Curator

  • Art Institute Chicago
  • Harvard art museum
  • My Exhibition
A work made of holograph, typescript and email correspondence, envelopes, typescript papers, printed papers, holograph papers,ink drawings, graphite drawings, lithographs, mixed media collages, mixed media assemblages, drafts,photocopies, black and white photographs, color photographs, negatives, posters, postcards, books, greetingcards, lp, audio cds, audiocassettes, 8mm films, dvds, vhs videocassettes, photo discs, screenprints,certificates, stamps, exhibition catalogs, clippings, checklists, newspapers, newsletters, dossiers, magazines,yearbooks, proofs, facsimiles, newsletters, broadsides, flyers, artistamps, artists' books, shipping orders, checks,loan agreements, press releases, scrapbooks, realia, ephemera and clothing..

William S. Wilson Collection of Ray Johnson

1920-2016 (bulk 1960-1990)

Ray Johnson

The William S. Wilson Collection of Ray Johnson, acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018, was partially exhibited by the museum in the exhibition Ray Johnson ℅ (November 26, 2021-March 21, 2022). The collection documents the life and career of Johnson, with particular strengths in the 1960s and 1970s. Assembled over six decades by Johnson’s longtime friend, collaborator, and self-proclaimed "archivist," William "Bill" S. Wilson III (1932-2016), the collection comprises the original archives of the New York Correspondence School, along with Wilson's later additions. It includes original collages, design flyers, mail art, letters, photographs, and more, most of which Wilson arranged in more than 170 3-ring binders.

View finding aid.
View selected images from this collection.

See also:
Other Ray Johnson Collections in the Art Institute Archives.
Sybil Shearer Collection of Ray Johnson

Collection access:
Collections may be accessed in the Franke Reading Room of the Research Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, by appointment only. For further information, consult the FAQ.

Finding aids by subject
Browse all finding aids
Browse images and media
Oral histories

Contact the Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives:
archives@artic.edu

Holograph, typescript and email correspondence, envelopes, typescript papers, printed papers, holograph papers,ink drawings, graphite drawings, lithographs, mixed media collages, mixed media assemblages, drafts,photocopies, black and white photographs, color photographs, negatives, posters, postcards, books, greetingcards, LP, audio CDs, audiocassettes, 8mm films, DVDs, VHS videocassettes, photo discs, screenprints,certificates, stamps, exhibition catalogs, clippings, checklists, newspapers, newsletters, dossiers, magazines,yearbooks, proofs, facsimiles, newsletters, broadsides, flyers, artistamps, artists' books, shipping orders, checks,loan agreements, press releases, scrapbooks, realia, ephemera and clothing.

AIC Archives