Corcoran Digital Resources

We have digitized some key documents from the Corcoran Archives. Here are some samples. Included are also archives of Corcoran websites.

Corcoran Early Directors’ Records

A selection of the correspondence records of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s first directors. Letters date from 1860-1876. The letters comprise many of the earliest records contained within the Corcoran Archives. The office of Curator of the Gallery (later termed Director) was not formally defined by the Board of Trustees until 1873, so early letters are addressed to various recipients, including W.W. Corcoran and the Gallery itself. The digital files are arranged and titled in groups of 10, as a replication of the physical foldering and arrangement of the physical correspondence records. Transcriptions are available online for some of the groupings of letters.

Each letter was originally given a sequential number and indexed in a “Register of Letters Received” volume by the Corcoran Gallery. All three Registers of Letters Received contained in the Corcoran Archives have been digitized, so an index of all letters received by the Corcoran Gallery from 1869-1908 is available online.

Complete Corcoran directors’ records on the Internet Archive

Corcoran directors’ correspondence registers (indexes)

Individual links to each register:

Corcoran Board of Trustees Records,1869-1980

Corcoran Gallery of Art Board of Trustees meeting minutes and reports, spanning from the founding of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1869 through 1980. Early reports (1869-1952) are compiled and indexed in bound volumes, labeled as “Journal of the Official Proceedings of the Trustees” and “Minutes of the Meetings of the Board of Trustees.” Later reports (1953-1980) are filed as folders per each meeting of the Trustees.

Complete Corcoran Board of Trustee records on the Internet Archive

Corcoran Board of Trustees reports (bound volumes), 1869-1942

Corcoran Board of Trustees reports, 1953-1980

Individual links to each volume:

Listing of Corcoran Exhibitions, 1897-2014

Archivist Marisa Bourgoin created this comprehensive listing of all special exhibitions held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1897 until its closing in 2014. Exhibitions for which a catalog was produced are noted. Catalogs may be found in the George Washington University Libraries and the National Gallery of Art Library. Related materials, such as research files, checklists for shows without catalogs, and other materials documenting many of these exhibitions are also available in the Corcoran Archives at George Washington University Libraries. Researchers should consult available collection guides or contact Special Collections staff at speccoll@gwu.edu.

Sample of photographs from the Corcoran Archives

A small sample of the vast photographic images from the Corcoran Archives. The selection of images here ranges from 1907 - 1982, and includes images from several historic exhibits, from the Corcoran Ball, and early views of the Flagg building's main staircase and exhibit spaces. More information about the Corcoran's photo archives can be found in the Guide to COR005-03-RG Series 1 Subseries 1.

Biography and Registers, four volumes, and loose sheets

The Biography contains information on the physical treatment of works of art in the Corcoran’s permanent collection. The Registers were the earliest records created about works of art in the Corcoran’s collection and are arranged by the date of the acquisition. Use of these volumes was discontinued in the 1940s when modern registration methods were implemented. Accompanying the four bound volumes are various loose sheets of material, some undated.

Volumes

Biography of Paintings, 1890 - 1895

Loose Sheets

Corcoran Supplementary List of Paintings, 1920 - 1924

Index Record of Paintings belonging to the Corcoran Gallery of Art

Index to Record of Casts belonging to the Corcoran Gallery of Art

Corcoran Catalog of Engravings

Transcriptions of the Journals of William MacLeod, the Corcoran’s First Curator, 1876-1884 & 1886

Corcoran's first curator William MacLeod maintained these journals as an aid in compiling his annual reports to the Board of Trustees - reports that included statistics and narrative reports on all of the Corcoran’s activities.

In brief daily entries, MacLeod noted objects received on exhibition, the physical condition of the building, the visit to the gallery by important personages, the activities of the students, notable correspondence received, as well as the number of visitors and the number of catalogs sold, his health, and the weather. The journals are among the most important records on the earliest years of the museum and the school. The transcripts were created with support from the NHPRC by Marshall Kiker.

Corcoran Gallery of Art

Corcoran Gallery of Art, 2014 draft redesign of website never publicly used

Corcoran College of Art + Design

Unveiled @ Corcoran School

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