Richard Powell papers, 1960-2011
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Summary
- Abstract:
- Richard J. Powell is the John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University, where he has taught since 1989. The Richard Powell Papers date from 1960 to 2011 and document Powell's career as a prominent scholar of African and Afro-American art and as professor of art history at Duke University. Materials originate from Powell's student years, travels, research, and work at various cultural institutions, including Duke University, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and the Washington Project for the Arts. There is extensive material on Powell's books, exhibitions, and other professional activities.
- Extent:
- 40 Linear Feet
30,000 Items - Language:
- Material in English
- Collection ID:
- RL.01043
Background
- Scope and content:
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The Richard J. Powell Papers document Powell's career as a prominent scholar of African and Afro-American art. Materials in the collection date from 1960 to 2011, with the bulk being from 1975 to 2011, and document most aspects of Powell's career, beginning with his student years and including his travels, research, and work at several major cultural institutions, including Duke University, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and the Washington Project for the Arts.
The Name Files Series contains Powell's incoming and outgoing correspondence with well-known artists, such as Adrian Piper, Martin Puryear, and Carrie Mae Weems, as well as curators, professors, and other professionals with whom Powell collaborated on exhibitions, books, and other projects. The series also contains personal letters and postcards.
The Subjects Series includes texts, newspaper articles, exhibition publicity, and notes on a range of subjects including major art museums and galleries, publications, courses taught at Duke University, and diverse research topics including the Kongo and Jazz, among others. Many of the subject files also contain Powell's notes and correspondence.
The Books Series contains materials pertaining to the research, writing, and publication of Richard J. Powell's various books: Cutting a Figure: Fashioning Black Portraiture of 2008; Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson of 1991 along with a related exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art; and Black Art & Culture in the 20th Century of 1997.
The Reference Images Series comprises Powell's reference photographs, photocopies, and other reproductions of works of art.
The Exhibitions Series includes information on exhibitions curated by Powell, including Back to Black: Art, Cinema, and the Racial Imaginary (2005), To Conserve a Legacy: American Art from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (1999), Circle Dance: The Art of John T. Scott (2005), Barkley L. Hendricks materials (2000-2008), Rhapsodies in Black (1995-1997), The Blues Aesthetic (1996-1998) and Conjuring Bearden (2004-2006).
The Donyale Luna Project Series contains Powell's research on African-American 1960s supermodel Donyale Luna, to whose life and portraiture he dedicated a chapter in his 2008 book, Cutting a Figure: Fashioning Black Portraiture.
The Printed Materials Series contains flyers, booklets, postcards, pamphlets, posters, periodicals, and catalogues from a variety of American and international museums and art galleries.
The Personal and Early Papers Series documents Powell's childhood, collegiate and graduate education, as well as his early years as a member of the Duke University faculty.
The Articles and Lectures by Powell Series comprises articles, graduate research papers from Yale and Howard Universities, and lectures.
The Photographs Series contains images of Powell and others arranged into subsections: Professional, Personal, Portraits, and Artists, Writers, Curators, etc. Among these photographs are images of Powell with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jesse Jackson, and Spike Lee.
The Works of Art Series includes art made by Richard J. Powell and others, and are mostly prints. The Art Subseries is organized by artist.
Finally, the Audio Series contains cassette tapes documenting interviews with artists, such as Jacob Lawrence and Martin Puryear, and events at the National Center for the Humanities and the Museum of Modern Art.
- Biographical / historical:
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Richard J. Powell is the John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University. Powell received a B.A. from Morehouse University in 1975, a M.F.A. in Printmaking from Howard University in 1977, a M.A. in Afro-American Studies from Yale University in 1982, and a Ph.D. in the History of Art, also from Yale University, in 1988. Powell was the Director of Programs at the Washington Project for the Arts before arriving at Duke in 1989. He has written numerous books and articles on African and Afro-American art and is interested in theories of race and representation in the African diaspora as well as media arts and conceptualizations of the "folk" in world art and culture. Powell has received many prestigious fellowships and grants from organizations such as the Ford Foundation and the Fulbright Program.
- Acquisition information:
- The Richard Powell Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2011.
- Processing information:
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Processed by Elisabeth Narkin, October 2012
Encoded by Elisabeth Narkin, Meghan Lyon, October 2012
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2011-1040
- Physical location:
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research. Audiovisual materials in Box 58 are CLOSED until use copies can be made.
Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
- Terms of access:
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The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Richard Powell Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.