National Association of Women Artists records

The collection contains information about various aspects of the National Association of Women Artist (NAWA), from public-facing events to administrative files that document day-to-day function and long-term planning of the direction of the association. The bulk of the material in the collection date from the mid-20th Century into the 21st Century, though the earliest primary-source material in the collection dates back to 1920. There is limited material on the activities of the association from before this time, but what is available can be found in the form of research done by NAWA in the late 20th Century.

This collection includes material on the various shows and exhibitions held and hosted by NAWA throughout the years, including Annual Exhibitions, traveling shows, foreign exhibitions, single venue shows, and more. There is information on the planning and execution of these exhibitions, as well as promotional material, photographs, and information on the exhibiting artists.

In addition to the shows and exhibitions hosted by NAWA, NAWA has also hosted non-exhibition events throughout the years. These special programs and events include social gatherings of members, such as luncheons, galas, festivals, symposiums, fundraisers, and other events. This collection includes information about these events such as announcements, mailings, photographs, and planning material. The majority of this material dates from the 1960s on, though there are select events from the 1930s that are documented in this collection.

Over the years, NAWA has published a variety of material that has documented exhibitions, events, and relevant news. Exhibition catalogs are published each year, centering around the annual exhibitions. The annual exhibition catalogs in this collection date back to the 1920s, though there are photocopies of several pages of annual catalogs from before this time. The annual exhibition catalogs document the state of NAWA at the time of publication. They not only include information on the annual exhibitions, but also the history of the association, and, in more recent years, it has become a sort of yearbook, documenting NAWA activities outside of the annual exhibitions. These catalogs have been digitized and are available through RUcore. A direct link to those catalogs can be found in the Publications and Mailings series, as well as under "External Documents."

In addition to the annual exhibition catalogs that are published each year, NAWA has also published a variety of other types of material. This includes the Constitution and Bylaws, which have gone through sever iterations throughout the years. There are versions of the Constitution and Bylaws dating back to 1923, with newer editions published in 1939, 1947, 1970, 1989, and into the 2000s. NAWA has published lists of NAWA officers, NAWA committee members, and jury members. The colleciton documents these lists dating from the 1920s through the 1990s.

Starting in the early 1960s, NAWA started publishing a newsletter that was mailed out to members with various frequency. These newsletters included news about NAWA, about NAWA members, and about the goings-on in the wider Art World.

Also included in the collection are the administrative records of the National Association of Women Artists. This includes general administrative files, financial files, files of the NAWA Office Manager, the NAWA Historian, and various NAWA Presidents. The bulk of this material dates from the 1950s onwards, however there is also material on past NAWA President Elizabeth Cady Stanton Blake that dates back to the 1920s when she became involved with NAWA. Much of the earliest dated material on NAWA in the collection can be found among Elizabeth Cady Stanton Blake's President's Files. These materials were donated together and are thus arranged together within the collection to retain that connection.

The NAWA administrative records also include material on various committees formed within NAWA, such as the Awards Committee, the Exhibition Committee, and Governance Committees. Meeting minutes and reports are documented in the collection with regularity from the mid-1950s on, though there are notes from earlier meetings that can be found in some of the Presidents' Files. The meeting minutes found in this collection include annual meetings, as well as monthly, reacuring, and other meetings.

Among the administrative files is material related to the creation of the NAWA collection at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In the 1990s, NAWA connected with the Zimmerli to establish a collection of over 200 artworks by NAWA members, dating from the founding of the Association. Several exhibitions have been held at the Zimmerli, and NAWA artists were able to apply to have their artwork considered for donation to the collection. Documents related to this connection include material related to the formation of this collaboration, such as correspondence, forms, lists of artists, and the agreement between NAWA and the Zimmerli. In addition to the documents kept and created on NAWA's side, material created and kept by the Zimmerli is documented in this colleciton as well. This includes curatorial reviews, correspondence, and donation applications.

In addition to the administrative files in this collection, there are also membership records to keep track of the artists that have been members of NAWA. NAWA kept membership cards to keep track of dues and membership status. These membership cards date from the mid-20th Century through the 1990s. The information found on these cards include when an artist became a member, dues paid, where in the US the artist is from, and some include notes if the artist was dropped, deceased, or revoked their membership while these cards were in use.

Outside of the membership files, NAWA also compiled artist files on some of their members. These files were where material and documents relating to a specific artist could be compiled. The types of material found in these files may include biographies, CVs and resumes, press releases, brochures, and other promotional material relating to an artist or an exhibition an artist was involved in. These artist files may also incude correspondence with NAWA, photographs or slides, and ephemera related to the relevant artitst.

In addition to the photographic material within other areas of the collection, there is additionally a series dedicated to photographic and AV material. This includes a non-exhaustive slide registry of NAWA member artists, scrapbooks, and video and audio cassettes of NAWA exhibitions, panels, news, and other NAWA interests.

Please note that this collection is currently being processed, as such, the description of the collection will be expanding as the collection continues to be processed. Please see the scope and contents notes for each series for more descriptive information on what you can expect to find in each series.