Professional and institutional sources document Amanda Kate Lambert as Amanda Erlinger, an artist, photographer, curator, and archival contributor whose public work has focused heavily on visual preservation. A 1998 Los Angeles Times report identified her as Amanda Katherine Lambert, while later cultural institutions, galleries, and interviews consistently use Amanda Erlinger.
She is also the daughter of Nancy Sinatra and the granddaughter of Frank Sinatra, but her public record extends beyond that family connection. Since the early 2000s, she has worked with Frank Sinatra’s personal photographic collection, helped turn archival material into books and exhibitions, participated in cultural programs, and supported architectural preservation in Palm Springs.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Professional name | Amanda Erlinger |
| Documented roles | Artist, photographer, curator, and archivist |
| Archive responsibility | Frank Sinatra’s personal photographic collection |
| Art activity | Participated in a documented Palm Springs group exhibition |
| Cultural work | Photography books, exhibitions and archival presentation |
| Preservation interest | Photography archives and Palm Springs architecture |
Amanda Erlinger Is the Professional Name Used in Strong Sources
Later professional and institutional sources identify Amanda Kate Lambert as Amanda Erlinger. Strong institutional, publishing, and interview sources consistently use that name.
The earlier record makes an important distinction. When the Los Angeles Times reported on Frank Sinatra’s probate filing in 1998, it identified his granddaughter as Amanda Katherine Lambert. That reporting supports Lambert as an earlier surname and Katherine as the middle name used in that record, rather than confirming “Kate” as her formal middle name.
Later sources clearly establish her family background. Amanda is Nancy Sinatra and choreographer Hugh Lambert’s daughter and Frank Sinatra’s granddaughter. Her work with photography and archival material eventually became a substantial part of her own public profile.
Her Own Work Includes Art and Photography
Amanda has been publicly identified as both an artist and photographer. A 2015 festival profile identified Amanda as both an artist and photographer and also listed her curatorial position with Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
Her visual art was publicly exhibited before the major Sinatra centennial projects. In 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that she contributed a portrait of Nancy Sinatra to M Modern Gallery‘s Blonde Bombshell group exhibition in Palm Springs.
Art was also part of her early experience with her grandfather. In an interview with The Independent, Amanda recalled Frank Sinatra teaching her painting techniques and emphasizing proper care of brushes and other materials. She also said she kept his orange studio chair for use in her own studio.
Those accounts document a direct connection between her personal art practice and the practical instruction she received while painting with him, without reducing her later work to that family influence alone.
Managing Frank Sinatra’s Photo Archive Became a Long-Term Project
Amanda has said that she began managing and archiving Frank Sinatra’s personal photographic collection in 2002. In a 2018 interview, she described receiving photographs stored in boxes and envelopes and encountering material in many different sizes and formats.
The collection included historical photographs she had not previously seen. Finding such material strengthened her view that the archive needed systematic preservation rather than remaining loosely stored.
Her role involved the practical work of sorting, organizing, and protecting a substantial family photographic record.
By 2015, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas was publicly identifying her as Fine Art and Photography Curator for Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
Digitization Became Central to Preserving the Collection
The preservation process also required moving beyond physical organization. Amanda explained that she began scanning photographs herself as she worked through the collection.
She later arranged for a company to produce higher-resolution digital versions as part of the preservation work.
Her description of the work provides a relatively detailed view of what managing the archive meant in practice: handling photographs in inconsistent formats, identifying material worth preserving, creating digital copies and improving the quality of those reproductions.
Selected photographs from the archive later appeared in books, exhibitions and other curated public projects.
The Archive Reached the Public Through Books and Exhibitions
One of the most substantial results was the 2015 photography volume Sinatra – Special Edition. Publisher ACC Art Books credits Amanda Erlinger and Robin Morgan as its compilers. The 400-page centenary publication was issued as a limited edition of 1,000 copies.
Amanda discussed the project directly with The Independent, explaining that the family chose a fine-art format for the book. Years of photographic organization could therefore be presented as a deliberately structured visual collection rather than simply a group of previously stored images.
She also curated Sinatra at 100: A Century in the Making at Proud Chelsea in London. In an interview with AnOther, Amanda explained that the archive had been developing for years before the family decided how and when to present it publicly.
The centennial created that opportunity. Her stated goal for the exhibition was to let visitors encounter aspects of Frank Sinatra that they might not have seen through his familiar public image.
Her Curatorial Role Was Formally Recognized in 2015
Amanda’s archival responsibilities were not described only in family interviews or gallery publicity. In 2015, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas formally identified her as Fine Art and Photography Curator, Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
She participated in its Sinatra at 100: Cultural Influences, Back and Forward program, which placed her archival perspective within a broader cultural discussion. The event was associated with institutions including the GRAMMY Museum and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
The Los Angeles Times also reported her involvement with the GRAMMY Museum’s Sinatra: An American Icon exhibition that year.
Her curatorial title is firmly documented for that period. Later sources continue to describe archival work, although the 2015 title should not automatically be treated as her current formal position.
Archival Work Continued Beyond the 2015 Centennial
The centennial did not end Amanda’s public work with the photographic collection. In 2018, Hilton | Asmus Contemporary presented Sinatra: My Kind of Town in collaboration with Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
The gallery’s announcement identified Amanda as an artist, photographer, author, and manager or archivist of the personal photographic collection. She was also named as the guest of honor for the exhibition’s opening.
A direct interview from the same period provides stronger detail about the preservation work behind those public presentations. Amanda described the archive as something she had managed since 2002 and discussed the scanning and digitization process used to preserve its contents.
The 2018 exhibition therefore represented another public stage in a project that had already developed across more than a decade of organization, preservation and curation.
Preservation Interests Extend Beyond Photography
Amanda has also participated publicly in efforts to preserve Palm Springs architecture.
In April 2015, she sent Palm Springs officials a written appeal opposing the demolition of architect Hugh Kaptur’s Tahquitz Plaza. In that communication, she argued for protecting significant mid-century architecture and said she had been involved with local preservation organizations for years.
Her connection to architectural preservation later appeared in official museum records. Palm Springs Art Museum listed Amanda and Michael Erlinger among additional funders of Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist, which ran in 2024.
The museum has also listed them among supporters associated with its Aluminaire House project and an earlier modern-design exhibition. Those records document financial support rather than a museum curatorial or staff role.
Amanda Kate Lambert’s Public Record Centers on Preservation
Amanda Erlinger’s documented work gives readers a clearer picture than the family connection alone. Beginning with her management of Frank Sinatra’s photographic collection, her activities have included hands-on preservation, curatorial presentation, visual art, and support for Palm Springs architecture.
The consistent thread is practical preservation: organizing cultural material, helping present it publicly, and supporting efforts to protect significant design and architecture.