Charles Rand Penney papers
name: label: Creator
content: Penney, Charles Rand, 1923-2010
label: Names
content: Charles Rand Penney Collection
label: Names
content: Arp, Jean, 1887-1966
label: Names
content: Audubon, John James, 1785-1851
label: Names
content: Avery, Milton, 1885-1965
label: Names
content: Bertoia, Harry
label: Names
content: Burchfield, Charles Ephraim, 1893-1967
label: Names
content: Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976
label: Names
content: Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964
label: Names
content: Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973
label: Names
content: Ganso, Emil, 1895-1941
label: Names
content: Goodnough, Robert, 1917-
label: Names
content: Grooms, Red
label: Names
content: Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967
label: Names
content: Marin, John, 1870-1953
label: Names
content: Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954
label: Names
content: Miró, Joan, 1893-
label: Names
content: Moore, Henry, 1898-1986
label: Names
content: Nevelson, Louise (1899-1988)
label: Names
content: Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988
label: Names
content: Pepper, Beverly
label: Names
content: Segal, George, 1924-2000
label: Names
content: Sloan, John, 1871-1951
label: Names
content: Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997
label: Names
content: Steinberg, Saul
label: Names
content: Wilke, Ulfert, 1907-1987
topic: label: Topic
content: Art -- Collectors and collecting
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 1993-1994 by Charles Rand Penney.
creator: label: Creator
content: Penney, Charles Rand, 1923-2010
setName: label: See more items in
content: Charles Rand Penney papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of art collector Charles Rand Penney measure 23.1 linear feet and date from 1923 to 1994 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945 to 1994. The majority of the collection consists of Penney's art collection files, which include printed materials, correspondence, notes, and photographic materials. Also found within the papers are catalogs from exhibitions that featured artwork from Penney's collection.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Charles Rand Penney (1923-2010) was an art collector from Buffalo, New York. He was well known for his collection of art by Western New York artists, but also collected art from Europe, Africa, Oceania, and other regions of the United States. His travels contributed to the eclectic mix of paintings, drawings, sculptures, hooked rugs, quilts, and tribal art found within his art collection.

Penney cited receiving the watercolor Warrior in 1933 from Western New York artist Bob Blair as the beginning of his life as an art collector. Years later, Penney served in World War II, attended law school, and began practicing law in the 1950s. His collections grew quickly during the late 1950s through 1970s. Penney collected over 100,000 works of art during his lifetime, much of it guided by dealers James and Merle Goodman. 

In 1963, Penney began donating artwork to the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. In total, approximately 400 works of art were donated to the gallery including Big Diamond by David Smith and Beverly Pepper's Vertical Ventaglio (1967-1968). Penney also donated over 1000 works of art to the Burchfield Art Center in Buffalo, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 23.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1923-1994
label: Date
content: bulk 1945-1994
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.pennchar
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 2 series.

Series 1: Art Collection Files, 1923-1994 (Box 1-23, OV 24; 22.7 linear feet)

Series 2: Catalogs of the Charles Rand Penney Art Collection, 1966-1991 (Box 23, 0.2 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2015 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care Pool Fund, using accelerated processing strategies recently implemented by the Archives to increase information about and access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible.  Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of art collector Charles Rand Penney measure 23.1 linear feet and date from 1923 to 1994 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945 to 1994.  The collection consists primarily of Penney's art collection files which include printed materials, correspondence, notes, and photographic materials. Also found within the papers are catalogs from exhibitions that featured artwork from Penney's collection.  

Artists of significance represented in Penney's art collection files include Jean Arp, John James Audubon, Milton Avery, Harry Beroia, Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Philip Evergood, Emil Ganso, Robert Goodnough, Red Grooms, Edward Hopper, John Marin, Reginald Marsh, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Beverly Pepper, George Segal, John Sloan, Theodoros Stamos, Saul Steinberg, and Ulfert Wilke, among many others. Also included are files for artists that participated in theToronto 20 portfolio project in 1965.  The files do not include Penney's files relating to Charles Burchfield, Wester New York state artists, or objects from the Arts and Craft movement. 

A few notable exhibition catalogs found in the series of catalogs of the Charles Rand Penney art collection are Charles Burchfield: The Charles Rand Penney Collection, The Graphic Art of Emil Ganso, Drawings from the Collection of Charles Rand Penney, Quilts Coverlets Hooked Rugs from the Collection of Charles Rand Penney, The Charles Rand Penney Collection: Twentieth Century Art, and An American Visionary: Watercolors and Drawings of Charles E. Burchfield.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Charles Rand Penney conducted by Robert F. Brown on August 14-16, 1981. Additional files relating to the Charles Rand Penney Foundation (1963-1976) are located at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. Files relating to Western New York state artists, Charles Burchfield, and American Arts and Crafts are located at the Burchfield-Penney Center at Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York.