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Print Council of America records

Archives of American Art

Object Details

Creator
Print Council of America
Names
Print Council of America. Newsletter
Degas, Edgar, 1834-1917
Fine, Ruth, 1941-
Haverkamp Begemann, Egbert
Ostrow, Stephen E.
Reed, Sue Welsh
Occupation
Art dealers
Topic
Curators -- United States
Printmakers
Prints
Prints -- societies, etc
Prints -- Technique -- United States
Provenance
The Print Council of America records were donated in multiple installments from 1981 to 2020 via former council presidents Andrew Robinson, Sue Reed, Jay Fisher, Marjorie B. Cohn, and James A. Ganz and in 2020 via Jane Myers McNamara, Coordinator, Oral History Program.
Creator
Print Council of America
See more items in
Print Council of America records
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Print Council of America.
Summary
The records of the Print Council of America measure 24.5 linear feet and 3.02 GB, and date from 1951 to 2020. The collection includes administrative files, correspondence and subject files, interviews, some in digital format, exhibition and project files, financial records, and printed materials that document the council's founding and activities as a non-profit, professional organization of print specialists.
Biographical / Historical
The Print Council of America (est. 1956- ) is a non-profit, professional organization of print specialists in Boston, Massachusetts. The idea of a print council began in 1954 when a group of prominent art collectors, curators, and scholars gathered in New York to discuss creating a national organization that could promote prints and print collecting. After much discussion, by-laws and other legal documentation were drawn up by Joshua Binion Cahn, a legal advisor for the Print Council of America, to establish the organization. Some of the earliest members of the council, including Adelyn Breeskin, Gustav von Groschwitz, Una Johnson, William Lieberman, A. Hyatt Mayor, Elizabeth Mongan, Paul J. Sachs, and Carl Zigrosser, were led by Lessing J. Rosenwald, an art collector and son of Julius Rosenwald, who was part owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company. Rosenwald's mission was to "foster the creation, dissemination, and appreciation of fine prints, old and new," and to encourage and professionalize the preservation, administration, and study of print collections in the United States and Canada. Eventually the organization evolved to become an authority on print standards, educating print professionals and collectors on how to prevent fraudulent practices by learning ways to identify authentic or "original" prints. As an authority on prints, the council published numerous guides and directories of print resources. One of the council's most notable accomplishments was the compilation of European, American, and Japanese print resources into the Index of Print Catalogues Raisonné online database. The council also aimed to provide its members with an avenue to share ideas through holding annual meetings. After the closing of the organization's New York office in 1973, annual and semi-annual meetings continued to be a valuable resource for members. Today, the council continues to provide educational tools and resources for print professionals.
Function
Arts organizations
Extent
24.5 Linear feet
3.02 Gigabytes
Date
1951-2020
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.princoun
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Citation
Print Council of America records, 1951-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as seven series. Series 1: Administrative Files, 1955-2016 (9.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-7, 24-28, OV 29; 0.26 gigabytes, ER01) Series 2: Correspondence and Subject Files, 1953-2016 (5.9 linear feet; Boxes 7-12) Series 3: Oral History Project, 2006-2016 (0.4 linear feet; Box 13; 2.76 gigabytes, ER02-ER20) Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1956-2005 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 13-16, OV 29) Series 5: Project Files, 1956-2013 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 16-19, OV 29) Series 6: Financial Records, 1956-1995 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 19-21) Series 7: Printed Materials, 1951-2016 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 21-22)
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2017 with funding provided by the Print Council of America. Born-digital addition material was processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2021 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
Genre/Form
Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Scope and Contents
The records of the Print Council of America measure 24.5 linear feet and 3.02 GB, and date from 1951 to 2020. The collection includes administrative files, correspondence and subject files, interviews, some in digital format, exhibition and project files, financial records, and printed materials that document the council's founding and activities as a non-profit, professional organization of print specialists. Administrative files consist of general administrative records and files for memberships, board of directors, trustees, committees, and digital photographs. Correspondence and subject files contain a mixture of correspondence, writings, and printed material for various correspondents and topics. The oral history project consists of twenty digital sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with council members Alan Fern, Ruth Fine, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, Stephen E. Ostrow, Sue Reed, Robert Waddell, and others. Files for exhibitions include American Prints Today 1959 and 1962 , the VII São Paulo Biennial exhibition Eleven American Printmakers (1963), the New York World's Fair of 1964-1965, and 30 Contemporary American Prints (1964). Project files include documentation for the Index to Print Catalogues Raisonné database, other publishing and research projects, surveys, a print collection in India, the People-to-People Program, the sales of an Edgar Degas work, and project proposals. Financial records consist of cash vouchers, check stub books, financial reports, disbursement and cash receipt ledgers, The Lessing and Edith Rosenwald Foundation grant information, paid bills, and tax information. In printed materials are issues of Print Council's Newsletter, press releases, print sales and exhibition catalogs, reprints of advertisements, informational flyers created by the council, and a booklet marking the council's 50th anniversary.
Restrictions
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1519218607522-1519218607559-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91764af3b-0da1-43a4-a5b7-9d4c8bab3662

In the Collection

Pages

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  • Database, Index to Print Catalogues Raisonné, Updates

  • P, General

  • American Prints Today 1959, Planning

  • Book, A Census of 15th Century Prints in Public Collections of the United States and Canada (1985), Published Copy

  • Enrollment, Individuals and Institutions, R-T

  • Unidentified Sender, Thank You Note to Zigrosser

  • Joachim, Harold

  • 1978 Meeting, Minutes and Correspondence

  • Crown Publishers, Inc.

  • Fern, Alan interviewed by Verna Curtis, Chevy Chase, MD (2012 February 20 and 26), Digital Photograph and Documents

  • Mayor, A. Hyatt

  • Research, "Bibliography of Print Oeuvre Catalogs," Correspondence

  • American Prints Today 1962, Institutions Interested in Showing the Exhibition

  • Asia Society

  • 2003 Mid-Winter Meeting, Minutes

  • 2002 Meeting, Business Meeting Minutes

  • Biographical Information

  • 2003 Meeting, Reports and Correspondence

  • 2005 Mid-Winter Meeting, Minutes

  • Paid Bills

  • Roth, Elizabeth Interview, Digital Audio Recordings and Documents

  • Correspondence from Council President to Members, Andrew Robinson

  • Booklet, Films on Prints and Printmaking (1966), Printed Copies and Correspondence

  • Original Prints, "Buy Prints, Buy American" by John Canaday

  • Tax Exemption as Charitable Organization

  • Database, Index to Print Catalogues Raisonné, Data Migration

  • Booklet, Print Dealers and Art Galleries in the U.S., Correspondence

  • Baltimore Museum of Art, George A. Lucas Collection

  • Ledger, Cash Receipts

  • American Prints Today 1959, Statistics

  • Allodi, Mary Interview, Digital Audio Recording

  • Financial Reports

  • Hayes, Jr., Bartlett

  • Periodical, Newsletter, Nos. 25-26

  • Oversized Dealer's Standards Certificates from Box 18, folder 6

  • Richards, Louise Interview, Digital Audio Recordings and Documents

  • Booklet, Holdings of Prints by Edvard Munch in Museum Print Collections in the United States as of May-June, 1962, Research on Holdings by Munch, Edward Hopper, Paul Klee, and Jacques Villon

  • 1968 Meeting, Minutes and Correspondence

  • Book, A Census of 15th Century Prints in Public Collections of the United States and Canada (1985), Transfer to Database

  • Original Prints, Legislation

  • Japan Society

  • Periodical, News of Prints, Nos. 1-3

  • Oversized American Prints Today 1962, Shipping Schedule from Box 16, Folder 1

  • Financial Records

  • Deaths

  • American Prints Today 1962, Catalog Orders

  • 1981 Meeting, Mid-Winter, and Directors' Meetings, Minutes and Correspondence

  • Advertising, Ysobel Sandler Advertising, Inc., Correspondence and Invoices

  • Haverkamp-Begemann, Egbert

  • 1980-1992 Meetings, Minutes and Correspondence

  • Perkinson, Roy Interview, Digital Audio Recordings and Documents

  • G, General

  • 2011 Meeting, Business Meeting Minutes

  • Advertising with Dealers and Galleries, Correspondence and Clippings

  • Elections

  • Mackie, M.C.

  • Research, "Bibliography of Print Oeuvre Catalogs," Preliminary List

  • New York Graphic Society

  • Wick, Peter A.

  • General Correspondence

  • Booklet, Print Collections in the United States (1969-1970 Edition), Correspondence

  • Enrollment, Individuals and Institutions, I-L

  • McNulty, Kneeland

  • Elections

  • 1973 Additional Meeting, Viewing of Exhibition of Early Italian Prints at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

  • Field, Richard S.

  • Chambre Syndicale de l'Estampe et du Dessin

  • Fisher, Jay - Correspondents G-L

  • 1997 Meeting, Minutes and Reports

  • Survey, Status of Computerization of Art Collection Information in Museums

  • Enrollment, Individuals and Institutions, C

  • Sales of "Alphonse Hirsch" by Edgar Degas, Correspondence and Manuscript

  • 2010 Mid-Winter Meeting, Minutes

  • Richards, Louise

  • Shestack, Alan

  • Booklet, Guidelines for Lending Works of Art on Paper (1995), Outline, Drafts and Correspondence

  • Survey, Lesbian and Gay Resources and Related Activities

  • Traveling and International Exhibitions, Europe - Switzerland

  • Booklet, Holdings of Prints by Edvard Munch in Museum Print Collections in the United States as of May-June, 1962, Published Copies and Correspondence

  • Correspondence from Council President to Members, Nadine Orenstein

  • Field, Richard S. with Suzanne Boorsch

  • Booklet, What is an Original Print? (1961), Published Copies

  • 1993-1997 Meetings, Minutes and Correspondence

  • 2010 Meeting, Registration Packet and List of Attendees

  • 2004 Meeting, Business Meeting Minutes

  • Booklet, What is an Original Print?, Orders

  • Kup, Karl

  • Insurance, Frenkel and Co., Inc.

  • Correspondence

  • F, General

  • 1980 Mid-Winter Meeting, Activities and Projects

  • Washington Print Club

  • Booklet, What is an Original Print?, Requests for New Edition

  • Financial Reports

  • S, General

  • Morley, Dr. Grace L. McCann

  • 1973 Meeting, Retirement Dinner for Theodore Gusten

  • 1970 Meeting, Attendance

  • Advertising, Responses to Ads in Saturday Review and Harper's Magazine

  • Baskett, Mary W.

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Advertising with Dealers and Galleries, Correspondence and Clippings
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