10 Weeks at the Burchfield: Paul Taylor Describes his Experiences in the Archives

For the past 10 weeks I have been interning at the Charles E. Burchfield Archives at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Over that time, I have been able to assist in numerous projects and have learned a great deal about how arts organizations operate. Of the many projects I was able to work on, the most fun was hanging the art for the “Burchfield Botanicals” exhibition. Being able to help hang a show and see it come to life was a rewarding experience.

While working in the archives I was able to create a finding aid for the Martha Visser’t Hooft Archival collection. Visser’t Hooft was an artist from Buffalo, New York who painted throughout the twentieth century. I was not familiar with her art prior to coming to the Burchfield Penney, but quickly fell in love with her abstract expressionist paintings. By organizing everything from personal correspondences and exhibition catalogs to original concept art and her portfolio sketchbook, I was able to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the artist and her work. This project also helped me understand the importance of archiving materials such as these, as well as the best methods of doing so in hopes of creating a better source of information for future generations.

Another fun project I was able to work on was selling old books and art exhibition catalogs that were no longer useful to the archives’ library. Over the years, the Burchfield Penney has acquired a large amount of books and exhibition catalogs from galleries and museums across the country. The Burchfield Penney focuses on the work of artists with a relation to western New York, and there is only so much room to store books. It was time to let the books and exhibition that didn’t directly relate to western New York art find new homes. I enjoyed researching the artists and their work prior to listing them for sale on eBay. This project exposed me to a wide variety of art from the early twentieth century to modern day works. I found it interesting seeing how the styles of exhibition catalogs evolved over the years from being small pamphlets with lists of art alongside black and white images to full sized books with beautifully printed full page color images of art with limited edition lithographed covers.

These last ten weeks have gone by too quickly. Every day here was an exciting new opportunity to learn about the arts in Western New York, and I am sad that it is time to go. I strongly urge anyone interested in the arts to come visit the Burchfield Penney and see all the great things they have to offer.

Paul Taylor is a recent graduate from SUNY Empire College with a degree in Arts Administration. He is also a glass artist who exhibits his work at the Allentown Arts Festival every year.