Noche Crist papers
name: label: Creator
content: Crist, Noche
label: Names
content: Lassman, Vivienne M.
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Occupation
content: Printmakers -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Outsider art
label: Topic
content: Self-taught artists -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were donated in 2023 by Vivienne Lassman.
creator: label: Creator
content: Crist, Noche
setName: label: See more items in
content: Noche Crist papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Noche Crist papers date from circa 1930 to 2019 and measure 5.9 linear feet. The papers document Crist's career as a painter and printmaker through correspondence, writings, professional activity files, printed materials, artwork, photographic materials, audio-visual materials, and born-digital materials.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Noche Crist (1909-2004) was an artist in Washington, D.C.­ Originally from Romania, Noche Crist was active in the Washington art world in many ways including experimenting with new materials, showing in spaces such as the Washington Project for the Arts, Glen Echo, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Katzen Museum, and co-founding Gallery 10. Her work is also held in the collection of the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and she is often categorized in literature as an Outsider artist. Crist also wrote and directed short plays and worked in the silkscreen medium.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1930-2019
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.crisnoch
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 8 series

Series 1: Correspondence, 1949-2004 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Writings, 1963-2000 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1, 8)

Series 3: Professional Activity Files, 1944-2019 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 8)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1953-2009 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 3, 8)

Series 5: Artwork, circa 1961-2002 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 8)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1930-2003 (0.8 linear feet; Box 4)

Series 7: Audio-Visual Material, 1992-2006 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 8: Unprocessed Born-Digital Material, undated (0.4 linear feet; Box 7)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2025.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Noche Crist papers date from circa 1930 to 2019 and measure 5.9 linear feet. The papers document Crist's career as a painter and printmaker through correspondence, writings, professional activity materials, printed materials, artwork, photographic materials, audio-visual materials, and born-digital materials.

Correspondence consists primarily of greeting cards and other personal correspondence to and from Crist. Also included is a file of invitations to and from Crist. Writings consists of notes and notebooks and manuscripts for her various short plays including "Memoires Part I," Memoirs Part II," and "Boudoirs and Lupanars."

Professional activity files consist of biographical statements and resumes, Crist's work during her years in Hawaii, exhibitions Crist participated in, interviews, and documents related to productions of her short plays. Also included are documents on her time working at Gallery 10, and material from the Noche Crist Trust related to estate settlements and exhibitions in the years following Crist's death.

Printed material consists of clippings, articles and reviews of Crist's artwork and exhibitions, some exhibition announcements and catalogs, and files on some of her exhibitions.

Artwork consists of sketches and sketchbooks, small paintings, and prints. A number of the sketches and prints are of characters and scenes for books that Crist did illustrations for. Also included are greeting and holiday cards created by Crist.

Photographic material consists primarily of photographs, transparencies, and negatives. Subjects include Noche Crist, family and friends, travels in Romania and Hawaii, exhibition installation shots, and artworks.

Audio-Visual material consists of sound recorded interviews, music, and production of plays on audio cassettes. Also included are video recordings, both personal and professional, of her various plays and exhibition installations on VHS, Betacam, Hi8 cassettes, MiniDVs, and U-Matic cassettes.

Unprocessed born-digital materials consist of roughly 68 CDs and DVDs containing digital images of artwork, video recordings, and other documents.