Betty Blayton-Taylor papers
name: label: Creator
content: Taylor, Betty Blayton, 1937-2016
label: Names
content: Children's Art Carnival (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Harlem Textile Works (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Printmaking Workshop
topic: label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: Women artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Betty Blayton-Taylor papers were donated in 2018 by Oscar Blayton, Betty Blayton-Taylor's brother and executor.
creator: label: Creator
content: Taylor, Betty Blayton, 1937-2016
setName: label: See more items in
content: Betty Blayton-Taylor papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of African American painter and art administrator Betty Blayton-Taylor measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2016, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 2000s. The collection contains biographical material including resumes, awards, family papers, autograph books from her time in school, and mix tapes; correspondence with colleagues, friends, and other artists including Frank Wimberley, Howardina Pindell, and Eugene Grigsby; and writings including artist statements and notes. Also included are files related to the Children's Art Carnival, an arts education organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, for which she served as executive director for many years. These files include board and committee files, budget and financial documents, correspondence, and reports. Files related to the Harlem Textile Works, another organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, include board and committee files, correspondence, business plans, and reports. The collection also includes material related to professional activities including exhibition files, committee files, consignment and sale agreements, financial documents, and property files; printed material including exhibition announcements, catalogs and programs, newspaper clippings, published books, and recorded conference proceedings; a scrapbook containing primarily clippings, as well as some correspondence and other printed material; and photographic material including photographs, negatives, slides, and digital images.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Betty Blayton-Taylor (1937-2016) was an African American artist and art administrator in New York, New York. 

Born and raised in Virginia, Blayton-Taylor attended Palmer Memorial Institute, a private boarding school in North Carolina. She earned a bachelor's degree in fine art from Syracuse University and continued her studies at the Art Students League of New York and the Brooklyn Museum School.

Betty Blayton-Taylor was a founding member of the Studio Museum in Harlem and served on the board from 1965 to 1977. She co-founded the Children's Art Carnival, an organization designed to engage disadvantaged youth in the arts, and served as executive director from 1969 until 1998. Blayton-Taylor also co-founded and served on the board of Harlem Textile Works, which grew out of the Children's Art Carnival and offered fabric design workshops and other arts education. She also served on boards of other organizations, including the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and the Arts and Business Council in New York City, and worked as an arts education consultant.

In addition to her dedication to arts education organizations, Blayton-Taylor exhibited in both solo and group shows across the country. Her work is included in collections of institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. She died in 2016 in the Bronx, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1929-2016
label: Date
content: bulk 1970s-2000s
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.blaybett
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as nine series.

Series 1:  Biographical Material, 1929, 1937-1938, 1951-2014 (Box 1, OV 8; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1952, 1968-2016 (Boxes 1-2, 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1978, circa 1990s-2000s (Box 2, 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Children's Art Carnival, 1968-2011 (Boxes 2-3, 1.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Harlem Textile Works, 1983-2012 (Box 3, 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Professional Activities, 1967-2013 (Boxes 3-4, 0.4 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1967-2015 (Boxes 4-5, OV 8; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbook, 1965-2009 (Box 5, 1 folder)

Series 9: Photographic Material, 1954-2000s (Boxes 5-7, OV 8; 2.5 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was minimally processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2019 with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of African American painter and art administrator Betty Blayton-Taylor measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2016, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s to the 2000s. The collection contains biographical material including resumes, awards, family papers, autograph books from her time in school, and mix tapes; correspondence with colleagues, friends, and other artists including Frank Wimberley, Howardina Pindell, and Eugene Grigsby; and writings including artist statements and notes. Also included are files related to the Children's Art Carnival, an arts education organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, for which she served as executive director for many years. These files include board and committee files, budget and financial documents, correspondence, and reports. Files related to the Harlem Textile Works, another organization co-founded by Blayton-Taylor, include board and committee files, correspondence, business plans, and reports. The collection also includes material related to professional activities including exhibition files, committee files, consignment and sale agreements, financial documents, and property files; printed material including exhibition announcements, catalogs and programs, newspaper clippings, published books, and recorded conference proceedings; a scrapbook containing primarily clippings, as well as some correspondence and other printed material; and photographic material including photographs, negatives, slides, and digital images.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library also holds the Children's Art Carnival Records, 1971-1995.