An investigation of the relationship between museum\u2019s archival holdings and their permanent art collections is inextricably tied to the concept of canon and canon-building.<\/p>\n
Documented in the museum\u2019s early archival material is the records of building the nascent collection, in accordance with both contemporary American cultural production and the increasing interest in the international and material culture.<\/p>\n
More recent archival materials, especially correspondences around acquisitions and strategic collections-building, illustrate the ways in which the goals of the Smith College Museum of Art have shifted over the institution\u2019s first century.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of the upcoming centennial, it is a useful moment to consider the ways in which archives can be used to surface the museum\u2019s history while employing forward-leaning curatorial practice.<\/p>\n