The Adèle Goodman Clark papers document the life and activities of Clark (1882-1983) throughout her adult life, as well as those of her closest friends and relatives. Clark was a member of a small group of civically active Richmond women whose names appear throughout the collection. Of particular note are members of Clark's family, Edith Clark Cowles, Willoughby Ions, and friends Roberta Wellford, Lila Meade Valentine, Lucy Randolph Mason, Ida Mae Thompson, Eudora W. Ramsay Richardson, Nora Houston and Josephine Houston.
A founding member of the Virginia suffrage movement and a prominent supporter of the arts in Virginia, Clark exemplified the influential role civically active women played in the major social reform movements of the twentieth century. Calling politics and art her "creative spirits", Clark was involved in a number of reform initiatives throughout her century of life that championed the rights of women and promoted the arts.
The collection comprises five major components: 1) materials pertaining to the Clark and Houston families with their multiple activities, responsibilities and affiliations, 2) suffrage materials composed of documentation of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia (ESLV), Richmond League of Women Voters, the VLWV, and the reorganized League of Women Voters of Virginia (LWVV), 3) materials related to state and national politics comprises, 4) religion, including the organizational records and personal items documenting the religious activities of Clark, and 5) art, particularly art in Virginia. More detailed information about items in the collection are available in the VCU Special Collections and Archives finding aid.