, measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1936 to 2002. The collection provides scattered documentation of Ball's career through biographical material, family photographs, photographs of artwork, and printed material. The collection also includes a small group of papers concerning Ball's father, ceramicist F. Carlton Ball, his mother, illustrator and enamelist Kathryn Uhl Ball, and his grandfather, silversmith George Uhl.