The papers (1962-1983) document the activities of the Curators of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, Diana L. Johnson (1969-1979) and Deborah J. Johnson (1979-1988) plus Curator Maureen C. O'Brien (1988-1989). The records are primarily correspondence documenting researcher queries and reproduction requests; conservation issues; acquisitions; referrals to collectors; limited funds available; expansion of holdings on contemporary art; installation of climate control; limited storage; traveling exhibitions; teaching and publishing activities of curatorial staff; interest in developing photographic collections; growing interest in acquiring the work of living artists and of Black artists; efforts to integrate the activities of the Museum and the School; outreach; and donor relations. Other records may include newspaper clippings, publications, photographic images, and receipts and invoices. The publications are listed in the inventory.

Principal correspondents include many with whom an institutional relationship was fostered during the tenure of Heinrich Schwarz. Others include Fritz Eichenberg (ALS), Jasper Johns (TL), Philip Granville (Lords Gallery, London), Gerald Norman Gallery, Jack Damer (ALS), James Torlakson (TLS), Sherman Lee, Denny Moers (TLS), Prints Council of America, Edward Ruscha, Colnaghi, Craddock and Barnard, Brooke Alexander, Lucien Goldschmidt, Armand Versaci, Ashmolean Museum, Ken Tyler Graphics, Winslow Ames, Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, et al. Filing inconsistencies occur when letters to/from a given institution are filed at times under the institutional name, and at other times under the personal name of a member of the staff.

Interfiled with the correspondence of Deborah J. Johnson are letters of Museum Director Franklin Westcott Robinson (1979-1992) that record his expansive personality and flair for donor relations, and his work to promote of living artists. The correspondence also documents his efforts to establish ties between RISD and Brown University, and between RISD and the state of Rhode Island; and his interest in showcasing Black photographers. The files contain relatively few incoming letters to Robinson.