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.

These records consist of professional correspondence and administrative and research files of a number of curators from the Department of Painting and Sculpture. Included are correspondence and memoranda with HMSG staff, artists, galleries, and other museums; loan agreements, checklists, scripts, and installation plans for HMSG exhibitions; biographical information on, and …

The papers of art critic, writer, and historian Elizabeth McCausland measure 45 linear feet and date from 1838 to 1995, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1960. The collection provides a vast accumulation of research data on various artists and aspects of American art, especially the early American modernists and the Federal Arts Projects. Papers include McCausland's extensive research and writing files, particularly on Marsden Hartley, E. L. Henry, Lewis Hine, George Inness, and Alfred H. Maurer. McCausland's correspondence with artists includes a substantial amount with Arthur Dove and Alfred Stieglitz. Her collaborative work with Berenice Abbott on the Changing New York book and series of photographs is well-documented within the collection. Also found are general writings, subject files, files relating to exhibitions, teaching, and committees, photographs, art work, personal papers, and printed material. Additional McCausland material donated later from the estate of Berenice Abbott include biographical materials, project files, writings, and printed materials.

The records of Midtown Galleries measure 86.82 linear feet and date from 1904 to 1997. The collection documents the operation and general administration of the business and includes artist records, exhibition material, inventories, financial records, photographs, and printed material.

The records of New York City Kraushaar Galleries measure 106.3 linear feet and 0.181 GB and date from 1877 to 2006. Three-fourths of the collection documents the gallery's handling of contemporary American paintings, drawings, and sculpture through correspondence with artists, private collectors, museums, galleries, and other art institutions, interspersed with scattered exhibition catalogs and other materials. Also included are John F. Kraushaar's estate records; artists' files; financial ledgers documenting sales and gallery transactions; consignment and loan records; photographs of artwork; sketchbooks and drawings by James Penney, Louis Bouché, and others; and two scrapbooks. There is a 6.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes correspondence with artists, galleries, organizations and individuals regarding works of art, filed alphabetically by year. Materials date from circa 1959-1999, with the bulk from 1990-1999.

The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives' record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program …

The Zabriskie Gallery records measure 110.5 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2011. The records document the history of the Zabriskie Gallery through leases, permits, floor plans, and other administrative files; guestbooks; appointment books, notebooks, and other desk diaries; correspondence from New York and Paris galleries, museums, clients, and other correspondence; appraisals, inventories, consigments, and other registrar files; artist files consisting of resumes, correspondence, exhibition material, and photographs of artwork; institution files consisting of correspondence, consignments,and artwork inquiries with museums, galleries, and corporations; exhibition files consisting of loan agreements, press releases, and correspondence related to exhibitions shown at the gallery; invoices, price lists, and other financial records; clippings, press packets, newsletters, and other printed material; photographs, slides, and transparencies of exhibitions and artists works; and correspondence, photographs, awards, and other personal records of Virginia Zabriskie.

The papers of Dore Ashton measure 35.6 linear feet and date from circa 1928-2014, with one letter in the Joseph Cornell subject file dating from 1849. The records document Dore Ashton's career as an art critic, historian and educator, with particular depth for the period of 1952 through 1990. The collection contains a small amount of biographical material, as well as correspondence, writings, subject files, printed materials, artwork, and reference photographs of artworks. An addition to the Dore Ashton papers includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, writing project and subject files, teaching files, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic material.

The papers of Holger Cahill (1887-1960) date from 1910 to 1993, with the bulk of the material dating from 1910-1960, and measure 15.8 linear feet. The collection offers researchers fairly comprehensive documentation of Cahill's directorship of the Works Progress/Projects Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project (FAP) in addition to series documenting his work as a writer and art critic. Material includes correspondence, reports, artist files, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs.

The C. J. (Clarence Joseph) Bulliet papers measure 34.6 linear feet and are dated circa 1888-1959. Biographical materials, correspondence, writings, subject and artist files, printed material, photographs, and artwork document the career of the influential Chicago art critic and writer. The records contain extensive information about art and artists in Chicago and the Midwest from the early to mid-twentieth century.