Smithsonian Archives of American Art
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 Location in Washington, D.C.
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| Established | 1954 |
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| Coordinates | 38°53′52″N 77°01′22″W / 38.897851°N 77.022689°W |
| Type | Archives |
| Visitors | 1,498 (2009) |
| Director | Kate Haw |
| Public transit access |
 Gallery Place – Chinatown
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| Website | www.aaa.si.edu |
The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C. and New York City.
As a research center within the Smithsonian Institution, the Archives houses materials related to a variety of American visual art and artists. All regions of the country and numerous eras and art movements are represented. Among the significant artists represented in its collection are Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Marcel Breuer, Rockwell Kent, John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, John Trumbull, and Alexander Calder. In addition to the papers of artists, the Archives collects documentary material from art galleries, art dealers, and art collectors. It also houses a collection of over 2,000 art-related oral history interviews, and publishes a bi-yearly publication, the Archives of American Art Journal, which showcases collections within the Archives.
The Archives of American Art was founded in Detroit in 1954 by then Director of the Detroit Institute of Art, E.P. Richardson, and art collector Lawrence A. Fleischman. Concerned about the lack of material relating to American art, the two organized the Archives of American Art with the support of scholars and businessmen. Their intention was to collect materials related to American artists, art dealers, institutions and writers, and to allow scholars and writers to access the holdings. In 1970 the Archives became part of the Smithsonian Institution, moving its processing center and storage facility from Detroit to the Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C.
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