The National Museum Building Construction Records, 1894 - 1919 (bulk 1903 - 1911), document the process and methods used to construct the National Museum Building that is now known as the National Museum of Natural History. These records primarily refer to the management of the construction aspects of the project, documenting specifications ...

This record unit documents the growth and management of the Smithsonian from 1890 to 1929. Of special interest is the Institution's entry into the field of the fine arts through the creation of the National Gallery of Art and the Freer Gallery of Art. The Smithsonian continued to pursue a wide variety of other interests as well. Thus, the...

These records document the planning, development, and installation of exhibitions by the Department of Painting and Sculpture, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG). Included are biographical and bibliographical research files on artists; correspondence with museums, galleries, and artists concerning loan of artwork; loan reports; ...

Client files, administrative files, artwork, and collected food labels from graphic and industrial designer Francis Mair. Mair specialized in beverage labels and packaging during his many years with Landor Associates in San Francisco. Late in his career, he directed Landor's Museum of Packaging History. His prolific freelance career included designs for furniture, decorative arts, letterhead, and corporate images. His personal artwork included alphabets, typefaces, and sketchbooks. Much of his personal artwork is humorous or erotic.

William Duncan Strong's early interest was in zoology, but, while an undergraduate at the University of California, he was brought into anthropology under the influence of Alfred Louis Kroeber. He conducted archaeological and ethnological field research in several areas of the New World and was the first professionally trained archaeologist to focus on the Great Plains, where he applied the so-called direct historical method, working from known history in interpreting archaeological sites. Strong's papers include correspondence, field notes, diaries, newspaper clippings, teaching notes and student papers, manuscripts of his writings, writings by other authors, papers from the various organizations in which he served, maps, and a considerable number of photographs from his field work. The materials date from 1902 to 1965, with most of the materials being from 1927 to 1955.

Most of the correspondence is directed to Goode, with lesser amounts to True, Walcott, and Rathbun. Also, a small amount of correspondence is addressed to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, (Baird, 1878-1887; and Samuel P. Langley, 1887-1906) but is generally referred to the Assistant Secretary for response. Much of the material is...

The Technical Reference Files comprise an artificial collection that currently contains 1,900 cubic feet of aviation and space related materials, organized in 22 subject series. File materials include photographs, press releases, clippings, correspondence, reports, and brochures, on individuals, organizations, events, and objects.

The Macbeth Gallery records provide almost complete coverage of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1892 to its closing in 1953. Through extensive correspondence files, financial and inventory records, printed material, scrapbooks, reference and research material, and photographs of artists and works of art, the records document all aspects of the gallery's activities, charting William Macbeth's initial intention to lease his store "for the permanent exhibition and sale of American pictures" through over sixty years of success as a major New York firm devoted to American art. The collection measures 131.6 linear feet and dates from 1838 to 1968 with the bulk of the material dating from 1892 to 1953.

Print advertisements covering almost the entire history of Ivory Soap, including advertisements designed by artists including Jesse Wilcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green, and J. C. Leyendecker.

The Scurlock photographic studio was a fixture in the Shaw area of Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1994, and encompassed two generations of photographers, Addison N. Scurlock (1883-1964) and his sons George H. (1920- 2005) and Robert S. (1916-1994). Subseries 4.6 consists of black and white silver gelatin negatives. An overview to the entire Scurlock collection is available here: Scurlock Studio Records