A Guide to Researching Collections in the Ackland Art Museum: Other Resources
Accessing Curatorial Files and Works Not on View
The Ackland Art Museum keeps curatorial files on many of the artworks held within its collection. Curatorial files frequently include items such as official documents, exhibition and provenance information, correspondence, and other similar materials. These files typically begin with information collected from curators, donors, and the registrar when an object is brought into the collection.
If you would like to request access to a curatorial file or a work currently not on view in the Museum, please follow the listed procedures below:
- To make a request, contact acklandlearn@unc.edu.
- In your request, please supply the object title, artist, and accession number for each file/object you would like to view.
- Requests will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis according to staff availability.
- Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM and are 30 minutes long.
- All requests should be submitted at least one week prior to your preferred appointment date.
- Please be prepared to supply alternate appointment times in the event that your first choice is unavailable.
Accessing Artist Files
Artist Files at the Sloane Art Library contain exhibition announcements, press releases, newspaper clippings, and fliers. A list of artists that have files at Sloane can be found at this link.
Conducting Provenance Research
Provenance is the recorded history of ownership of an object. It is a process of identifying specific details of ownership, works of art attributed to a particular artist, and proving an object's authenticity. It can also lend historical, social, and economic context to the art object itself and the environment in which it was created.
For more information on conducting provenance research, please visit our guide on Provenance.
- The AAM Guide to Provenance Research by This guide is a comprehensive and authoritative resource for tracing the ownership history of works of art. Focused on cultural property looted by the Nazis and others during WWII, it is divided into three parts: Basic Provenance Research and Principles, Holocaust-Era Provenance Research, and Appendixes, which include bibliographies of collections, dealer archives, and "red flag names" compiled by the Office of Strategic Services. Includes an index and reproductions of artworks and relevant documents.Call Number: N3999 .Y45 2001 (Sloane Art Library Reference)
Sande Society Mask
Sande Society Mask, 20th century; wood. 16 3/8 x 9 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. Ackland Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gift of Miriam E. Dixon, Judith D. Gooding and Susan R. Dixon in memory of John W. Dixon, Jr. and Vivian S. Dixon, 2009.19.2.
