Blackburn Print Archives contain thousands of works by many of the artists who printed with Robert Blackburn and/or at The Printmaking Workshop from the 1940s until the present. Blackburn was extremely welcoming, generous, never imposed any aesthetic guidelines, and encouraged experimentation by non-printmakers in lithography, intaglio, relief, photo processes, and artists’ books As such, The archives thus contain one of the most unique and diverse records of printmaking in the United States, and reflects the various communities with which Blackburn participated. 

In 2006 The Library of Congress acquired a core selection of 2,044 works by 1,311 artists from The Printmaking Workshop, including the largest selection of Blackburn's own work represented in any institution. Still, it is estimated that at least 10,000 prints remain in the Archive while new works are added each day. EFA RBPMW endeavors to place another set from The Print Archive with a New York institution.

There are over 1,300 artists with over 10,000 prints in the archives. Artists include: Elizabeth Catlett, Emma Amos, Charles White, Krishna Reddy, Faith Ringgold, Melvin Edwards, among others. To view the archives, please contact: essye@efanyc.org to make an appointment.