Agency history, 1966-

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Subject

  • Cole, Wilford P
  • Dearborn, Mona Leithiser
  • Purdy, Virginia Cardwell
  • Reed, Daniel J. 1922-
  • Doud, Richard Keith
  • Fede, Helen Maggs
  • Thrift, Linda A
  • Garton, Susan

Category

Agency History

Notes

  • This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
  • Guide to the Smithsonian Archives 1996
  • Smithsonian Institution, "The National Portrait Gallery," [http://npg.si.edu], 12/22/1999
  • National Portrait Gallery, Research, Catalog of American Portraits, https://npg.si.edu/portraits/research/search, accessed August 30, 2021.
  • Since 1966, the Catalog of American Portraits (CAP) has maintained records of historically significant American portraits, i.e., portraits of notable American subjects or by notable American artists. New material is added regularly from various sources, including an ongoing survey of portraits held in public and private collections across the country. Generally, only one-of-a-kind likenesses are recorded, such as paintings, sculpture, drawings, miniatures, and silhouettes.
  • The majority of the portrait records originated from a national portrait survey conducted in the 1970s through the 1990s. CAP portrait records contain an image of the portrait, standard cataloging data, current ownership, provenance, and biographical sketches of subjects and artists. Often archival correspondence and primary research material is included as well. The CAP also maintains a costume study of dated American portraits, from the eighteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries.
  • Since its establishment in 1966, the CAP has served many users. Collectors and curators have compared their own collections with similar portraits recorded here. Art historians and social historians have been aided in iconographic studies and in tracing the development of artists' careers. Writers and publishers have been led to sources for illustrations. Scholars and curators have located objects for exhibitions, and educators have developed programs for students of all ages. Finally, individual owners have a permanent physical and photographic description of their portraits on file in the CAP, useful in case of subsequent loss or damage.
  • Initial administration of the CAP came from the Museum's Office of the Historian, with Daniel Reed, Historian, supervising the activities of CAP from 1966 to 1967. In 1967 Helen Maggs Fede was appointed the first Keeper of the Catalog, the administrative head of the Office. After her death a few months later, the Acting Historian, Virginia Purdy, administered CAP from 1967 to 1969. Wilford Cole was appointed Keeper of the Catalog in 1969 and held that position until 1974. Mona Dearborn served as Keeper from 1974 to 1984. Richard K. Doud was Keeper from 1984 to 1988, and Linda Thrift was Keeper from 1989-2016. The current head is Susan Garton, Acting, 2016-2020, Head, 2020- .

Repository Loc.

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520

Date

  • 1966
  • 1966-

Topic

  • Art museums
  • Historical museums
  • Portraits, American
  • Research

Form/Genre

Mixed archival materials

Local number

SIA AH00108

Full Record

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