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Catalog Data

Creator:
Lawson, Ernest, 1873-1939  Search this
Names:
Salmagundi Club  Search this
Anderson, Victor C. (Victor Coleman), 1882-1937  Search this
Bensco, Margaret Lawson, 1895  Search this
Brown, George E.  Search this
Grant, Gordon, 1875-1962  Search this
Higgens, Eugene  Search this
Lawson, Ella  Search this
Olinsky, Ivan G. (Ivan Gregorewitch), 1878-1962  Search this
Speicher, Eugene Edward, 1883-1962  Search this
Wiggens, Guy  Search this
Williams, Keith Shaw, 1905-1951  Search this
Extent:
0.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Date:
1907-1967
Summary:
The scattered papers of painter Ernest Lawson measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1967. The papers consist of family correspondence with daughter Margaret, and between Margaret and her mother Ella Lawson; a dismantled scrapbook containing exhibition announcements, catalogs, and clippings; and a 1937 photograph of a group of artists at a dinner at the Salmagundi Club honoring Lawson along with a photograph of a work of art by Lawson signed by the numerous artists attending the dinner, including Victor C. Anderson, George Elmer Browne, Gordon Grant, Eugene Higgens, Ivan G. Olinsky, Eugene Speicher, Guy Wiggens, and Keith Shaw Williams, among others.
Scope and Contents:
The scattered papers of painter Ernest Lawson measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1967. The papers consist of family correspondence with daughter Margaret, and between Margaret and her mother Ella Lawson; a dismantled scrapbook containing exhibition announcements, catalogs, and clippings; and a 1937 photograph of a group of artists at a dinner at the Salmagundi Club honoring Lawson along with a photograph of a work of art by Lawson signed by the numerous artists attending the dinner, including Victor C. Anderson, George Elmer Browne, Gordon Grant, Eugene Higgens, Ivan G. Olinsky, Eugene Speicher, Guy Wiggens, and Keith Shaw Williams, among others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 1 series. Missing Title Series 1: Ernest Lawson papers, 1907-1967 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 2-4)
Biographical / Historical:
Ernest Lawson (1873-1939) was painter active in New York City and member of the group of American early modernist painters known as "The Eight." Born in Nova Scotia, Canada and raised in Kansas, Ernest Lawson moved to New York City in the 1880s. There, he studied at the Art Students League and studied under John Twachtman. He also studied at the Cos Cob Connecticut summer art school before moving to Paris in 1893 to study at the Académie Julian. While in Paris he also shared a studio with W. Somerset Maugham, who is believed to have used Lawson as the inspiration for the character "Frederick Lawson" in his 1915 novel Of Human Bondage . Lawson returned to the United States in 1896 and transitioned from his Impressionist style to a Realist style, painting primarily cityscapes. Lawson had his first solo exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1907 and won a prize for a winter landscape. Lawson joined the group painters that would become known as "The Eight," whose members included Robert Henri, William Glackens, John Sloan, George Luks, Everett Shinn, Arthur B. Davies, and William Prendergast. These painters protested that the exhibition system in New York was a closed system that did not welcome change and modern style. In 1908, Macbeth Galleries staged the seminal show of the "The Eight." Lawson married Ella Holman and they had two daughters Margaret and Dorothy. Lawson tragically drowned in Florida in 1939.
Provenance:
Margaret Lawson Bensco donated her father's papers in 1976. In 1985, Lawson's granddaughter Alice Simon donated the 1937 photograph of artists at the Salmagundi Club and the photograph of a work of art by Lawson signed by numerous artists.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Research Center in Washington, D.C. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
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.
Occupation:
Painters  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Ernest Lawson papers, 1907-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.lawserne
See more items in:
Ernest Lawson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f68d5450-09e9-437f-ac87-773aae6d648f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-lawserne