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Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Accession 20-144

Robbins, Warren M.

Warren M. Robbins Papers, 1945-2016

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Robbins, Warren M.
Title:Warren M. Robbins Papers
Dates:1945-2016
Quantity:1.69 cu. ft. (1 record storage box) (1 16x20 box)
Collection:Accession 20-144
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

This accession consists of materials created and maintained by Warren M. Robbins, founder and director of the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA). The materials cover a wide range of his life, including his time as an education officer at the American Embassy in Vienna, Austria; his work at the American Consulate General in Stuttgart, Germany; his work at the American Embassy in Bonn, Germany; the activities of the Center for Cross Cultural Communications (later the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications); and the work of the Museum of African Art (precursor to NMAfA). Of note are the records related to the Frederick Douglass house and the materials related to Robbins' conflict with the Smithsonian after his termination. Some materials date to after the death of Robbins in 2008. For more biographical information on Robbins please see Accession 11-001: Warren M. Robbins Papers, circa 1927-2009. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, brochures, scrapbooks, picture postcards, journals, a book, invitations, meeting minutes, conference records, images, clippings, ephemera, and a locket.

Descriptive Entry

This accession consists of materials created and maintained by Warren M. Robbins, founder and director of the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA). The materials cover a wide range of his life, including his time as an education officer at the American Embassy in Vienna, Austria; his work at the American Consulate General in Stuttgart, Germany; his work at the American Embassy in Bonn, Germany; the activities of the Center for Cross Cultural Communications (later the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications); and the work of the Museum of African Art (precursor to NMAfA). Of note are the records related to the Frederick Douglass house and the materials related to Robbins' conflict with the Smithsonian after his termination. Some materials date to after the death of Robbins in 2008. For more biographical information on Robbins please see Accession 11-001: Warren M. Robbins Papers, circa 1927-2009. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, brochures, scrapbooks, picture postcards, journals, a book, invitations, meeting minutes, conference records, images, clippings, ephemera, and a locket.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 20-144, Warren M. Robbins Papers

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Container List

Box 1

Correspondence - Civil Air Patrol, 1945

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1948

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1957

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1961

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1962

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1963

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1964

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence - John H. Johnson, Johnson Publishing Co., 1965, 1973

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1967

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1970

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence - Kenneth Berggren, 1971

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1971

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1972

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence - Peter Magrath, 1978-1993

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1980

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1981

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1982

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1983

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1984

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1985

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence - Cameroon, 1986-1987

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence and notes - Sale of the Frederick Douglass house, 1988-1989

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence - Belgium, 1990-1993

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1990

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1995

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 1997

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence - President Bill Clinton, 1998

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, 2005

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence - Condolences on the passing of Warren M. Robbins, 2008

Box 1 of 2

Correspondence, undated

Box 1 of 2

Civilian Air Patrol card - Warren M. Robbins

Box 1 of 2

Journal - Erziehung, 1952-1953 (2 folders)

Box 1 of 2

Journal - Kontinente, 1953-1955

Box 1 of 2

Bienal de Sao Paulo - Austria, December 1953-January 1954

Box 1 of 2

Scrapbook - Gabriele Munter, 1960

Box 1 of 2

Chronology - Center for Cross-Cultural Communications/Douglas Institute/Museum of African Art, 1962-1992

Box 1 of 2

List - Principle exhibitions organized by the Museum of African Art, 1962-1982

Box 1 of 2

Paintings, Prints, and Drawings by Twenty Modern European Artists, from the collection of Warren M. Robbins - Howard University, November 20-December 19, 1962 - Includes brochure and images

Box 1 of 2

Frederick Douglass house - A Street, 1962-1965

Box 1 of 2

Frederick Douglass - Biographical materials, 1963-1968, 1991

Box 1 of 2

Frederick Douglass stamp dedication, February 14, 1967

Box 1 of 2

Presidential Inauguration scrapbook, 1965

Box 1 of 2

Brochure - Ben Shahn on Human Rights, 1968

Box 1 of 2

European trip, 1972

Box 1 of 2

Museum of African Art - Board meeting minutes, 1978-1979

Box 1 of 2

Warren M. Robbins - Government investigation (30499.1), 1978-1953 (2 folders)

Box 1 of 2

Brandeis University Library - Learned Research Journal - Bookplate in honor of Warren M. Robbins, 1979

Box 1 of 2

Interview with Francoise Gilot, November 1980

Box 1 of 2

Conference program - "Museums and Social Responsibility," sponsored by the Cooperstown Graduate Association and the National Museum of American History, November 18-19, 1988

Box 1 of 2

Smithsonian Case - Gary Howard Simpson, 1992-1997

Box 1 of 2

Loan of exhibition to International Arts & Artists, Inc., 2005-2006, 2011

Box 1 of 2

Book - Man for All Reasons: Letters of a Visionary, compiled with commentary by Roulhac Toledano, 2014

Box 1 of 2

Objects deaccessioned - May 2013-June 2015

Box 1 of 2

Object - Locket

Box 1 of 2

Images - General

Box 1 of 2

Biography - Opening paragraphs

Box 1 of 2

Public addresses, speeches, and remarks, 1960, 1990, 1999

Box 1 of 2

Awards and honors, 1986

Box 1 of 2

Invitations, 1965

Box 1 of 2

Notes, 1988

Box 1 of 2

Clippings, 1982-2000

Box 1 of 2

Box 2

R. Buckminster Fuller, 1951-1960 (2 folders)

Box 2 of 2

Certificate - Tree parent - Judiciary Square Lawn, November 18, 1980

Box 2 of 2

Thank you note from President Barack Obama to Lydia Robbins (formerly Lydia Puccinelli), widow of Warren M. Robbins, for a gift of a book by Warren M. Robbins, 2013; a Christmas card from the White House, 2013; and a certificate of appreciation from the Committee for the Preservation of the White House for a gift of four framed serigraph portraits of Frederick Douglass: Douglass I, Douglass II, Douglass III, and Douglas IV (1965; edition 1/250) by the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications, 2016 (Accession 23-190)

Box 2 of 2