Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age. Series 13, Agriculture, Business, and Law contains approximately 3,300 pieces of sheet music and other materials documenting the development of and popular attitudes towards business, commerce, farming and food, finances, labor, law, and social order in the United States. An overview to the entire DeVincent collection is available here: Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music.

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...

Biographical material (1931-1982), correspondence (1920-1983), business records (1958-1973), subject files concerning the WPA's Federal Art Project (1934-1976) and printed material (1918-1981) reflect the activities and careers of Clement Haupers and Clara Mairs.

The papers of artist and silent film actress Wilna Hervey and her lifelong companion painter Nan Mason date from 1883 through 1985 and measure 4.9 linear feet. The collection is comprised mostly of letters to Hervey and Mason from friends, colleagues, and Mason's father, Dan Mason, also a silent film actor. Also found are personal photographs and snapshots, Hervey's handwritten memoirs, as well as twelve folders of Dan Mason's papers.

The papers of New York artist Philip Pearlstein measure 31.8 linear feet and 16.68 GB and date from circa 1940 to 2008. The collection is comprised of biographical material, correspondence, interviews and transcripts, writing projects and lectures, personal business records, printed material, three scrapbooks, photographs and moving images, documentary production material, digital records, sound and video recordings, and motion picture film that documents Pearlstein's career as a painter and educator.

The Paredon Records audiorecordings consist of all 50 of the recordings released by Paredon, along with the master audiotapes. Many of the recordings have a file containing business records relating to their production. These business records include artist contracts, recording reports, various notes on records produced, photographs of artists, news articles both about and by Barbara Dane, Irwin Silber, and Paredon Records, correspondence by Barbara Dane, Irwin Silber and Paredon Records, and other miscellany. Many contracts are signed by both Paredon Records and the artist. Correspondence is primarily between business associates. A complete inventory of the business records is available.

The papers of Edward Gay and the Gay family measure 2.6 linear feet and date from 1852 to 1983. Found within the papers are biographical materials on Edward and Duncan Gay; personal correspondence from Edward Gay, his wife Martha Feary Gay, and other family members; artwork by Edward and Duncan Gay; writings; printed materials; and photographs of Edward and Duncan Gay, their family, and their work.

The Kenjilo Nanao papers measure 11.3 linear feet and date from circa 1885-1887 and circa 1949-2017, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1970 to 2000. Biographical material includes forms of international identification, travel documents, early academic writing on art, and interviews in the form of written typescripts and digital audio recordings. Correspondence is mostly personal between friends and family, in addition to a few folders of professional correspondence spanning Nanao's career. Correspondence drafts also appear as entries in bound journals. The Journals series includes bound journals of mixed content such as thoughts on art, to-do lists, and artwork in various media including watercolors and charcoal. Professional files include various professional portfolios that Nanao produced for the purpose of tenure review, a binder detailing relationships with various galleries, and various teaching materials and studio documents. Printed materials include exhibition catalogs, invitations, and clippings. Photographs are primarily of family and friends, with some images of artwork and exhibitions. Artwork includes sketchbooks, as well as some loose drawings and watercolors.

The collection, which dates from 1895 to 1972 and measures 23.97 linear feet, documents the career and travels of Professor Lorenzo Dow Turner. The collection is comprised of correspondence, academic papers, research materials, books, newspaper and journal articles, sound recordings, and photographs.

The papers of Puerto Rican arts administrator and artist Luis Cancel measure 10.1 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1998 with the bulk of the material dating from 1970 to 1996. The collection is comprised of biographical material, professional files, arts administration records documenting his directorship at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and as Commissioner for the Department of Cultural Affairs in New York, subject and artist's files, files for the exhibition Legacy / Legado, printed materials, photographs, and unidentified sound recordings.