Audrey Flack papers
name: label: Creator
content: Flack, Audrey
label: Names
content: Arizona State University
label: Names
content: Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.)
label: Names
content: Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
label: Names
content: Guild Hall of East Hampton
label: Names
content: Louis K. Meisel Gallery
label: Names
content: Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Janson, Anthony F.
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Art -- Economic aspects
label: Topic
content: Artists' studios -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women sculptors
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Audrey Flack in 2009 and 2022.
creator: label: Creator
content: Flack, Audrey
setName: label: See more items in
content: Audrey Flack papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter Audrey Flack measure 34.6 linear feet and 0.897 GB and date from 1950-2022. The collection documents Flack's career as an artist through biographical material, correspondence, extensive project files, writings and notes by Flack and others, exhibition catalogs, news and magazine clippings, other printed and digital material, and scrapbooks.  Also found are photographs by Audrey Flack as well as photographs of the artist and works of art.

There is an 18.8 unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes project files; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of works of art, exhibition installations, events, Flack and others; teaching notes; biographical information including resumes, awards, calendars, address books and identification cards; writings, notes and diaries by Flack; scrapbooks; sketches; financial records; commission applications; contracts; audio visual material including mini-DVs, VHS , DVDs and Super 8 film of interviews and lectures by Flack; and printed material including newspaper clippings, articles and posters. Materials date from circa 1950-2022.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Audrey Flack (1931-) is a painter and sculptor in New York City and in Long Island, New York.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cooper Union in 1951 and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Yale University in 1952.  In the 1950s, she was part of the New York School that included the Abstract Expressionist painters Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock.  By the 1960s, Flack had turned to painting in a realistic manner. She pioneered the technique of incorporating photographic images from contemporary sources such as magazines and newspapers; the art form became known as Photorealism.
Her subjects have included families, celebrities, and public figures.  An early work, The Kennedy Motorcade captured President John Kennedy moments before he was assassinated. Flack's paintings have also centered on the varied experiences of women as depicted in her Vanitas series done in the 1970s. Flack was the first Photorealist painter to have a work acquired by the Museum of Modern Art.  By the 1980s, Flack was creating sculptures, goddess figures and other mythological deities of various cultures. The sculptures, many of monumental proportions were executed as commissioned works for public spaces. Flack's commissions have included Civitas: Four Visions, South Carolina, Galatea Fountain, South Pasadena, Florida, Islandia, New York City Technical College, and The Art Muse, Tampa, Florida.  Further, Audrey Flack has also worked in other media such as photography and printmaking.

Audrey Flack has taught and lectured at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, including Cooper Union, Pratt Institute of New York, and the Studio Art School International, Florence, Italy.  She has been a Visiting Professor at a number of universities, including the University of North Dakota, University of Tennessee, and the University of Pennsylvania.  Her paintings, watercolors, and sculptures have been featured in solo and group exhibitions in major museums and galleries. Flack's artwork has also been shown in a number of traveling exhibitions including "Saints and Other Angels: The Religious Paintings of Audrey Flack" sponsored by Cooper Union and "Breaking the Rules: Audrey Flack, A Retrospective, 1950-1990" organized by the J.B. Speed Museum. Flack has been represented by the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, the Vered Gallery, and the Gary Snyder Gallery. Among the many awards and honors she has received are the Honorary Ziegfeld Award, National Art Education Association, an Honorary Doctorate, Lyme Academy of Art, and the U.S. Government National Design for Transportation Award. Audrey Flack has also written two books and numerous articles. 
Audrey Flack lives and works in New York and in East Hampton, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 34.6 Linear feet
label: Extent
content: 0.897 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1950-2022
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.flacaudr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1:  Biographical Material, 1951-2006 (Box 1; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 2:  Correspondence, 1950-2009   (Boxes 1-3; 2.4 linear feet)

Series 3:  Interviews, circa 1970-1998 (Boxes 3-4; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 4:  Writings and Notes, circa 1970-2007 (Boxes 4-6; 2.15 linear feet) 

Series 5:  Project Files, 1966-circa 2007 (Boxes 6-11, FC 18-21; 5.6 linear feet, ER01-ER02, 0.897 GB)

Series 6:  Printed Material, 1950-2008 (Boxes 11-16, OV 17; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 7:  Scrapbooks, 1977-2008  (Box 15; 2 folders)

Series 8:  Photographs, 1966-2009  (Boxes 15-16; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1950-2022 (Boxes 22-41, OV 42-43; 18.8 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared in 2013 by Joy Goodwin. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter Audrey Flack measure 34.6 linear feet and 0.897 GB and date from 1950-2022. The collection documents Flack's career as an artist through biographical material, correspondence, extensive project files, writings and notes by Flack and others, exhibition catalogs, news and magazine clippings, other printed and digital material, and scrapbooks.  Also found are photographs by Audrey Flack as well as photographs of the artist and works of art.

Biographical material includes curricula vitae, diplomas, an award certificate, and bibliographies of monographs and articles by and about Audrey Flack.  Flack's correspondence documents her professional activities and business dealings.

There is correspondence with galleries, museums, arts organizations; architects and foundries; and academic institutions. Included are letters from Arizona State University, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cooper Union, Guild Hall, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, and the Museum of Modern Art.  There are letters from art historians and critics, including Flack's correspondence with Anthony Janson.  Letters from publishers and agents pertain to book projects, proposals for articles, and requests to reproduce artwork in monographs or catalogs.  

Interviews with Flack from the 1970s through the 1990s are found, recorded on sound and video. Writings and notes include manuscript versions for a book, typescripts of speeches, and a notebook. Also found are audio and video recordings of lectures and talks by Flack discussing her paintings and sculptures. The collection includes extensive project files on Flack's commissioned public works and exhibitions.  The files also include correspondence concerning book projects, permission requests, and Flack's participation in art educational programs, and some projects are documented with recorded sound and moving images, two if which are in digital format.

Printed material consists of catalogs of Flack's shows, invitations and announcements to openings, press releases, reproductions of artwork, exhibition posters, clippings, periodicals, and books  reflecting Flack's professional activities from the 1950s-2008. Photographs are of portraits by Flack, Flack by herself and with colleagues and students, as well as of the artist's studio.  Also found are photographs of artwork.

There is an 18.8 unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes project files; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of works of art, exhibition installations, events, Flack and others; teaching notes; biographical information including resumes, awards, calendars, address books and identification cards; writings, notes and diaries by Flack; scrapbooks; sketches; financial records; commission applications; contracts; audio visual material including mini-DVs, VHS , DVDs and Super 8 film of interviews and lectures by Flack; and printed material including newspaper clippings, articles and posters. Materials date from circa 1950-2022.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Audrey Flack conducted by Robert C. Morgan, February 16, 2009.