Scope and Content Note

The Martin Wong Papers are comprised of over 100 sketches and drawings, more than 30 sketchbooks, correspondence, poetry and prose, biographical documents, source material, audio and videocassette recordings, photos, and graffiti tag-books, graffiti-related materials and parts of Wong's personal library.

Source material includes magazines, postcards, posters, memorabilia, and a vast collection of Wong's snapshots. Biographical material features Wong's curriculum vitae, copies of newspaper and magazine profiles of Wong, business cards and addresses of associates, and publicity materials related to Wong's exhibitions. Wong's poetry and prose contains a significant portion of the biographical material - much of it anecdotal in tone. The graffiti portion of the archive is comprehensive and includes sketchbooks, illustrations, text on graffiti (authored by both Wong and others), publicity material pertaining to graffiti exhibitions, and materials pertaining to the graffiti film: Wild Style. Of particular interest are the numerous examples of tagging found in both the sketchbooks and other artwork.

A zealous collector and graffiti enthusiast, Wong amassed a considerable cache of graffiti material in the 1980s. The Martin Wong Papers also document New York's downtown arts scene in the 1980s and 1990s, with particular emphasis on Wong's participation and recognition in the gallery scene.