Willie Anne Wright Artist Archives (VA-02)

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
VMFA Archives
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library
200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23220-4007
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Roxanne Winfield
Phone: (804) 340-1497
Phone: (804) 340-1495
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Some items have been digitized and they can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website.

Terms of access:

The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Upon donation, Wright assigned to the VMFA Archives all of her available rights of copyright in the materials. Digitized content is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.

Preferred citation:

Willie Anne Wright Artist Archives (VA-02). Gift of Willie Anne Wright. VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
47 boxes 47 boxes; 724 folders
Creator:
Wright, Willie Anne and Wright, Willie Anne
Abstract:
The collection documents the career of renowned lensless photographer Willie Anne Wright. Wright's paintings, serigraphs and drawings were her professional focus until 1972 when pinhole photography became her primary creative medium. Comprised mainly of the exhibition files Wright maintained, as well as information about gallery representation and art sales, the collection traces the evolution of her artistic journey over four decades.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Willie Anne Wright Artist Archives (VA-02). Gift of Willie Anne Wright. VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection's inclusive dates are 1944-2020, with the bulk of the material dating from 1964-2003. The collection is comprised of correspondence, checklists, invitations, posters, handbills, photographs, publications, press clippings, and other manuscript material.

This series is comprised of exhibition files for both solo and group shows for her paintings and photography that Wright participated in from 1964 to 2021. If no city is listed, then the location was Richmond. Wright also kept "miscellaneous" files for each decade as well as information about lectures, symposiums, and other events in which she participated.

This series is comprised of information about the sales of Wright's artwork and galleries that represented her from the 1980s up to 2020.

This series is comprised of various documents and objects in the Willie Anne Wright archive, spanning the years 1958-2019, that fall into the following categories: biographical information; artist and institution files; travel; teaching, lectures, and workshops; sketchbooks and notebooks; correspondence; research and notes; foundational materials; technical materials; writings and interviews.

This series comprises books and journals, magazines, and exhibition catalogues that feature Willie Anne Wright's work, interviews, or exhibition content, spanning the years 1944-2020.

Biographical / historical:

Willie Anne Wright is a native and resident of Richmond, Virginia. She received a BS in Psychology from The College of William and Mary and an MFA in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University. She also studied photography at Maine Photographic Workshops, Rockport, Maine; Visual Studies Workshops, Rochester, New York; and VCU.

Wright's paintings, serigraphs and drawings were her professional focus until 1972 when pinhole photography became her primary creative medium. Since then her lensless photography, pinhole and photogram, have been exhibited nationally and internationally, and have been included among numerous publications such as "Art News," "The Oxford American," "Le Stenope," and "The Book of Alternative Processes."

Wright's works are collected privately and publicly, and are in the permanent collections of Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia; George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; High Museum of Art, Atlanta Georgia; The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia; Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, Florida; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana; Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama; Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia; New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia; University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia; University of Maine, Bangor, Maine; and University of New Hampshire, Dublin, New Hampshire.

Source: Willie Anne Wright: Lensless Photography

Custodial history:

The collection was donated to the VMFA Archives by Willie Anne Wright in August 2016.

Processing information:

Original order and folder titles were retained during processing. Social security numbers were redacted on exhibition contracts, photocopied for the collection and originals then destroyed. Copies of checks were destroyed as the financial transactions were documented elsewhere in the collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into six series, and items are arranged chronologically within each series.

Series 1
Exhibition Files, 1964-2021
Series 2
Sales and Representation, 1980-2020
Series 3
Working Files, 1958-2019
Series 4
Photography, 1966-2019
Series 5
Cameras, 1976-1978
Series 6
Publications, 1944-2020