Corcoran Gallery of Art and Corcoran College of Art + Design, Corcoran Gallery of Art public relations and graphics records

The first section of this history, covering events through 1981, was prepared by Corcoran Archivist Katherine M. Kovocs for publication in 1985 with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Although the Corcoran had no formal public relations office until 1961 the large number of clipping scrapbooks bear witness to the interest of the press in Corcoran activities. Prior to 1961 most publicity efforts were directed by the Director’s Office or the Curatorial Office. With the expansion of the Gallery’s outreach activities in the early 1960s Mrs. Inga Wall Heck joined the Gallery’s staff and established, along with her other responsibilities, the first professional public relations office at the Corcoran.

The office sends out press releases on exhibitions, special events and Gallery and School activities, and works with the press and broadcast media in the promotion of Gallery activities. In 1978 the Board of Trustees established a Public Relations Committee with J. Burke Wilkinson as Chairman. This Committee lends the help, advice and prestige of the Board of Trustees to the Gallery’s public relations activities. In 1981, the Trustees formed a Public Relations Advisory Committee made up of individuals involved in the media and the community to help increase attendance at the Treasures of Ancient Nigeria, P.H. Polk, and Black Folk Art in America exhibition. Because of their efforts and those of the Public Relations staff, attendance was spectacular for these exhibitions. In 1979, the promotion of the Daumier in Retrospect, 1808-1879 exhibition received several media awards.

The following section of this history was prepared in 2019 by George Washington University SCRC staff with the support of the Luce Foundation.

The Department expanded its responsibilities in the 1980s, partially taking over graphic design from the Education Department. This lead the office to take a more active role in directly creating content to be provided to outlets for promotion of the Gallery and School. They also took on greater involvement in creation of in-gallery promotional content, advertising campaigns, and general advertising materials.

The office took on management of the Gallery’s web presence in the 1990s. The original website is still available to view, as well as archived versions on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

In the 2000s, the office turned its attention towards creating a consistent style guide for the Gallery. This included color, font, sizing and branding consistency for the Gallery, the school, and all outreach and advertising materials.