Records of the Director's Office, 1952-1977
Scope and Contents of the Records
The Records of the Director's Office, 1952-1977 is comprised of correspondence, business records, and documentation of notable events related to the Office of the Director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute between the years 1952 and 1977.
The bulk of the Director's Office records from 1952-1977 include business correspondence between the Director of the Clark and outside individuals and institutions. Invoices from the George A. Fuller Company and other businesses, as well as binders detailing the finances of the museum from 1955-1967 are also included. Other records, such as receipts and publications, are occasionally present.
The years 1955-1977 indicate a nascent phase of the Clark in which the office of the Director fulfilled a major portion of the institution's daily operations; consequently, these files reflect a wide spectrum of concerns, including publicity, acquisitions, finances, staff hiring, construction, and expansion of the museum. Some files are devoted to individuals and institutions while others are labelled more broadly with subject titles such as Inquiries, Acquisitions, Employment, and Invoices. The subject headings and content of the materials remain consistent throughout the span of the collection.
Dates
- Majority of material found in 1952-1977
Restrictions on Access
The material in this collection is open to research, with select records permanently closed. Loan forms are permanently closed, as are selected financial, personnel, and confidential records.
History of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Peter Guille was the first director of the Clark when it opened to the public in 1955. He oversaw the Clark’s development of the conservation program and library, laid the groundwork for the expansion, and successfully increased museum attendance. He retired in October of 1966.
George Heard Hamilton replaced Peter Guille as Director of the Clark in June of 1966. He expanded the scope of exhibitions beyond the Clark’s collections and oversaw a number of acquisitions. Heard Hamilton was a Visiting Professor at Williams College before his appointment, and deepened the Clark’s connection to their graduate program, and education in general. He retired in the summer of 1977.
Extent
31.25 Linear feet (25 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains records of the Director's Office from 1952-1977. The collection is comprised of correspondence concerning publicity, acquisitions, staff hiring, construction, and expansion of the museum to and from the Director of the museum. The correspondence includes local subjects like the Town of Williamstown and the Williams Inn; various members of the Board of Trustees; museums such as the Smithsonian; galleries such as Wildenstein & Co.; private companies related to Clark operations; and tertiary educational institutions, including Yale University and Williams College.
Arrangement of the Records
The collection is divided into five series:
• Series I: Papers of Peter Guille is arranged into Subseries A: 1952-1960, arranged alphabetically; Subseries B: 1955-1961, arranged alphabetically; Subseries C: 1961-1962, arranged alphabetically; Subseries D: 1962, arranged alphabetically; Subseries E: 1963, arranged alphabetically; Subseries F: 1964, arranged alphabetically; Subseries G: 1965, arranged alphabetically; and Subseries H: 1966, arranged alphabetically.
• Series II: Papers of George Heard Hamilton is arranged into Subseries A: 1966, arranged alphabetically; Subseries B: 1967, arranged alphabetically; Subseries C: 1968, arranged alphabetically; Subseries D: 1969, arranged alphabetically; Subseries E: 1970, arranged alphabetically; Subseries F: 1971, arranged alphabetically; Subseries G: 1972, arranged alphabetically; Subseries H: 1973, arranged alphabetically, Subseries I: 1974, arranged alphabetically; and Subseries J: 1975, arranged alphabetically.
• Series III: Director Search Committee, 1976-1977 is arranged chronologically.
• Series IV: April 2022 Accrual is arranged numerically.
• Series V: December 2022 Accrual is arranged into Subseries A: 1955-1963 Invoices, arranged alphabetically; Subseries B: George A. Fuller Invoices, arranged chronologically; Subseries C: 1966 Invoices, arranged alphabetically; and Subseries D: Finance Binders, arranged chronologically.
Custodial History
The records in each series was transferred from the Director's Office to the Archives.
The records in Series V: December 2022 Accrual, Early Financial Records was originally found among a group of Museum Shop records in 2007.
Processing Information
The original order and file names of these records was maintained when possible. The Director's Office records of Peter Guille and George Heard Hamilton were processed as one record group; the content and organization of the material is consistent from 1955-1975.
Each series generally contains all of the records from one year, but occasionally a series contains several years’ worth of information.
The finding aid was revised by Mario Cesareo in February, 2022. A document of the previous container list (now replaced) is attached as a supplement. The series were maintained from the original organization of the material, with one series representing one box worth of material. The collection has now been divided into three series to reflect the tenures of each Director, as well as the search process in 1977. The original series were reclassified as sub-series. Folders include the series number, sub-series, and title (ex. 2007.01 Series I: Papers of Peter Guille, 1952-1966 Sub-Series A: 1952-1960).
In December 2022, CAI ARC 2007.32 Director's Office Early Financial Records was added as Series V: December 2022 Accrual, Early Financial Records.
- Title
- A Guide to Records of the Director's Office, 1952-1977
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Inventory prepared by Dani Ryan. Revised by Mario Cesareo in February, 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