Finding Aids

New to Archival Research? Here Are Some Key Terms to Know

What is a Finding Aid?

A finding aid is a detailed guide to an archival collection. It typically includes the collection’s identification number, creator, date range, subject headings, biographical or historical notes, a description of the materials, and an inventory of the contents. If a finding aid lacks an inventory, it means the collection has not yet been processed and is not available for public access.

What Are Collections?

A collection refers to:

1.A group of materials unified by a common theme or origin, or

2. Materials gathered by an individual, organization, or repository from various sources.

What Are Record Groups?

A record group is a set of collections that share the same provenance—meaning they were created by the same person or organization. At PAFA, record groups help organize materials from different administrative departments, such as the Museum, School, Board of Directors, Committees, and Student Records.

How Are Collections Described?

Collections are described through finding aids. Some finding aids offer only a general overview, while others include detailed inventories listing series, sub-series, folders, or even individual items.

To assess a collection’s relevance to your research, review the Abstract and Scope and Content Note sections of the finding aid. The Arrangement Note also provides insight into the broader topics and structure of the collection.

Download finding aids.

Management Board of Directors (Trustees) records
Management President of Board correspondence
Management Collection of Biographical information on Board Members
Management Records of Ad-Hoc Committees
Management Strategic Planning Committee minutes
Management Development Committee minutes
Management Executive Committee minutes
Management Finance Committee minutes
Management Committee on Instruction records
Management Committee on Exhibitions records
Management George Corliss secretary records
Management John Douglas Woodward secretary records
Management Harrison S. Morris secretary records
Management John Trask secretary records
Management John Andrew Myers secretary records
Management Joseph Fraser Jr. secretary records
Management William B. Stevens Jr. secretary records
Management Thomas N. Armstrong III secretary records
Management Richard J. Boyle secretary records
Management Frank H. Goodyear, Jr. president records
Management Edward Lewis president records
Management Pennsylvania Academician records
The Museum Frank H. Goodyear Jr. Curatorial records
The Museum Linda Bantel Curatorial records
The Museum Kathleen Foster Curatorial records
The Museum Judith E. Stein Curatorial records for Horace Pippin Exhibition
The Museum Jeanette M. Toohey Curatorial records
The Museum Susan Danly Curatorial records
The Museum Sylvia Yount Curatorial records
The Museum Morris Gallery Curatorial records
The Museum Lynn Marsden Curatorial records
The Museum Peale House Gallery Coordinator records
The Museum Special Exhibition Curatorial records
The Museum Alex Baker Curatorial records
The Museum Julien Robson Curatorial records
The Museum Linda Bantel Director records
The Museum Registrar records - Works on loan returned to owners
The Museum Registrar records -Works no longer in collection
The Museum Registrar records -Permanent collection
The Museum Registrar Office records
The Museum Registrar records – Exhibition files
The Museum Annual Exhibition collection
The Museum Annual Water Color and Miniature Exhibition collection
The Museum Peale House Gallery records
The Museum Miscellaneous Exhibition records
The Museum Morris Gallery records
The Museum Special Exhibition records
The Museum Philadelphia Water Color Club Annual Exhibition (members only) records
The Museum Museum Education records
The Museum Museum Staff biographical records
The Museum Conservation Department records
The Museum PAFA Artifact collection
The Museum PAFA buildings records
The Museum Gifts and Bequest records
The Museum Museum Shop collection
The School Curator of the School records
The School Ephraim Weinberg Dean of the School records
The School Frederick S. Osborne Dean of the School records
The School Student records
The School Dan Miller Chair of the MFA Program records
The School School records
The School Chester Springs records
The School PAFA Faculty records
The School PAFA Library records
The School PAFA Alumni Association records
The School PAFA School Exhibition records
The School Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (FPAFA) records
The School Alumni Gallery records
Administration Special Events records
Administration Finance records
Administration Development Office records
Administration Marketing Department records
Administration Women’s Board records

Download finding aids.

Agnes Allen photographs Walter Anderson correspondence Joseph Amarotico papers John Cadwalader McCall book Henry Bisbing correspondence Jack Bookbinder interview transcript Lizzie Chapin papers Edward Coates correspondence James Claghorn photographs Augustus Heaton papers Sarah Langly Mendenhall correspondence Julian Levi photographs Mary Cassatt papers Dudley Huppler book, The Lesson Charles L. Fussell papers Charles Grafly unpublished manuscript Eliza Haldeman papers Henry McCarter register of paintings Louise Nevelson papers Violet Oakley papers Katharine Dunn Pagon papers Annie Perot papers Daniel Garber papers Joseph Harrison Jr. papers Sara Carle Johns papers Jessie Willcox Smith papers Daniel Muller photographs Walter Stuempfig papers Leroy Edward Wolfe papers Walter Reinsel correspondence Julius Rauzin correspondence Frederick H. Shelton’s research files on Adolph Ulrich Wertmuller Sartain Family papers John Franklin Garber papers Arthur B. Carles correspondence Hugh Breckenridge papers Emma Clara Peale papers Peter F. Rothermel receipt Robert Devlin Schwarz memorial service remarks Gilbert H. Smith papers Elisabeth Spalding papers Elizabeth Sparhawk Jones oral history transcript Thomas Sully correspondence Henry O. Tanner collection Robert Vonnoh correspondence Jeremy Wilson papers Ben Wolf interview transcript Edward R. Anshutz papers Thomas Pollock Anshutz papers Arthur B. Carles papers John Rhoden papers Jane Boyer scrapbooks Tara Tappert collection of Cecilia Beaux research materials David Brigham collection of research materials Alice Kent Stoddard photograph album Collection of research materials for American Originals: Vivian O. and Meyer P. Potamkin-Collectors of American Art Morris Blackburn papers Collection of Henry S. Drinker's research materials on Cecilia Beaux Cecilia Beaux collection William Carey book Rembrandt Peale books Harrison S. Morris papers Thomas Shields Clark letters and photographs Giuseppe Donato collection Birge Harrison photograph George Hollingsworth photograph Henry C. Gibson photographs Sophie Victor Greene photographs Sue Coe papers Bill Viola papers Daniel Webster correspondence Louise Ballinger correspondence John Lambert painted tile Harry Bertoia drawings George Harding papers Hyman Myers renoveation proejct files (Frank Furness building) Collection of Jessie Willcox Smith periodical illustrations

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Collection ID Collection Date Folder Title Box # Folder #