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Title: Edan Milton Hughes Archive
Dates: ca. 1850-2010
Collection Number: 002.CRART.CAU
Creator/Collector:
Hughes, Edan Milton
Extent: 47 linear feet comprised of approximately 7,000 artist files occupying 14 hanging file drawers, two Hollinger boxes of microfiche,
and one Hollinger box of slides.
Repository:
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento, California 95814
Abstract: The archive contains the artist research files of Edan Milton Hughes that informed the contents of his artist reference book
titled Artists in California 1786-1940. The files contain exhibition catalogs, magazine and newspaper articles, photographs,
copies of death certificates, letters, and other materials with information about the life and works of approximately 7,000
artists active in California from the late 18th century to 1940.
Language of Material: English
Call 916-808-8856 or email library@crockerart.org for an appointment or questions. Collection items are for research purposes
only. Researchers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of information contained within the archive. Property rights
to the physical object belong to the Crocker Art Museum. Due to potential copyright restrictions, reproductions may not be
provided for some materials.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her
heir for permission to publish, where applicable.
Edan Milton Hughes Archive. Crocker Art Museum
Through consultation with Associate Director and Chief Curator of the Crocker Art Museum, Scott Shields, the archive was presented
to the Crocker Art Museum by Hughes shortly before his death in 2015.
Biography/Administrative History
Edan Milton Hughes was born June 4, 1935, in Kentucky and came to San Francisco with the U.S. Navy in 1956 where he became
an avid collector of early California art over five decades. He is the author of Artists in California 1786-1940, of which
the third edition contains 20,000 artist biographies. The first edition was published in 1986, the second three years later,
and the third in 2002 by the Crocker Art Museum. Artist information was obtained from books, newspapers, periodicals, auction
and gallery catalogues, census records, and interviews with artists and their descendants. Hughes bequeathed numerous paintings
to the Crocker Art Museum where a gallery is named for him. He died in his home on April 21, 2015.
Scope and Content of Collection
The materials in the Edan Milton Hughes archive span approximately 1850 to 2010. Around 7,000 artists are represented from
the late 18th century up to 1940. The artist research files are arranged alphabetically by last name (a searchable list of
artist names is in preparation). Many folders contain only a copy of a death certificate or scant documentation, whereas others
are more substantial. Items found in the research files include handwritten and typed notes, printed emails, letters, magazine
and newspaper articles, exhibition catalogs, auction records, photocopies of pages from art books, and photographs.
Art–Collectors and Collecting–United States
Art, Visual
Western Art
Pioneers
Painters
Landscapes
California, Northern
San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.)
Artist files