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Visit to WFF Archive from the Pratt School of Information’s MSLIS program, November 18, 2024

L to R: Micaela shows the Pratt class a magazine article on George Woodman and Betty Woodman. Photo by Cristina Pattuelli. | Detail of a drawing done by Francesca Woodman with a note to Betty Woodman and George Woodman. The drawing includes a sofa Francesca used as a prop in photographs and teacups likely depict Betty Woodman’s ceramics. Flight information in the note may help us establish timelines for all three artists in the future. | Photo boxes owned by George Woodman. While the boxes are not “archival” (acid free), the information written on them by the artist makes them valuable in establishing provenance of final artworks. | The archive interior. Simple industrial rolling racks are utilized to hold archival assets.
L to R: Micaela shows the Pratt class a magazine article on George Woodman and Betty Woodman. Photo by Cristina Pattuelli. | Detail of a drawing done by Francesca Woodman with a note to Betty Woodman and George Woodman. The drawing includes a sofa Francesca used as a prop in photographs and teacups likely depict Betty Woodman’s ceramics. Flight information in the note may help us establish timelines for all three artists in the future. | Photo boxes owned by George Woodman. While the boxes are not “archival” (acid free), the information written on them by the artist makes them valuable in establishing provenance of final artworks. | The archive interior. Simple industrial rolling racks are utilized to hold archival assets.

The Woodman Family Foundation archive was delighted to host students from the Art Documentation class in the Pratt School of Information’s MSLIS program on November 18. Professor Cristina Pattuelli, consulting archivist Sewon Kang, and the students joined us to survey of some of the archives highlights and have an engaging discussion on the unique opportunities and challenges the Woodman Family archives have. After the visit, students were asked to reflect on the experience. Here are some of the thoughts they shared:

"It was interesting to hear Micaela talk about how connected the collections for Betty, George, and Francesca are. I'm sure this conundrum arises in most archives, but I can imagine it would be exaggerated when working with a family archive. "

“It was nice to hear that sometimes, even the thing that could potentially damage an archival asset over time contains more valuable information on its exterior than its interior. I have held this as a passing thought, but to see deviations between archival theory and practice is always a small comfort due to many organization's professional capacities.”

"I was amazed by the tidiness of their archive. As someone who has only worked in messy work environments, it was truly inspirational to see how organized they seemed to be. I wonder what made that possible and will keep their space as a goal for future jobs."

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From the Archives
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Betty Woodman
Francesca Woodman
George Woodman
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