Today the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) announced that it had received a $190,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to digitize the archival documents from the Miller House and Garden, a National Historic Landmark and one of the pe-eminent pieces of mid-century modern architecture in the country — designed by a dream team of Eero Saarinen, Alexander Girard, and Dan Kiley.

The Miller House archives — which are part of the IMA archives — contain 50 years of documents from drawings and blueprints, to correspondence, sketches, textile samples, and photos documenting the process of design, construction, and maintenance. The archives, along with the house itself, its contents, and its garden were donated to the IMA in 2009 by the Miller family. It was designated a Landmark in 2000.

The $190,000 NEH grant will fund a two-year digitization project — according to an IMA press release, the Miller House archives “extends 335 linear feet: 15 shelves holding 65 boxes… plus eight flat file drawers.” Once digitized the archives will be made available online through the museum’s website.

“The digital archives will allow scholars and mid-century enthusiasts alike an opportunity to delve deeper into Miller House and explore the history of this National Historic Landmark,” IMA Director of Historic Resources Bradley Brooks said. “Thanks to the generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, researchers will be able to see not only original plans for the house, but also samples, invoices and correspondence between the Millers and designers.”

— Benjamin Sutton

Tags: Benjamin Sutton, Eero Saarinen, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Miller House, National Endowment for the Humanities