The Mabel B. Curtis Files consist mainly of papers regarding the People’s Art Center. The primary focus of these papers is the years of direct involvement by Mrs. Curtis in her capacity as executive director from 1950 to 1963. The collection also includes papers from the founding of the People’s Art Center in 1942. Most of the materials from the 1940s are from Elizabeth Green. The primary focus of this collection is on the difficulties the People’s Art Center faced in trying to reconcile its stated philosophy with its corporate practices, especially in the turbulent racial atmosphere of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The collection includes the center’s founding records and several written histories and minutes from board of directors meetings and other committees. The minutes and reports are not complete. It appears that when Mabel Curtis realized the racial and financial issues within the center were becoming more rancorous, she began saving and copying correspondence and related information. Thus, the bulk of materials are from the mid-1950s onward. Series I: Legal and Administrative Papers contains the truncated legal and administrative papers of the People’s Art Center, from the articles of incorporation in 1943 to the by-laws and personnel codes of the 1960s. Series II: Statement of Purpose/History contains founding statements and histories of the center and its members, along with a scrapbook titled “A Glimpse of Activities” from 1945. Series III: Annual Reports consists of annual reports in brochure form, with several years missing. Series IV: Financial Records contains financial records. These incomplete records include financial statements, balance sheets, and income and expense reports, both actual and estimated. This series also includes numbered receipts for classes, art materials, contributions, memberships, and rent for part of 1961 and all of 1962. Series V: Organizational Records is the largest series and contains organizational records. This series is divided into eight subseries and includes records for the board of directors, the Executive Committee, the Research and Building Fund Committees, the Nominating and Membership Committees, the Personnel Committee, other committees, outside funding, and the Elizabeth Green papers. Most of the records on the growing tension surrounding Mabel Curtis and the center are included in Subseries B, the Executive Committee. Series VI: Class Schedules and Teachers contains class schedules and teachers information. This is an incomplete listing of class schedules for various times and places, including extension classes. Some breakdown on enrollment figures, with race, location, regular school attended, and child and adult divisions are noted. Current teachers, with educational and work experiences, are listed in each annual report from the third series. Series VII: Exhibition Records contains limited exhibition records and also includes brochures on related art openings, conference materials and reports, and brochures from similar art centers. Series VIII: New Location of the People’s Art Center consists of limited information on the center and its activities between 1964 and 1968. Series IX: Mabel B. Curtis Personal Papers contains personal papers of Mabel Curtis. Series X: Miscellany consists of one folder of miscellaneous items.