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Catalog Data

Creator:
Hobbs, Morris Henry, 1892-1967  Search this
Subject:
Smith, Lyman B.  Search this
Jacques, Bertha  Search this
Arms, John Taylor  Search this
Louisiana Society of Etchers  Search this
Chicago Society of Etchers  Search this
Bromeliad Society  Search this
New Orleans Art League  Search this
Type:
Architectural drawings
Prints
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
4.7 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1918-2014 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, 1921-1993 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 1 and 5) Series 3: Writings, 1918-2014 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-2) Series 4: Professional Files, 1922-2014 (1.0 linear foot; Boxes 2-3) Series 5: Printed Material, 1929-2014 (0.6 linear feet; Box 3) Series 6: Photographs, circa 1901-1991 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 3-4) Series 7: Artwork, circa 1919-1950s (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 4-5) Series 8: Sketchbooks, 1930s-1950s (0.2 linear feet; Box 4)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Summary:
The papers of etcher Morris Henry Hobbs measure 4.7 linear feet and date from circa 1901-2014. His career as an artist in Chicago and New Orleans is documented through biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional files, printed material, photographs, artwork, and four sketchbooks.
Citation:
Morris Henry Hobbs papers, circa 1901-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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:
Morris Henry Hobbs (1892-1967) was an etcher in Chicago and New Orleans. Hobbs was born in Rockford, Illinois, and raised in Chicago. As a teenager he took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the age of 17 was hired as a draftsman at an architectural firm. From 1918-1919, he served in France with the Allied Expeditionary Force. While there he contracted influenza which resulted in the loss of his hearing. After the war he lived in Toledo, Ohio, with his wife and two daughters and worked at an architectural firm. He also learned printmaking techniques from etcher J. Ernest Dean and began exhibiting his work. In 1927, he returned to Chicago with his family and in 1930 became director of the Chicago Society of Etchers. During his career he was active in many arts and printmaking organizations.
In 1938, Hobbs traveled to New Orleans for an extended visit, opened a studio space, and began a ten-year project of etching French Quarter scenes. A year later he moved to New Orleans permanently and became the first president of the Louisiana Society of Etchers. In 1942, he married Alice "Judy" Seddon. In 1948, he was hired as a designer for the architectural firm Favrot, Reed, Mathes and Bergman, and was employed there until his death. Also at this time, he and his wife establish a country home in Mandeville, Louisiana, where he built a greenhouse and cultivated tropical bromeliads. They kept an apartment in the French Quarter as a weekday residence.
In 1960, Hobbs began a series of watercolors depicting bromeliads and in the subsequent years traveled to Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Trinidad to collect specimens for a potential book project. He died in 1967 at the age of 75 and that year the Reinike Gallery held a retrospective of his work. His wife Alice Seddon Hobbs died in 1993 at the age of 95.
Language Note:
Collection is in English.
Provenance:
Donated in 2014 by Reed Isbell-Hobbs, widow of Morris Henry Hobbs' son William Hobbs.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Gardening  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16237
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)370425
AAA_collcode_hobbmorr
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_370425