Nanette Carter papers
name: label: Creator
content: Carter, Nanette
label: Names
content: Pratt Institute. Art School
label: Names
content: Freeman, Bettye
label: Names
content: Pindell, Howardena, 1943-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women educators
label: Topic
content: African American educators
label: Topic
content: African American painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2019 by Nanette Carter as part of the Archives' African American Collecting Initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
creator: label: Creator
content: Carter, Nanette
setName: label: See more items in
content: Nanette Carter papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of African American abstract artist and educator Nanette Carter measure 4.9 linear feet and date from 1972 to 2009. The collection documents Carter's education and career through biographical materials, correspondence with artists and others, writings including notebooks documenting Carter's studies, exhibition files for Carter's solo and group exhibitions, files documenting teaching and other professional activities, research material including sound recordings for a book project on Carter's mentors, personal business records, and printed material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Nanette Carter (1954- ) is an African American abstract artist and educator in New York, New York. 

Carter was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Frances Hill and Matthew G. Carter. In 1960, Carter and her family, including her sister Bettye Carter Freeman, moved from Ohio to Montclair, New Jersey where her father became the city's first African American mayor. After graduating from Montclair High School, Carter attended Oberlin College studying studio art and art history. She spent her junior year abroad studying in Perugia, Italy and traveling through Europe and North Africa. Carter graduated from Oberlin in 1976 and continued her education at the Pratt Institute of Art receiving a Master of Fine Arts in 1978. 

In the 1970s, Carter spent time in Sag Harbor where her parents had a house. She became involved with the local art scene through her college job at the Guild Hall Museum where she met artist Al Loving. Loving became a mentor to Carter and later curated one of her earliest group exhibitions, Eastville Artists (1979), featuring African American artists working in eastern Long Island, New York. Carter has continued to exhibit her artwork frequently throughout the United States, as well as overseas. She has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and grants including Bob Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, and the New York State Council on the Arts residency at Cinque Gallery. 

In addition to her career as an artist, Carter has held teaching positions at various institutions including Dwight-Englewood School, Guild Hall Museum, City College of New York, Rhode Island School of Design, and the Pratt Institute of Art where she is a tenured professor.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1972-2009
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.cartnane
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as seven series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1972-1998 (0.7 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1976-2009 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, OV 7)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1975-2002 (0.5 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1976-2008 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)

Series 5: Professional Activity Files, 1977-2008 (0.7 linear feet; Box 4, OV 7)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1979-2008 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)

Series 7: Printed Materials, 1979-2009 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 5-6, OV 7)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2021.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of African American abstract artist and educator Nanette Carter document Carter's education and career through 4.9 linear feet of papers dating from 1972 to 2009. 

The collection includes biographical materials consisting of an address book, 11 appointment books, resumes, Carter's student records, and a sound recording of an interview with Carter and Vincent Smith for the radio program "Dialogues with Contemporary Artists." Correspondence is with Joan Digby, Bettye Freeman, Miriam Perlman, and various organizations regarding exhibitions, workshops, and employment. Carter's writings and notes include 13 notebooks documenting her studies and career activities, speech notes, and her student papers from Pratt Institute of Art.

Also found in the collection are exhibition files documenting Carter's solo and group exhibitions, and professional activity files consisting of Carter's teaching files, files regarding fellowships and grants, workshop records, and research material for a book project on female mentors that includes 5 sound recordings of Howardena Pindell and Marcia Lloyd. Carter's personal business records include consignment and sales records, contracts and agreements, and price lists; and printed materials consist of announcements and catalogs for Carter's exhibitions, event programs, posters, press releases, and other material relating to Carter's career as an artist.