The collection is arranged as 1 series. Series 1: Ernest Lawson papers, 1907-1967 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 2-4)
Access Note / Rights:
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.
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.
Citation:
Ernest Lawson papers, 1907-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Portions of the papers were microfilmed on reel 1788, which is available for interlibrary loan. Researchers are advised that the microfilm is incomplete.
The collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reel 1788 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Funding:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
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.
Biography Note:
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."
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.
Language Note:
The collection is in English
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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
