Willie Anne Wright Personal Papers (VA-02)
Scope and Contents
The collection’s inclusive dates are 1958-2003, 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.
Dates
- 1958-2003
Creator
- Wright, Willie Anne (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Some items have been digitized and they can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Biographical Note
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
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes; 172 folders)
Language of Materials
English
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.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into three series, and items are arranged chronologically within each series.
- Series 1
- Exhibition Files, 1964-2003
- Series 2
- Sales and Representation, 1980-2003
- Series 3
- Curriculum Vitae and Press, 1958-2003
Custodial History
The collection was donated to the VMFA Archives by Willie Anne Wright in August 2016.
Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs
- The Pinhole Image, Eleven Photographers, 1982
- My Lensless Imaging: Pinhole Photographs and Photograms : 1972-2002, 2003
- The Fleeting Glimpse: Selections in Modern and Contemporary Photography from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2010
- Direct Positive, 2015
Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files
- Exhibition File: Virginia Artist: Willie Anne Wright, 1967
- Exhibition File: Virginia Artist: Willie Anne Wright, 1971
- Exhibition File: Virginia Artist One-man Exhibitions [Willie Anne Wright, David Diller], 1977
- Exhibition File: Virginia Artists' Portfolio, 1980
- Exhibition File: The Pinhole Image: Eleven Photographers, 1982
- Exhibition File: Civil War Redux: Pinhole Photographs of Re-enactments, 2011
- Exhibition File: Fleeting Glimpse: Selections of Modern and Contemporary Photography from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011
Related Materials - VMFA Library: Artist Files
- Virginia Artist File: Willie Anne Wright
Related Materials - VMFA Library: Digital Collection
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.
- Photography, Artistic Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Photography, Artistic -- Exhibitions Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- Photography, Pinhole Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- Photography--History--20th century Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- Photography--History--21st century Subject Source: Local sources
- Wright, Willie Anne
Source
- Wright, Willie Anne (Person)
- Title
- Finding Aids to Special Collections in the VMFA Archives | Willie Anne Wright Artist Archives
- Subtitle
- Virginia Artist Archives (VA-02)
- Author
- Courtney Yevich Tkacz, VMFA Archivist
- Date
- 2016
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives Repository
Margaret R. and Robert M. Freeman Library
200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond VA 23220-4007 United States
804-340-1495
library@vmfa.museum
