In 1986, R. C. Hickman donated his rich archive of photographic material to the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. The R.C. Hickman Photographic Archive consists primarily of 4" x 5" negatives created by Hickman during his professional career with the Dallas Star Post and the Express. The archive also includes Hickman's freelance work for Jet magazine and photographs documenting school segregation for NAACP court cases. In addition to photographs of Dallas news events, also included are photographs of nationally popular entertainers and Dallas nightclubs, schools and universities, funerals, and notable Dallas citizens. The majority of the photographs date to the 1950's, although the archive includes some earlier and later materials. Portions of the Center's collection were featured in Behold the People, a monograph highlighting Hickman's photographic career.

Some contact prints and photocopies of contact prints annotated with negative numbers are available for viewing. Access to negatives is restricted; permission required from Reference Archivist or Photographs Archivist. Publication restrictions apply. The photographer retains copyright to his images. Please contact the Photographs Archivist at peterson@mail.utexas.edu for information.