CATEGORY: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES

Robert Motherwell. Pancho Villa, Dead and Alive. 1943. Cut-and-pasted printed and painted papers, wood veneer, gouache, oil, and ink on board, 28 1/4 x 35 7/8″ (71.7 x 91.1 cm). Purchase. Art © Dedalus Foundation, Inc./Image permission granted by Dedalus Foundation, Inc.

One of the most fascinating aspects of working in the Museum Archives is uncovering how iconic artists engaged with MoMA beyond their artwork in the galleries. As one of the most celebrated Abstract Expressionist painters, Robert Motherwell has a rich exhibition history at the Museum that is traceable all the way back to 1944, when MoMA acquired its first work by Motherwell. Read more

Exterior photograph of MoMA , c. 1978. Photographer unknown. MoMA PS1 Archives, VIII.I.27

More than four years ago, at the end of 2008, MoMA and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center officially completed their 10-year affiliation process. At that time, The Museum of Modern Art Archives received custody of the organizational records, curatorial documents, exhibition paraphernalia, and other materials of historical importance saved by the institution over four decades of groundbreaking programming. Read more

Victor D’Amico, Director, Department of Education, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. undated. Department of Public Information Records, II.C.54. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York

The Victor D’Amico Papers are now processed and open for researchers to use onsite, by appointment at the Museum Archives reading room in Long Island City, Queens. The collection’s finding aid (inventory) is searchable online from any web-enabled device, along with MoMA’s other archival collections. Read more

The transcripts of the Oral History Program have long been a central part of The  Museum of Modern Art Archives, known to many in scholarly circles as an unrivaled primary source for the collective memory of MoMA’s history. Read more

Example of an “information packet,” comprised of various related items, that Seth Siegelaub stapled together

One of the challenging and fundamental responsibilities an archivist faces in his or her work is determining the “original order” of a person or organization’s records. Read more

Mary Mills Lyall and Earl Hargvey Lyall. The Cubies’ ABC (New York: Putnam, 1913. Reprint, 2010)

A is for A show I just Assembled About Artists’ Alphabet books. Read more

Kids, animals, and pretty girls: amateur photography publications are full of them.

I recently discovered that it’s been that way since the earliest years of photography Read more

As the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) intern for 2012, I am fortunate to be spending time at all three New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) libraries. The Frick Art Reference Library and those of the Brooklyn Museum and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) share many attributes. One of these is the important role that collecting expeditions played in increasing the holdings of each institution. Read more

EXTRA! EXTRA! Hot off the presses! EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! Publications available at MoMA! Read more

Installation view of the Millennium Magazines exhibition, The Museum of Modern Art, 2012

As we were brainstorming a name for our Library exhibition of contemporary experimental magazines, Millennium Magazines stuck because of its concise alliteration. The name also specifically isolates this recent period of time—post-Y2K—during which these publications have been flourishing despite constant conversations about the end of print culture. Read more