The Artist's Legacy

Each artist exhibited in The Artist's Legacy is also represented by a significant collection within the Center’s archive. These collections are composed of supporting materials, often in the form of textual documents created over the course of the artist’s career. These records may include sketch books, personal correspondence, documentation of sales, exhibition catalogues, and ephemera from the artist’s life.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center Archives is a part of the Arts Legacy Project, a multi-tiered program at the Center intended to document the past and present cultural life of Western New York, and to share that material online. One of the major components of the ALP is the Living Legacy Project, an oral-history documentation initiative now in its third year. Since 2012, over 40 Western New York mid- and late-career artists have participated in in-depth interviews about their lives and work. Recordings of these interviews, detailed biographical sketches, and other resources are available through the Western New York Artists Database on the Center’s website (www.burchfieldpenney.org). Although participation in the Living Legacy Project is curated by staff, any artist with a connection to the region can be included in the database simply by submitting a photograph and brief biographical information.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center Archives are available to everyone. To schedule an appointment, call (716) 878-3216.