The papers were donated by Luis Cancel in 2000.
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2018. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund and by George Apodaca in 2022.
Luis Cancel papers, circa 1900-1998, bulk 1970-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Luis Cancel (1952-) is a Puerto Rican arts administrator and artist from New York City, N.Y.
Cancel attended Fiorello H. La Guardia High School for Music and Art before earning his bachelor of arts degree in painting and printmaking from Pratt Institute. During his last year at Pratt, he studied in Puerto Rico at the University of Puerto Rico. Cancel continued his research on Puerto Rico through a fellowship with the American Friends Service Committee Reciprocal Youth Project in Puerto Rico. Cancel's research resulted in a multifaceted presentation titled
After finishing his studies, Cancel became gallery director at the Cayman Gallery in New York from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he became the executive director of the Bronx Museum of the Arts. In his 13 years at the Bronx Museum, Cancel organized numerous exhibitions including
In the 2000s, Cancel was also the executive director of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center, the Director of Cultural Affairs in San Francisco, was appointed by United States Representative Nancy Pelosi to the National Museum of the American Latino Commission, and established a cultural consulting company. He is currently the CEO at the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.
The papers of Puerto Rican arts administrator and artist Luis Cancel measure 10.1 linear feet and .947 gigabytes and date from circa 1900 to 1998 with the bulk of the material dating from 1970 to 1996. The collection is comprised of biographical material, professional files, arts administration records documenting his directorship at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and as Commissioner for the Department of Cultural Affairs in New York, subject and artist's files, files for the exhibition
Biographical material contains two appointment books, awards, certificates, diplomas, a pin, real estate documents, resumes, a watercolor, and Cancel's writings. Files for committees, councils, consulting work, academic work, exhibitions, lectures, and various projects as well as a video recording are among Cancel's professional files. Arts administration records consist of files for the Bronx Museum of the Arts and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Subject files include printed material, two video recordings, and a small amount of other material on topics of interest to Cancel. Files on artists contain printed material, photographs, resumes, cross reference notes, and other material.
The
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Cancel's biographical materials consist of two appointment books, awards and certificates, diplomas, a pin, real estate documents, resumes for Luis and Rose Cancel, a watercolor painting, and writings by Cancel.
Includes certificates from the President of the Borough of the Bronx, a certificate of appreciation from Cancel's family, National Geographic Society, and the International Meeting of Art Critics.
Includes Cancel's diplomas from New York University and Harvard University. Also included is a seating plan and ceremony program from Harvard University.
Pin reads "stars don't stand still in the sky for anybody, L.W.-P.N. FAM. 1991."
Includes poems, short story drafts, and observations on a wood structure.
This series contains a video recording and files for Cancel's professional activities outside of his employment in arts administration. Files are for committees and councils such as the American Council for the Arts, American Association of Museums, Smithsonian Council, and Metropolitan Museum of Art; consulting work for the Smithsonian Institution and Yale University; Cancel's study abroad and fellowship in Puerto Rico; exhibitions of his work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Xerox Corporation; academic work at New York University; work with local and federal arts organizations; and for various projects, agreements, lectures, and job prospects.
Includes board meeting material, an informational packet, and correspondence.
Includes board meeting material, regulations for museums, a panel lecture manuscript on the future of contemporary art, and general files.
Includes press release and exhibition catalog for exhibition of Cancel's artwork.
Includes mixed personal and business correspondence.
Includes a photograph of Cancel with others.
Includes manuscripts for "The Challenge for Urban Museums" and for a lecture on art and the human condition given at Columbia University.
Includes board of trustee meeting material.
Includes color negatives.
Includes photographs from the opening of the exhibition
Includes drafts, proposal, letters of support, press releases, production estimates, purchase orders and receipts, reviews, and material on distribution, slide packages, and speaking engagements.
Includes personal correspondence between Cancel and Elizabeth Aviles.
Includes material for an experimental exhibition committee workshop and on developing cultural diversity.
Includes transcript of speech by Luis Valdez.
Printed material for an exhibition that included artwork by Cancel.
This series details Cancel's employment as director of the Bronx Museum of the Arts and as Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs in New York City.
This series is arranged as two subseries.
Files include employment records, board of trustee meeting minutes, material on programs and committees, building maintenance, renovation and expansion projects, exhibition plans and printed material, fundraising, administrative records, staff records, grant projects, Cancel's interviews with the Department of Investigation and Columbia University, and files for the celebrated exhibition
Includes lecture manuscript on cultural diversity presented by Cancel.
Includes correspondence with Ed Martino, Francis Chaves, Kathleen Berkowe, Lisa Payne, Marysol Nieves, Paulo Herkenhoff, and others.
Includes catalogs for
Includes the catalogs
The set of flashcards were produced for the Bronx Museum of the Arts' Travelling Interpretative Program and relate to the history of the South Bronx.
Plans are for the years 1982 to 1987 and 1988 to 1993.
Interview transcripts of Cancel's interviews with the City of New York's Department of Investigation and with Columbia University for their program "Artists Training and Career Project: Painters."
Includes lecture manuscripts, loan documents, publicity, exhibition descriptions, and artists lists.
Includes material on Chellenge III, reauthorization, guidelines, and Wen Ying Tsai's exhibition.
Includes press releases regarding Cancel's resignation from the Bronx Museum of the Arts.
Includes congratulation letters to Cancel and other correspondence, agreements and contracts, employment records, and a few photographs of Cancel and Fernando Ferrez.
Files in this subseries include a background investigation, financial disclosures, and parking violations related to Cancel's employment with the City of New York. Other files are for committee and task force activities, a month's appointment schedule, and correspondence with Jane Alexander, Mayor David Dinkins, and others.
Includes letters congratulating Cancel on becoming commissioner, correspondence with Jane Alexander of the National Endowment for the Arts, and other colleagues.
Subject files contain mainly printed materials, but a small amount of notes, correspondence, and two video recordings produced by the Steinbaum-Krauss Gallery are also included. The material was collected by Cancel on topics of interest such as Cuban art, Latin American artists, and New York assemblyman Jose E. Serrano.
Includes slides of artwork and of documentary photography.
Includes letter from Oakley N. Holmes, Jr.
Titles of the video recordings are "Cuadros de Recuerdos de una Artista Chicana" and "Diverse Roots."
Files on artists consist of exhibition announcements and catalogs, photographs, slides, biographical sketches, and resumes for numerous artists. The files were most likely compiled during Cancel's employment at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Many of the files contain cross reference notes for prints, graphic arts, and an art heritage catalog.
Includes manuscript for film titled "Triangle."
Includes photographs and transparencies.
Slides are of Cancel's presentation on Torres-García. They are in a slide box that also contains slides of travel in Puerto Rico and works of art by others in Series 8.
The
Included are records regarding planning, correspondence, loan forms, budget and insurance records, floor plans, and post-exhibition correspondence.
Includes photographs and slides.
Includes photographs and slides.
Includes photographs and slides.
Printed materials include business cards, booklets, brochures and flyers, invitations, and newsletters, magazines, and clippings that feature articles on Cancel.
Business cards are Cancel's from the Bronx Museum of the Arts and the Department of Cultural Affairs.
Photographs are of Cancel with colleagues and at his Harvard graduation, his family including a vintage photograph of his great grandparents, an artist's studio, travel, and works of art.
The identity of the artist is unknown, but the studio is possibly in Puerto Rico.
Includes photographs from Germany, Italy, and Venezuela. The file for Venezuela includes a few clippings regarding Cancel's visit to the country.
Slide box also contains works of art by others in Series 8 and a slide presentation by Cancel on Joaquín Torres-García from Series 5.
Photographs are unidentified but were possibly taken in Brazil. Unidentified people are also in the photographs.
Slide box also contains images of travel in Puerto Rico in Series 8 and a slide presentation by Cancel on Joaquín Torres-García from Series 5.
Two unidentified sound recordings are in this series. The recordings are labeled "Grava Da" and "Na Grava."