The collection is arranged as 3 chronological series: Series 1: Letters, 1897-1925 (Box 1; 19 folders) Series 2: Printed Material, 1898-1907, undated (Box 1; 1 folder) Series 3: Photographs, undated (Box 1; 3 folders)
Access Note / Rights:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Summary:
The papers of art patron Harriet Collins Allen measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1897-1925. Found within the papers are letters primarily written by Solon Borglum and his wife, Emma, to Harriet Collins Allen. The letters were written from Omaha, London, Paris, and New York and provide a cursory overview of some of the events in Borglum's career and insights into his relationship with his older brother sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Borglum writes about meeting and working with other sculptors in Paris and New York and his wife writes about conflicts between the two brothers and exhibitions of Solon's work. Also found within the papers are clippings, a brochure for Borglum's book A Comparative Analysis of Natural Forms and Their Relation to the Human Figure , and photographs of Borglum in his studio and of his works.
Citation:
Harriet Collins Allen papers relating to Solon Borglum, 1897-1925. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use Note:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Related Materials:
The Archives holds several additional collections relating to Solon Borglum, including a loan of Gutzon Borglum papers microfilmed on reel 3056 (originals housed at the San Antonio Museum of Art) and the Solon H. Borglum and Borglum Family papers. The Library of Congress holds additional papers of Solon H. Borglum and is the primary repository of Gutzon Borglum's papers.
Biography Note:
Harriet Collins Allen and her husband, Dr. Samuel Allen, befriended sculptor Solon Borglum while he was studying at the Cincinnati Art Academy in the mid-1890s.
Solon Hannibal Borglum was born December 22, 1868 in Ogden, Utah. He was the younger brother of noted sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Both brothers spent their early lives on a ranch near Omaha, Nebraska. From 1883 to 1884, Solon and Gutzon traveled to California where Gutzon studied art and both earned a living at ranching. After spending a short time at his brother's studio in Sierra Madre, and living as an artist in Santa Ana, Solon enrolled at the Cincinnati Art Academy, where he studied from 1895 to 1897 as a student of Louis Rebisso.
Borglum displayed several works at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon, and at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Among his most noted commissions was the "Rough Rider Monument" commemorating Captain William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill in Prescott, Arizona. In 1906, Borglum moved to Silvermine, Connecticut, where his studio became the center of a colony called the Silvermine Group of Artists. It was also during this time that Paul Manship was employed as one of Borglum's assistants and lived with the family.
From 1916 to 1917 Solon taught at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York and worked on an art textbook. During World War I, he served as the Director of Sculpture for the American Expeditionary Forces Art Training Center. Following the war, Borglum returned to New York City and established a School of American Sculpture in New York City.
Solon Hannibal Borglum died suddenly after an appendectomy in January 1922 in New York City.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
The Harriet Collins Allen papers relating to Solon Borglum were donated in 1989 by Joan Parsons Wang, granddaughter of Harriet Collins Allen.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
