The Nene Humphrey papers are divided into two series: Biographical Materials; and
Exhibitions and Professional Work.
The first series, Biographical Materials, contains genealogical information for not only
the Humphrey family, but other relatives as well, including the Carroll, Soisson, and
Williams families. These materials contain detailed genealogical charts, newspaper
clippings, and family photographs, dating from the late-nineteenth century to the
late-twentieth century. In addition, there are numerous audio tapes consisting of interviews
with family members as well as oral histories.
This series also contains the records of Humphrey's education and early career, including
drawings that she did as a child, school year books from high school and college, and items
related to her M.A. and M.F.A. theses. Humphrey's master's thesis, "Art and Alternative
Education for the Young Child," reflected her ongoing interest in art education as a dynamic
experience. This material contains a run of photographic material that supported this
thesis. Her M.F.A. project materials, including supporting text, video documents, and thesis
committee documents are also included. In addition, it contains various materials relating
to some pre-M.F.A. art projects, like "Connecticut Mapwalk". Incomplete correspondence from
1984 to 1992 is also included in this series.
In addition, there are several magazines and newspapers that document the aftermath of
9/11 that were collected by Humphrey who was living in New York at the time.
The second series, Exhibitions and Professional Work, document Humphrey's career as an
artist. The materials in this series contain information about solo and group exhibitions
and art events in which Humphrey has played a major role. Items include sketches,
installation instructions, publicity materials, correspondence with various coordinators,
and supplementary media. The supplementary media comes in the form of VHS video tapes, audio
tapes, HTML files, and a DVD. This series also includes Humphrey's general writings about
her works, a collection of sketchbooks, press releases, exhibition cards and catalogs, and
exhibit posters. In addition, some miscellaneous items are found in this series like early
color studies, a video clip of Humphrey's early lecture practice, and several filmstrips
discussing "Contemporary Afro American Art," a teaching project, and some early color
experiments.
Individually cataloged items can be found in UW Madison library catalog under the call
number "Coll. ZM".
