San Francisco Women Artists records, 1925-1999

Scope and Contents

The San Francisco Women Artists records measure 15.5 linear feet and date from 1925 to 1999. The activities of the SFWA are documented through administrative records, correspondence, membership files, exhibition files, inventory records, printed material, twenty scrapbooks, photographs, eight photograph albums, and two motion picture film reels.

Administrative records include daily journals and publicity materials, historical materials and founding documents, meeting minutes and agendas, artist council and committee meetings, and member and patron surveys. Also found within administrative records are materials on Marcelle Labaudt, SFWA Executive Secretary then Executive Director for many years, including original film footage and sound recordings for a career retrospective film project. Correspondence is with potential donors and patrons, board members, members, and artists. Membership files contain ledgers of paid memberships, lists of dropped members, membership applications and rosters, membership biographies, renewals and statistics, and membership directories.

Exhibition files contain price lists and display placards, slides and photographs, and printed materials relating to shows and exhibitions presented by various SFWA members and cooperating organizations, including the San Francisco Art Institute. Shows include "Celebration of International Women" (1991), "The Paintings of Dorothy Windslade" (1994), annual juried SFWA shows and emerging artists exhibitions (1947-circa 1994), "Art of Susan A. Whitney Exhibit and Silent Auction" (1997), and "Hands and Heart, the Art of Healing" (1997), among others.

Inventory records contain artist inventory cards noting various artwork and exhibitions. Printed material includes books, SFWA bulletins, SFWA calendars, clippings, and exhibition printed materials, such as announcements, brochures, and catalogs. Twenty scrapbooks document the SFWA through clippings, exhibition documentation, photographs, biographies, and annotations. Eight photograph albums depict exhibitions and shows, artwork and artists. Also found within photographs are slides, negatives, and loose photographs depicting works of art, gallery and receptions, and meetings.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Pam Foley, president of the San Francisco Women Artists donated the records in 1999.

Sponsor

Processing Information

The collection was minimally processed and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2015 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. The Archives of American Art has implemented accelerated processing tactics when possible to provide access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.

Motion picture film reels were inspected and re-housed in 2016 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.