Museums

Abstract In 1869, W.W. Corcoran formed the Board of Trustees for the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 1874, the first Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees was held, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art opened to the public. The Trustees were responsible for the appointment of a director, the appropriation of funds, approval or rejection of art works, the maintenance of the building, approval of departmental reports, and other pertinent issues and events. The records consist of the minutes, agendas, and...

Scope and Contents

This record group contains records generated by the office of the Corcoran conservator over the lifetime of its operation, beginning with independent conservators contracted for work in the Corcoran Gallery building and collections. Material types include condition reports for works of art, conservation journals, correspondence, photographs, and charts documenting the environment in the galleries. Records date from 1882-2019.

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The Curatorial Records of the most complete nature are the exhibition files and exhibition catalogs. These records offer an almost exhaustive account of Corcoran exhibitions, especially after 1910. The files contain all those materials which were generated by a variety of staff members while curating each exhibition. This record group includes materials from approximately 1874 to 2013.

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The records of the Office of the Director document the activities of the executive officer of the institution. Together with the Records of the Board of Trustees, these records provide information on the overall management of the institution. The records in this record group date from approximately 1869 to 2012.

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The Finance Records document the financial activities and concerns of the Corcoran Gallery, the condition of the museum's finances throughout its history, and the various changes in procedures and policies concerning financial matters. The records in this record group date from 1872 to 1989.

Abstract The Friends of the Corcoran is a non-profit membership corporation formed in the spring of 1961 with the primary purpose of acquiring works of art to supplement the permanent collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. These administrative records of The Friends of the Corcoran document the development of this organization from its inception in the spring of 1961 through 1995. The records consist predominantly of correspondence, minutes, flyers, invoices, and memoranda and date from 1961 to...

Abstract The Public Programs office operated from its creation in 1994 to the dissolution of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2014. The Public Programs office was responsible for creating engagement and fundraising opportunities through programs open to the public and members of the Corcoran. The Public Programs office also published Night & Day, which contained a calendar of events and descriptions of upcoming programs. The records of the Public Program office include program files for specific...

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The Corcoran Gallery of Art Office of the Registrar was responsible for the registering of art objects, handling of loans, shipping and insurance procedures, and controlling the physical inventory and the storage of art objects. This record group contains files and reports generated by the Office of the Registar in the course of their duties. The Accession files provide the most complete record of works entering the Corcoran collection. Material in this record group dates from 1869-2013.

Abstract The Art Rental and Sales Gallery operated from March 9, 1962 to 1973. The Rental Gallery was designed to offer Corcoran members original works of art on a rental basis for private homes, as well as for corporate offices, and to introduce Washingtonians to current American and local artists. The records of the Art Rental and Sales Gallery include consignments with commercial galleries and individual artists, master contracts, prospective artist records, inventories and shipping lists,...

Abstract Although the Corcoran had no formal Special Events Office until 1979, the Gallery had a tradition of special events designed to cater to the CGA membership and to draw the Washington area public into the gallery. Prior 1979, special events which encompassed the Corcoran Lecture Group and the WAG were coordinated, at times, out of the Director's office, and at other times, were the responsibility of the Education Curator or the Public Relations office. As well as Gala Openings, members...

Abstract Marcella Brenner was a long-tenured member of the George Washington University Community, serving in multiple capacities as a student, professor, program director, trustee, professor emerita, and advisor from 1964 to her death in 2007. Over the course of her long career in higher education, she became one of the foremost experts on museum education and founded the Museum Education Program at George Washington University. In her personal life, she was an avid participat and educator in the DC...

Abstract

Collection includes departmental history, sample exams, reports, course proposals, meeting minutes, syllabi.