This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 13.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 10800 items) |
Abstract | The Department of Art was created in 1936. Originally its curriculum was limited to art history; later, courses in studio art were added. The chairman of the Department of Art was also the director of the university's art museum until 1974, when the museum became a separate administrative unit. Established in 1937, the art museum was first located in Person Hall. In 1958, a new building was completed with funds from the bequest of William Hayes Ackland. The museum then moved and was renamed the William Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center; in 1979, its name changed again, to the Ackland Art Museum. (Records of the art museum after 1974 are a separate record group). Records include correspondence and other files relating to the administration of the Department of Art and of the university's art museum; files concerning graduate and undergraduate programs in art; and museum exhibition records, 1935-1959. |
Creator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dept. of Art. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
Language | English |
Processed by: University Archives Staff
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, October 2020
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
The University of North Carolina's Department of Art was established in 1936 through the efforts of Mrs. Katherine Pendleton Arrington and the North Carolina Art Society. With funding from the Works Progress Administration and donations from the Art Society membership, Person Hall was renovated and, on 15 January 1937, rededicated as the Person Hall Art Gallery. Under its first chairman, Russell T. Smith, the department consolidated the university's holdings of paintings, sculpture, prints, architectural samples, and other art objects as well as published works on art.
The curriculum, originally limited to art history, was considered a novelty during the early years and soon suffered under the strains of overcrowding and limited finances. Nevertheless, the department gained a wide reputation for its academic instruction, especially after it added instruction in studio art. It maintained its dual concentration on art history and studio art, and expansion in both curricula and staff occurred under the subsequent chairman, John V. Allcott (1939-1957).
The William Hayes Ackland bequest and the completion of the Ackland Memorial Art Center in 1958 provided long-needed, specially designed space as well as funding for the development of the curriculum and expansion of the art collection. Under Joseph C. Sloane, who served as department chairman, 1959-1974, and director of the Art Center, 1959-1978, growth in both areas was striking. Assistant chairmen were appointed to oversee the curricula in art history and studio art. With Sloane's retirement in 1974, the departmental chairmanship and the museum directorship became separate positions. Evan H. Turner succeeded Sloane as director of the Ackland Art Museum in 1978. Subsequent chairmen of the Department of Art have been:
1974-1980 | J. Richard Judson |
1980-1983 | Peter Plagens |
1983-1988? | Jaroslav T. Folda III |
1988?-1993 | Arthur Marks |
1993-2003 | Mary Sturgeon |
2003-2010? | Mary D. Sheriff |
2010?- | James N. Hirschfield |
In addition to state appropriations, the Department of Art has been the beneficiary of a number of endowment funds, including the Katherine Pendleton Arrington Trust. The William Hayes Ackland Fund has provided major support for the museum's acquisitions program.
Back to TopThe records of the Department of Art include a variety of materials relating to the development of the department and the art museums. Of special note are the files dealing with the department's growth in regional, national, and international reputation for its academic curriculum, both graduate and undergraduate. Equally significant are the records relating to the art museum's evolution into an institution attracting major exhibitions due to its broad holdings of paintings, sculpture andother art objects.
Records of the Ackland Art Museum dated after 1974 will be found in a separate record group.
Back to TopThis subseries of the departmental records relates to internal functions that do not directly concern any one of the university's administrative divisions. This series does, however, contain the chairman's correspondence with the university's chancellor. Cross references are provided to other series and subseries as appropriate.
This subseries includes material concerning the various units of the Division of Academic Affairs. The files deal mainly with budgetary planning/funding requests and undergraduate program development. See also Budget in Series 1.3., Business and Finance, below; and for the department's undergraduate program, see also Series 2., Undergraduate Program.
Box 4 |
Provost/Dean of the Faculty, 1959-1977(includes faculty position requests; see also Chancellor's Office in Series 1.1.) |
College of Arts and Sciences and General College, 1935-1978(includes budget requests; see also Provost above) |
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Division of Fine Arts: General Correspondence, 1958-1979 |
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Division of Fine Arts: Fine Arts Alumni Assembly, 1967-1968 |
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Division of Fine Arts: Division of Humanities, 1938-1963 |
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Division of Fine Arts: Division of Teacher Training, 1937-1940 |
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Academic Affairs Library, 1937-1975(includes book Fund Requests; see also Art Department Library in Series 1.1.) |
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School of Education, 1959-1971 |
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Summer Session, 1937-1975(includes courses and budget) |
This subseries includes the Department of Art's files pertaining to its relations with the university's Business Manager, later the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance. Of special note is the correspondence concerning space needs.
Box 4 |
General Correspondence, 1937-1974(includes requests for space; see also Buildings and Space in Series 1.1.) |
Budget Requests and Accounts of Expenditures, 1938-1971(includes state appropriations, personnel and non-personnel budgets; see also Chancellor's Office, Series 1.1.; Provost and College of Arts and Sciences and General College, Series 1.2.; Fellowships and Assistantships, under Graduate Students, Series 3; and Ackland Funds, Series 4.2.) |
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Buildings and Space Needs (see Buildings in Series 1.1., and General Correspondence, above) |
This subseries includes files relating to the General Faculty and Faculty Council. See also the Division of Fine Arts, Division of the Humanities, and Teacher Training Committee in Series 1.2.
Box 4 |
Secretary of the Faculty, 1967-1974 |
Faculty Committees: Chancellor's Advisory Committee, 1964-1974 |
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Faculty Committees: Creative and Performing Arts, 1961-1963 |
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Faculty Committees: Honorary Degrees, 1963-1968 |
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Faculty Committees: Superior Students, 1954(see also Honors Program, Series 2) |
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Faculty Committees: University Portraits, 1961-1972(see also University Portraits, Series 1.1.) |
This subseries pertains to the Department of Art's graduate program as it relates to the overall university program administered by the Graduate School. See also Series 3., Graduate Program.
Box 4 |
Dean and Vice Chancellor, 1939-1972(includes correspondence on curriculum in general, graduate student regulations, admission requirements, and enrollment levels as well as requests for appointments to the graduate faculty. For information on graduate fellowship and assistantships, see Graduate Students in Series 3) |
University Research Council, 1960-1973(includes requests for funding to support faculty research) |
This subseries contains files on the Department of Art's activities in the areas under the supervision of the university's Dean of Students and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. Also included are files concerning student government programs and activities.
Box 4 |
Fine Arts Festival, 1963-1967; 1975; 1985 |
International Student Advisor, 1969-1971 |
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Orientation, 1962-1972 |
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Placement Service, 1963-1968 |
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Student Government, Course Evaluations, 1960-1971(see also Teaching Evaluation, under Committees in Series 1.1.) |
This subseries contains files relating to activities under the supervision of the Vice Chancellor for University Affairs (formerly Administration). In the main, these files concern undergraduate admissions, academic course registration, and student aid.
This subseries includes files pertaining to the Department of Art's relations with the offices and programs in the university's Division of University Relations (formerly Development and Public Service). In general, they concern publicity, development, and special education programs.
Box 5 |
Alumni Association, 1938-1940; 1971 |
Development Office, 1959-1963 |
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Extension and Continuing Education Division, 1934-1979(regarding the Art Extension Program operated by Corinne McNeir in the 1930s and 1940s, which included correspondence courses and the evening college program; see also Southern Art Projects, Series 1.9., and Graduate Fellowships/Assistantships, under Graduate Students, in Series 3) |
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News Bureau: Department of Art, General Press Releases, 1935-1972(for news releases on museum exhibitions, see Series 4.3.) |
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Oversize Volume SV-40077/1 |
News Bureau: History of the Department of Art in Pictures, 1937-1944 |
Oversize Volume SV-40077/2 |
News Bureau: Scrapbooks: Clippings, October 1940-July 1941(oversize volumes 2-7 contain mainly Person Hall Gallery Exhibition publicity; see also Exhibition Files, Series 4.3.) |
Oversize Volume SV-40077/3 |
News Bureau: Scrapbooks: Clippings, September 1941-July 1942 |
Oversize Volume SV-40077/4 |
News Bureau: Scrapbooks: Clippings, October 1942-July 1943 |
Oversize Volume SV-40077/5 |
News Bureau: Scrapbooks: Clippings, October 1943-April 1944 |
Oversize Volume SV-40077/6 |
News Bureau: Scrapbooks: Clippings, May 1946-July 1949 |
Oversize Volume SV-40077/7 |
News Bureau: Scrapbooks: Clippings, September 1949-August 1958 |
This subseries contains correspondence and other material relating to professional art associations and other organizations outside the Chapel Hill campus administrative structure.
This series includes records relating to the undergraduate academic program of the Department of Art. See also Provost and College of Arts and Sciences and General College in Series 1.2., and Permanent Record of Courses in Series 1.7.
This series includes files concerning the Department of Art's graduate program and includes material on degree requirements, enrollment, fellowships and assistantships. See also Graduate School, Series 1.5; Courses in Series 1.1.; and Permanent Record of Courses in Series 1.7.
In 1936, Person Hall, constructed in 1797, was renovated with federal, state and private funds. On 15 January 1937, Consolidated University President Frank Porter Graham rededicated the building as the Person Hall Art Gallery. The university's collection of portraits, sculpture and other art objects, which had been inadequately stored and displayed in Hill Hall, was consolidated in the gallery. Development of the gallery and of the university's art collection was stimulated by the work of the Friends of Person Hall, organized in February 1941. Person Hall continued to serve as the university's museum until 1958, when the art collection was moved to the new Ackland Memorial Art Center. The records of Person Hall Art Gallery include the files of the Extension Division's Field Representative in Art, 1935-1936; the Supervisor of Exhibitions, 1936-1940; and the Curator, 1940, as well as the Director of the Museum.
Box 7 |
Correspondence, General, 1935-1957(letters, memoranda, announcements, and other material relating to acquisitions, loans of exhibits to the Person Hall Art Gallery, circulation of gallery holdings, and costs of exhibitions in Person Hall; see also Exhibition Records, Series 4.3.) |
Friends of Person Hall: Correspondence, Membership Lists, Reports of Activities, 1941-1952 |
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Friends of Person Hall: Financial Records, 1941-1947 |
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Guest Registers, January 1937-May 1950(7 volumes) |
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Insurance on Art Collection, 1939-1942(see also Insurance in Series 4.2.) |
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Reports on Gallery Activities, 1940-1945(see also Annual Reports in Series 1.1.) |
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Schedules of Exhibitions by Fiscal Year, 1937-1958(see also Exhibition Records, Series 4.3.) |
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The Story of Person Hall by Gladys Hall Coates (1943) |
The William Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center was officially dedicated on 20 September 1958. Constructed with funds from the Ackland Estate, the center provided space for the academic programs of the Department of Art as well as galleries and storage areas for the art collection. The Ackland Estate, administered by an independent foundation through the American Security and Trust Company, also provided funds for the purchase of paintings and other art objects. For records dated after 1974, see the Ackland Art Museum Records, a separate records group in the University Archives.
Box 7 |
Ackland Foundation/Trust Fund, 1958-1974 |
Ackland Memorial Committee (see Buildings and Space in Series 1.1.) |
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Ackland Art Center Construction (see Buildings and Space in Series 1.1.) |
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Ackland Art Center Dedication (see Buildings and Space in Series 1.1.) |
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Acquisitions Correspondence, 1961-1974(see also Correspondence in Series 4.1.) |
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Budget, Ackland Funds, 1958-1967(see also Ackland Foundation/Trust Fund, above) |
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Reel M-40077/1-2
M-40077/1M-40077/2 |
Catalog of Museum Collection through August 1978 (microfilm) |
Box 7 |
Insurance on Collection, 1958; 1961-1966(see also Insurance in Series 4.1.) |
Personnel: Curator Position, 1971 |
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Personnel: Assistant to Curator Position, 1966-1967 |
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Personnel: Museum Guards, 1959-1973 |
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Personnel: Packer-Shipper Position, 1968-1969 |
This subseries consists of individual folders on exhibitions of paintings, sculpture, photographs, graphics, and other art works. Included in the folders are correspondence, financial records, and publicity relating to the exhibition. See also News Bureau in Series 1.8., and reports of activities and schedules of exhibitions in Series 4.1. All of the exhibitions through 1958 listed below were displayed in the Person Hall Art Gallery. Records of exhibitions displayed after 1974 will be found in the Ackland Art Museum Records, a separate records group in the University Archives.