Scope and arrangement
The Schomburg Artist Files is a growing collection of primary and secondary resources about Black artists and artists who have created works centering Black lives. The collection has been described in a Finding Aid.
The Artist Files are arranged alphabetically by the artist's last name and all of the artists listed have works in the Art and Artifacts division's permanent collection. Content may feature announcements, artist's statements, brochures, exhibition catalogs, invitations, newspaper and/or magazine clippings, press releases, resumes, reviews, and other ephemeral material. Black women, notable artists, and artists with robust files may include further scope and content notes.
Correspondence between artists and notable Schomburg staff is a common component of the collection. Several files include photocopies of letters sent between artists and Arturo Schomburg, who served as the inaugural curator of the Schomburg Collection (now the Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture) from 1932 to 1938, as well as Jean-Blackwell Hutson, who was chief and curator of the Schomburg Center from 1948 to 1980.
Historical information
The Artist Files in the Art and Artifacts division were established as part of the Schomburg Center's long-standing tradition to preserve and document "vindicating evidences." These files provide exacting evidence and critical documentation about lesser-known artists and artists not included in the art historical canon, particularly Black and brown women. The bulk of the collection consists of items collected during the tenure of the Art and Artifacts Curator Tammi Lawson, who has maintained close relationships with many of the artists featured in the collection. Living artists routinely participate in building their own files and have provided the division with ephemera such as artist checklists, catalogs, pamphlets, clippings, invitations, and press releases.