Correspondence
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent), 1934-2013
setName: label: See more items in
content: L. Brent Kington papers
physdesc: label: Extent
content: (box 1; 0.8 linear ft.)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1955-2004, undated
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.kinglbre, Series 1
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: In the original arrangement correspondence was generally arranged in reverse chronological order with letters frequently attached to related correspondence going back several months or years. To preserve the relationship between such documents they have been left together and are arranged in reverse chronological order and filed in the folder corresponding to the primary date (i.e., the date of the first and most recent paper in the group). Researchers should be aware that date ranges provided on folders refer to the primary dates of documents contained therein and that some items in the folder may predate that range.

To facilitate access some correspondence that was originally separated but which overlapped chronologically has been merged.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: Correspondence in this series relates primarily to exhibitions in which Kington's work was represented. Records include invitations to participate in the exhibitions and Kington's responses, details about artwork selected, general arrangements for the shows, documentation of resulting sales, and occasionally, related printed material such as announcements, catalogs and news clippings. Researchers should note that additional records relating to any of the subjects discussed in the correspondence may be found in Series 2: Subject Files.

The museums, institutions and exhibitions represented in the correspondence include the following: American Craft Museum:  -- The American Craftsman --  (1964),  -- Craftsmen U.S.A. --  (1966), a one-man exhibition (1969),  -- Jewelry USA --  (1984), and  -- American Jewelry Now --  (1985)

Contemporary Crafts Association, Contemporary Crafts Gallery in Portland, Oregon:  -- 50th Anniversary Exhibition --  (1987)

Evansville Museum of Arts and Science at Southern Illinois University:  -- Mid-States Art Exhibition --  (1979, 1993), and the Third Biennial Exhibition (1992)

Louisville Art Gallery:  -- Contemporary Iron '87 --  (1987)

Mitchell Museum in Mt. Vernon, Illinois:  -- Jewelry and Beyond --  (1984)

National Ornamental Metal Museum: one-man show (1983),  -- Repair Days Reunion --  (1992),  -- Lifetime Achievements: The American Craft Council College of Fellows in Metal --  (1993),  -- The Blacksmithing Craft Continuum --  (1993-1994),  -- All In Good Fun: Toys by Metalsmiths --  (1999), and  -- Wind and Whimsy: Weathervanes and Whirligigs --  (2001)

Philbrook Museum of Art:  -- The Eloquent Object --  (1988)

Southern Illinois University Museum:  -- Brent Kington: A Retrospective -- , (1992)

Correspondence found here also documents matters such as requests to reproduce photographs of Kington's works in publications, information about meetings, exhibitions and other events, and letters concerning the award of fellowships and grants. There is also general correspondence from people interested in Kington's work, such as Margo Baumeler (1980) and Arthur Magill (1980).

The series contains several individual items of particular note. Correspondence relating to the 1966 Pratt Institute's Third International Miniature Print Exhibit includes a signed and numbered print by Kington entitled Self (1 of 15, 2/18/66). A 1984 letter to Ed Bachrach includes a sketch of a weathervane, and 1989 correspondence relating to a National Ornamental Metal Museum project to provide sculpture for the Memphis Botanic Gardens includes a sketch of Kington's proposed piece. The 1997-1998 correspondence folder contains copies of sketches for an exhibition of collaborative work by Brent Kington and his son, Tod, at the SNAG conference in St. Louis.