Papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
name: label: Names
content: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (Washington, D.C.)
label: Names
content: United States. Public Buildings Service. Art-in-Architecture Program.
label: Names
content: Puryear, Martin, 1941-
label: Names
content: Robin, Stephen, 1944-
label: Names
content: Sonnier, Keith, 1941-
topic: label: Topic
content: Federal aid to the arts -- United States
label: Topic
content: Art -- Commissioning -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: Art patronage
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center were transferred from the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on July 9, 1998, where Zilczer worked as curator.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, compiled by Judith Zilczer, measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1992-1998. Papers kept by Zilczer in her capacity as a member of an advisory committee to the General Services Administrations (GSA) Art-in-Architecture Program, charged with recommending works of art to decorate the federal Ronald Reagan Building and International Center.  The collection documents the process that resulted in the selection of three works of art:  Martin Puryear's Bearing Witness, Stephen Robin's Federal Triangle Flowers, and Keith Sonnier's Route Zenith. The records also document the role of the committee as advocates for the artists when Stop Work Orders for Puryear and Sonnier were issued due to massive construction overruns.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The U.S. General Services Administration allocates up to ½ of one percent of the estimated construction costs of a Federal building for commissioning works of art.  The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, at Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Streets, had an estimated construction cost of $350 million, but became the most expensive federal building ever constructed at a price tag of more than $818 million.  Judith Zilczer served on the panel to make recommendations concerning the type and location of works of art for GSA's consideration.  Other panelists were Charles Atherton, Charles Blitzer, M. J. Brodie, Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Jack Cowart, James Ingo Freed, Tom Green, George Gurney, Lester Hunkele, and Alec Simpson.  Because of their deliberations, Puryear, Robin, and Sonnier were awarded commissions.  While these papers document Zilczer's interactions with committee members and others, they concern only her participation.  The story behind the Reagan Building GSA commission forms a significant chapter in the history of late twentieth-century public patronage.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.4 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1992-1998
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.zilcjudi
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 1 series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid was created by Kristi Meltvedt in 2017.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, compiled by Judith Zilczer, measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1992-1998. Papers kept by Zilczer in her capacity as a member of an advisory committee to the General Services Administrations (GSA) Art-in-Architecture Program, charged with recommending works of art to decorate the federal Ronald Reagan Building and International Center.  The collection documents the process that resulted in the selection of three works of art:  Martin Puryear's Bearing Witness, Stephen Robin's Federal Triangle Flowers, and Keith Sonnier's Route Zenith. The records also document the role of the committee as advocates for the artists when Stop Work Orders for Puryear and Sonnier were issued due to massive construction overruns.

Records include correspondence and printed material about the building opening preparations and dedication ceremony; correspondence and notes about the Stop Work Order in 1995; correspondence and site proposal from Keith Sonnier; correspondence, meeting minutes and notes, projects, installations, and artists regarding the Art-in-Architecture Program; and correspondence, proposals, and architectural drawings regarding the GSA.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art are personal papers of historian, writer and curator Judith Zilczer, which measure 0.4 linear feet and date from  1973-1995, and an oral history interview with Paul Allen Reed conducted by Judith Zilczer, April 29, 1994.

Additionally, The Smithsonian Institution Archives in Washington, D.C. holds a large collection of Judith K. Zilczer Papers, 1975-2003.