Riva Castleman (1930-) joined MoMA's Department of Drawings and Prints in 1963 as a cataloger and in 1976 became Director
of Prints and Illustrated Books (department est. 1976.) She was named Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs in 1986, a position
she held in addition to her work as Director of Prints and Illustrated Books until she retired in June 1995.
Ms. Castleman received her B.A. in art history from the University of Iowa and pursued graduate work at the Institute of Fine
Arts at New York University. From 1951 to 1955, she was an assistant curator at the Art Institute of Chicago before working
at the California Historical Society in San Francisco from 1956 until 1957. Between 1958 and 1962 she was an associate of
John Fleming, an antiquarian book dealer in New York City. Castleman recognized the significance of prints and illustrated
books as important expressions of modern art. Among her important writings are Contemporary Prints (1973), Prints of the Twentieth Century: A History (1976), Printed Art: A View of Two Decades (1980), Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective (1987) and American Impressions: Prints Since Pollock (1994). During her tenure at the Museum she arranged over twenty-one exhibitions on modern and contemporary prints, lithographs
and illustrated books.
The processed Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs records (1976-1993) are contained in seven 5" and two 2.5" document boxes.
The records include three linear feet of correspondence, memoranda, reports, exhibition proposals, committee minutes, exhibition
schedules, financial information, and photographs assembled by Riva Castleman during her tenure as Deputy Director of Curatorial
Affairs.
Documentation gathered over the course of the Deputy Director's activities is varied; until November 1995 the position oversaw
the Department of Education and the library in addition to the curatorial departments. The records from the Curatorial Committee
on Exhibitions include reports, notes, correspondence with museum curators (both at MoMA and from outside museums and galleries),
committee minutes, exhibition schedules, and correspondence and memoranda concerning international exhibitions. Correspondence
and memoranda include documents forwarded to Castleman by curators. A significant portion of this series concerns the six
individual curatorial departments including correspondence from Director Richard E. Oldenburg, Waldo Rasmussen of International
Exhibitions, and various curatorial staff such as Magdelena Dabrowski, John Elderfield, Peter Galassi, Adrienne Mancia, Richard
Palmer, Linda Shearer, John Szarkowski, Kirk Varnedoe, and Stuart Wrede.
The records also document the Contemporary Arts in Context Program [CAIC], including Artists' Talks, Discussion Panels, Open
Forums, and the CAIC Exhibition. The collection includes reports and surveys, committee minutes, memoranda, and budgetary
information concerning the Museum's Department of Education and Library and the Library Director, Clive Philpot.
The records are open for research and contain few restricted materials.
The Papers of Riva Castleman are the physical property of The Museum of Modern Art. Literary rights, including copyright belong
to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides
with The Museum of Modern Art. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum
Archivist.
A Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs was appointed in 1986 as a result of the restructuring of The Museum of Modern Art
under the direction of Richard E. Oldenburg. Riva Castleman, Director of Prints and Illustrated Books (1976-1995), was the
first person to serve as Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs; four other deputy directorships were also created at that
time. The Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs is the liaison between the director of the Museum and the directors of the
six curatorial departments (Architecture and Design, Drawings, Film, Painting and Sculpture, Photography, and Prints and Illustrated
Books), and from 1986 through 1995, the Department of Education, the Library and the Projects series.
From 1988 through 1991 the Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs also served as the administrator of the National Endowment
for the Humanities [NEA] funded Contemporary Art in Context program (1988-1989, 1991) which involved the efforts of the Museum's
Department of Education, an interdepartmental working group of curators, and the auxiliary Contemporary Arts Council. This
program, composed of artists' talks, exhibition, panel discussions, forums, and symposia, focused on the Museum's role as
a forum for the study of contemporary art, by establishing a dialogue on how the art of our time was appreciated and perceived.
Riva Castleman Papers, [series.folder]. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York.
| Series I: Curatorial Committee on Exhibitions
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17 folders, two 5" and one 2 1/2" boxes.
All folders begin with the title “Curatorial Committee on Exhibitions.” Box 1 contains administrative documentation of the
coordination of exhibition activities of all curatorial departments; incl. internal and external exhibition proposals both
approved and rejected, budgetary information, grant applications, minutes, exhibition procedures, exhibition schedules, memoranda
and correspondence; Boxes 2 and 3 contain specific exhibition documentation for each of the curatorial departments; incl.
approved proposal sheets for exhibitions with name of curator, subject/title of exhibition, dates, and projected costs.
|
| Folder |
Title |
Date |
| I.1 |
“Correspondence, 1985-1988” 0.5"
Some correspondence in this folder concerns international exhibitions;
Incl. copy of TLS Linda Shearer (Painting and Sculpture) - Margarita Tupitsyn (Contemporary Russian Art Center) (8/88)
Waldo Rasmussen (International Program) re: “Venice Biennale” (11/14/85)
Richard Oldenberg corresp. with Russian art museum directors
Arthur Drexler and Ian Sinclair corresp. re: new designs (9/25-10/15/1985)
Feb. 1985 Agenda on Curatorial issues
Proposals for “projects” gallery
|
1985-1988 |
| I.2 |
“Exhibition Committee Minutes and Convening Notices, 1985-1992” 1"
Incl. list of “Modern Shows in New York Area, 1989-1993”
|
1985-1992 |
| I.3 |
“Exhibition Fundraising” |
1986-1988 |
| I.4 |
“Exhibition Procedures” |
1985-1986 |
| I.5 |
“Exhibition Schedules” 1.5"
|
1985-1992 |
| I.6 |
“International Exhibitions” Incl. Waldo Rasmussen corresp. re: Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century [MoMA Exh. #1654, June 2-September, 7 1993]
Alan Bowness of Tate Gallery, London re: possible joint exhibition with Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Museum Nationale d'Art
Moderne, Paris, “International Contemporary Art of the Last Two Decades”, (March 1988)
High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture [MoMA Exh.# 1559, October 7, 1990-January 5, 1991]
|
1987-1992 |
| I.7 |
“Memos” |
1985-1992 |
| I.8 |
“Outside Exhibition Proposals” 1"
Concerns both rejected and accepted proposals from domestic and international institutions, scholars, and museums
Many proposals unsolicited
|
1990-1992 |
| I.9 |
“Outside Exhibition Proposals” 1"
|
1985-1989 |
| I.10 |
“Architecture and Design” 1"
Photocopies of eight Philip Johnson TLS, dated December 1987, forwarded to Stuart Wrede (Director, Architecture and Design
Department) re: Deconstructivist Architecture [MoMA Exh.# 1489, June 23-Aug 30 1988]
|
1985-1993 |
| I.11 |
“Drawings” 1"
Incl. corresp. with Magdelena Dabrowski, John Elderfield, and Bernice Rose.
|
1984-1992 |
| I.12 |
“Film” Incl. corresp. with Mary Lea Bandy, Laurence Kardish, and Adrienne Mancia
|
1985-1993 |
| I.13 |
“Painting and Sculpture” 1"
Incl. corresp. with Richard Palmer and Kirk Varnedoe
|
1990-1992 |
| I.14 |
“Painting and Sculpture” 1"
Incl. corresp. with John Elderfield, Richard Palmer, and Linda Shearer
|
1985-1989 |
| I.15 |
“Photography” 1"
Incl. corresp. with Peter Galassi and John Szarkowski
|
1985-1992 |
| I.16 |
“Prints and Illustrated Books” |
1984-1991 |
| I.17 |
“Projects, 1976-1990” 1.25"
Concerns the “Projects” exhibition series
Incl. proposals, memoranda and corresp. from curatorial staff such as Richard Palmer, Linda Shearer, John Szarkowski, and
Kirk Varnedoe
Curatorial Committee on Exhibition minutes of meeting on the series (October 16, 1985)
Exhibition brochure for Win Knowlton (March 13-April 22, 1986) and Judith Barry (May 3-June 3, 1986)
|
1976-1990 |
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| Series II: Contemporary Art in Context
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33 folders; three 5" document boxes
All folders begin with the heading “Contemporary Art in Context” CAIC. In 1986, the National Endowment of the Arts created
a category of grants in its Museum Program called “Special Artistic Initiatives.” Contemporary Art in Context, an effort to
increase awareness of MoMA as a focus for the study and appreciation of contemporary art, was a program of exhibitions of
contemporary art drawn from the museum's collection and several series of lectures, symposia, forums, and artists talks funded
by the NEA program in 1988-1989. With the assistance of the Museum's auxiliary Contemporary Arts Council, interaction with
the artists and participants was an informal and unique element of the program. The program intended to focus on how the art
of our time is perceived. See Subseries descriptions for detailed information on separate programs.
|
| Subseries A: Artists Talks
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|
4 folders; one half of 5" document box
Official title of program: “Artists' Talks in the Galleries”; Contemporary Artists chose a work (or room) in MoMA to discuss
in terms of their own work, experience, aesthetic, or philosophy. Contains lists of artists and the subjects of their talks,
biographical information, and correspondence.
|
| Folder |
Title |
Date |
| II.A.1 |
“Artists' Talks November 16, 1989” 0.25"
Artists--
Tina Barney, Houston Conwill, Brice Marden, Mark Rappaport, Dorothea Rockburne, and Francesc Torres.
See also Sound Recordings of Museum-Related Events for #89.11 for Tina Barney talk.
|
1989-1991 |
| II.A.2 |
“Artists' Talks May 4 & May 8, 1989” 0.25"
May:
Ashley Bickerton, Robert Cumming Eric Fischl, Izhar Patkin, Howardena Pindell, Michael Young
May 8:
Alice Aycock, Emilio Cruz, David Diao, Jenny Holzer, Brian Hunt, Neil Winokur
|
1989 |
| II.A.3 |
“Artists' Talks November 10, 15, 17 1988” 0.25"
Nov 10:
Jake Berthot, Ross Bleckner, R.M. Fischer, Michael Spano, Pat Steir
Nov. 15:
Ida Applebroog, Larry Fink, Tim Rollins, David Salle, Joel Shapiro
Nov. 17:
Richard Bosman, Peter Campus, Jane Dickson, Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler, Annette Lemieux, and James Wines.
|
1988 |
| II.A.4 |
“Artists' Talks March 1,3,4 1988” 0.5"
March 1:
Scott Burton, Ken Feingold, Jan Groover, Vitaly Komar & Alexander Melamid, Yvonne Rainer, Mark Tansey, Elizabeth Murray, Leon
Golub, and Nancy Spero
March 3:
Joseph Kosuth, Justen Ladden, Robert Longo, William Wegman, Terry Winters
March 4:
Donald Sultan, Vito Acconci, Sue Coe, Faith Ringgold. See also Sound Recording Collection # 88.1 for Ken Feingold talk.
|
1988 & 1991 |
| Subseries B: Budget and Funding
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|
Six folders of budgets and financial reports, processed as Subseries B, were retained for the required seven year period and
then discarded.
|
| Subseries C: Exhibition
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Concerns Contemporary Art in Context: Recent Acquisitions, MoMA Exh. # 1478, February 29-March 5, 1988.
|
| Folder |
Title |
Date |
| II.C.1 |
“Exhibition- Barbara Kruger, Feb. 29- March 5, 1988” 2 items
Kruger was a guest curator of “Picturing Greatness” segment of primary exhibit, January 14-March 29, 1988
Incl. article, “ 'I am the greatest': Kruger and Albers” by Richard Woodward, New Criterion June 1988, 1 item
|
1988 |
| II.C.2 |
“Exhibition- Recent Acquisitions Feb. 29- March 5, 1988” 0.25"
Contemporary Art in Context: Recent Acquisitions [M0MA Exh. #1478]
Incl. five (5) Polaroids from the exhibition
One folder floor plan of the Lobby Gallery space in the Roy and Niuta Titus Theater I
Acquisition inventories for the years 1968, 1978, and 1988 from Architecture and Design, Film, Photography, and Painting and
Sculpture departments
Committee on Painting and Sculpture Minutes, 1987-1988.
|
1988 |
| II.C.3 |
“Video Exhibition, Feb. 29, March 5, 1988” |
1988 |
| Subseries D: “Open Forum”
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|
Open Forums were round table discussions with representatives of museums, alternative spaces, and corporate collections, as
well as freelance curators concerned with the presentation of contemporary art. Incl. membership lists, attendance lists,
cv and biographies of presenters, correspondence, and memoranda.
|
| Folder |
Title |
Date |
| II.D.1 |
“Mailing Lists for Open Forum” |
n.d. |
| II.D.2 |
“Open Forum, March, 20, 1991” 0.25"
Luis R. Cancel, Director of the Bronx Museum of the Arts, led Curator's forum concentrating on multicultural issues
Incl. his 1990 case study, “Building Partnerships: Museums & Their Communities: The Anytown Museum Case Study”
|
1991 |
| II.D.3 |
“Open Forum, May 3, 1989” 0.25"
Concerns “Legal Issues Surrounding the Exhibition, Production, Subjects, and Rights of the Creators of Contemporary Art” addressed
by Harriet K. Dorsen, Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel, Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group Inc.
Stephen Weil, Deputy Director, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; and Beverly Wolff, Secretary and General Counsel of
the Museum of Modern Art
|
1989 |
| II.D.4 |
“Open Forum, November 2, 1988” 0.25"
Concerns “Influence, Intervention, and Influence”
Incl. Stephen Weil, Deputy Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's cv and correspondence
|
1988 |
| II.D.5 |
“Open Forum, March 2, 1988” 0.25"
“Exhibiting Contemporary Art;”
No main speaker
|
1988 |
| Subseries E: Panels and Symposia
|
| Folder |
Title |
Date |
| II.E.1 |
“A Generation Apart: The Differences - Panel, May 6, 1989” 0.75"
Original copy TLS (signed with a lipstick kiss) October 21, 1988 Guerilla Girls to Linda Shearer forwarded to RC with note
|
1989 |
| II.E.2 |
“CAC Files, 1997” |
1997 |
| II.E.3 |
“Panels, May 4 and May 5, 1989” May 4: “A Generation Apart: The Galleries” Panelists Josh Baer and Paula Cooper
May 5: “A Generation Apart: Artists” Panelists: John Baldessari and Tim Rollins
Incl. one Polaroid and fact sheet of John Baldessari
One photograph of Josh Baer
Incl. sheet on Paula Cooper
|
|
| II.E.4 |
“A Generation Apart-Miscellaneous, May 1-9, 1989” 1"
Incl. biographical info. and resumes of artists: Parly Chin, Kinshasha Holman Conwill, David Driskell, Luis Jimenez, G. Peter
Jimison, Inverna Lockpez, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Patterson Sims, and Lorna Simson
Incl. Conwill's notes on index cards and highlighted copies of scholarly articles on multiculturalism
|
1989 |
| II.E.5 |
“Surveying Contemporary Art - Panel Feb. 29- March 5, 1988” 0.25"
|
1988 |
| II.E.6 |
“Contemporary Art and Its Community - Panel, March 2, 1988” |
1988 |
| II.E.7 |
“Points and Views - Panel, Feb 29, 1988” |
1988 |
| II.E.8 |
“Symposium: 'Keeping the Heat On: Activism in Contemporary Museum Practices' May 20, 1992” |
1992 |
| Subseries F: General Administrative Matters
Folder Descriptions:
|
| Folder |
Title |
Date |
| II.F.1 |
“Corporate Discussions, May 1989” One project of CAIC not achieved was a corporate section
Concerns some exploratory meetings with executives to promote creativity with the business world and possible new sources
of income for museums
Incl. corresp. with Robert Douglass Chair of Chase Manhattan Bank (1 item)
Torsten Lilja of the Swedish insurance company Trygg-Hansa
|
1989 |
| II.F.2 |
“General May 1989” |
1989 |
| II.F.3 |
“General, 1988” |
1988 |
| II.F.4 |
“Organization” 0.5"
|
1987-1988 |
| II.F.5 |
“Publication” 0.5"
Incl. one copy of Contemporary Art in Context catalog (1990) describing the project
|
1989-1990 |
| II.F.6 |
“Publicity, May 1-8, 1989” 0.5"
|
1989 |
| II.F.7 |
“Publicity” |
1988 |
| Subseries G: Photographs
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| Folder |
Title |
|
| II.G.1 |
“Photographs - Artists' Talks, Panels” Artists photographed:
Alice Aycock
Vito Acconci
Tina Barney
Germano Celant
Robert Cumming
Eric Fischl
Jan Groover
Barbara Kruger installation
Brice Marden
Izhar Patkin
Mark Rappaport
Dorothea Rockburne
Mark Tansey
Neil Winokur
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