Alfred Corning Clark (1844-1896), heir to a large part of the Singer sewing machine fortune, was an American art patron and philanthropist who traveled extensively in Europe, meeting many prominent figures in the arts of the late nineteenth century.

The collection contains many photographs of those figures, a few of which are autographed, a book of scores containing opera excerpts and art songs by European composers of the period, a song manuscript personally dedicated to Clark, and other items pertaining to Clark’s interests in music and art.

This collection consists of a portfolio of wet collodion portraits of new immigrants to the United States by fine arts photographer Jill Enfield. The portfolio forms a part of Enfield's The New Americans series, and originated as a year-long project funded by a Faculty Development Grant from Parsons. Enfield's grant statements are also part of the collection.

Occurring annually between 1981 and 1989, the Focus Photography Workshops offered a week-long immersion in a specialized area of photography with a public lecture series running during the same period. The workshops were targeted toward non-degree students with advanced photography skills. This collection includes audio recordings from the Focus lectures by professionals in the fields of photojournalism, advertising and fashion photography.