Frances Colpitt papers
name: label: Creator
content: Colpitt, Frances
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- Texas -- Fort Worth
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Texas -- Fort Worth
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2023 by the Estate of Frances Jean Colpitt via Mary Margaret Colpitt, estate executor.
creator: label: Creator
content: Colpitt, Frances
setName: label: See more items in
content: Frances Colpitt papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Frances Colpitt measure 9.0 linear feet and date from 1932 to 2022. The papers document Colpitt's career as an art historian and educator through artist files, research writing project records, teaching files, other professional activities files, printed materials, sound recordings of interviews and lectures, video recordings, and born-digital materials.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Frances Jean Colpitt (1952-2022) was an art historian, art museum curator, and educator in Fort Worth, Texas, who specialized in American art after the 1960s and wrote extensively on abstract art.­ 

Colpitt was born in 1952 and completed her undergraduate studies in Fine Arts at the University of Tulsa in 1974. Colpitt then went on to receive a PhD in art history from the University of Southern California in 1982. Colpitt taught at the University of Southern California from 1988 to 1990, the  University of Texas San Antonio from 1990 to 2005, and at Texas Christian University from 2005 to 2021. Colpitt died in 2022.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 9.3 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1932-2022
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.colpfran
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Artist Files, 1933-2022 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 2: Research Writing Projects, 1930-2022 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 3-6)

Series 3: Teaching Files, 1981-2021 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)

Series 4: Professional Activity Files, 1977-2020 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 8-9)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1975-2018 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 9)

Series 6: Audio Interviews and Lectures, 1980-1983 (0.3 linear feet; Box 9)

Series 7: Unprocessed Born-Digital Material, undated (0.2 linear feet; Box 9)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2023.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Frances Colpitt measure 9.0 linear feet and date from 1932 to 2022. The papers document Colpitt's career as an art historian and educator through artist files, research writing project records, teaching files, other professional activities files, printed materials, sound recordings of interviews and lectures, video recordings, and born-digital materials.

Artist files consist of notes, articles and clippings, exhibition announcements and some catalogs, interview transcripts, and some photographs of artwork related to various artists.

Research writing projects records consist of files on various topics related to abstract art and Los Angeles art compiled by Colpitt for essay and book projects. The files primarily contain photocopies of research articles from the 1930s-1990s with some of Colpitt's notes, but do not typically contain drafts of writings. 

Teaching files contain course materials for courses taught by Colpitt at the University of Southern California, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Texas Christian University. Records include some lecture notes. 

Professional activity files consist of administrative material related to teaching positions, some curatorial projects, and contract writing work.

Printed materials include a copy of Colpitt's dissertation, articles, and exhibition catalogs for exhibitions Colpitt either wrote essays for or helped curate.

Also found are sound recordings of interviews Colpitt conducted with artists and sound recordings of some of Colpitt's lectures. 

A series of unidentified born-digital material remains unprocessed.