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Catalog Data

Creator:
American Federation of Arts  Search this
Subject:
Albers, Anni  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Albert, Calvin  Search this
Day, Worden  Search this
De Diego, Julio  Search this
Daumier, Honoré  Search this
Coen, Eleanor  Search this
Conover, Robert F. (Robert Fremont)  Search this
Citron, Minna Wright  Search this
Clements, Geoffrey  Search this
Chase, William Merritt  Search this
Chesney, Lee  Search this
Casarella, Edmond  Search this
Chagall, Marc  Search this
Breuer, Marcel  Search this
Brooks, James  Search this
Braque, Georges  Search this
Blume, Peter  Search this
Bishop, Isabel  Search this
Bingham, George Caleb  Search this
Bertoia, Harry  Search this
Berman, Eugene  Search this
Bellows, George  Search this
Baziotes, William  Search this
Avery, Milton  Search this
Arp, Jean  Search this
Knaths, Karl  Search this
Antreasian, Garo Z.  Search this
Altman, Harold  Search this
Yunkers, Adja  Search this
Xceron, Jean  Search this
Wyeth, Andrew  Search this
Wines, James  Search this
Zorach, Marguerite  Search this
Zoellner, Richard  Search this
Zerbe, Karl  Search this
Zao, Wou-ki  Search this
Weber, Max  Search this
Sheeler, Charles  Search this
Watkins, Franklin Chenault  Search this
Walkowitz, Abraham  Search this
Wald, Sylvia  Search this
Whiting, Frederic Allen  Search this
Weir, Julian Alden  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad  Search this
Zorach, William  Search this
Gonzalez, Xavier  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia  Search this
Demuth, Charles  Search this
Picasso, Pablo  Search this
Nevelson, Louise  Search this
Santomaso, Giuseppe  Search this
Saetti, Bruno  Search this
Sato, Tadashi  Search this
Sargent, John Singer  Search this
Lipchitz, Jacques  Search this
Roszak, Theodore  Search this
Rivers, Larry  Search this
Ryder, Albert Pinkham  Search this
Prendergast, Maurice Brazil  Search this
Rouault, Georges  Search this
Seligmann, Kurt  Search this
Schramm, James S.  Search this
Shahn, Ben  Search this
Whittredge  Search this
Schanker, Louis  Search this
Savelli, Angelo  Search this
Schrag, Karl  Search this
Schongauer, Martin  Search this
Peterdi, Gabor  Search this
Pollock, Jackson  Search this
Porter, Fairfield  Search this
Oliveira, Nathan  Search this
Parks, Gordon  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel  Search this
Perlmutter, Jack  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert  Search this
Callahan, Kenneth  Search this
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn  Search this
Renoir, Auguste  Search this
Pozzatti, Rudy  Search this
Sloan, John  Search this
Ratkai, George  Search this
Rattner, Abraham  Search this
Tomlin, Bradley Walker  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Tiepolo, Giovanni Domenico  Search this
Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista  Search this
Thrall, Arthur  Search this
Thon, William  Search this
Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice)  Search this
Tchelitchew, Pavel  Search this
Tamayo, Rufino  Search this
Von Wiegand, Charmion  Search this
Von Wicht, John  Search this
Vespignani, Renzo  Search this
Luks, George Benjamin  Search this
Tworkov, Jack  Search this
Turner, J. M. W. (Joseph Mallord William)  Search this
Treiman, Joyce  Search this
Tooker, George  Search this
Steg, James L. (James Louis)  Search this
Steichen, Edward  Search this
Spruance, Benton  Search this
Soyer, Raphael  Search this
Spaeth, Eloise  Search this
Smith, David  Search this
Suzuki, James  Search this
Takal, Peter  Search this
Stone, Edward Durell  Search this
Summers, Carol  Search this
Sterne, Maurice  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred  Search this
Stella, Joseph  Search this
Sterne, Hedda  Search this
Burchfield, Charles Ephraim  Search this
George, Thomas  Search this
Gatch, Lee  Search this
Adams, Ansel  Search this
Goodnough, Robert  Search this
Goya, Francisco  Search this
Gottlieb, Adolph  Search this
Gwathmey, Robert  Search this
Graves, Morris  Search this
Hartley, Marsden  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Hayter, Stanley William  Search this
Hassam, Childe  Search this
Henri, Robert  Search this
Heliker, John  Search this
Baskin, Leonard  Search this
Hopper, Edward  Search this
Hofmann, Hans  Search this
De Kooning, Willem  Search this
De Rivera, José Ruiz  Search this
Degas, Edgar  Search this
Diebenkorn, Richard  Search this
Dove, Arthur Garfield  Search this
Levine, Jack  Search this
Dubuffet, Jean  Search this
Eakins, Thomas  Search this
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel)  Search this
Ernst, Jimmy  Search this
Fine, Perle  Search this
Force, Juliana  Search this
Francis, Sam  Search this
Frasconi, Antonio  Search this
Meeker, Dean  Search this
Mechlin, Leila  Search this
Marsh, Reginald  Search this
Marin, John  Search this
Moore, Henry, 1898-1986  Search this
Moller, Hans  Search this
Miró, Joan  Search this
Frankenthaler, Helen  Search this
Neuberger, Roy R.  Search this
Murch, Walter  Search this
Stamos, Theodoros  Search this
Moy, Seong  Search this
Morris, George L. K.  Search this
Okada, Kenzo  Search this
Barnet, Will  Search this
Nicholson, Ben  Search this
Kahn, Max  Search this
Kelly, Ellsworth  Search this
Jones, John Paul  Search this
Jorn, Asger  Search this
Kohn, Misch  Search this
Kienbusch, William  Search this
Klee, Paul  Search this
Crawford, Ralston  Search this
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo  Search this
Lawrence, Jacob  Search this
MacIver, Loren  Search this
Whistler, James McNeill  Search this
Margo, Boris  Search this
Léger, Fernand  Search this
Architectural League of New York  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Exhibition catalogs
Photographs
Lantern slides
Administrative records
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
79.8 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight primary series based primarily on administrative units or program areas. Several of the series are further subdivided into subseries. While processing, it became clear that the two filing systems were redundant and overlapped in both subject area and type of material. Most of these files were subsequently merged into the now broader Alphabetical Files or into separate series. Oversized material may be found at the end of the collection arranged in a separate series. In most cases, files related to one another by subseries or subject areas (in the case of the Alphabetical Files) or by individual name (in the case of officers and staff files) are arranged in chronological order. The entire subseries of Alphabetical Files in Series 2 is arranged by subject heading, as assigned by the AFA, or individual name. The Alphabetical Files originally formed two broad filing systems as established by the AFA: one for general correspondence arranged by subject; and one for director's and other staff correspondence, also arranged by subject. Series 1: Board of Trustees, circa 1895-1968 (Boxes 1-3) Series 2: Administrative Records, 1910-1966 (Boxes 4-8) Series 3: Special Programs, 1950-1967 (Boxes 9-13) Series 4: Annual Conventions, 1912-1963 (Boxes 14-16) Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1934-1969 (Boxes 17-78) Series 6: Printed Material, 1990-1993 (Box 78) Series 7: Miscellaneous Files, 1926-1962, undated (Box 79) Series 8: Oversized Materials, 1890, undated (Boxes 80-85)
Access Note / Rights:
Use requires an appointment.
Summary:
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
Citation:
American Federation of Arts records, 1895-1993, bulk 1909-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Portions of the collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 376 and 1780 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Use Note:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Biography Note:
Founded in 1909 by Elihu Root, the American Federation of Arts (AFA) exists today as a national nonprofit museum service organization striving to unite American art institutions, collectors, artists, and museums. Elihu Root, then secretary of state in the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, spoke of his idea at the first meeting of the AFA held in New York at the National Academy of Arts. He envisioned an organization that would promote American art most often seen only by the elite in the major cities of the East and upper Midwest by sending "exhibitions of original works of art on tour through the hinterlands across the United States."
The American Academy in Rome, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Metropolitan Museum of Art were influential organizing member institutions. Individual members included such notables as William Merritt Chase, Charles L. Freer, Daniel C. French, Charles L. Hutchinson, Henry Cabot Lodge, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Walters. The founding of the AFA provided the American art world with a forum for communication and participation among artists, cultural institutions, patrons of the arts, and the public.
To accomplish its mission, the AFA established volunteer committees for membership, exhibitions, and publications. During its first year, the AFA began publishing Art and Progress (later changed to Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual (now the American Art Directory). In 1909, the AFA also organized its first traveling exhibition, Paintings by Prominent American Artists, which was shown at museums in Fort Worth, New Orleans, Minneapolis, and New Ulm, Minnesota.
By the end of the first year, the headquarters of the organization moved to Washington, D.C., to facilitate lobbying the federal government for favorable art legislation. In 1913, the AFA lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on foreign art entering the United States. In 1916, the Federation met with the Interstate Commerce Commission to protest prohibitively high interstate taxes on traveling art exhibitions.
Throughout the next fifteen years, the AFA continued to grow in membership and influence. By 1919, membership included 438 institutions and 2,900 individuals. The AFA's annual conventions were held in major national art centers and were attended by members, chapter delegates, and the public. At the conventions, scholars, patrons, and curators lectured on and discussed subjects of national interest, thereby fostering an exchange of ideas. The AFA also sponsored periodic regional conferences to promote institutional cooperation and to discuss mutual problems and needs. To facilitate exhibition venues west of the Mississippi River, in 1921 the AFA opened regional offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University. The AFA produced and circulated slide programs and lecture series to museums and educational institutions that fostered art education. By 1929, the Federation had developed forty-six slide-lecture programs that covered American mural painting, European and American contemporary art, and textiles.
During the 1930s, the Federation expanded its services by providing schools with teaching guides, student workbooks, slides, and films about art. In 1935, the AFA began publishing Who's Who in American Art, later publishing The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists and Films on Art reference guides. To reach an even larger audience, the AFA began collaborating with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to organize national circulating exhibitions to "bring the museum to the people."
One of AFA's priorities was to make American art more visible abroad. The Federation focused on encouraging the representation of American artists in foreign exhibitions, and in 1924 it lobbied successfully for additional American participation in the Venice Biennale. The AFA's focus on exhibiting American art abroad continued to expand, particularly following World War II. In 1950, recognizing that the AFA could assist in promoting American culture, the State Department awarded the AFA a grant for a German "re-orientation program" consisting of educational exhibitions shown in German museums. Additional government funding further enabled the AFA to organize American participation in exhibitions in India, Japan, Paris, Switzerland, and Rotterdam between 1950 and 1970. Later, the AFA collaborated with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program which permitted donations of American art to foreign institutions on a restriction-free, tax-deductible basis. During the 1950s, the AFA was a very active member of the Committee on Government and Art, a national committee with members from across the art and museum world concerned with government sponsorship of and legislation affecting art sales, commissions, and trade.
In 1952, the headquarters of the AFA returned to New York, sparking a period of innovation and expanded of programs. Throughout the 1950s, the AFA distributed films about art and co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York. The AFA also introduced its Picture of the Month Program in 1954, renting original works of art to small American art and educational institutions. In 1956, the AFA organized the Art Collectors Club of America to provide fellowship for art collectors through meetings and activities. The club disbanded in the 1970s.
The Federation's exhibition programs continued to flourish during the 1950s and 1960s. Private and public financial support allowed the AFA to achieve many of its goals. In 1958, the Ford Foundation awarded an important grant to organize a series of traveling one-person shows and a series of monographs devoted to contemporary American artists. Milton Avery, Andrew Dasburg, José DeCreeft, Lee Gatch, Walter Quirt, Abraham Rattner, and others were among the artists who participated. Private foundation support for the AFA's Museum Donor Program provided an annual allowance that was distributed to regional museums for the pourchase of contemporary American art. Cooperative programs and joint venues also became popular during this period. For example, public support from the New York State Council on the Arts allowed the AFA to circulate exhibitions to small New York State communities, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts provided the AFA with five exhibitions for national tours.
Throughout its history, the American Federation of Arts has concentrated on its founding principle of broadening the audience for contemporary American art. Through its numerous exhibition and film programs, the AFA has succeeded in "breaking down barriers of distance and language to broaden the knowledge and appreciation of art." Annual exhibitions such as New Talent in the USA and Art Schools USA, organized by the AFA, brought before the public the most contemporary American artists and craftspeople, genres, and artistic forms of experimentation, exposing viewers to new ways of thinking and expression. In 1965, AFA produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films created to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
A vital part of American art history, the AFA was one of the first organizations to develop successfully the concept of traveling art exhibitions on a national and international level. The AFA was instrumental in assisting museums with circulating important juried exhibitions of contemporary art, such as the Whitney Annual and Corcoran Biennial. The AFA also recognized the importance of the exchange of cultural ideas, and it brought exhibitions of the European masters to the American public as well as exhibitions focusing on foreign contempoorary art, photography, and architecture. Many organizations and museums have followed the AFA's precedent, and traveling national and international venues are now commonplace.
Since 1909, women have served as officers and members of the Board of Trustees. Leila Mechlin was a founding participant and served as secretary from 1909 to 1933. Juliana R. Force and Eloise Spaeth both chaired the Exhibition Committee in the late 1940s. Women and artists of diverse backgrounds and nationalities were widely represented in the AFA's exhibition programs, most notably during the 1960s. In 1960, the AFA organized, with financial support from the Ford Foundation, a major Jacob Lawrence retrospective. Additional culturally diverse exhibitions included Contemporary Jewish Ceremonial Art (1961), The Heart of India (1962), 1,000 Years of American Indian Art (1963), and Ten Negro Artists from the United States (1966).
The AFA also had an impact on patronage in the arts. AFA exhibitions of contemporary art provided collectors with knowledge of new artists and avant-garde art forms, creating a broader demand and market for this type of work. Museums and collectors began purchasing work by new or obscure American artists whom they learned about through AFA exhibitions and programs.
The historical records of the American Federation of Arts offer the researcher a unique opportunity to study the development of American art and artists in the twentieth century as well as providing insight into trends in American culture.
1909 Founded in New York City. Began publishing Art and Progress (later retitled Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual. 1910 Moved headquarters to Washington, D.C. 1913 Lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on art entering the United States. 1915-1916 Lobbied successfully against the Cummins Amendment and the Interstate Commerce Commission's prohibitively high interstate tax on traveling art. 1920 Organized a lobbying campaign for the development of a national gallery of art at its national convention. 1921 Opened two new offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University. 1924 Arranged American participation in the Venice Biennale exhibition. 1927 Closed office at Stanford University. 1929 Organized American participation in exhibitions in France and Germany. 1933 Closed office at the University of Nebraska. 1935 Began publishing Who's Who in American Art. 1948 Published The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists. 1949 Collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to circulate exhibitions from its collections. 1950 Participated in the U.S. government's German re-orientation program. 1951 Joined forces with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program. Published the reference guide Films on Art. Co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York, through 1957. 1952 Moved headquarters to New York City. 1953 Magazine of Art liquidated. 1954 Introduced the Picture of the Month Program. 1956 Founded the Art Collectors Club of America. 1958 Received a Ford Foundation grant to finance a series of one-person shows of contemporary American artists. 1960 Created the Museum Donor Program. 1961 Received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to circulate exhibitions to small New York state communities. 1963 Received a grant from the Ford Foundation for the Artists in Residence program. 1964 Introduced the List Art Poster Program. 1965 Produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films that attempted to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) were donated to the Archives of American Art (AAA) over a thirteen-year period, with the bulk of the material arriving between 1964 and 1966. In 1979, Preston Bolton donated his letters and those from John de Menil, Ann Drevet, Lee Malone, and others regarding planning for the 1957 AFA annual convention held in Houston, Texas; convention committee minutes from 1956; and AFA newsletters. This material, as well as a 1979 gift from Louise Ferrari of transcripts from a panel discussion from the 1957 AFA convention in Houston, was microfilmed on AAA Reel 1780. All material previously microfilmed on Reel 1780 has been fully integrated into the collection and arranged within proper series and subseries. The provenance of the 1990-1993 printed material is unknown.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Traveling exhibitions  Search this
Art -- Exhibitions  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Theme:
Art organizations  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)5411
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209113
AAA_collcode_amerfeda
Theme:
Art organizations
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209113