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The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) records document the group ’s efforts to bring greater awareness and interest to contemporary art since the group’s founding in 1962. CAS members were often invited to travel to art museums and galleries across the U.S. and abroad. Member funds were used to procure contemporary art acquisitions. CAS frequently hosts lecturers, artists, and other speakers, as well as arranging local visits to art museums and artist studios.
Due to the small amount of material in this collection it has not been divided into series. Due to privacy concerns, half of the collection is restricted to access by IMA staff and members of the Contemporary Art Society at the discretion of the archivist. The detailed box inventory below indicates which materials are open and which are closed. Instead, like materials were grouped together and then arranged chronologically. In Box 1 you will find materials related to ephemera, trips, lecture invites and reminders, affiliate orientation manual, and membership materials. Housed in the second box are member lists, directories, dues statements, acquisitions voting, and Resource Committee agendas. You will also find the information, evaluations, or materials CAS created with the help of Trustee Leadership Development in 1999. During that time, CAS re-evaluated their mission statement, mailed out member surveys, and held meetings to decide what they wanted for their organization’s future.
This collection includes thirteen binders. The first twelve are the binders of past presidents of CAS and are arranged chronologically by president. Binder 13 includes material related to membership. The binders contain a variety of minutes, correspondence, notes, study group plans, speaker invites, schedule of events, financial records, etc. Also included may be trip planning notes, member lists, or news clippings.

The IMA Asian Art Society (AAS) Records document the efforts of the AAS to help grow the IMA’s Asian art collection through donations and funding acquisitions. It also details the Society’s efforts to interest and educate members and the public about Asian art through lectures, speakers, and trips.

The IMA Alliance Records document the philanthropic efforts of the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art over the course of more than 50 years, through multiple retail initiatives, events like the Fine Arts Ball, and other activities. As a collection of original records produced by the Alliance, it chronicles the history and inner-workings of one of the most prolific fundraising groups in the United States. The collection has been organized into eight series described below.

The Herron-Museum Alliance Records, 1964-1980, contains records regarding the Herron-Museum Alliance, post its creation in 1958. The collection is comprised of records produced and collected by staff. It documents the actions, initiatives, and operations of organization. The files that were originally foldered together but rehoused into new folders to assist in their preservation. Researchers will find information regarding publicity efforts and museum building plans of interest. More information regarding the Herron-Museum Alliance can be found within the IUPUI (Indiana-University-Purdue-University-Indianapolis) archives and specials collections.

The Garo Antreasian Study Collection was originally contained in four boxes, and was comprised primarily of original or xerox copies of published material. All publications were transferred to the IMA's Stout Reference Library to be cataloged individually as part of the "Garo Antreasian Study Collection." Archival material remained in the IMA Archives. Archival material includes Garo Antreasian's research notes, exhibition/workshop ephemera, correspondence, a John Herron Art School curriculum binder, and three mounted photographs. Sent with a letter from Bob Evermon of Cranbrook Academy of Art were test prints with annotations, which have been housed in OVB folders.

The Floyd Hopper Collection contains scrapbooks compiled by Floyd Hopper, an Indiana painter and printmaker. The scrapbooks contain ephemera from Hopper’s life connected to school, college, and work as an artist. Materials include newspaper clippings, correspondence, awards, photographs, and sketches and drawings. The scope of the material includes many subjects such as West Baden High School, John Herron Art Institute, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Noblesville Casting Iron Company, Indiana Sesquicentennial, among many others. Organizations discussed include the American Artists Professional League, Brown County Art Guild, Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement, Hamilton County Artists Association, Hoosier Salon, Indiana Artists Club, Kiwanis International, Marian County Art League, and Philadelphia Watercolor Club. A range of miscellaneous items are in the collection, e.g.: Hopper’s artist sketchbook containing inspirational clippings, 1928 Butler University basketball ticket, Walt Disney Productions Pass, 1939 New York World’s Fair ticket, Hopper’s original poetry, special edition prints of Hopper’s work from John Foland’s Remembrances, and a 1976 history of Hamilton County, Indiana, in honor of the United States’ bicentennial celebration.

Every Way Possible: 125 Years of the Indianapolis Museum of Art Research Papers
contain materials relating to the research, writing, editing, and publication of the
book Every Way Possible: 125 Years of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The
collection’s contents span the existence of the institution known as Newfields (as of
August 2017), from founding in1883 to 2008, the book’s publication year. Former
institution names include: Art Association of Indianapolis, John Herron Art Institute,
and at the time of publication, Indianapolis Museum of Art. The collection includes
notes, research papers (e.g. primary source photocopies, secondary source
photocopies, minimal primary source originals), book drafts, correspondence,
museum ephemera, and other miscellaneous research materials and media. The
project was initiated and facilitated by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in connection
with its 125th anniversary. The book itself was written by freelance writers.

The collection is comprised of press releases, personal statements, correspondence between Elenor Cheney and several writers of art columns for local Indianapolis publications, and black and white photographs of the artist, her works, and installations of those works. Also included are several pieces of exhibition ephemera relating to different art shows and contests Cheney participated in.

The El Tendedero Indiana collection consists of one post-card sized box of community-generated response ballots to survey questions generated by Mayer. The ballots are separated into five subseries corresponding to five questions and further arranged by language (English and Spanish). The collection also includes one folder with printed ephemera and posters generated in advance of El Tendedero events around Indianapolis and an issue of the Indianapolis Recorder featuring a story about Women4Change legislative efforts. The El Tendedero Indiana collection was received with three oversize posters, a promotional t-shirt, and two red cardboard boxes which were used in the collection of community-generated response ballots; these have been (will be) photographed and deaccessioned. The collection also contains 1.8 GB digital material including digital ephemera, promotional material, and events photographs contributed by Women4Change and undated photographic documentation of past El Tendedero installations contributed by Mayer.

The Dorothy Reifel Collection on J. Ottis Adams contains primary source documents and research files about the life and times of Indiana artist J. Ottis Adams, collected by Dorothy Reifel.