Archives of American Art
Nancy Davidson papers
Davidson, Nancy, 1943-
AAA.davinanc
Archival Resource Key
5 Linear feet
1970s-2016
The papers of New York based interdisciplinary artist Nancy Davidson measure 5 linear feet and date from 1970s-2016. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, illustrated notebooks and notes, gallery and exhibition files, printed material, photographic material, and two sketchbooks. Nearly one linear foot of correspondence arranged chronologically is both personal and professional. Notable correspondents include Michiko Itatani, Joyce Kozloff, Eunice Lipton, Sabra Moore, and Nancy Spero. Galleries and museums include Marianne Denson Gallery; Museum of Contemporary, Chicago; N.A.M.E. Gallery, of which Davidson was an artist member; the Walker Art Center; and White Columns. Over thirty notebooks capture Davidson's work process, evolution of ideas, related sketches in pen and pencil, reflections from readings and lectures, and notes from critiques with fellow artists Rosemary Mayer, Joyce Kozloff, Ray Yoshida, and Richard Halstead. A large sequence of printed material includes announcements, books, bulletins, newsletters, calendars, clippings, exhibition catalogs, periodicals, press releases, programs, and a few other items of printed matter relating to Davidson's professional career.
Collection is in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Scope and Contents
The papers of New York based interdisciplinary artist Nancy Davidson measure 5 linear feet and date from 1970s-2016. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, illustrated notebooks and notes, gallery and exhibition files, printed material, photographic material, and two sketchbooks. Nearly one linear foot of correspondence arranged chronologically is both personal and professional. Notable correspondents include Michiko Itatani, Joyce Kozloff, Eunice Lipton, Sabra Moore, and Nancy Spero. Galleries and museums include Marianne Denson Gallery; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; N.A.M.E. Gallery, of which Davidson was an artist member; the Walker Art Center; and White Columns. Over thirty notebooks capture Davidson's work process, evolution of ideas, related sketches in pen and pencil, reflections from readings and lectures, and notes from critiques with fellow artists Rosemary Mayer, Joyce Kozloff, Ray Yoshida, and Richard Halstead. A large sequence of printed material includes announcements, books, bulletins, newsletters, calendars, clippings, exhibition catalogs, periodicals, press releases, programs, and a few other items of printed matter relating to Davidson's professional career.
Biographical / Historical
Nancy Davidson (1943- ) is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and installation in New York, NY. She grew up in Chicago and received a Bachelor's degree from Northeastern Illinois University, a BFA from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After completing her graduate degree in 1975, Davidson began her professional career in Chicago before moving to New York in 1979. While initially working in painting and drawing, Davison has become most well known for her works in sculpture investigating the feminized body. She has exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and in numerous galleries across the country. Davidson was a professor at Purchase College SUNY from 1984-2008.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2016 by Nancy Davidson.
Preferred Citation
Nancy Davidson papers, 1970s-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2017.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as seven series.
Missing Title
- Series 1: Biographical Material, 1978-2015 (0.9 linear feet; Box 1)
- Series 2: Correspondence, 1970s-2000s (0.8 linear feet; Box 1-2)
- Series 3: Illustrated Notebooks and Notes, 1970s-2010 (1.6 linear feet; Box 2-4)
- Series 4: Gallery and Exhibition Files, 1976-2002 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4)
- Series 5: Printed Material, 1970s-2010s (1.3 linear feet; Box 4-5)
- Series 6: Photographic Material, 1990s (1 folder; Box 5)
- Series 7: Sketchbooks, circa 1980, circa 1990 (2 folders; Box 5)
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York
Installations (Art)
Art -- Study and teaching
Women artists
Women sculptors
Halstead, Richard
Itatani, Michiko
Kozloff, Joyce
Lipton, Eunice
Mayer, Rosemary
Moore, Sabra
Spero, Nancy, 1926-2009
Yoshida, Ray
Marianne Deson Gallery
Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, Ill.)
N.A.M.E. Gallery
Walker Art Center
White Columns (Gallery)
Biographical Material
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
0.9 Linear feet
Box 1
1978-2015
Scope and Contents
Biographical material dates from 1978-2015 and contains an address book; over twenty daily agendas; a financial ledger; grant documentation including the Pollock-Krasner and Guggenheim awards; faculty and tenure records; residency and fellowship records; resumes; and ephemera relating to Davidson and Greg Drasler's wedding.
Address Book
Archival Resource Key
1980s
1
1
Agendas
Archival Resource Key
1980s-2000s
1
2-9
Financial Ledger
Archival Resource Key
1998-2000
1
10
Grants
Archival Resource Key
1978-2015
1
11
Purchase College, Tenure Review
Archival Resource Key
1984-2000
1
12
Residencies and Teaching Fellowship
Archival Resource Key
1980-2007
1
13
Resumes
Archival Resource Key
circa 1990-2003
1
14
Wedding
Archival Resource Key
1985-1986
1
15
Correspondence
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
0.8 Linear feet
Box 1-2
1970s-2000s
Scope and Contents
Correspondence dates from 1970s-2000s and is both personal and professional. Correspondents include family, friends, artists, as well as galleries and museums. Items including letters, postcards, greeting cards, and memos provide insight into Davidson's artistic network and document details of her group and solo exhibition history. Notable correspondents include Michiko Itatani, Joyce Kozloff, Eunice Lipton, Sabra Moore, and Nancy Spero. Galleries and museums include Marianne Denson Gallery; Museum of Contemporary, Chicago; N.A.M.E. Gallery, of which Davidson was an artist member; the Walker Art Center; and White Columns.
Chronological Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
1970s
1
16-17
Chronological Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
1980s
2
1-6
Chronological Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
1990s
2
7-11
Chronological Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
2000s
2
12
Illustrated Notebooks and Notes
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
1.6 Linear feet
Box 2-4
1970s-2010
Scope and Contents
Over thirty notebooks, the majority of which are illustrated, date from 1970s-2010. Kept from the time Davidson was a student in Chicago, the notebooks capture her work process, evolution of ideas, related sketches in pen and pencil, reflections from readings and lectures, and notes from critiques with fellow artists Rosemary Mayer, Joyce Kozloff, Ray Yoshida, and Richard Halstead. A few of the books also contain diary entries of a more personal nature. Two files of loose notes relating to Davidson's work, as well as printed material, source material, photographs, and sketches, are arranged at the end of the series.
Illustrated Notebook
Archival Resource Key
1971-1974
2
13
Illustrated Notebook
Archival Resource Key
1974-1975
2
14
Illustrated Notebook
Archival Resource Key
1974-1976
2
15
Illustrated Notebook
Archival Resource Key
1976-1979
3
1
Illustrated Notebook, Yaddo
Archival Resource Key
1979-1980
3
2
Illustrated Notebook
Archival Resource Key
1983-1985
3
3
Notebooks (2)
Archival Resource Key
1985-1989
1986
3
4
Notebooks (3)
Archival Resource Key
1987-1990
3
5
Illustrated Notebooks (3)
Archival Resource Key
1990-1999
3
6
Illustrated Notebook, "'Breathless' Script/Video"
Archival Resource Key
1999
3
7
Illustrated Notebooks (4)
Archival Resource Key
circa 2000
3
8
Illustrated Notebooks (4)
Archival Resource Key
2000-2001
3
9
Illustrated Notebooks (4), "Corcoran Project", "Remembrances"
Archival Resource Key
2002-2003
3
10
Illustrated Notebooks (2)
Archival Resource Key
2004
3
11
Illustrated Notebooks (3)
Archival Resource Key
circa 2005-2006
3
12
Illustrated Notebooks (4)
Archival Resource Key
2005-2006
3
13
Illustrated Notebooks (3)
Archival Resource Key
2007
4
1
Notebooks (3), "Venice"
Archival Resource Key
2007-2009
4
2
Illustrated Notebooks (3), "Pilchuck Notes"
Archival Resource Key
2008-2010
4
3
Notes about Work
Archival Resource Key
1970s-1980s
4
4-5
Gallery and Exhibition Files
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
0.3 Linear feet
Box 4
1976-2002
Scope and Contents
Gallery and exhibition files date from 1976-2002 and document several exhibitions and galleries that have represented Davidson's work over the years. Items include correspondence, loan agreements, price lists, floor plans, writings, guest books, and printed material. Additional correspondence with galleries and museums is arranged in Series 2: Correspondence.
Dorsky Gallery, nobutsaboutit (1998)
Archival Resource Key
1998
4
6
Emily Peterson Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1999
4
7
Habor Theadore Gallery, Nancy Davidson: Paintings on Paper (1981)
Archival Resource Key
1979-1981
4
8
Regina Gouger Miller Gallery, Plenty (2002)
Archival Resource Key
2001-2002
4
9
The Renaissance Society, Space Transformation (1976)
Archival Resource Key
1976
4
10
Richard Anderson Gallery, Nancy Davidson: Theater (1991)
Archival Resource Key
1991
4
11
Robert Miller Gallery, Nancy Davidson (2001)
Archival Resource Key
circa 2001
4
12
Shoshana Wayne Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1997-1999
4
13
Stadtische Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz
Archival Resource Key
1999-2001
4
14
Printed Material
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
1.3 Linear feet
Box 4-5
1970s-2010s
Scope and Contents
Printed material dates from 1970s-2010s and includes announcements, annotated books, books released in Japan, bulletins, newsletters, calendars, clippings, exhibition catalogs, periodicals, press releases, programs, and a few other items of printed matter relating to Davidson's professional career. The items in this series provide extensive documentation of the dozens of group and solo exhibitions Davidson participated in, as well as the careers of her artist friends.
Announcements
Archival Resource Key
1970s-2000s
4
15-17
Books
Archival Resource Key
2000-2001
1977
4
18
Bulletins and Newsletters
Archival Resource Key
1975-2001
4
19
Calendars
Archival Resource Key
1976-2001
4
20
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1970s-2000s
4
21-22
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1970s
4
23-24
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1980s
5
1-2
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1990s
5
3-7
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
2000s
5
8
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
2010s
5
9
Periodicals
Archival Resource Key
1995
1998
1978
5
10
Press Releases
Archival Resource Key
1977-2001
5
11
Programs
Archival Resource Key
1994-2012
5
12
Other Printed Matter
Archival Resource Key
1970s-2000s
5
13-14
Photographic Material
Series 6
Archival Resource Key
1 Folder
Box 5
1990s
Scope and Contents
The photographic material found here dates from 1990s and includes photographic prints, slides, and negatives. The prints are of artworks, an exhibition installation, and Davidson participating in an artist panel discussion. The slides, negatives, and other prints are of dresses and fabrics, possibly used as source material for Davidson's sculptures.
Photographic Material
Archival Resource Key
1990s
5
15
Sketchbooks
Series 7
Archival Resource Key
2 Folders
Box 5
circa 1990
circa 1980
Scope and Contents
Two sketchbooks, one dating from circa 1980 and one from circa 1990, contain predominantly figurative sketches in pen, pencil, and marker.
Sketchbook, "Picasso Crying Woman, Studies of Hands"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1980
5
16
Sketchbook
Archival Resource Key
circa 1990
5
17