The Suida-Manning Papers consist of personal and professional papers belonging to art historian and collector William Suida (1877-1959), his daughter Bertina (1922-1992), and her husband Robert Manning (1924-1996). This mixed media collection, which exceeds 120,000 objects, offers a rich set of primary materials for scholars and the public alike. However, its unprocessed status and unstable preservation condition prevent it from being open for active research.
The collection is currently housed in filing cabinets, flat manuscript boxes, and an assortment of legacy containers. As a recent preservation assessment determined, the usability and survival of the collection is threatened by this unsuitable housing. Over- and under-sized items are stored (often without folders) in filing cabinet drawers that are alternately too full or too empty; other materials reside in dirty and damaged legacy letter boxes; still others are damaged as they shift in folder-less and ill-sized flat manuscript boxes. Many items in the collection suffer from planar distortion, embrittlement, dustiness, discoloration, tears, and folds--conditions which are related at least in part to improper housing. At present, using the collection causes damage, since even opening a drawer rips and tears the over-sized items contained therein. Accordingly, it is vital that the Suida-Manning Papers be rehoused and moved to proper shelving.
Building from the findings of the recent preservation assessment survey, we propose to undertake a rehousing and processing project that will protect and render accessible this fascinating collection. By transferring the material to appropriately-sized folders, boxes, and shelving, we will stabilize its preservation condition. Those items judged to be of particular societal and research value, will also undergo targeted basic conservation treatments to ensure their survival. Processing the collection will reduce the damage caused by "browsing" and will make the collection more accessible to a wider variety of users. Once preservation and intellectual control is established, the Blanton Museum will be able to open the collection for public research.
Preserving the Suida-Manning Papers will benefit researchers in a variety of fields. The collection has enormous research potential for scholars studying European art between 1300 and 1700, the Suida-Manning Collection of Renaissance and Baroque Art, in particular, and the institutional histories of art collecting and art history, arenas in which William Suida and the Mannings were active participants. The collection also stands as an invaluable internal resource for the Jack S. Blanton Museum as it manages the provenance and preservation of the 700 paintings that comprise Suida-Manning Art Collection. Finally, the collection provides an important opportunity for educational outreach since it offers a concrete example of one of the ways in which art collections have historically been assembled.
Working closely with Blanton Registrar Sue Ellen Jeffers, our team of conservators and preservation administrators offers an ideal combination of skill sets for this project. Several team members come from art history/museum backgrounds, the majority have extensive experience with photographic and photomechanical prints (which comprise approximately one half of the collection), and together we have facility with all of the principal languages found in the collection (English, Italian, German, and French). We are passionately committed to the scholarly importance and education potential of the Suida-Manning Papers and accordingly will seek out the most effective solutions to ensure its continued preservation and accessibility.
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