The Curatorial Office Records of Charles Cunningham, 1973-1977
Scope and Contents of the Records
The Curatorial Office Records of Charles C. Cunningham primarily contain correspondence about potential museum acquisitions and discussions of loans with staff at other museums. Due to his long and respected career, Cunningham had many acquaintances and close friends among curators and directors at other art institutions, as well as among art historians and dealers. The correspondence in these records includes numerous exchanges about intellectual and business concerns in the art world. Other materials in this series include: class lists, grades, assignments, and correspondence with students from several courses taught by Cunningham; CAI memoranda; and financial records about costs of exhibits and loans.
Dates
- 1973 - 1977
Restrictions on Use
The records are open for research except for materials related to personnel matters, acquisitions, donors, and insurance valuations located in exhibition files; office files; and personal paper; see notes for individual folders.
History of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Born in 1910 in Mamaroneck, NY, Charles C. Cunningham attended Harvard and became a curator at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1935. From 1941 to 1966 he was the director of the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. Cunningham went on to become director of the Art Institute of Chicago until he retired from this position in 1972. George Heard Hamilton, then director of the Clark, invited Cunningham to become its chief curator. Cunningham was responsible for two major exhibits at the Clark, The Elegant Academics in 1974 and Jongkind and the Pre-Impressionists: The Painters of the Ecole Saint-Simeon in 1976. He also initiated the Conservation Laboratory, which opened in 1977. Cunningham retired from the Clark that year and died in 1979.
Extent
5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains the records of Charles Cunningham, Chief Curator of the Clark Art Institute from 1972-1977.
Arrangement of the Records
This collection is arranged chronologically, and alphabetically within each year.
Custodial History
These records were accessioned in May 2007.
Series II, accrued in July 2009, was found in the office of the Clark's Registrar.
Location of Originals
These records are held in the Clark Art Institute Archives.
Processing Information
Lacy Schutz, archivist, and Dani Ryan, archives assistant, processed these records in May 2007. Staples were removed and materials were re-housed in acid free folders and boxes.
Mario Cesareo revised this collection in June 2009. Folders were renumbered and the 2009 Accrual was made into its own series.
- Title
- A Guide to the Curatorial Office Records of Charles Cunningham, 1973-1977
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Finding aid prepared by Dani Ryan and Lacy Schutz. Revised by Mario Cesareo in June, 2022.
- Date
- March 31, 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Archives Repository