About Us
Hours & Locations
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Research Centers & Offices |
Archives Of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Research Questions: Use Ask Us form, or call 202-633-7950 Hours:
Directions:Take Metrorail red or green line to Gallery Place/Chinatown station; exit toward Galleries. The Archives is on 9th St. between H & G Sts. NW, 1 block north of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Mailing Addresses:
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Archives of American Art Phone: 212-399-5015 Hours:9:00-5:00 No appointment required but calling ahead is recommended, or write to weinerj@si.edu. The NY Research Center will be closed January 19-21, 2009. Directions:On Avenue of the Americas between 51st and 52nd streets. |
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Galleries |
Lawrence A. Fleischman GalleryLocated inside The Reynolds Center, which houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum & National Portrait Gallery Admission is free. Currently on view: see Exhibitions |
New York Research Center GalleryInside the NY Research Center. 9:00 am-5:00 pm, Mon-Fri. Admission is free. Currently on view: see Exhibitions |
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Affiliated Research Centers for the Use of Unrestricted Microfilm
Copies of the Archives' microfilm can be viewed at the following institutions. Librarians may also request to borrow microfilm through Interlibrary Loan.
- Boston Public Library
Boston, Massachusetts - Amon Carter Museum Library
Fort Worth, Texas - De Young Museum
San Francisco, CA - Huntington Library
San Marino, CA
About the Archives
Mission
To illuminate scholarship of the history of art in America through collecting, preserving, and making available for study the documentation of this country's rich artistic legacy.
History
The Archives of American Art was founded in Detroit in 1954 by Edgar P. Richardson, then Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Lawrence A. Fleischman, a Detroit businessman and active young collector.
The Archives' initial goal to serve as microfilm repository of papers already housed in other institutions quickly expanded to collecting and preserving original material from across the country. In 1970 the Archives joined the Smithsonian Institution, sharing the Institution's mandate—the increase and diffusion of knowledge.
The Archives Today
More than 50 years, 16 million items, 5,000 collections, and 4,000 oral histories later, the Archives is the world’s largest and most widely used resource on the history of art in America.
The Archives' Research Collections—spanning more than 200 years—include letters, diaries, and scrapbooks of artists, dealers, and collectors; manuscripts of critics and scholars; business and financial records of museums, galleries, and associations; photographs; works of art on paper; and Oral History Interviews. New collections and oral history interviews are added each year, increasing the richness and depth of the Archives' holdings; for a complete list see Collections and Interviews, A-Z.
Once a commitment is made to Donate Papers, the new collection is accessioned, arranged and described, and then stored in a controlled and secure environment, helping to ensure its long-term preservation. Selected collections and documents, often of significant scholarly importance, are then digitized and made available online.
The public can view original documents by appointment at the Archives’ Research Centers in Washington, DC or New York, NY, or access microfilm at Affiliated Research Centers nationwide or through Interlibrary Loan. A growing number of entire collections are also available on the Archives' Web site as Collections Online; they can be viewed in the exact order and arrangement as the original files, and their descriptions searched by keyword.
In addition to researcher reference services, both in person and through the online Ask Us form, the Archives produces free exhibitions, publishes a magazine, the Archives of American Art Journal, and offers numerous Internship, Volunteer, and Fellowship Opportunities.
With the guidance of the Archives’ Board of Trustees, and the ongoing support of our Membership and donors, the Archives of American Art can continue to serve as an essential resource for the appreciation, enjoyment and understanding of art in America.
Archives of American Art founder E.P. (Edgar Preston) Richardson (1902-1985)
Archives' co-founder Lawrence Fleischman (1925-1997), ca. 1961
Contact a Department
Reference Services
Research questions or image reproductions/permissions: use Ask Us form
Phone: 202-633-7950
Fax: 202-633-7994
Librarians may use our Interlibrary Loan Form
Curator
Liza Kirwin, Curator of Manuscripts
Washington, DC Research Center
kirwinL@si.edu
Phone: 202-633-7957
Donating Papers to the Archives of American Art
Support, Membership and Events
Office of Development
Washington, DC Research Center
furukca@si.edu
Phone: 202-633-7992
Fax: 202-633-7993
Membership Inquiries
Washington, DC Research Center
theamanj@si.edu
Phone: 202-633-8768
Fax: 202-633-7993
Internship, Volunteer, and Fellowship Opportunities
Opportunities are available in our Washington, DC Research Center.
Learn more: Internship, Volunteer, and Fellowship Opportunities
Registrar
Susan Cary, Registrar
Washington, DC Research Center
carys@si.edu
Phone: 202-633-7945
Fax: 202-633-7994
Borrowing documents for exhibition
Archives of American Art Journal
Darcy Tell, Editor
Washington, DC Research Center
telld@si.edu
Phone: 202-633-7971
Fax: 202-633-7994
Archives of American Art Journal
Website
Sara Snyder, Webmaster
Washington, DC Research Center
Phone: 202-633-7987
Fax: 202-633-7994
Website feedback
Collections Management
Collections Processing
Barbara Aikens, Chief, Collections Processing
Washington, DC Research Center
Phone: 202-633-7941
Fax: 202-633-7994
Information Systems
Karen Weiss, Information Systems Manager
Washington, DC Research Center
Phone: 202-633-7973
Fax: 202-633-7994
Office of the Director
John Smith, Director
Washington, DC Research Center
Phone: 202-633-7992
Fax: 202-633-7994
Email the Office of the Director
Elizabeth Botten assists a researcher in the Manuscript Reading room
Liza Kirwin, Curator of Manuscripts
Barbara Aikens, Chief of Collections Processing, and Erin Corley, Archives Technician