Nancy Holt Estate records, 1835, circa 1900-2014

Collection Information

Size: circa 66.6 Linear feet

Summary: The Nancy Holt Estate records measure circa 66.6 linear feet and date from 1835, and circa 1900-2014, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2000. The records offer extensive documentation of Holt's career and include biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings, calendars and notebooks, Holt's project files including for unrealized projects, general business and professional files, subject files including source material, and printed material documenting Holt's professional activities from the 1960s to 2013. Also included are files Holt maintained related to her stewardship of Robert Smithson's estate and other records related to his life and work, and the John Weber Gallery records concerning Robert Smithson. These consist of the gallery's inventory and slide records of Robert Smithson's drawings and sculptures, including earthworks. The collection total also includes 30.0 linear feet of unprocessed records including 18.0 linear feet of Holt's photographic material; 1.0 linear feet of Holt's preliminary project plans and sketches; 2.0 linear feet of financial records; 9.0 linear feet of Holt's annotated library and 1.1 linear feet of three photograph albums, photographs, two scrapbooks, drawings, 2 inch. video news reel of Robert Smithson's death from WKRG-TV, book of ceremonies for the Ritual Order of the Rainbow Girls, and sorority dance cards.

Biographical/Historical Note

Nancy Holt (1938-2014) was an environmental and installation artist, sculptor, filmmaker, and photographer, based in New York, New York. She was best known for her large-scale public land art installations including her seminal work Sun Tunnels (1973-1976) located in the Great Basin Desert, Utah. Her work engaged with the natural environment and the celestial realm, tracing the rotation of the earth and the movement of the sun and stars. Holt was also fascinated by mechanical systems such as those used for heating, drainage, and ventilation, and her functional sculptural installations explored the relationship between architecture and the built environment. Read More

Provenance

Bequest of Nancy Holt, 2014.

Related Materials

The Archives of American Art also holds the Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, an interview with Nancy Holt conducted 1992 July 6 by Scott Gutterman for the Archives of American Art, an interview with Nancy Holt conducted 1993 August 3 by Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz for the Archives of American Art, and the James Cohan Gallery records relating to Robert Smithson.

Language Note

English .

Digitization Note

This site provides access to the papers of Nancy Holt in the Archives of American Art. The John Weber Gallery records concerning Robert Smithson (Series 11) were digitized in 2022, and total 4,131 images.