New York School of Interior Design announces new interior design archive

One of the First Archival Collections Devoted Solely to Interior Design

New York, NY — December 4, 2013 — The New York School of Interior Design is pleased to announce the NYSID Interior Design Archives, which is housed within the NYSID Library. The Archives was founded in order to create a large repository for the preservation of primary source material on the people, profession, and business of interior design.

“At present, there are no existing archival collections devoted solely to the field of interior design,” said NYSID President David Sprouls. “While designers’ papers are found in the collections of other institutions due to individual affiliations, they do not and cannot provide the singular scholarly lens that NYSID is able to use in processing and making accessible the records of interior design to a broader audience.”

The NYSID Interior Design Archives was created out of a deeply recognized need that there was little to no collection of materials related to interior design and that many of the profession’s early leaders are elderly or close to retirement. Their business records are often being discarded or forgotten and it is their records, and the records of future generations of interior designers, that the NYSID Archives was created to preserve.

NYSID has been fortunate enough to acquire a number of important archives from the following designers/businesses: Yale Burge Antiques and Interiors, which specialized in selling antique furniture, decor, photography, and reproductions; The Joseph Grusczak, ASID & William DeGraff Collection, Grusczak is an alumnus (BFA, 1955); Sarah Tomerlin Lee, president of Tom Lee Ltd. and president of Decorators Club from 1995-1997; and The Neal A. Prince, ASID, Collection, director of interior design for InterContinental Hotels from 1961-1986. Prince’s work was a subject of a recent exhibition at NYSID entitled, “Designing the Luxury Hotel: Neal Prince and the Inter-Continental Brand.” The Archive will continue to actively seek collections of interior designers, firms, and professional organizations at every level of influence.

The NYSID Archives also contains the institutional records of the New York School of Interior Design, in anticipation of NYSID’s 100th anniversary in 2016. The College’s archival documents, including catalogs, bulletins, photographs, and other documentation have been stored and cataloged, with a finding aid created to provide a deeper level of access.

The College will be celebrating the founding of the NYSID Interior Design Archives at an inaugural Friends of the NYSID Library event on December 4, 2013. The Friends of the Library, chaired by NYSID board member Ross Francis, was created to support the ongoing activities of the library and to help generate active support for the NYSID Archives. Individuals such as alumni, members of the public interested in interior design, and those involved in the interior design profession can join the Friends of the NYSID Library with varying levels of access to the library and archives. E-mail library@nysid.edu for information on membership.

The Library at the New York School of Interior Design holds 15,000 volumes focused on design, architecture, decorative arts, décor, art history, construction code and standards, garden design, and sustainability and accessibility. The library holds a range of material types, from books and journals, to digital images and audio visual materials, and manages an extensive materials collection, named after esteemed designer Mario Buatta. The NYSID Library is a member of a consortium with NYU Bobst Library, the library of The Cooper Union, and the Gimbel Library of The New School. Students at these institutions have reciprocal privileges.

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About New York School of Interior Design
Founded in 1916, the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID) is a private, not-for-profit college devoted exclusively to interior design education and related disciplines. NYSID’s guiding principle is that the interior environment is a fundamental element of human welfare and the College is committed to actively improving the quality of life for all segments of humanity. This ideal is put into practice by a dedicated faculty of designers, architects, art historians, and authorities in the field who guide more than 700 full- and part-time students.

NYSID offers certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs in the field of interior design, design history and theory, sustainable design, interior lighting design, and healthcare interior design. A wide range of classes are also offered through our Institute for Continuing and Professional Studies. The College is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD); is a Candidate for Accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education; and NYSID’s BFA and MFA-1 programs are accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA).