Papers relating to the 1984 edition of Open air sculpture in Britain

A series of working papers relating to Strachan's extensive research on Open air sculpture in Britain: a comprehensive guide, published in 1984. The papers include extensive correspondence with museums, galleries, arts organisations, universities, and a small number of individual sculptors; this correspondence relates to Strachan's research on open-air sculpture across Britain, including details and lists of specific sculptures, information about the work of individual sculptors, permissions, and arrangements for supplying photographs of sculptures for inclusion in the volume. Of individual sculptors represented in the correspondence, there are single letters from Mervyn Baldwin, Elisabeth Frink, Alan Grimwood, Polly Hope, Allan Johnson, Jonah Jones, Michael Kenny and Andrew Mylius; nine letters from Roy Kitchin; five letters from Gerald Laing; and three letters from Denis Barns. There is also some correspondence relating to fundraising for the volume and the publication process, as well as a synopsis and some draft content.

Much of this material was very disordered. However, some of Strachan's original files and labelled bundles had survived intact, e.g. correspondence files representing different geographical regions, and bundles of his own carbon copy letters. Where original bundles and files survive, these have been retained here, and loose material or unlabelled bundles have been inserted at appropriate points in the sequence.