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Rayna Andrews
Scope and Contents
The papers of African American conceptual and performance artist Senga Nengudi measure 12.8 linear feet and 11.24 gigabytes and date from circa 1962 to 2017, with a folder of printed material dating from 1947. The collection contains biographical material, including education and family records, the kimono Nengudi wore during her wedding to Ellioutt Fittz, certificates, interview transcripts, and address books; calendars and journals chronicling Nengudi's appointments, thoughts, and artistic practice; and correspondence with friends and other artists including Maren Hassinger, Cheryl Banks, and David Hammons. Also included is family correspondence, including letters between Senga Nengudi (then Sue Irons) and her mother when Nengudi was living in Japan. The collection also contains writings by Senga Nengudi and others; material related to professional activities including teaching files, gallery files, and files related to exhibitions, projects, and performances; printed material including exhibition and event announcements and catalogs, clippings, magazines, and other published material; a scrapbook primarily containing photographs and printed material; photographic material depicting Senga Nengudi, works of art, and other individuals; artwork by Nengudi and others, including Maren Hassinger and Barbara McCullough; and audio and video recordings, including recordings of performances.
Language
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Senga Nengudi papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2018 and 2019 by Senga Nengudi.
Related Materials
The Amistad Research Center also holds 4.5 linear feet of the Senga Nengudi papers, 1966-2017.
Funding
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Processing Information
The collection was minimally processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2019 with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation. Born-digital materials were processed by Jess Purkis in 2019. Additional finding aid description of the sound and video recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2024.