Whitney Halstead papers
name: label: Creator
content: Halstead, Whitney
label: Names
content: Art Institute of Chicago. School
label: Names
content: Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, Ill.)
label: Names
content: Nutt, Jim, 1938-
label: Names
content: Yoakum, Joseph, 1886-1972
place: label: Place
content: Chicago (Ill.)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- Illinois -- Chicago
label: Occupation
content: Art critics -- Illinois -- Chicago
label: Topic
content: Works of art
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Whitney Halstead papers were donated by Theodore Halkin, the executor of Halstead's estate in 1986.
creator: label: Creator
content: Halstead, Whitney
setName: label: See more items in
content: Whitney Halstead papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Whitney Halstead papers measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1982. They document the career of art historian, educator, critic, author, and artist Whitney Halstead. Found within the papers are scattered biographical material; a diary and travel journals; writings and notes (almost one-half of the collection); scattered correspondence; miscellaneous records and printed materials documenting Halstead's tenure at the Art Institute of Chicago; audio-cassette recordings of African and native music; artists files for Jim Nutt and Joseph E. Yoakum; exhibition files; art work by Halstead and others; and photographs of Halstead, friends and colleagues, and art projects. Also found are numerous photographs, slides, and negatives of primitive art, including American Indian art by Southwest tribes.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Art historian, educator, critic, author, and artist Whitney Halstead was born in 1926. After receiving a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Halstead worked as an assistant in the Field Museum's anthropology department. He also taught art history at several Chicago-area universities, including the Art Institute, where he developed a series of courses on primitive art. Some historians have indicated that these courses were an important influence on the work of several artists of the "Chicago School" who studied with Halstead, including Roger Brown, Phil Hanson, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum, among others. Halstead also played a prominent role in the 1965 Art Institute's faculty strike that resulted in better working conditions for the instructors, and by 1967, he had become Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts. In 1970, he assumed the position of Graduate Advisor.

Halstead wrote critical reviews for Artforum, the Chicago Daily News, and numerous articles and essays promoting local and primitive art, including the work of Jim Nutt and naïve artist Joseph E. Yoakum. He also curated several exhibitions, including Made In Chicago and Ulu/Inua: Form and Fantasy in Eskimo Art. Halstead's own art work, exhibitied primarily during the 1950s and early 1960s, was in a variety of media and reflected his interest in Dadaism and Surrealism.

Whitney Halstead died in 1979.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1920-1982
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.halswhit
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Journals (accounts)
label: Type
content: Drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 11 series by either type of material or subject file, and chronologically within each series. Oversized material from various series has been housed in OV folder 8 and is noted in the Series Description/Container Listing Section at the appropriate folder title with see also/see references.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1966-1977 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Personal Correspondence, circa 1933-1978 (Box 1; 6 folders)

Series 3: Diary and Travel Journals, 1957-1975 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Series 4: School of the Art Institute of Chicago Files, circa 1920-1982 (Box 1-2; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1923-1978 (Box 2-5; 3.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Artist Files, 1967-1977 (Box 5-6, OV 8; 36 folders)

Series 7: Hyde Park Art Center File, circa 1960-1977 (Box 6; 4 folders)

Series 8: Exhibition Files, 1966-1975 (Box 6, OV 8; 17 folders)

Series 9: Art Work, circa 1932-1970 (Box 6, OV 8; 21 folders)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1949-1976 (Box 7; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 11: Printed Material, 1966-1975 (Box 7; 5 folders)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The papers were processed in May 2004 by Jean Fitzgerald.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Journals (accounts)
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The Whitney Halstead papers measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1982. They document the career of art historian, educator, critic, author, and artist Whitney Halstead. Found within the papers are scattered biographical material; a diary and travel journals; writings and notes (almost one-half of the collection); scattered correspondence; miscellaneous records and printed materials documenting Halstead's tenure at the Art Institute of Chicago; audio-cassette recordings of African and native music; artists files for Jim Nutt and Joseph E. Yoakum; exhibition files; art work by Halstead and others; and photographs of Halstead, friends and colleagues, and art projects. Also found are numerous photographs, slides, and negatives depicting primitive art, mostly native American Indian art by Southwest tribes.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: Additional Whitney Halstead papers are held by the Art Institute of Chicago.