Altman (Robert) Photograph Archive, bulk approximately 1965-1990
Contact Sheets and Negatives
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chiefly by roll numbers (sometimes termed "file" numbers in this guide) assigned by Altman. These roll numbers are not strictly chronological, so library staff assume Altman was not assigning numbers immediately, but did so retrospectively at some later date.
Altman stored his negatives in glassine sleeves in five three-ring binders, placing cut segments from each roll of film in a separate sleeve and numbering the sleeves consecutively. Altman also usually provided dates and some description of the contents of each roll of film. The rolls of film were not placed in the binders in strict chronological order, with diversions of months or even years common. Library staff have rehoused the negatives in archival sleeves and placed them in boxes, following the numbered order Altman created in his binders. Dates on negative envelopes are the dates that Altman noted on the negative sleeves, which may differ from those on the contact sheets and/or prints.
Altman removed certain negatives from the binders and housed them separately. These selected negatives seem to be for images that he considered his best, that he was asked to reproduce most frequently, or that were chosen for exhibition. After he rehoused these selected negatives (usually in plastic sleeves), Altman marked the sleeves to indicate which frames contained the key images. In order to preserve Altman's choices, these selected negatives are filed by roll number in separate envelopes and designated "Best of" in the negative boxes. To preserve Altman's frame indications, photocopies (now filed in PIC box 9) were made of the negatives in the plastic sleeves.
Contact sheets for almost all of the negatives for rolls 1 to 1200 are present and are arranged in folders by roll number. Contact sheets for a small number of rolls 1-1200 are missing. When the content of those negatives is likely of interest to researchers, photocopies of the negatives have been made and included in the folders with the contact sheets. There are no contact sheets for rolls 1201-1399. Negatives and contact sheets have not been cross-checked to ascertain whether all negatives are present and whether all negative images are represented on the contact sheets. In general, discrepancies in dates between the contact sheets and negatives are noted.
Contents
Access and use
- Parent restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
Negatives are available by appointment only. Advance notice required for use.
Some files have been restricted and sealed due to third party privacy concerns. These are noted at the file level within this finding aid.
Duplication requests require curatorial review and approval due to third party privacy concerns. Of particular concern are images of nudity in private intimate contexts.
- Parent terms of access:
-
Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Copyright for material created by Robert Altman has been assigned to the University of California Regents, managed by The Bancroft Library. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For additional information about the University of California, Berkeley Library's permissions policy please see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies
Robert Altman's copyright to the photographs in this collection has been assigned to the University of California Regents. The Regents are unable to reproduce or license works at this time (2023-2024) due to contractual limitations. Please contact Getty Images directly for reproduction or licensing.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft LibraryBerkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
- Contact:
- 510-642-6481