The collection consists of thirty-eight letters which William Pettit wrote to his wife from Washington, D.C.; a letter written soon after Lincoln's assassination by Pettit's wife; a letter from Lucy Pettit (Pettit's daughter) to her grandparents describing her birth on February 2, 1843; and a first draft of "my family reminiscences" - consisting of...

The Frank Gouldsmith Speck photograph collection includes portraits of individuals and families, as well as scenic shots and landscape views made between 1909 and 1937. Speck was an anthropologist and ethnographer, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and worked on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation collecting ethnographic materials across the Eastern United States and Canada. His collection of photographs includes materials from native communities ranging from Newfoundland to Ontario in Canada and from Maine to South Carolina in the United States.

The records of Henri Gallery, a Washington, D.C. gallery that showed painters from the Washington Color School and emerging artists, measure 55.4 linear feet and date from circa early 1900s, 1940 to 1996, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1957 to 1995. The gallery's relationship with artists and clients, exhibitions, sales, and other business is documented in alphabetical files containing a wide variety of materials, including correspondence, sales records, printed materials, photographs, slides, and motion picture film. Additional correspondence, newspaper clippings, 114 exhibition posters, scattered drawings, illustrated cards, and photographic materials are also found in the collection.

The collection documents through correspondence, reprints of general articles, reports of Congressional committees, and materials relating to a U.S. patent and testimonials Morton's claims to priority in the discovery of the anesthetic properties of ether in medical and surgical procedures.

The papers of painter Philip Evergood measure 11.61 linear feet and date from 1890 to 1971. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, speeches, and sound recordings of radio appearances; subject files; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; artwork, including oil paintings, sketches, and childhood drawings; and photographs of Evergood, his family and friends, and his work.

The papers of abstract artist Alice Trumbull Mason date from 1921 to 1977 and measure 1.3 linear feet. The collection documents her career as a painter, particularly her role as one of the founders of the American Abstract Artists group, through biographical materials; correspondence with family, friends, fellow artists, art galleries, museums, and organizations; writings and notes, including notebooks of poetry and other creative writings; a small amount of printed material; photographs of Mason, friends, and her artwork; and original artwork, including five sketchbooks.

The Ray McKinley Music and Ephemera consists of music, scores, sideman books, photographs, correspondence, news clippings and magazine articles, business records, awards, audio and videotapes, 45 rpm commercial recordings, and miscellaneous biographical notes. The records date from the the late nineteenth century to 1996 and document the profession...

The papers of painter, muralist, and illustrator John Steuart Curry, and Curry family papers, measure 10.1 linear feet and date from 1848 to 1999. Papers document his career and family history through certificates, correspondence, photographs, clippings, contracts, receipts, inventories, writings, notes, and other materials. The papers contain particularly rich documentation of Curry's period as artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin, from 1936 to 1946. Mural projects in Kansas, Washington, DC, and Wisconsin are also documented.

The Spencer F. Baird Papers are the combination of several different deposits. One group was originally labeled "Private" by the Smithsonian Institution Archives at the time they were received. Another group came to the Smithsonian from Lucy Hunter Baird (Baird's daughter), or from her estate after her death.

The papers of Boston portraitist and painter Polly Thayer (Starr) (1904-2006) measure 21.6 linear feet and 0.807 GB and date from 1846 to 2008, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1921-2008. The papers document Thayer's personal life and career as a painter, portraitist, and pastel artist. Found within the papers are biographical materials, extensive family papers, correspondence with artists and art venues, interviews, writings, subject files, organization files, exhibition files, art inventory records, printed and digital materials, five sketchbooks, artwork, and photographs.