solomon r. guggenheim foundation · 2019-12-16 · solomon r. guggenheim foundation final report to...

SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATION Final Report to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission

The First Fifty Years: Detailed Processing of Five Key Collections

in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Archives Archives – Detailed Processing Project Award #NAR09-RP-50022-09 Reporting Period: July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2011 Due Date: September 30, 2011

PROJECT OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES On June 9, 2009, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) approved a detailed processing grant for two years to arrange, describe, selectively digitize, and make accessible five archives collections that document the administrative and exhibition history of the first 50 years of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The five archives collections processed as part of this project are comprised of materials that provide unique insight into how the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum evolved over five decades to assume leadership and prominence within the field of modern and contemporary art. These collections revealed details of the Guggenheim’s history and those who shaped its course, as well as the Museum’s significant impact on twentieth-century art and cultural life in the United States since 1939. Five collections are included in this project:

1. Hilla Rebay records (1939-1952), 60 cubic feet; 2. James Johnson Sweeney records (1952-1960), 39 cubic feet; 3. Thomas M. Messer records (1961-1987), 103 cubic feet; 4. Exhibition records (1939-1987), 246.1 cubic feet; and 5. Reel to Reel collection (1952-1990), 21 cubic feet.

For each collection, this project has served to accomplish three critical objectives: (a) initiate a detailed appraisal of the materials, (b) perform detailed arrangement and description of collections, and (c) create finding aids and encode in Encoded Archival Description (EAD), which makes it possible for a record for each of the collections to be placed online and searched remotely. In addition, items in need of preservation were given proper attention and historically important and frequently requested materials from series and folders were digitized. The project has resulted in dedicated internal and external access to all materials in the collections. KEY PERSONNEL For this detailed processing project, the Guggenheim has utilized in-house subject expertise by assigning existing Archives staff to key positions: Project Manager and Processing Archivist. To support these staff members, two Archives Assistants have been hired specifically for the project.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Final Report to the NHPRC, 9/30/11, p. 2

Project Leadership Francine Snyder, Manager of the Library and Archives, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Ms. Snyder, a full-time staff member of the Guggenheim since 2005, served as Project Manager, providing direct oversight for all project-related activity, and responsible for metadata entry guidelines, procedures for digitization, MARC21 records, and EAD troubleshooting. Rachel Chatalbash, Archivist, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. To optimize institutional retention of knowledge gained from this project, Ms. Chatalbash, also a staff member of the Guggenheim since 2005, served as Project Archivist. She was responsible for processing of the collections, delegating tasks to hired staff, and assuring the project follows established processing guidelines and standards. Initial Project Staff Pete Asch, Project Archives Assistant, joined the project team on September 21, 2009. Mr. Asch is a recent graduate from New York University, where he received his M.A. in History with a Certificate in Archival Management. While at NYU, he was a graduate assistant in the New York University Archives, a summer fellow at Princeton University’s Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, and an intern at the New-York Historical Society. Prior to graduate school, Mr. Asch worked at Rutgers University Libraries in the Special Collections and Archives. Mr. Asch left the project team on August 1, 2010 Martha Horan, Project Archives Assistant, joined the project team on October 16, 2009. Ms. Horan received her MLIS with a Certificate in Advanced Study in Preservation Administration from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a preservation intern at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. She also worked as an archives intern at WNYC Radio, volunteered for several years at the New York Public Library, and completed the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Practicum at Yale University. Ms. Horan left the project team on September 16, 2010. Final Project Staff In August and September 2010, the two Archives Assistants initially hired for the project (see above) vacated their posts due to personal reasons, providing an opportunity for two new staff to join the project. Shirin Khaki, Project Archives Assistant, joined the project team on October 4, 2010. Before joining the project, Ms. Khaki worked as an archive assistant for Estate of Maxwell B. Starr (artist), as an archives intern with the Guggenheim Museum Archives and the Joseph Kosuth Studio, and as an intern at the Hans Hofmann Catalogue Raisonné Project. She received her BFA in Studio Art and Art History from New York University in 2008.

Amanda Brown, Project Archives Assistant, joined the project team on October 18, 2010. Prior to joining the project as an archives assistant, Ms. Brown was the NHPRC project intern at the Guggenheim. In addition, she worked as an archives technician at the National Park Service, archives intern at the Guggenheim Museum Archives, and research/curatorial assistant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Ms. Brown has her MA


in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University and will receive her MLIS from Pratt Institute in 2011. Both positions ended on June 30, 2011 with the completion of the project. Project Support Gregory Gestner, Assistant Editor for Web Site. Mr. Gestner worked weekly with the project team to post “findings,” objects of interest found in the collections, on the Museum website. Mr. Gestner assisted the project team from October 12, 2010 through June 30, 2012. Kim Riback, Associate Editor for Web Site. Ms. Riback worked weekly with the project team to post “findings,” objects of interest found in the collections, on the Museum website. Ms Riback worked with the project team from July 1, 2009 through October 8, 2010. Sean Redmond, Web Developer. Mr. Redmond assisted the project team by maintaining the findings platform and online display of digitized content. Mr. Redmond worked with the team from January 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011. Chris Borkowski, Intranet Portal Developer. Mr. Borkowski created the web platform for the findings, and is instrumental in assisting with the display of online digitized content. Mr. Borkowski worked with the project team from July 1, 2009 through December 1, 2010. Jeffrey Warda, Associate Conservator, Paper. Mr. Warda met regularly with the project team throughout the entire grant term to advise on preservation and conservation methods. Lauren Hinkson, Associate Curator for Collections. Ms. Hinkson worked with project team throughout the entire grant term to contact and clear artists’ copyright for audio selected for online access. WORK PLAN The original work plan consisted of three stages—Stage One: Preparations (3 months, June – August 2009); Stage Two: Project Staff (18 months, September 2009 – February 2011); and Stage Three: Conclusion (3 months, March – May 2011). Due to project staff turnover, Stage Two took longer to complete than specified in the original work plan. As a result, a modified work plan was created and submitted to the NHPRC in October 2010 (attached), specifying the following timeline: Stage One: Preparations (3 months, June – August 2009); Stage Two: Project Staff (20 months, September 2009 – August 2010; October/November 2010 – May 2011); and Stage Three: Conclusion (1 months, June 2011). Status: The goals and project objectives, described in the project activities and accomplishments section of this narrative, were completed by the end of the grant period, June 30, 2011.1 1 The exception to this is publicity, which is ongoing.


PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS Performance Objective #1: Timely submission of complete reports and three copies of grant products as specified in NHPRC guidelines and the grant notification letter.

Reports

Interim narrative reports were submitted on February 1, 2010; July 30, 2010 (accompanied by an interim financial report); and January 31, 2011. This final narrative report, financial report, and three discs comprised of each finding aid produced are being submitted September 30, 2011.

Performance Objective #2: Arrange, rehouse, as needed, and describe approximately 448 cubic feet of archival material that make up 4 collections.

Preparations To prepare for the project, 179 boxes of records in off-site storage were identified as related to the project and recalled. Database records were confirmed and updated. Cost sharing funds were used to purchase select acid-free folders, mylar enclosures, and archives boxes for year two of the project. Processing: Completed The following four collections were arranged, described, and rehoused as needed.2 A finding aid was created for each collection, encoded in EAD, and placed online. The Hilla Rebay records (46 cubic feet) document the activities of Hilla Rebay, first director of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting,3 the pre-cursor to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The finding aid is found online: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0010/ The James Johnson Sweeney records (35 cubic feet) document the activities of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s second director, James Johnson Sweeney. The finding aid for this collection is online: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0001/ The Thomas M. Messer records (83.81 cubic feet) document the activities of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation director, Thomas M. Messer. The finding aid is online at: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0007/ The Exhibition records (149.53 cubic feet), compiled by past archives staff, document exhibitions organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, originally named the Museum of Non-

2 Information on the Reel to Reel collection, the fifth collection named in the grant-funded project, is found in the digitization section. 3 Due to re-housing at the conclusion of grant, the extent of collections changed from the initial numbers.


Objective Painting, between 1936 and 1988. The finding aid is available online at: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0003/ Processing: New Collections and Integration As mentioned in the interim reports, the record surveys that were completed in late 2009 identified several boxes of records that were incorrectly attributed to Guggenheim directors. These records are now correctly identified as those of key administrative personnel who worked closely with directors during respective periods of tenure. These collections were arranged and described as noted below. Collections that were processed as unique collections had finding aids created, encoded in EAD, and placed online. The Grace McCann Morley records (.55 cubic feet) were processed as a series in the James Johnson Sweeney records. The Office of Business Administration records (24 cubic feet) containing the papers of Clinton N. Hunt, Henry Berg, and Glenn Easton were processed as a unique collection, and its finding aid is online: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0018/. The Jean Xceron records (1.25 cubic feet) were processed as a unique collection and the finding aid is available online: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0061/ The H. Harvard Arnason records have been integrated into the existing Arnason collection (6.5 cubic feet) and the amended finding aid is available online: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0012/ Performance Objective #3: Digitize an estimated 21 cubic feet of archival reel-to-reel audio material and make a sample available online.

Digitization: Audio Initial digitization of the Reel to Reel collection was completed in June 2010. Due to an increase in costs, the funds allocated in the grant project only converted two-thirds of the audio in the collection. By investigating alternative ways to convert the remaining reel to reel audiotapes, in the fall 2010 the Guggenheim Museum Archives partnered with WNYC Archives, New York Public Radio, to digitize a subset: Round and About the Guggenheim. This series, consisting of approximately 70 audiotapes, was jointly produced in the 1970s by the Guggenheim and WNYC. In exchange for digitizing this series, a copy of the master digital files was added to the WNYC Archives, broadening the possibility of access and use for this collection. In early 2011, the Guggenheim elected to allocate additional funds to complete digitization of the collection.


Approximately 150 audio recordings in the Reel to Reel collection are cleared for copyright restrictions and available as streaming audio online. The lectures are accessible through the collections finding aid: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0004/. Digital content is found in the folder list (Figure 1). The additional audio programs can be heard onsite via appointment.

Figure 1: Screen capture showing an excerpt of audio programs available for online streaming in the folder list of the Reel to Reel collection finding aid.

Performance Objective #4: Select samples of each of the 4 collections for digitization for publicity, digitize these and make them available online.

Digitization: Records In addition to the digitized content in the Reel to Reel collection, select samples from the other four collections were digitized and made available through various methods. Because of their high research value, all published checklists from the Exhibition records were digitized and are freely available to the public. These are accessible in the Exhibition records finding aid by opening the folder list and searching by keyword for an exhibition or artist. If a published checklist exists, users can access it through a live link in the folder list ( Figure 2 and 3).


Figure 2: Screen capture showing an example of link for digital content in Exhibition records

Figure 3: Screen capture showing an example of digital content display


Additional highlights were promoted through “Findings,” a blog-like feature on the Museum’s website. This platform provided an opportunity for the project staff to highlight objects of interest from the collections. Findings can be viewed directly at: http://www.guggenheim.org/nhprcfindings. The project resulted in sixty-eight findings posted online. (Figure 4)

Figure 4: Screen capture showing an example of Findings online Objective #5: Prepare 4 EAD finding aids for the processed collection and contribute these to a national union catalogue.

Dissemination As mentioned previously, the finding aids for all processed collections were encoded in EAD and are available for public searching on the Museum’s website. Direct URLs to each collection can be found below. In addition to being available on the Guggenheim Museum website, the finding aids are indexed and discoverable in ArchiveGrid, an OCLC-hosted database for searching through historical documents, personal papers, and family histories held in archives around the world.


Original Four Collections Named in the Grant

Hilla Rebay records http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0010/ James Johnson Sweeney records http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0001/ Thomas M. Messer records (includes Grace McCann Morley records): http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0007/ Exhibition records http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0003/

New Collections Discovered During the Project

Office of Business Administration records http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0018/. Jean Xceron records http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0061/ H. Harvard Arnason records http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/archive-collections/A0012/

Performance Objective #6: Promote the use of the project’s method by posting the grant’s interim narrative and other relevant reports and updates on the Guggenheim’s Library and Archives Web site.

Project Website Web pages relating to the grant project are found on the Guggenheim website at: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/library-and-archives/nhprc-grant. The pages include several sections, including an overview of the project, details on the collections in the project, and a link to the findings section. Performance Objective #7: Promote the use of the collections through an announcement on the Guggenheim’s Library and Archives Web site; press release in a newsletter; at least two presentations made to a local community organizations, professional groups, or schools; and messages posted to at least three listservs.


Publicity The Guggenheim Museum Archives widely publicizes information about the project, including a press release announcing the grant sent to news organizations, listservs, and other community peers. Project staff members are also committed to disseminating information about the project through newsletter articles, announcements, and conference presentations. The following is a list of marketing activities:

1. Guggenheim Press Release, June 2009.4 2. “Guggenheim Archives Awarded NHPRC Grant,” Museum Archivist: Newsletter of the

Museum Archives Section, February 2010. 3. “The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on an International Stage: The First Fifty Years,”

New York Archives Conference (NYAC) presentation, June 2010. 4. “Blogging while Processing,” NHPRC News, June 2010. 5. “'Findings' from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Archives Now Online,”

Metropolitan Archivist, Summer 2010. 6. “Research Collections from Archives Collections Now Available Online,” Current Museum

News, Summer 2010. http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/press-room/news/current-museum-news/research-findings

7. “The Reel to Reel Collection: Historic audio clips from the Museum Archives,” July 2010. http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/interact/listen/the-reel-to-reel-collection

8. “Reel to Reel Collection: Historic Audio Online,” Ten Five Minute Repository Updates, Society of American Archivists Museum Archives Section Business Meeting, August 2010

9. “The Guggenheim Museum Archives Announces Completion of Two-Year Grant Project, Opening of Collections, and Launch of ‘Digital Collections,’” Metropolitan Archivist, Summer 2011.

10. “The Guggenheim Museum Archives Announces Completion of Two-Year Grant Project and Opening of Collections” Museum Archivist: Newsletter of the Museum Archives Section, Summer 2011.

11. “Findings: Digitized Museum Archives Highlights Online,” Membership News, August 2011

12. Thomas M. Messer Luncheon: Presentation of highlights from the collection, September 2011.

13. Project completion announcement on listservs: Society of American Archivists (SAA), SAA Museum Archives Section, Art Libraries Society - New York Chapter (ARLIS/NY), and Archivist Round Table of New York (ART-NY). September 2011.

14. On View in the Sackler Center (upcoming exhibition), “From the Archives: Artists Awards and Acquisitions, 1956-1987,” December 3, 2011 – June 2012.

Post-Project The Guggenheim Museum Archives remains committed to the ongoing care of and access to collections benefiting from detailed processing as part of this project.

4 A copy of the press release is available online at: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/press-room/press-releases/press-release-archive/2009/2873-archives-release.


Access: The public can make appointments on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays to view records on-site. Additionally, the collections are now permanently stored on-site for increased ease of access. Digitization: By tracking usage, the Archives will identify items, folders, and/or series with high research value placing these items in a queue for possible digitization. Critical Review The grant project was very successful and accomplished all its objectives. The Museum Archives has already seen an increase in user requests and onsite visits relating to the collections. Records within the collections are being used for publications, dissertations, and exhibition planning. Roadblock: Project Team Structure The project had its struggles. The primary hurdle was the structure of the project team. As discussed in the key personnel section, when creating the project plan, a decision was made to hire two entry-level archives assistants rather than an experienced archivist. The rational behind this decision was that given the importance of these collections, permanent staff would lead the processing. This would provide permanent staff detailed knowledge of the records and eliminate the issue of collection knowledge leaving at the end of the project with the loss of the project staff. Because inexperienced professionals would be hired, the work plan had permanent staff making all processing decisions. Project staff were responsible for the physical processing after decisions were made. While this plan was sound in theory, the plan oversimplified the amount of decision-making that was required for each collection. Additionally, because initial project staff had minimal experience, they required continual guidance, oversight, and quality assurance. As such, the project staff was challenged to maintain the timeline within the work plan. Throughout the project, particularly during the staff turnover in fall 2010, time dedicated to the project by permanent staff was increased dramatically and exponentially. Our goal of permanent staff having detailed knowledge of the collections was accomplished. However, in hindsight, detailed processing projects fare better by hiring experienced staffing. Unexpected Success: Findings, Objects of Interest In contrast to the project team structure, we had unexpected success with outreach. Early on in the project it was decided, with the support of the Museum’s web team, to add “Findings,” a blog-like feature, to the project webpage. We were continually discovering interesting objects in the collections, and, as discussed in the project activities and accomplishments section, this feature allowed us to highlight them and disseminate the objects beyond our normal audience of scholars. To our surprise and delight, this outreach worked better than expected. The findings were repurposed in twitter feeds, Facebook posts, re-posted in other blogs, appeared in Google searches, and even on the Guggenheim homepage under in the News feature. (figure 5) In order to maintain the success of the findings, we had to reallocate staff time towards their creation. It required a commitment from the web team to create and maintain the platform. Each project staff was required to write two postings a month; each posting took approximately 3-4 hours including initial approval, scanning, research, and final edits. Although this took staff time away


from our tight processing timeline, as just discussed in roadblock: project team structure, it was a decision we gladly made. Future projects will allocate proper time within the workflow to make the findings (or similar feature) an integral part of the project.

Figure 4: Screen capture showing one of the project’s findings featured on the homepage of the Guggenheim website (capture taken September 6, 2011). CONCLUSION The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is extraordinarily grateful to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission for its Archives – Detailed Processing grant to arrange, describe, selectively digitize, and make accessible five archives collections that document the administrative and exhibition history of the first 50 years of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the evolution of the Guggenheim Foundation since 1939. Undertaking this work broadens access routes to information pertaining to the curatorial direction of the Guggenheim’s first three directors—Hilla Rebay, James Johnson Sweeney, and Thomas Messer—and the Museum’s scholarly and curatorial contributions to the development of modern and contemporary art in America as documented in a complete exhibition history from 1939 to 1987 and a reel to reel audio collection of lectures and symposia from 1952 to 1990.

solomon r. guggenheim foundation · 2019-12-16 · solomon r. guggenheim foundation final report to...

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