The Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture Records (formerly SEAAC.8) are part of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives which were donated to the Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The collection spans the years 1954 to 2002, and is arranged in three series: Administrative Records, Photographs, and Architectural Records. The collection documents the establishment and management of Doris Duke's Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture. Records in the Administrative series reveal a frenzied few years of acquisition, where the curator of SEAAC sought works of art of all types - manuscript cabinets and manuscripts, Thai ceramics, Chinese porcelains, wood, stone, bronze and ivory sculptures, and complete Thai houses. It also documents Doris Duke's attempts to locate a site for the Thai Village, the transport and exhibition of the objects at the Coach Barn at Duke Farms, and the financial records associated with the daily operations and management of the foundation and its assets. The Photograph series consists primarily of black and white images of the art objects and building parts purchased for SEAAC, with some images of houses in Bangkok and other Thai buildings, which served as the inspiration for the Thai Village. The architectural records in this collection include various drawings of the proposed village site and plans for the various buildings that were to be constructed. The materials in this collection are arranged loosely in chronological order.
Doris Duke was an avid world traveler and it was in Asia that she found inspiration for many of the projects she subsequently undertook, including her collection of Asian art. On a 1957 trip to India and China, Doris Duke stopped in Thailand. It is likely that the exploration of Bangkok and its art and architecture she saw on that visit inspired her to dream of creating a Thai village in Hawaii with houses similar to those she had seen. More than a year passed before Doris Duke's idea of constructing the village was formalized, and in December of 1960, she formally hired François Duhau de Berenx, a decorator and art dealer, to help bring it to pass (Berenx was the first Curator of SEAAC). The Thai House Foundation was established on January 30, 1961; the name was changed to the Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture (SEAAC) in June of that same year. The establishment of the Foundation resulted in a project that Doris Duke saw as a gift to Hawaii, and one that occupied her for many years.
At least five sites in Hawaii were considered for the Thai Village and it was the choice of an appropriate location that ultimately proved the stumbling block to completion of the project. While Doris Duke continued to purchase art objects and made plans for additional buildings, between 1966 and 1972, she continued to try to find a site for the village. At the end of 1972, she and Leon Amar began installing SEAAC in the Coach Barn at Duke Farms, and during 1973 and 1974 made several trips to Southeast Asia to purchase objects. Although her dream of a Thai Village was never fulfilled, Doris Duke's interest in Asia continued, as she continued purchasing objects right up until her death in 1993.
In 2002, a significant portion of the collection was donated to two museums distinguished for their collections of Southeast Asian art; the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
