The Many Hats of Robert Altman: A Life in Cinema

Curated by Matthew Solomon, Professor of Screen Arts & Cultures and the students of Screen Arts & Cultures 330 Winter 2013, Peggy Daub, Librarian Emerita Special Collections Library, Phil Hallman, Screen Arts & Cultures Librarian and Melissa Gomis, Instructional Technology Librarian

Introduction

The Robert Altman Archive was acquired by the University of Michigan Library from the Robert Altman estate in early 2008.  It contains all the working documents and objects created in the various offices, shooting locations, and soundstages on which Robert Altman worked during his career and totals approximately 1,000 linear feet. 

This exhibit introduces the Altman Archive to the University of Michigan and the wider scholarly community and honors the work and the lifetime of achievements of Robert Altman.  By using the archives, scholars will be able to understand Robert Altman’s completed works better because they can analyze bits and pieces from his early years and material related to all his major films--the early drafts, the abandoned ideas, the cut scenes, the departures from written script, the business negotiations, and the human relations that went into those works. 

This exhibit is based substantially on the work and insights of students in Matthew Solomon’s University of Michigan, Winter 2013 Screen Arts & Cultures course 330 “Great Directors: Robert Altman & Orson Welles.”