Winter Closure

Multiple Danforth campus libraries will be closed and inaccessible to patrons from December 21 until January 2. Read on for more details. 

Ink Tank Archive

The collection includes original artwork in various formats and published materials by the artists of The Ink Tank Archive, founded in 1978 by R. O. Blechman. The archive contains original animation cells, correspondence, publications, scripts, shot lists, and audiovisual materials.

Blechman opened a design studio in 1960, followed by The Ink Tank animation studio in 1977. Projects he directed spawned creative collaborations with eminent peers, such as children’s book author-illustrator Maurice Sendak and Push Pin design studio alumni Seymour Chwast and James McMullan. His diverse client list, which includes IBM, General Motors, Burger King, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, Hallmark, Sony, Perrier, the Smithsonian, and MTV, demonstrates just how widespread Blechman’s impact on American visual culture and commerce has been.

Access these Materials

Search the Ink Tank Archive on ArchivesSpace

Read more about the acquisition of the Ink Tank Archive

For virtual research appointments, contact the Curator of the Dowd Illustration Research Archive

Plan Your Visit

Contact

Department
Preservation, Processing, and Exhibitions, Special Collections, Special Collections, Preservation, and Digital Strategies
Name
Andrea Degener
sher/her/hers
Job Title
Curator for the Dowd Illustration Research Archive; Visual Materials Processing Archivist & Supervisor (Interim)
Phone Number
(314) 935-9382