Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1951-1998, 2014, 2020 (Creation)
Extent
3.21 linear feet [3 record boxes, 1 half document case-long]
- 1 - 5.25 inch floppy disk
- 88 black-and-white photographs
- 77 black-and-white negatives
- 3 contact prints
- 115 color photographs
- 237 color slides
- 4 postcards
- 33 VHS videocassettes
- 3 audiocassettes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Joseph Martin Stuart was born on November 9, 1932, in Seminole, Oklahoma, to Arch William and Lillian (Lindsey) Stuart. He married Signe Margaret Nelson on June 18, 1960.
Joe attended high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and served in the Navy during the Korean War. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master's degrees in art from the University of New Mexico under the GI Bill. An accomplished artist, Joe served as museum director and curator at several institutions, including the Roswell Museum and Art Center, University of Oregon Museum of Art, Boise Art Museum, the Salt Lake City Art Center, and the South Dakota Art Museum at South Dakota State University, where he was also a professor of art history. He passed away on December 9, 2016.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Signe Margaret Stuart was born on December 3, 1937, in New London, Connecticut, to Carl Einar and Anna Louise (Gustafson) Nelson. She married Joseph Stuart on June 18, 1960.
Signe attended the Yale-Norfolk Art School in 1959 and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in the same year. She went on to earn a Master of Arts from the University of New Mexico in 1961.
Her career includes serving as a Professor of Art at South Dakota State University in Brookings from 1970 to 1994. Since 1994, she has worked as an independent artist in Santa Fe. In 2001, she served as an artist-in-residence at Grinnell College.
Signe Margaret Stuart has been recognized as a notable artist by Marquis Who's Who. Her works include the Signe Stuart: Retrospective: March 4-April 23, 1995 exhibition at the South Dakota Art Museum, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection documents the professional and personal lives of Joseph and Signe Stuart. The materials span from 1951 to 2014, with a focus on their contributions to the fields of art and academia.
Joseph Stuart's materials include lecture notes from courses he taught, such as Survey of World Art and Architecture, Modern Art and Architecture, and History of U.S. Art and Architecture from 1986 to 1993. His professional records document his involvement with the American Association of Museums, various art museums, curatorial work, and exhibitions, covering the years 1960 to 1995. Additionally, there is correspondence, book reviews, interviews, and personal awards from 1964 to 1998. The collection also includes his artwork for publications, writings on art and museum ethics, and collected exhibition catalogs from 1959 to 1981.
Signe Stuart's materials contain lecture notes from her time as a professor of art, particularly for the course Design Fundamentals, spanning 1951 to 1994. There is extensive documentation of her Badlands Intermedia Performance project at Badlands National Park from 1988 to 1990, including sketches, grant proposals, photographs, and video footage. The collection features catalogs from her exhibitions, writings, and proposals for research on Swedish artists from 1959 to 2014. Additionally, it includes clippings, writings, and correspondence related to her civic involvement and notable art performances from 1960 to 1985.
The collection provides a detailed view of the Stuarts' professional achievements, academic contributions, and artistic endeavors. Researchers will find insights into the history of art education, museum curation, and the evolution of intermedia art performances.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Open. Researchers are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
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General note
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
ID
ID
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Stuart, Signe, 1937- (Subject)