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Archives of American Art

Detail of poster with grayscale image of storefront and blurry figures

New Collections: Art in General Records

The Archives of American Art now holds records documenting the nonprofit space Art in General

Grayscale photograph of smiling woman dressed in a black top and pants with her right hand resting on her hip and her right hand next to her neck standing in front of an abstract painting on an easel.

New Collections: Nela Arias-Misson Papers

The papers of Cuban-born, modernist painter Nela Arias-Misson are now at the Archives of American Art

Stock books with marbled covers and leather bindings in various color fanned out.

Conserved H. Wunderlich & Company Stock Books Return to Their Former Splendor

The Archives of American Art recently received funding to conserve the H. Wunderlich & Company and Kennedy & Company stock books, which are now fully digitized.

Photograph of Dorothy Liebes in her studio with staff, circa 1950s. Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

The Dorothy Liebes Papers Shine in a Dark Pandemic Year

For archivist Stephanie Ashley, the newly digitized Dorothy Liebes papers provided a bright spot of color during a dark year.

Ruth Asawa, Untitled (S.557, Wall-Mounted Tied Wire, Closed Center Twelve-Petaled Form Based on Nature), bronze wire, 38 x 38 x 12 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2011.39.

Conversations Across Collections: Ruth Asawa at the Ankrum Gallery, 1962

Liza Kirwin explores an early and important exhibition of Ruth Asawa's sculptures, held at Ankrum Gallery in 1962.

Julia Santos Solomon inserting crosses for her In Memoriam installation, Christ Lutheran Church, Woodstock, NY, 2020. Photo by Scott Barfield.

New Collections: Pandemic Oral History Project

During the summer of 2020, the Archives of American Art initiated the Pandemic Oral History Project: 85 interviews with artists, teachers, curators, and administrators. The resulting 30 hours of video are "a significant record of an unprecedented time as it unfolded."

Jessica Esch, Totally, November 2020, 6 1/4

Treasure Trove: Archives as Inspiration

Fiber artist Barbara Lee Smith in her studio. Photo: Sam Selby

A Friendship Forged in the Archives

The Center for Idea Art. Flyer for Image Wars: an Exhibition of Oppositional Art, 15 May – 18 June 1984. Juan Sánchez papers, 1972-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Conversations Across Collections: Considering Art and Activism with Juan Sánchez

Photograph of Toshiko Takaezu posing with work (detail), September 2004. Toshiko Takaezu papers, 1937-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

New Collections: Toshiko Takaezu Papers

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