Description
The papers document Sam Wagstaff's
activities as curator and collector, with a focus on his collections and collecting
processes. The papers are rich in correspondence and include letters from artists,
photographers and cultural institutions. Original photographs and non-photographic original
artworks are included, as well as slides, negatives, postcards, film reels, prints and
drawings.
Background
Curator and visionary photography collector Samuel Wagstaff Jr. was born 1921, in New York
City. The son of a lawyer from an old New York family and fashion designer Olga Piorkowska,
Wagstaff graduated from Yale University and served in the Navy during World War II. After
the war and a short career in advertising he studied Renaissance art at New York
University's Institute of Fine Arts under the mentorship of Richard Offner. In 1959 he
received a David E. Finley art history fellowship at the National Gallery of Art. He assumed
a curatorial position in contemporary art at the Wadsworth Atheneum from 1961 to 1968 and
then at the Detroit Institute of Arts from 1968 to 1971. At both institutions Wagstaff
pursued his interest in the avant garde and helped promote the careers of artists such as
Michael Heizer, Tony Smith, Gordon Newton and Richard Tuttle.
Extent
96 Linear Feet
(126 boxes, 5 rolls, 19 flatfiles)
Restrictions
Contact Library Reproductions
and Permissions.
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers with the following exceptions. Film reels are
unavailable until reformatting is complete.