Ruth Fine papers
name: label: Creator
content: Fine, Ruth, 1941-
label: Names
content: Crown Point Press (Oakland, Calif.)
label: Names
content: Gemini G.E.L. (Firm)
label: Names
content: National Gallery of Art (U.S.)
label: Names
content: Bearden, Romare (1911-1988)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Occupation
content: Art museum curators -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: Women art historians
label: Topic
content: Women museum curators
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Ruth Fine in 2017.
creator: label: Creator
content: Fine, Ruth, 1941-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Ruth Fine papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of curator and art historian Ruth Fine measure 24.1 linear feet and 22.43 GB and date from 1929 to 2016, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1950s to 2016. Fine's career is documented through correspondence with art historians, museum professionals, and notable figures; files pertaining to writing projects, lectures and speeches, her time at the National Gallery of Art, and research subjects; association and membership records; and printed and digital material. The bulk of the collection is composed of artist and subject files, which include correspondence, printed and digital material, exhibition and writing files, photographs, and some artwork. These records include a significant number of audiovisual recordings, including dozens of interviews with artists and others. Notable within the collection are extensive interviews documenting the works of Romare Bearden, Crown Point Press, and Gemini G.E.L.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Ruth Fine (1941-) is a curator and art historian most active in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fine received her B.F.A from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts, 1962), an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania (1964), and was a student at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1961). She was an instructor at the Philadelphia College of Art from 1965 through 1969, and at Beaver College (now Arcadia University) from 1968 to 1972 and 1978 to 1979, and also taught at the University of Vermont (1976, 1977). Fine continued lecturing on a variety of topics throughout her career.

From 1972 to 1980, Fine served as curator, under the auspicies of the National Gallery of Art, for the Lessing J. Rosenwald collection of prints and drawings housed at Rosenwald's Alverthorpe estate in Jenkintown, PA.  After his death in 1979, Fine followed a portion of the collection to the National Gallery of Art where she went on to become curator of modern prints and drawings until 2002. Fine organized exhibitions, oversaw catalogue raisonnés, and coordinated special projects on artists including Romare Bearden, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, John Marin, and Georgia O'Keeffe; printmakers Crown Point Press, Gemini G.E.L., and Graphicstudio; and the collections of Lessing J. Rosenwald and Dorothy and Herbert Vogel. She contributed essays to exhibition catalogs and other printed material on Mel Bochner, Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, James McNeill Whistler, Tyler Graphics, and The Brandywine Print Workshop, among others.

As an artist, Fine's exhibitions include those at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Beaver College, Ryder University, Bryn Mawr College, Bennington College, and Anna Leonowens Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was awarded a grant from the Ingram Merrill Foundation for work in etching (1989), and had studio residencies at The Vermont Studio Center (1992) and the Anni and Josef Albers Foundation (2000).
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 24.1 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 22.43 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1929-2016
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.fineruth
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 10 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1953-2013 (Box 1, 5 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1958-2014 (Box 1, 0.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Interviews, 1970-2009 (Box 1-2, 0.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, 1979-2013 (Box 2, 0.8 linear feet, ER01-ER04; 5.44 GB)

Series 5: Lectures and Speeches, 1963-2012 (Box 3-4, 1.8 linear feet, ER05-ER08; 0.292 GB)

Series 6: National Gallery of Art Administrative Records, 1971-2011 (Box 4-5, 0.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Artist Files, 1947-2016 (Box 5-18, OV 25, 15 linear feet, ER09-ER26; 14.11 GB)

Series 8: Subject Files, 1929-2014 (Box 19-22, 3.5 linear feet, ER27-ER29; 0.604 GB)

Series 9: Association and Membership Files, 1962-2014 (Box 22-23, 0.5 linear feet, ER30; 1.99 GB)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1936-2015 (Box 23-24, 1 linear foot)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2020. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund. Additional finding aid description of the sound recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2023.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of curator and art historian Ruth Fine measure 24.1 linear feet and 22.43 GB and date from 1929 to 2016, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1950s to 2016. Fine's career is documented through correspondence with art historians, museum professionals, and notable figures; files pertaining to writing projects, lectures and speeches, her time at the National Gallery of Art, and research subjects; association and membership records; and printed and digital material. The bulk of the collection is composed of artist and subject files, which include correspondence, printed and digital material, exhibition and writing files, photographs, and some artwork. These records include a significant number of audiovisual recordings, including dozens of interviews with artists and others. Notable within the collection are extensive interviews documenting the works of Romare Bearden, Crown Point Press, and Gemini G.E.L.