Happy Holidays from all of the PAFA staff! The archives will be closed on December 21, 2020 to January 3, 2021 for the holidays.
Merry Christmas from the Rhodens!
Contributed by Kelin Baldridge and Jahna Auerbach, the John Rhoden papers team
If the John Rhoden papers are any indication, the Rhodens really loved Christmas, so it seems only right to celebrate this holiday season with just a few of the dozens of Christmas portraits present in the collection.
Christmas 1964 Christmas 1969 Christmas 1974 Undated Undated Christmas 1978 Christmas 1984 Christmas 1985 undated undated undated undated

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.
Happy Holidays from PAFA!

We’d like to wish everyone the warmest wishes for a safe and happy holiday season!
A quick update on our holiday hours. The archives will be closed December 23, 2019 through January 2, 2019.
The Museum galleries will be operating on a holiday schedule as well:
- Closed: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
- Open: New Year’s Eve, 10:00am-5:00pm
- Mondays: Closed
- Tuesday-Friday: 10:00am-5:00pm
- Saturday-Sunday: 11:00am-5:00pm
For more information on visiting the museum, please visit our website.
Thank You Veterans!
Contributed by Kelin Baldridge, Project Archivist for the John Rhoden papers
We wanted to take the opportunity this Veteran’s Day to thank those who have served in the United States Military.

John Rhoden served in the Enlisted Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army from 1942 until he was honorably discharged in March of 1946. His military career was dedicated to providing entertainment for servicemen headed to active combat. According to copies of his military records (housed in his archives), John’s military occupational specialty was entertainment director.
In this role, John was in charge of arranging art classes, entertainment, and social functions for soldiers departing overseas. He also did interior design work in service clubs and created portraits of Major General Hubert R. Harmon, Assistant Chief of Air Force Personnel, Major General Ralph Royce, Commanding General of Personnel Distribution Command, Brigadier General Michael F. Davis, Commanding General, San Antonio Cadet Center, and other high ranking officers.

If you are interested in supporting veterans today, one of the many options for giving is the Disabled American Veterans Charity. Their giving page is found at the following link: https://www.dav.org/ways-to-give/
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
Created
in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for
the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature,
philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected,
peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information
about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs
is available at: www.neh.gov.
Happy National Cat Day!
Contributed by Jahna Auerbach, Assistant Archivist for the John Rhoden papers
While sorting through John Rhoden’s personal photographs, we stumbled upon photos of several family pets. Though their names are unknown, they were dearly loved, particularly by Richenda. Peppered throughout the hundreds of photographs and negatives are three beautiful cats that Richenda would pose with–in their garden, in front of the Christmas tree, dressed up, and on leashes. How lucky these cats must have been!

National Cat Day is a day to raise awareness of homeless cats. To learn more about the holiday and what you can do to help homeless cats, head on over to the National Cat Day website: https://www.nationalcatday.com/

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
Created
in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for
the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature,
philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected,
peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information
about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs
is available at: www.neh.gov.
Happy Holidays!
Contributed by Hoang Tran, Director of Archives
On behalf of the Museum Team, we wish everyone a very happy holiday season! This past week, PAFA staff and faculty came together for our annual holiday party celebrating over food, music, and prizes!
Three members of the museum team (Mark Knobelsdorf, Barbara Katus, and myself) were among the raffle prize winners!
We want to thank everyone for their continued support. Happy Holidays!