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Barbara Duncan is an eminent connoisseur, collector, scholar, promoter and donor of Latin American art. Her willingness to share with galleries and museums her unique first-hand knowledge of contemporary artists and her assistance in organizng numerous exhibits has helped spur U.S. public interest in this field since the 1970's. Barbara and John Duncan's generous donation of Latin American art to the University of Texas provides a strong foundation for its Art of the Americas Collection.
The same generosity recently led Mrs. Duncan to donate sections of her papers and library to the Benson Collection to open them for research to all scholars of Latin American art. The Duncan Collection contains more than 800 publications and over 30 shelf feet of documentation Through 1998, about 570 Duncan books and exhibit catalogs had been added to the University's online catalog.* The library covers all areas and periods, but is especially strong in colonial and twentieth-century art.
The papers, which are being processed, include correspondence, notebooks, photographs and slides, biographical files, exhibit documentation, and auction records. The most extensive exhibit documentation relates to Joaquin Torres Garcia, Gunther Gerzso, Latin American drawings of 1969-1976, Xul Solar, and "Gloria in Excelsis" (colonial). The large number of scarce publications, the original notes from interviews and visits to artists' studios, and the records of exhibits she helped organize, altogether make the Barbara Duncan Papers and Library a rich resource for Latin American art research.
To read the list of cataloged Duncan books in UTNetCat, at the menu click on the "Command" search page. Click in the field at the top of the Command page and type 'PVK Barbara Duncan', then click the "Start Search" button.
To search the full Benson Collection holdings in Latin American art, go to UTNetCat "Browse" search, select "Subject", from the box above the text field, click in the text field and type the desired subject (art Argentine, art Chilean, art Latin American, art colonial, etc.), then click the "Start Search" button.