Education Department Records
36 cubic feet
processed by Sandra C. Emrriersor
October 1984
The records of the Education Department were transferred to the Archives
from storage beginning in January 1980, and intermittantly since then, directly
from the Education Department. The following records were discarded: various
unrelated correspondence, duplicate correspondence (Xerox & carbon), interdepartmental memos, time sheets, budget work sheets, outdated mailing lists,
addresses and directories, old program information requests, tour requests,
reservations and schedules, school calendars and docent training and tour
schedules. During the processing the following records were removed to another location:
Material Type
-Photographs
-Catalogs
-Newsclippings
-News releases
New location
Archive audio-visual records
Curatorial publications
Artists vertical files and history
clipping files
P.R. Press release series
History
In 1955 a small group of volunteer women began guiding tours through the
Corcoran Gallery of Art. This initial.docent program was successful but could
not be adequately administered by the Curator whose other Gallery responsibilities were equally demanding. It became obvious to the Women's Corrmittee that
the existing tour program could only be met by the establishment of a permanent
office with a full-time staff. The Women's Corrmittee argued and generously
supported· the view that the Corcoran needed an Education department, not only
to administer the docent program but also to help play up the importance of the
Gallery as a center of American art. Consequently, on June 15, 1967, ten years
after the inception of the initial docent program, the Education Department began with Roger Selby as Curator of Education.
The Ill3.jor tasks of the Education Department at its inception were many.
An important step was to overhaul the docent program -- to review scheduling
procedures, to determine the number of docents the Corcoran needed, to outline
the requirements necessary for docentry, and initiate formal and informal docent
training in order to ensure quality performances. As well as being responsible
for docent selection, training, assignments, and discharge, the Education Department was responsible for the selection, organization, and content of the
tours conducted by the docents. With this end in mind, Roger Selby, the first
curator, began to build a slide collection to use in docent training and in the
Art History courses which he was first the teach in the Corcoran School of Art.
Another important task of the Education Department was to explore new
developments in education via consulting with educators and institutions and to
represent the Corcoran Gallery of Art as an educational advisor. To this end,
the Women's Committee with a generous donation from Mrs. John A. Logan, and in
conjunction with the Education Department, created the Children's Gallery in
1966.
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Established in Gallery 50, the Children 1 s Gallery - filled with tatDles and
chairs - served as a display area as well as a workshop. Through the Children' s
Gallery, the Education Department offered a series of correlated exhibitions
related to school curricula which were supplemented by the use of films, demonstrations, participation and lectures; a series of workroom sessions for different age groups giving opportunities to paint, model, make prints, weave,
make pottery and explore all other crafts; a series of special events designed
to take advantage of transient opportunities to enliven and expand the regular
program. Though the Children's Gallery it.self was phased out, the Corcoran
Education Department still maintains a viable and lively workshop designed to
complement the curricula of the D.C. area public/private schools. The Education Department also offered the extension of various services to the educational conmunity from the Gallery resources. For instance, the setting-up and
circulating of prefabricated small exhibitions to schools and the maintenance
and circulation of good quality reproductions to be available on long-tenn loans
to decorate school assembly halls and classrooms on a yearly or half-yearly
basis.
A further task of the Education Department was conmunity outreach. The
Special Education project first started as an adjunct to the Education Department in 1968, and had the task of formulating and implementing an intensive,
comprehensive conmunity outreach program for the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In
1969, a new department, under the curator of education, was formed extending
full recognition to the first year of experimental progranming. Special Education organized specialty outreach workshops on painting, drawing, sculpture,
graphics, design, photography, film-making, and creative puppetry. The Special
Program department worked with settlement houses, corrmunity centers, Capital
Headstart, National Capital Housing Authority, National Parks Service, Minimum
Security Detention Center at Lorton, Va., Neighborhood Youth Corps, and Workshops for Careers in the Arts.
To enhance the Corcoran's public image, the Education Department inaugurated
v<.rious Wednesday Gallery talks and initiated the first European Art Seminars,
ancrtours-for members.
The Education Department has always sought ways in which to involve the
public as participants rather than just onlookers in their visits to the
Corcoran Gallery. In planning programs that will introduce processes of art,
as well as art history, the department hopes to encourage awareness of the activity of creating and the thought involved in art creation. The Education Department endeavors to present an appropriate introduction to the Gallery for
each age level, a unique visual experience that engages the viewer and one that
will encourage him to return, and the development of the Gallery as a resource
of original art works and the means to use that resource.
Names that are prominent in the Education Department records are:
Roger L. Selby
Sue Ann Hoth
David Stevens
Susan Gans
Donna Ari
Theresa Simmons
Barbara Moore
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Scope and Content Note
The creation of the Education Department in 1965 coincided with the conviction on the part of the Corcoran that a museum art gallery should be more
than a repository for precious objects, but rather, that is should be a force
in moving art from its ''exclusive" status to a position of general availability
to the public. With this goal in mind, the Education Department has developed
art experiences for Washington area young people and adults that are a crucial
mixture of workshop activity and exposure to original works of art. The records of the Education Department reflect its desire to provide an operational
base for the crucial mixture of basic art history, the museum process, and
the workshop process. The records cover all aspects of the Education Department's operation and administration and include: docent notebooks and training
material; intern notebooks and training material; proposals to create an education department; standard operating procedures; budgets; grant proposals and
funds; correspondence; activities notebooks; resource notebooks; school workshops; public liaison committee; school tours program; lesson plans and notes
for school tours; programs offered; exhibition labels and research materials;
film lists; lectures and lecture possibilities; publicity; and bibliographic
material.
Series Outl:ine
I.
Administration
A. Organization
B. Oomrnittees, Meet:ings, Councils
C. Operation
n..:£:::=J~et1sot 1r1eJ?..
II.
F :inane es
A. Fiscal Year Budgets
B. Grants
III. Correspongence
N.
Docents
A. Notebooks
B. Tra:in:ing
c.
Administration
D. Personnel
E .. Tours
V.
Interns
A. Notebooks
.,
B. Adm:inistration ' '•
C. Personnel
VI.
·,
Act,ivities Notebook
VII. Schools
VIII. Programs
A.
B.
C.
D.
IX.
Tours
Workshops
Dance
General
Exhibitions
A. Labels and Pa:int:ings List
B. Individual Exhibitions
x.
Films
XI.
Lectures
XII. Publicity
XIII. Miscellaneous
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SERIES DESCRIPTION
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I.
Admll1istration
Dates: 1963 - 1983
18 cubic feet
A. Organization
1965-1983
Contains proposals for the set up of the Education Department,
standard operating procedures, annual reports and statistics,
history of the Education Department, and suggestions for improving
the organizational structure.
B. Committee, Meetings, Councils
1970-1975
. . -'\
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Contains information on Trustee Education Committee minutef;,
Education Department Committee minutes, Museum Education Roundtable,
Cormnunity Resources, Educational Research Council, Energy Crisis and
Museums, V.C.A.M. Conferences, Computers and Resources, correspondence,
minutes, sub-committee reports, research articles, miscellaneous goals
and objectives.
C. Operation
/-----......
1961-1983
/.tfP )
Contains schedule forms and scheduling procedures, information on~
Museum training programs, special projects (PACE, 370, Lorton, etc.),
proposals and programming and chronological files.
D. Personnel
1970-1981
Contains staff regulations, inforrr.ation on job recruitment for Administrative Assistant and a Projects Aide, volunteers, weekly worksheets,
and evaluations and evaluation forms.
>
II.
Finances
Dates: 1966-1982
1 cubic foot
A. Fiscal Year Budgets
1966-1973
Contains information on cash flow, curator of education travel":fund,
budgets, accounting reports, insurance forms.
/]£0
-,
B. Grants
1974-1982
/~/
Contains correspondence, applications, budgets and reimbursement-records
associated with various grants: HEW Special Project Grants, Helena
Rubenstein Grant, Rockefeller Foundation, Noble Foundation, D.C. Fine
Arts Commission, N.E.H., N.E.A., Federal Aid Project, National Foundation
,for Arts and Humanities.
1 cubic foot
III. Correspondence
Dates: 1964-1978
Contains general correspondence, correspondence dealing with particular
seasons, membership letters, and 'fan mail'.
IV.
Docents
Dates: 1966-1979
11 cubic feet
3 cubic feet
A. Notebooks
1970-1971
Contains copy of invitation to become a docent, a reading list, selected
bibliography on art historical topics, correspondence, docent responsibilities, history of the Corcoran with overview and responsibilities of
the various departments, information on tour techniques, guidelines for
conducting tours, notes on the permanent and changing exhibitions,
docent exam.
5 cubic feet
B. Docent Training
1969-1978
Contains correspondence, training schedules, lecture mterials, bj_ographical materials on artists, questionna1res, self-tours, quizzes,
docent skills workshop, information on other docent programs.
~
1 cubic foot
C. Docent Administration
1969-1978
Contains development report, Treasurer's report, docent's annual report,
attendance reports, monthly and weekly time schedules, staff meeting
minutes, correspondence between docents and various Corcoran departments.
D. Docent Personnel
1 cubic foot
1969-1978
.
~)
Contains d1rector's letter to docents welcoming them to the Corcoran,
d.ocent applications and rejections, docent recruitment procedures and
correspondence, and personnel files on each docent containing evaluation,
exam score, correspondence and schedules.
1 cubic foot
E. Docent Tours
1969-1978
Contains tour procedures, and files of tours gj_ven by docents.
v.
Interns
Dates: 1967-1982
2 cubj_c feet
. 5 cubic foot
A. Notebooks
1975-1979
Contains orientation handouts, correspondence, training program, intern
.reports, journal of the intern process, planning handbook, magazj_ne/re·search articles on art historj_cal topics.
··~
v.
VI.
Intetlns
B.
.5 cubic foot
Administration
1967-1982
Contains annual reports, quarterly reports, bi-monthly reports,
tri-weekly reports, and final reports. All reports are directly
related to the intern and summer intern program .
C.
. 75 cubic foot
Personnel
1975-1982
Personnel file folders on interns containing correspondence,
applications, evaluations, schedules, financial benefits and
recommendations.
Activities Notebook
Dates: 1975-1977
.25 cubic foot
1/):~)
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historical subjects and descriptions
./
Contains bibliographies on art
of school programs, adult programs, children's activities, gallery
information. Informative guide to what kinds of activities the
Education Department offered.
VII.
Schools
. 25 cubic foot
Dates:- 1964-1976
Contains correspondence with schools in the Washington area, tour writeups for the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, lesson plans, notes, teacher
information packets, teacher evaluations of tours, programs, tours,
workshops, ideas, and planning lists.
VIII.
Programs
Dates: 1967-1980
. 75 cubic foot
A.
. 25 cubic foot
Tours
1967-1978
Contains correspondence, itineraries, and general information on
European Art Seminar tours; contains information on self-guided
tours of the Corcoran, studio visits, walking tours, and architectural tours.
'
B:·
Workshops
.25 cubic foot
1970-1980
:Sfl vY• {)! !. •:,
Contains correspondence, planning lists, schedules, sign-up forms
for workshops put on by the Education Department, such as: Workshop for Career in the Arts, The Workshop, the Pre-school workshop,
Sunday membership workshops, Parent-Child workshops, Children's
Sunday workshops.
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VIII.
IX.
ProgramR
C.
Dance
l/8 cubic foot
1974
Contains correspondence, scheduling,(~ ano/~;~~;:;;-_:)
for the Dance Circus and the Experimen in Dance '.i'hea:i;er.
D.
General Programs
1/8 cubic foot
1972-1981
Contains correspondence, schedules,J£!ve;ti;~~;;~1anning notes
on such programs as Parent-Child Treasure Hunt, George1Washington
University Matt series, and the Junior League Educational Program.
Exhibitions
Dates: 1972-1982
A.
1 cubic foot
Labels and Paintings Lists
1/8 cubic foot
1(\{S)
1972-1982
" -'c._ ,..
Contains lists of art paintings in Corcoran collection and the drafts
of labels written for art paintings hung in exhibitions at the Corcoran. Served as examples of how to do labels.
_,,~-·"_,.
B.
x.
Individal Exhibitions
7/8 cubic foot
1972-1982
Contains information sheets, labels for the individual exhibitions,
research articles/materials" programs, handwritten working notes,
press-release copy, inter-office memos and correspondence .
Films
. 25 cubic foot
Dates: 1961-1970
Contains correspondence, programs, fiJm lists, price lists, and
memos.
[
t
XI.
Lectures
. 25 cubic foot
Dates: 1961-69 (19761
Contains correspondence, memos, programs, budgets, announcements, and
lecture possibilities lists, for lecture series and Wednesday Gallery
tp.lks.
XII.
.25 cubic foot
Publicity
Dates: 1972-1976
Contains brochures, publications, publicity, and newsletter copy, as
well as correspondence between the Public Relations Department and the
:Education Department.
XIII.
Miscellaneous
. 25 cubic foot
Dates: 1965-1982
Contains resources notebook, Women's Committee minutes, various bibliographic material, slide orders and correspondence, information on the
audio system, lists of art work reproduced for teaching and lecture
aids.