Felrath Hines papers
name: label: Creator
content: Hines, Felrath, 1913-1993
topic: label: Occupation
content: Conservators -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: Art -- Conservation and restoration
label: Topic
content: Painting -- Conservation and restoration
label: Topic
content: African American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Dorothy Fisher donated her late husband's papers to the Archives of American Art in 2002. Additional material donated in 2024 by Andrew Rose, who received the material from Fisher.
creator: label: Creator
content: Hines, Felrath, 1913-1993
setName: label: See more items in
content: Felrath Hines papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of abstract artist and art conservator Felrath Hines measure 6.0 linear feet and date from 1915 to 2015. The bulk of the papers include project files concerning his work as a conservator. These files may include correspondence; condition and treatment reports; financial records, photographic materials, and printed material. Also found is scattered biographical material, general correspondence, and photographs of conserved works--many of which are unlabeled. 

There is a 4.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2024 that includes bound photocopies of references; notes/ journal entries; sketches and sketchbooks, printed material including exhibition catalogs, brochures and newspaper and magazine clippings; biographical information including resumes, an award and diplomas; posthumous material including a Hines's memorial service on cassette; a stencil; inventories of works and price lists; photographs, slides, negatives and DVDs of works of art, Hines, family, and Hines's exhibitions; rolodex and address book; works of art on paper; correspondence; personal business records; files on artists; files on conservation; lectures and talks on cassette; two floppy disks. Materials date from circa 1915-2015.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Felrath Hines (1913-1993) was an African American painter and painting conservator in Washington, DC. 

Felrath Hines was born in 1913 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early-1930s and subscribed to art correspondence courses. He did not begin formal art education until 1945 when he enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago. Hines created abstract landscapes influenced by Cubism, and in the 1960s he was a member of Spiral, a group of Black artists concerned with the role of African American artists in politics and the civil rights movement.

In addition to his personal art career, Hines was a skilled conservator and served as chief conservator at the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. His clients included the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa Collection), Fisk University, Museum of Modern Art, Waddell Gallery, and many other institutions and individuals.

Felrath Hines died in 1993 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1915-2015
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.hinefelr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as two series.

Series 1: Felrath Hines papers, 1954-2002, (Boxes 1-2, OV3; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Unprocessed Addition, 1915-2015; (Boxes 4-9, OV 10; 4.7 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2021.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of abstract artist and art conservator Felrath Hines measure 6.0 linear feet and date from 1915 to 2015. The bulk of the papers include project files concerning his work as a conservator. These files may include correspondence, condition and treatment reports, financial records, photographic materials, and printed material. Also found is scattered biographical material, general correspondence, and photographs of conserved works--many of which are unlabeled. 

There is a 4.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2024 that includes bound photocopies of references; notes/ journal entries; sketches and sketchbooks, printed material including exhibition catalogs, brochures and newspaper and magazine clippings; biographical information including resumes, an award and diplomas; posthumous material including a Hines's memorial service on cassette; a stencil; inventories of works and price lists; photographs, slides, negatives and DVDs of works of art, Hines, family, and Hines's exhibitions; rolodex and address book; works of art on paper; correspondence; personal business records; files on artists; lectures and talks on cassette; two floppy disks. Materials date from circa 1915-2015.