Abstract
The Art Wolf Professional Papers (1988-2018) document the career of museum professional and consultant Art Wolf who specialized in supporting cultural heritage of indigenous communities, particularly in the Southwest and Las Vegas, Nevada. Materials document Wolf's work with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) as a board member, in conference planning, and as a Study Leader for Smithsonian Associates Study Tours. Also included are materials that represent Wolf's involvement as an alumni of the Leadership Las Vegas program and director of the Nevada State Museum. The collection includes some ephemera and invitations to different events held in Las Vegas, Nevada that Wolf was invited to. The collection also includes examples of unsuccessful bids for consultancy jobs through WOLF Consulting and his files as a master's thesis adviser for the Museum Studies program at Harvard Extension School.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Art Wolf Professional Papers (1988-2018) document the career of museum professional and consultant Art Wolf who specialized in supporting cultural heritage of indigenous communities, particularly in the Southwest and Las Vegas, Nevada. Materials document Wolf's work with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) as a board member, in conference planning, and as a Study Leader for Smithsonian Associates Study Tours. Also included are materials that represent Wolf's involvement as an alumni of the Leadership Las Vegas program and director of the Nevada State Museum. The collection includes some ephemera and invitations to different events held in Las Vegas, Nevada that Wolf was invited to. The collection also includes examples of unsuccessful bids for consultancy jobs through WOLF Consulting and his files as a master's thesis adviser for the Museum Studies program at Harvard Extension School.
Access Note
Collection is open for research, with the exception of materials that are restricted to protect personally identifiable information. Restrictions are noted at the box level of this inventory and will be open for research user on January 1, 2085. Arrangements must be made in advance to access digital files; please contact UNLV Special Collections and Archives for additional information.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in the order which they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Arthur H. "Art" Wolf was born on June 18, 1953 in New Rockford, North Dakota. Wolf was a lifelong anthropologist and humanist dedicated to exploring and discovering the natural environment around him. He earned a BA in Anthropology at the University of Nebraska in 1975 and an MA in Anthropology and Museum Studies at the University of Arizona in 1977. Wolf held curatorial and director positions for several museums in the western region of the US including the School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico, the Musuem of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. He also worked extensively in Las Vegas, Nevada as the director of the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society, and was the founding director of the National Atomic Testing Museum.
In 2004, Wolf created WOLF Consulting where he offered consultancy services to the cultural heritage sector based on his years of experience and service for different cultural heritage organizations. WOLF Consulting included clients throughout the United States and abroad in Qatar and Kuwait. Wolf worked closely with indigenous communities and was a part of the National Planning Council for the Sustaining and Advancing Indigenous Cultures project of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. He was also an active member of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and served on several committees overseeing AAM's governance and conference planning. Wolf was also a thesis advisor for candidates in the Museum Studies program for Harvard Extension School from 2007 to 2013.
Art Wolf passed away after a brief illness on February 14, 2021. He is survived by his wife and partner, Holly M. Chaffee.
Sources:
"Arthur H. Wolf, 1953-2021,"
"Arthur H. Wolf, Founder & Principal biography," WOLFConsulting.us, July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190407021953/https://www.wolfconsulting.us/about-us/
Preferred Citation
Art Wolf Professional Papers, 1988-2018. MS-01168. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1fj5j
Permalink
Acquisition Note
Materials were donated by Holly M. Chaffee in 2023; accession number 2023-086.
Processing Note
In 2024, Tammi Kim rehoused the materials and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. Digital files were transferred off of six optical discs that represent interactive CD-ROM programs that can be executed by a computer. The discs are described in the inventory and the digital files remain in their original formats in order to preserve the functionality of the interactive CD-ROM programs.
Subjects
Administrative Information
Resource Type
Collection Type
EAD ID
Appraisal Note
Acquired by Su Kim Chung, curator, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings on the southwest and Las Vegas. All material that formed the original gift has been retained.