The collection is arranged as 11 series.
Bruria Finkel (1932-) is an artist, curator and teacher based in Santa Monica, California.
Bruria Finkel was born in Jerusalem in 1932. She studied animal husbandry at Ayanot Agriculture School and received a teaching degree from Seminar Hakibutzim in Tel Aviv, Israel. In 1953, she married a musician and immigrated to the U.S. Their two daughters were born in New York City. In 1959, she divorced and moved to Santa Monica, California with her children. She later married David Finkel, a civil rights lawyer who went on to become a Superior Court judge, with whom she had a son and daughter.
Finkel works with a variety of mediums including pottery, paper, painting, porcelain, and sculpture. She has exhibited widely and her work has been featured in galleries and museums in California, across the country, and abroad. Major exhibitions include
In addition to being a prolific artist, Finkel also has a successful career as a curator. She has curated major exhibitions featuring artists such as Lita Albuquerque, John Baldessari, and Frank Gehry.
Finkel has a long history of political activism and advocating for women. She helped establish the Santa Monica Arts Commission which is dedicated to creating city art programs. She is also a founding member of the Los Angeles County of Women Artists and Womenspace Gallery in Los Angeles. She continues to be actively involved in the Santa Monica community and art scene.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings and born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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
The Bruria Finkel papers were donated in 2015 and 2020-2022 by Bruria Finkel.
Bruria Finkel papers, 1953-2021. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection was processed by Rihoko Ueno in September 2016. Born-digital materials, were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2021 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund. An addition was processed and the finding aid updated by Sarah Mundy in 2023.
The papers of California artist, curator, and educator Bruria Finkel measure 14.7 linear feet and 83.815 GB, and date from 1953 to 2021. This collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, project files, professional records, exhibition files, artists' files, personal business records, printed and digital materials, photographic materials, and unidentified audiovisual materials.
Biographical materials include curriculum vitae, art portfolios, documents about studios, honors and awards, website designs and contents, travel documents, family-related video recordings, interviews, and miscellaneous items.
The bulk of the correspondence consists of professional correspondence with artists, curators, museums, and galleries about exhibitions. There is some personal correspondence with friends and family.
Writings include an annotated appointment calendar, book proposals, notes, and typescript drafts of statements and articles by Bruria Finkel, along with some writing by others.
Project files include correspondence, proposals, designs, sketches, photographic material, notes, budgets, reports, invoices, and printed and digital materials. Notable projects include the Natural Elements Sculpture Park, Tibet Project, and Verona Hotel Wall.
Professional records document Finkel's feminist and political activities. There are membership records of organizations, councils, and committees in addition to files on symposiums, conferences, workshops, and artist residencies. This series includes reports, correspondence, grant applications, mailing lists, presentations, video cassettes and digital video recordings, and other material.
Exhibition files contain material related to exhibitions that featured Bruria Finkel's work as well as exhibitions she curated. There are press releases, reviews, catalogs, correspondence, photographs, digital photographs, slides, price lists, resumes, videocassettes, and digital video recordings. Major exhibitions include
Artists' files consist of limited correspondence, resumes, photographs, video and sound recordings of interviews, and printed and digital materials.
Personal business records include assorted financial and legal documents such as price lists, sales invoices, contracts, and a financial ledger.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, clippings, newspapers, magazines, documentaries, and news programs. Some of the materials are in digital format. Most of the material is related to Bruria Finkel, but there is some material on other artists and subjects.
Photographic materials include photographs, digital photographs, and slides. Photographs are of Bruria Finkel, her artwork, projects, and exhibitions. There are some photographs of family, friends, and travel.
Unidentified audiovisual materials contain 4 sound recordings and 4 video recordings that are either unlabeled or include limited written information.
This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Biographical materials include curriculum vitae, a portfolio of artwork and projects, documents related to studios and houses, information on honors and award ceremonies, content and designs for Finkel's personal website, recorded sessions from a documentary about women artists, film sequence from "Art in America," materials for a trip to Cuba, digital video recordings of birthday celebrations, and miscellaneous items. Also included are two sketchbooks containing sketches of landscapes and amorphous drawings.
Bruria Finkel's resumes and portfolio are at the beginning of the series, and the rest of the files are arranged alphabetically. Two files on relatives and friends are at the end of the series.
2 books
Art In America series by Handel Film Corporation in Hollywood, CA. Buria sequence in from Part 5 "Art Careers"
Finkel discusses her work and Womanspace.
This series includes professional correspondence with artists, curators, museums, galleries, and universities about exhibitions. There is some personal correspondence with friends and family, but most of it consists of greeting cards, holiday cards, and birthday cards.
This series is arranged as 2 subseries.
This subseries includes correspondence with family, friends, and artists. The "Correspondence with Artists" folder reflects the original file title and contents. However the file does not include everything and there is more correspondence with artists scattered throughout the collection.
Includes letters from Lita Albuquerque and C.T. Chew.
Writings include an annotated appointment calendar, book proposals, typescript drafts of artist statements and articles, and notes. All of the writing is by Bruria Finkel except for one file of writings by others.
Bruria Finkel was often hired for projects in and around Santa Monica, California. These projects ranged from designing donor walls for hotels, murals for schools, and installations for various sites to art-in-transit type public projects, such as designing bike racks. Project files include a wide range of materials related to these undertakings such as correspondence, proposals, plans, designs, photographic materials, notes, budgets, reports, and printed and digital materials. Notable projects include the Natural Elements Sculpture Park, Tibet Project, Step Up on Second Water Wall, and Verona Hotel Wall.
This series is arranged as 2 subseries.
Oversized project plans housed in OV 14.
Artists interviewed: Carl Andre, George Ricki, Guido Molinari
Artists interviewed: Carl Andre, Guido Molinari. The interviews may be duplicates of recordings in Box 17, Folder 12.
Artists interviewed: Michael Haden, James Wines, Robert Irwin, Kosso Eloul
A scroll of photocopies of NES park-related documents printed on what appears to be one continuous ream of fax paper.
Oversized material has been housed in OV 14. See ER19 for digital video recording.
According to the original order of the collection, folders labeled "project proposals" were grouped together separately from the other project files. Consequently, this original order was maintained and a separate subseries was created.
Oversized material housed in OV 14.
Professional records document Finkel's activities related to her political activism and feminism. There are organization and membership records related to numerous associations, councils, and committees. Noteworthy organizations include the Santa Monica Arts Commission and the Santa Monica Renters Rights Committee. There are also files on other professional pursuits such as symposiums, conferences, workshops, artist residencies, and volunteer work. This series includes reports, surveys, correspondence, grant applications, meeting notes, mailing lists, presentations, video recordings, some in digital format, and other materials.
This series is arranged as 2 subseries.
Oversized material housed in OV 14.
Exhibition files contain materials related to exhibitions that showcased Bruria Finkel's work as well as exhibitions she curated. These files include correspondence, press releases, reviews, announcements, catalogs, photographs, slides, exhibition lists, price lists, artist resumes, statements, labels, and audiovisual recordings, some in digital format. Major exhibitions of Bruria's work include
This series is arranged as 2 subseries.
Oversized poster housed in OV 15.
Artists' files consist of correspondence, resumes, photographs, and printed and digital materials. These folders were originally scattered throughout the collection and it was unclear whether they were intended for research or were related to specific projects or exhibitions. The most voluminous files are for artists Alan Bolt and Helen and Newton Harrison.
Personal business records include price lists, receipts, expenses, sales invoices, contracts, a financial ledger, and a receipt book.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, clippings and articles about Bruria Finkel, newspapers, magazines, and recordings of documentaries, and news programs. Most of the material is related to Bruria Finkel, but there is some material on subjects such as feminism that might have been compiled for research. There are 5 electronic discs and 1 videocassette.
Oversized material housed in OV 16.
Oversized material housed in OV 15.
The recording is an audio performance by Rachel Rosenthal titled "filename: FUTURFAX."
Photographic materials include photographs, digital photographs, and slides. The subjects of the photographs are Bruria Finkel, her artwork, projects, and exhibitions. There are some photographs of family members, friends and travel, but most of the images are of Finkel's art.
Many of the folders contain sheets of slides that have been removed from their original binders.
Original folder title may refer to Bruria Finkel artwork owned by collectors