55 Items (Photographs: (on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Interviews
Date:
1886-1980
Scope and Contents:
Biographical documents, diaries, letters received, writings, art works, business records, subject files, scrapbook, interviews, and photographs.
REEL 2714: Photographs, 1886-1977, of Norman, her family and friends, and her residences at Peaslake, Surrey, England, and Old Lyme, Conn.
UNMICROFILMED: Diaries, 1891-1892, 1908-1910, 1913-1915, and 1917-1920; a baptismal certificate, marriage certificate, notes on family relationships, a certificate for the Theosopical Society, a resume, lists of paintings, and address books; diaries of Norman's eldest son Geoffrey, 1913-1915, and of her friend Adah Stuart Franks, kept while Norman was living with her in England, 1904-1911; letters from family, friends, and business associates, 1904-1935, including many from British architects, sculptors, and others involved in the Arts and Crafts movement, from patrons such as William H. Clarke, Winefred Douglas, Mrs. John Sherman Hoyt, and from other notable figures such as Mabel Dodge, Helen Mears, and Alfred Stieglitz; autobiographical writings; drafts for articles on mural decoration and manuscript illumination, notes for lectures, articles on art and literature, drafts of short stories, and notebooks containing writings, notes and addresses.
Also included are a few sketches, pen and ink illustrations for Norman's short story "Pipkin," an illuminated calendar, and cover decorations and lettering for a book by Norman; business records, including price lists, expense, budget, and cash books and other financial records; subject files on projects or art works; a scrapbook, 1914; an interview of Clive Maxwell Norman, Norman's son, April 28, 1980, about his mother; and printed materials.
Letters, legal documents, clippings and other material relating to Norman's separation trial and divorce from John Thomas Norman, 1905-1929, complete the collection.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and illuminator; Surrey, England and Old Lyme, Conn. Born Belle Elkin Mitchell in Kansas. Lived in England, ca. 1884-1913, and was attracted to the Arts and Crafts Movement, especially to murals and illuminated manuscripts. Among her closest friends were the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore and the illustrator Walter Crane. Following a sensational divorce trial in 1914, in which her counsel was Lloyd-George, she returned to America, and worked on private commissions and exhibitions, chiefly in New York, Old Lyme, and Michigan.
Provenance:
The donor is Norman's granddaughter, Cynthia Norman.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
