PSA Nonprofit Service: PSA Print Collection
The Photographic Society of America (PSA) has a collection of more than 4000 vintage and contemporary photographic prints which have been given to the Society since the mid-1940s. A History of the PSA Print Collection is described in an article that was written for PSA’s 75th anniversary. These prints are being archived, cataloged, documented, appraised, logged into a database, professionally scanned, and preserved in appropriate storage by a gallery in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Artspace at Untitled
The agreement between [Artspace] at Untitled and PSA anticipates (1) using the images in exhibitions at a network of museums and institutions around the world; (2) creation of educational materials including publications on photographic art, drawing upon the gallery’s experience in producing publications on art and its association with publishers and distributors world-wide; and (3) licensing images to appropriate stock image companies for reproduction to a variety of clients internationally over the Internet. All of these uses will be in fulfillment of PSA’s educational mission and are expected to generate revenue for the society.
There will be additions to the collection in the coming years. This may include not only prints, but slides and digital images. The images in PSA’s collections which are provided to [Artspace] at Untitled and other collected images which will not be managed by the gallery, are planned to be used in ways which will serve PSA members and promote photography generally.
Jon Burris writes a bi-monthly online commentary for PSA Members, available through MyPSA, entitled Historic Prints of the PSA Print Collection, which gives describes the history behind some of the prints in the collection.
Reconsidering the Family of Man at [Artspace] at Untitled, PSA Journal, April 2012
John Burris of Artspace at Untitled describes some of the prints from the PSA collection during a gallery show. The archivist (bottom row, left) scans prints and enters the data regarding the print.
