1.75 cu. ft. (3 document boxes) (1 half document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Black-and-white photographs
Drawings
Manuscripts
Date:
1909-1964
Descriptive Entry:
The Ruel P. Tolman Collection contains official correspondence; biographical information; photocopies of prints, drawings and photographs; and scrapbooks. Included
are papers relating to Tolman's work as a graphic artist, his interest in miniature painting, and his participation in arts-related organizations.
Of particular interest are four scrapbooks. One scrapbook documents a tour Tolman took of art galleries, museums and historical societies in the northeastern United States
and New England. Three scrapbooks contain photographs taken by Tolman of Smithsonian staff, Smithsonian grounds and buildings, Smithsonian exhibitions, and Washington, D.C.
scenes.
Other types of material in this collection include tax returns, personal notes, trip reports, newspaper clippings, exhibit catalogs, invitations and Tolman's personal Christmas
cards.
For a complete record of Tolman's association with the Smithsonian, the records of the Division of Graphic Arts, 1882-1962 (Record Unit 206); the Office of the Director,
NCFA (Record Unit 311 and Record Unit 312); USNM, 1877-1975, Permanent Administrative Files (Record Unit 192); and the USNM, Curators' Annual Reports (Record Unit 158) should
be consulted.
Historical Note:
Ruel Pardee Tolman (1878-1954) was born in Brookfield, Vermont. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley in 1902, he moved to Washington and attended
the Corcoran School of Art. In 1906 he studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League in New York. He taught classes at the Corcoran from 1906 until
1919. His association with the Smithsonian began in 1912 when he joined the Division of Graphic Arts of the U.S. National Museum (USNM) as a preparator. He became an aide
in 1913, assistant curator in 1920, and curator in 1932. From 1932-1946 he also occupied the position of acting director of the National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA - known
as the National Gallery of Art until 1937). Appointed director in 1946, he spent two years in the position and retired in 1948.
Tolman was a practicing graphic artist, working in lithography, etching, mezzotint, drypoint, oil paint, and watercolor. He was active in the Washington art community and
was a nationally recognized painter of miniatures. His work included 26 miniature portraits of U.S. presidents and governors. He was founder and president of the Miniature
Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington. In 1909, he obtained a patent for an artist's wet-canvas carrier.
During the period 1923-1946 Tolman organized a series of monthly exhibits at the Smithsonian of work by living artists. He also developed the traveling series "How Prints
are Made" which circulated through the United States for two decades.
His publications included journal articles on graphic art, American art and American miniature painters; biographical articles for the Dictionary of American Biography;
and catalogs and reports relating to the collections of the Division of Graphic Arts and the NCFA. His major work, The Life and Work of Edward Greene Malbone, Miniature
Painter, was published in 1958 by the New York Historical Society.
He died on August 24, 1954. His wife, Nelly Summerel McKenzie Tolman, died in August of 1961. His daughter, Sarah Bruner Tolman Kemper, lives in Arlington.
Chronology:
March 26, 1878 -- Born in Brookfield, Vermont
1897 -- Attended Pomona College Prep School, Claremont, California
1902 -- Graduated from University of California at Berkeley
1902 -- Moved to Washington and attended Corcoran Art School
1906 -- Studied at National Academy of Design and Art Students League (New York)
1906 -- Taught classes at the Corcoran
1908-1919 -- Appointed assistant instructor at Corcoran
November 23, 1909 -- Obtained patent for artist's wet-canvas carrier
1912 -- Preparator at Division of Graphic Arts, United States National Museum (USNM)
1913 -- Aide in Division of Graphic Arts, USNM
1914 -- Married Nelly Summerel McKenzie
1920 -- Assistant curator in Graphic Arts Division, USNM
1932-1946 -- Curator, Divison of Graphic Arts, USNM, and Acting Director of the National Collection of Fine Arts, NCFA (known as the National Gallery of Art until 1937)
1934 -- Trip to New York, Philadelphia, Boston
1939 -- Trip to Chicago
1940 -- Elected to Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters
1946 -- Appointed director of NCFA, USNM
1947 -- Elected to Royal Society of Arts
March 31, 1948 -- Retired from NCFA
Summer 1948 -- Exhibition of etchings and dryponts at Smithsonian castle
August 24, 1954 -- Died at Washington Sanitarium in Takoma Park, Maryland
1958 -- The Life and Work of Edward Greene Malbone, Miniature Painter, published by New York Historical Society
August 1961 -- Wife Nelly Tolman died
October 25, 1962 -- Tolman library and artwork auctioned at Sloan's
January 7-February 3, 1964 -- Posthumous exhibition of etchings and dryponts held in Smithsonian castle
