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Catalog Data

Creator:
Adelman, Seymour, 1906-  Search this
Names:
Bregler, Charles  Search this
Eakins, Susan Macdowell  Search this
Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916  Search this
Hamilton, James, 1819-1878  Search this
Pach, Walter, 1883-1958  Search this
Richards, William Trost, 1833-1905  Search this
Sartain family (Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this
Sartain, Emily, 1841-1927  Search this
Sartain, Harriet, 1873-1957  Search this
Sartain, John, 1808-1897  Search this
Sartain, Samuel, 1830-1906  Search this
Sartain, William, 1843-1924  Search this
Smith, Russell, 1812-1896  Search this
Smith, Xanthus, 1839-1929  Search this
Extent:
1 Microfilm reel
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1845-1958
Scope and Contents:
The microfilm of selections from the Seymour Adelman collection consists of materials relating to the Sartain family and to Thomas and Susan Eakins. The Sartain materials include letters (1845-1945) to Emily Sartain, Harriet Sartain, John Sartain, Samuel Sartain, and William Sartain. Correspondents include artists William Trost Richards, James Hamilton, Rusell Smith, and Xanthus Smith. Eakins material includes letters (1931-1958) to Adelman from Charles Bregler, including a few responses from Adelman; Susan Eakins correspondence (1931-1938), mostly from Eakins to Adelman regarding paintings, commissions, exhibitions, articles, and personal matters; and postcards to Susan Eakins and Thomas Eakins (1890-1933) including one from Walter Pach to Susan Eakins. One letter (1868) from Thomas Eakins to Benjamin Eakins; and two letters to Thomas Eakins are also included. Also found are Thomas Eakins' three account/ledger sheets (1870-1895); miscellaneous Eakins family materials; and photographs by Thomas Eakins, Susan Eakins, and others, primarily formal and informal portraits of Thomas and Susan Eakins, their families, and pets.
Biographical / Historical:
Seymour Adelman (1906-1985) was a collector of rare books, prints, letters, and ephemera in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was on committees and boards for several literary and artistic institutions, including the Philadelphia Academy of Art, the print and drawing committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the rare book committees of the University of Pennsylvania and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Adelman met Susan Eakins in the 1930s and became her close friend and promoter of the work of Thomas Eakins. The Sartain family were a family of engravers and painters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. John Sartain came to the United States from England in 1830 and pioneered mezzotint engraving in the US. Of his eight children, his sons William and Samuel and daughter Emily became artists, as did his granddaughter Harriet. His son Henry, Harriet's father, was a printer and printed engravings in Philadelphia. Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) was a realist painter and educator in Philadelphia. Eakins taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and promoted a curriculum based on the study of the human figure. He was forced to resign in 1886 after a dispute regarding the use of nude male models in life drawing classes with women artists present. Susan Hanah Macdowell Eakins (1851-1938) was photographer and painter who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins, whom she later married. She devoted much of her time to supporting her husband's career. After Thomas Eakins' death in 1916, she painted prolifically. Her first solo exhibition was held in 1976.
Related Materials:
Bryn Mawr College holds the Adelman Collection. Columbia University Rare Books and Manuscripts Library holds the Seymour Adelman collection, 1724-1956.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1991 by Bryn Mawr College. Microfilmed as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. The material was selected from over 45 linear ft. of manuscript material in the Adelman Collection.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Artists -- United States  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.adelseym
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d2d31a42-91a0-4b7b-aa54-3fd86004f307
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-adelseym