Abstract
The Las Vegas Art Museum Records (1952-2009) contain administrative files, press, marketing materials, and scrapbooks that document the history of the Las Vegas Art Museum (LVAM). Collection materials include exhibition files, annual reports, financial statements, board meeting agendas and minutes, event invitations, press releases, and newspaper and magazine clippings documenting the museum's activities. Materials include photographs from museum events as well as photographs of artwork displayed as part of visiting and permanent exhibitions. Audio and video recordings include interviews with museum staff and local news coverage of events. Also included are architectural floor plans for the Sahara West Library, which was used as a gallery space for LVAM. Digital files in this collection include recordings and presentation slides from LVAM lectures with curators and artists. Other digital files include photographs from LVAM events and workings files from LVAM staff.
Finding Aid PDF
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Scope and Contents Note
The Las Vegas Art Museum Records (1952-2008) span the history of the Las Vegas Art Museum (LVAM) in Las Vegas, Nevada from its start as the Las Vegas Art League in the 1950s until its closure in 2009. The collection contains materials primarily related to its business functions and museum publicity. Business records include exhibition files, annual reports, income statements, board meeting agendas and minutes, scrapbooks, and materials related to planning the museum's future growth and expansion. Museum publicity includes promotional postcards, event invitations, press releases, and an extensive series of local newspapers and magazines containing articles about the museum and its exhibitions. Materials include photographs from museum events as well as photographs of artwork displayed as part of visiting and permanent exhibits. Also included are audio and video recordings of interviews with museum staff and local news coverage of events and architectural floor plans for the Sahara West Library which was used as a gallery space for the Las Vegas Art Museum. Digital files in this collection include recordings and presentation slides from LVAM lectures with curators and artists. Other digital files include photographs from LVAM events and workings files from LVAM staff.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. 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 website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
General Note
Ingested optical discs, floppy disk, and external hard drive are stored in box 00 on MS 13.11.1 - box 00 is not listed in the inventory.
Biographical / Historical Note
The Las Vegas Art Museum (LVAM) started as the Las Vegas Art League. Lucile Bruner, Vivian Woods, and Helen Wooley Willis founded the League in 1950 to bring fine art to Las Vegas, Nevada. The League held meetings, offered instructional art classes, created exhibitions and contests, and provided a network through which artists and art collectors could buy and sell art. In 1967 the City of Las Vegas bought the Twin Lodge Resort and renamed it Lorenzi Park. The Las Vegas Art League rented one of the old Lodge buildings to create a permanent space for art education and exhibitions.
In 1974 the Las Vegas Art League was renamed and incorporated as the Las Vegas Art Museum (LVAM), the first fine art museum in Southern Nevada. LVAM continued to operate out of the Lorenzi Park buildings until 1995 when the City of Las Vegas terminated their lease to expand the Derfelt Senior Center’s facilities. The museum’s collections were temporarily loaned to the West Charleston campus of the Community College of Southern Nevada until 1997. At that time, the Las Vegas Art Museum moved into the Sahara West Library/Fine Arts Museum. LVAM operated out of this location until 2009 when it was forced to close due to lack of funding. A majority of the collection is now housed at the Marjorie Barrick Museum on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Source:
Las Vegas Art Museum Records, 1952-2009. MS-00549. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Preferred Citation
Las Vegas Art Museum Records, 1952-2009. MS-00549. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2009 by the Las Vegas Art Museum via Anne Kellogg; accession number 2009-04. Subsequent additions were transferred from the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art in 2022 and 2023; accession numbers 2022-001, 2022-037, and 2023-046.
Processing Note
Materials were processed by Special Collections Staff. In 2015, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Franklin Howard brought the collection into compliance with current professional standards. In 2017 Joyce Moore edited and updated content description and published Archives Space finding aid. In 2022, Tammi Kim minimally processed the 2022 additions and updated the finding aid. Digital files were transferred off of optical discs, a floppy disk, and external hard drive. Digital files were roughly organized by topic. No access files were created for any files at this time. In 2023, Tammi Kim rehoused the 2023 addition and updated the finding aid. Files from one optical disc were also transferred and an access copy was created.
Subjects
Administrative Information
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Appraisal Note
Duplicate publications of magazines in this acquisition that already exist in the Special Collections Periodicals and in the Architectural Library Periodicals have been removed from this collection. In 2022, Tammi Kim reviewed and deleted empty folders and extraneous system files from the digital files.