Joan Mitchell Foundation publishes guide to caring for artists' legacies
The Joan Mitchell Foundation in the United States has published a new report on what happens to artists' work after they stop making it.
The report is titled Creating Future Memory. Its publication was reported by ARTnews on 15 September 2026, following an announcement by the Foundation on 11 September.
The report looks at artist legacy stewardship, the practical work of planning for studios, archives, artworks and rights. The Foundation said it aims to share the current state of that work in the United States and to explore how people can collectively build the field, according to the Foundation.
It described the publication as both a call to action and an invitation. In plain terms, it is asking artists, families, estates and arts workers to take part.
The report follows a field-wide convening the Foundation organised in 2025. That meeting was the culmination of a year-long investigation into the current state of legacy stewardship, aimed at mapping the field.
The focus fits the organisation's history. Painter Joan Mitchell specified in her will that the Foundation would act as the main steward of her legacy and carry out a charitable mission to "aid and assist" artists, as recounted by the Brooklyn Rail. The Foundation states that it supports the essential contributions of artists and expands awareness of Mitchell's life and work.
Alongside the report, the Foundation offers free planning tools for artists. They include workbooks, guides, online tutorials and case studies on legacy stewardship.
One of them is Career Documentation for the Visual Artist. It is available as a free PDF download, e-book and audiobook, with a print-on-demand workbook version also on offer. The guides are presented as professional development tools to help artists make long-term plans for their work.
What makes this stand out for general readers is the everyday question behind it. Studios fill up. Papers pile up. Families inherit difficult decisions. This report tries to give those decisions a shared language and a wider support network.
