Reference Request
Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Record Unit 514
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Department of Education
Records, 1973-1986
Historical Note
The Department of Education of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery (HMSG) was set up to interpret the Museum's collections to a broad and varied public. It produces information on the HMSG's collections designed to appeal to professional artists and art scholars, but also to the general public and to children. In support of its aims, the Department uses a wide variety of media, including a corps of trained volunteer docents, as well as printed materials of all sorts, films, lectures, and concerts. The Department of Education was created in 1973, and Edward Lawson was recruited from New York's Whitney Museum to head it. He held the position throughout the period of these records.
Descriptive Entry
These records include a series of audiotapes produced to train the first class of docents for HMSG's opening in 1974, as well as similar tapes prepared in later years. In addition, the records document special programs and projects designed for children. Correspondence dealing with relations with the broader Washington and national arts community is included, as are the correspondence, budget records, and other elements of museum administration. The records include numerous photographs.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.
Name
Subject
Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 514, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Department of Education, Records