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Creator
Willis, Deborah, 1948-
Call number
Sc MG 452
Physical description
30.82 linear feet (75 boxes); 74.24 mb (107 computer files)
Preferred Citation
[Item], Deborah Willis professional files, Sc MG 452, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Deborah Willis (b. 1948) is an African American photographer, curator, historian of photography, author, and educator. The Deborah Willis professional files date from 1944 to 2011 (bulk dates 1980s-1990s), and document her work on photographic publications and exhibitions.

Biographical/historical information

Deborah Willis (b. 1948) is an African American photographer, curator, historian of photography, author, and educator. Willis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the mother of visual artist and photographer Hank Willis Thomas. She is known for her pioneering work of investigating and preserving the legacy of black photography, and for curating various exhibitions on black culture.

She holds a B.F.A. in photography from Philadelphia College of Art (1975); an M.F.A. in photography from Pratt Institute (1979); an M.A. in art history from City College of New York (1986); and a Ph.D. from the Cultural Studies Program of George Mason University (2001).

Willis was the curator of the Photographs and Prints Division at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (1980-1992); as well as associate director for Research and Collections, and exhibitions curator at the Center for African American History and Culture of the Smithsonian Institution (1992-2000).

She is the author of numerous publications including, Black Photographers, 1840-1940: An Illustrated Bio-bibliography (1985); J.P. Ball, Daguerrean and Studio Photographer (1993); Picturing Us: African American Identity in Photography (1994, Editor); Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present (2000); and The Black Female Body: A Photographic History (2002, with Carla Williams).

Willis's curatorial exhibitions include "Black Photographers Bear Witness: 100 Years of Social Protest" (1989); "Imagining Families: Images and Voices" (1994); and "Visual Journal: Harlem and D.C. in the Thirties and Forties" (1996). She was also awarded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship among others.

Willis is a university professor and chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, a position she has held since 2006.

Scope and arrangement

The Deborah Willis professional files date from 1944 to 2011 (bulk dates 1980s-1990s), and document her work on photographic publications and exhibitions. The collection is not a comprehensive record of her extensive career, instead focusing more on her earliest endeavors. Prominent projects represented in the collection include An Illustrated Bio-bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-1988 (1989); Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present (2000); The Black Female Body: A Photographic History (2002); the Smithsonian Institution's National African American Museum Project (NAAMP,1990s); and the "Visual Journal: Harlem and D.C. in the Thirties and Forties" exhibition (1996).

Publication Projects is a chronological grouping of working files for several of Willis's books including, Black Photographers, 1840-1940: An Illustrated Bio-bibliography (1985); J.P. Ball, Daguerrean and Studio Photographer (1993); VanDerZee: Photographer 1886-1983 (1993); and Picturing Us: African American Identity in Photography (1994). These files generally feature research materials; correspondence; permissions agreements and contracts; drafts and manuscripts; folders for individual photographers made up of brief biographies, artist statements, curriculum vitaes, and some photocopies of their images; and book reviews and press information. Picturing Us files include drafts of essays from the contributors such as bell hooks and Angela Davis. There are also galley proofs and notes for the J.P. Ball and Reflections in Black books.

The Correspondence files are exchanges with photographers, artists, curators, librarians, archivists, and Willis's collaborators. Discussions are usually professional and related to photography. Many photographers and artists sent Willis information about their work and upcoming exhibitions to keep her informed about African diasporic activities. In addition, these files contain letters from the MacArthur Foundation about their fellowship award; as well as congratulatory cards in response to Willis being awarded the fellowship in 2000.

Exhibitions highlights Willis's curatorial work through a number of institutional and personal projects, including "Black Photographers Bear Witness: 100 Years of Social Protest" (1989); "Self-Evident; Exploring Democracy through Photography" (1995); and "Visual Journal: Harlem and D.C. in the Thirties and Forties" (1996). These files consist of proposals; catalogue and exhibition checklists; memoranda about installations; and drafts of panel texts. Materials for a few exhibitions where Willis presented her own work, such as the solo "Fabricated Memories" at the Project Row Houses (2000) are also present.

The collection holds materials from Willis's doctorate program at George Mason University (GMU) such as her dissertation proposal "Towards a New Identity: Reading the Photographs of the New Negro." Most of the research materials are photocopies and notes from various libraries and archives, which were retained to reflect Willis's developmental process and to contextualize her work. The collection also contains photographic slides from various projects interfiled with some artist statements, correspondence, and other contextual information. A few of the slides are personal images.

The Smithsonian Institution files primarily depict Willis's role in helping to establish the National African American Museum Project (NAAMP) through policy and mission statements; an institutional study; taskforce meeting minutes; outlines of divisional goals; and some collection development files. Willis's curatorial work on the NAAMP's exhibits "Imagining Families: Images and Voices" (1994); and "Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art" (1995) is also documented here.

There are also teaching files for some of Willis's courses such as "Surviving the Lens" held at New York University in 2003; and writing files comprised of drafts for articles, essays, and papers written by Willis.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by category, with the exception of Publication Projects leading the arrangement in chronological order.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Deborah Willis, in multiple donations between 1992 and 2005.

Processing information

Compiled by Joyce Joseph, 2016.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor

Conditions Governing Use

Information on copyright available from repository.

Access restrictions

All reproduction requests subject to limitations noted in divisional policies on reproduction. Audio visual materials are unavailable pending digitization.