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Society of Washington Artists Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 058

Scope and Contents

The materials in this collection reflect the administrative duties of the management of the The Society of Washington Artists. Materials include: correspondence, programs, meeting minutes (including one bound volume of minutes), the official Society Seal, and exhibition catalogues. Also included in this collection are photocopies of many of the materials. Some of the copies do not have corresponding original documents in this collection. The location of these originals is unknown.

Dates

  • Creation: 1890-1966

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Biographical / Historical

The Society of Washington Artists was founded in 1892 as an organization meant to support the arts and artists in the city of Washington, D.C. The Society put on an annual exhibition of artwork and gave out an award in conjunction with the newspaper The Washington Star. Notable members include: Everett Warner, Frederick Carl Smith, Susan Brown Chase, Garnet Jex, Heinz Warneke, Ruth A. Anderson, William Henry Holmes (President), Elanor Parke Custis, Louis Amateis, and Alexis Many. The Society ceased operations in the late 1960s.

Extent

2 Linear feet

3 Boxes

Arrangement

Series I: Administrative Files
This series contains the administrative files of the Society of Washington Artists. Items in this series include: correspondence, Constitution and By-laws, meeting minutes, programs, and newspaper clippings. These items are arranged in this series alphabetically. A bound volume of meeting minutes is housed in a separate box.

Series 2: Exhibition Catalogues
This series contains the Exhibition Catalogues annually published by the Society of Washington Artists. These catalogues showcase the works of art on display at the Society’s annual Exhibition. The dates range from 1891-1963 with a few years missing. The items in this series are arranged chronologically.



Custodial History

The materials in this collection reflect the administrative duties of the management of the The Society of Washington Artists. Materials include: correspondence, programs, meeting minutes (including one bound volume of minutes), the official Society Seal, and exhibition catalogues. Also included in this collection are photocopies of many of the materials. Some of the copies do not have corresponding original documents in this collection. The location of these originals is unknown.

Custodial History

The collection was originally filed in the Library Vertical File Collection and on the shelf in the Reference Room. Because of the unique nature of the materials and the amount of materials available, it was decided that a collection should be created out of the materials.

Related Materials

Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art. Society of Washington Artists records, 1897-1967. OCLC Number 1030334477.

Processing Information

Standard archival processing procedures were applied at the time of processing

Title
Society of Washington Artists
Subtitle
An inventory of Society of Washington Artists at DC Public Library
Author
Finding aid prepared by Ryan P. Semmes.
Date
2006-03
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository

Contact:
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