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Elizabeth Benson Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Elizabeth P. Benson is a curator and historian of Pre-Columbian art who has published and edited many works on the art of the ancient Americas. At Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., she held curatorial and directorial positions in Pre-Columbian art from 1963 to 1979.
Benson traveled with Gillett Griffin to Mexico in 1967 and again to Mexico and Guatemala in 1968 to see collections and sites of ancient Mesoamerican art. Benson and Griffin collaborated to organize a conference on Olmec art at Princeton in 1987, and also collaborated on the volume Maya Iconography, 1988, containing essays from two conferences on Mayan art.
The Elizabeth Benson Papers contain material that reflects Benson's relationship with her friend and colleague Gillett G. Griffin, whose papers are also housed in the Princeton University Archives. The Elizabeth Benson Papers contain personal and professional correspondence between Benson and Griffin, as well as related materials.
The papers include original and photocopied illustrated letters by Gillett Griffin; Benson's editorial correspondence with others relating to the publication of Maya Iconography or participation in conferences and exhibits; drafts of Benson's own writing on Griffin; and papers Benson collected by or about Griffin and the Princeton University Art Museum.
The papers have been arranged into two series: 1) Correspondence and 2) Photographs, Drafts and Publications.
Gift of Elizabeth P. Benson. Accession number AR.2017.129.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Phoebe Nobles in 2017. Finding aid written by Phoebe Nobles in 2017.
No material has been separated from this collection.
People
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Occupation
- Publisher
- University Archives
- Finding Aid Date
- 2017
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Collection Inventory
Within each series, material remains in the order in which it was received.
The correspondence series contains correspondence to and from Elizabeth Benson, including Benson's correspondence with Gillett Griffin and others at Princeton University.
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The Photographs, Drafts and Publications series contains slides and photographs; drafts of essays by both Elizabeth Benson and Gillett Griffin; and several published items such as flyers and newsletters or journals.
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