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The Boards and Committees Records, 1987-2009 contains records pertaining to the various boards, committees, and organizations that have served the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. The earlier records, prior to the name change in 1969, refer to the John Herron Art Institute. However, a large portion of the records in this collection were created after 1975. A majority of the records within this collection are agendas, minutes, and notes from various meetings. Other records include correspondence, reports, rosters, and plans. Most of the meeting records are arranged in chronological order. Early records created by the Art Association, beginning in 1897, may be of particular interest.

The Bret Waller Papers, 1989-2000, document Waller's tenure as director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art during the 1990s. The collection is organized by subject; materials related to collections and exhibitions, and building operations (including strategic planning) make up the bulk of the collection. Also of note are the materials related to the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund initiative that the museum received funding from to increase the diversity of its audience.

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 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 IMA Archives Exhibition Records document the planning and execution of exhibitions created by and/or held at the Art Association of Indianapolis, the John Herron Art Institute, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art starting in 1883 and continuing through the present day. This collection is ongoing, as the Indianapolis Museum of Art continues to create new exhibition records each year. Individual exhibition files may include checklists, exhibition catalogs, installation photography, correspondence, press clippings, curatorial research files, shipping, receiving, and lending records, and other documentation. A file and listing have been created for every exhibition, regardless of whether any archival material survives. File listings with "[empty]" indicate that there is no archival material available for the exhibition. Many early exhibitions do not have any surviving archival documentation. This is an ongoing project to process these exhibition records, starting with the earliest records.

This collection is comprised of posters created by and for the Indianapolis Museum of Art and its predecessor organization, the John Herron Art Institute. Most of the posters were created to be ephemeral, to advertise museum events and exhibitions. Posters for events date from 1970 to 2013 and are housed in one flat file folder. Posters for exhibitions date from 1967 to 2008 and are housed in six flat file folders. Within each folder inventory, event and exhibition posters are listed in chronological order, but are physically arranged by size, from small to large.
One flat file folder houses posters that feature accessioned items from the IMA collections. Those posters are listed and physically arranged by size, from small to large.

This is a collection of art-related posters that have no connection to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). Most were sent to the IMA as promotional materials for artists, exhibitions, and/or galleries. Items were housed in Print Storage or in the Stout Reference Library's artist files until transfer to Archives in 2016. Posters from US and international art museums were also included in the transfer, but those were note retained for inclusion in this collection. The Library continues to add to this collection.

The Wilbur David Peat Papers, 1924-1972, undated, contains records regarding the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields while under the directorship of Wilbur Peat after he took over as director from acting director Anna Hasselman. The collection contains records primarily sourced from the director’s office. It documents the administrative actions of the institution from the director level. Note that administration reorganization has taken place since these records were created. Many of the earlier papers in this collection were not originally housed in the director’s office due to the administrative setup of the institution at the time.
It is important to note that this collection extends past both Wilbur Peats's life and his final year as director in 1966. Isabel Martin, executive assistant to the director, started in 1967 and continued/finished many of the projects started under director Peat. Martin also compiled and added context to these files prior to their addition to the archives.
The series are organized by subject, but the individual files are in original order with no further arrangement. Due to Peat’s involvement with education and community, researchers will find information regarding correspondence and education of value.