This collection documents the life and work of the artist James Robert Anderson. Materials include journals, notebooks, personal correspondence, correspondence relating to Anderson’s art career, photographs, production materials for art projects and exhibitions, grant applications, news clippings and press about Anderson’s HIV status, school coursework, and correspondence relating to the death of Anderson’s longtime partner, Rex Jones.

James Robert Anderson was an artist who lived and worked in San Francisco, California. He worked across several different mediums including charcoal drawings, oil paintings, and multimedia installation. Some of his notable works include From Portraits to Perganon, Rattlesnake in a Moving Car, and the design for the 1982 Gay Games poster. Anderson made national headlines in the early 1990s because of the fact that although he was HIV positive, he never developed AIDS, even without the assistance of medical treatments. Anderson had a longtime partner, Rex Jones, who worked at UCSF and passed away in 2007.

3 linear feet (3 cartons)

Copyright to material has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist.

Collection is open for research.