The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, and photographs.
Scope Content:
The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, financial material, architectural drawings, and photographs.
Correspondence, circa 1860-1921, includes Freer's correspondence, 1876-1920, with artists, dealers, collectors, museums, and public figures; letterpress books contain copies of Freer's outgoing letters, 1892-1910; correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler, and his wife Beatrix, 186?-1909, with Lady Colin Campbell, Thomas R. Way, Alexander Reid, Whistler's mother, Mrs. George W. Whistler, and others; correspondence of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, 1904-1913, regarding works in Canfield's collection; and correspondence of Freer's assistant, Katharine Nash Rhoades, 1920-1921, soliciting Freer's letters from his associates, and regarding the settlement of his estate.
Also included are twenty-nine pocket diaries, 1889-1890, 1892-1898, 1900-1919, recording daily activities, people and places visited, observations, and comments; a diary kept by Freer's caretaker, Joseph Stephens Warring, recording daily activities at Freer's Detroit home, 1907-1910. Inventories, n.d. and 1901-1921, of American, European, and Asian art in Freer's collection, often including provenance information; vouchers, 1884-1919, documenting his purchases; five volumes of scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeill Whistler, 1888-1931, labeled "Various," "Peacock Room," "Death, etc.," "Paris, etc.," and "Boston...London" ; three volumes of newsclippings, 1900-1930, concerning Freer and the opening of the Freer Gallery of Art.
Correspondence regarding Freer's gift and bequest to the Smithsonian Institution, 1902-1916; and photographs, ca. 1880-1930, of Freer, including portraits by Alvin Langdon Coburn and Edward Steichen, Freer with others, Freer in Cairo, China and Japan, Freer's death mask, and his memorial service, Kyoto, 1930; photographs of artists and others, including Thomas Dewing, Ernest Fenollosa, Katharine Rhoades taken by Alfred Stieglitz, Rosalind B. Philip, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Abbott H. Thayer, Dwight Tryon, and Whistler; and photographs relating to Whistler, including art works depicting him, grave and memorial monuments, works of art, the Peacock Room, and Whistler's memorial exhibition at the Copley Society.
Organization of the Papers:
This collection is organized into twelve series.
Series 1: Genealogical and Biographical Data
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Diaries
Series 4: Freer Colleague Materials
Series 5: Art Inventories
Series 6: Financial Materials
Series 7: Exhibition Loan Files
Series 8: Biblical Manuscripts and Gold Treasure Files
Series 9: American School of Archaeology in China
Series 10: Printed Material
Series 11: Outsize Material
Series 12: Photographs
Biographical Note:
1854 February 25 -- Born in Kingston, New York
1873 -- Appointed accountant and paymaster of New York, Kingston and Syracuse Railroad by Frank J. Hecker (1846-1927)
1876 -- Moves to Indiana to work, with Hecker, for the Detroit and Eel River and Illinois Railroad
1880 -- Moves to Detroit, participates in organization of the Peninsular Car Works with Hecker
1883 -- Becomes vice president and secretary of Peninsular Car Company when it succeeds Peninsular Car Works
1883 -- Begins collecting European prints
1884 -- Peninsular Car Company constructs plant on Ferry Avenue
1887 -- Meets Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)
1887 -- Acquires proofs of 26 etchings, Venice, Second Series(1886), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
1887 -- Purchases a small Japanese fan attributed to Ogata Korin(1658-1715)
1887 -- Buys land on Ferry Avenue
1889 -- Meets Frederick Stuart Church (1826-1900) and Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925) in New York
1890 -- Commissions Wilson Eyre (1858-1944) to design house on Ferry Avenue, Detroit, Michigan
1890 -- On first trip to London, meets James McNeill Whistler(1834-1903)
1892 -- Moves to Ferry Avenue house
1892 -- Tryon and Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) undertake decoration of reception rooms
1893 -- Lends American paintings to World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
1893 -- Purchases first piece of Chinese art, a small painting of white herons by an anonymous Ming dynasty (1368-1644) artist
1894 -- Begins yearlong trip around the world, which includes visit to the Whistlers in Paris and first trip to Asia, stopping in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, China, and Japan
1896 -- Meets Matsuki Bunkyo (1867-1940) in Boston
1899 -- Takes part in consolidation of railroad-car building companies then retires from active business
1900 -- Attends Exposition International Universelle in Paris
1900 -- Buys villa in Capri with Thomas S. Jerome
1901 -- Meets Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) in Paris and Ernest Fenollosa(1853-1908), who visits Freer in Detroit
1902 -- Meets Dikran Kelekian (1868-1951)
1902 -- Spends summer in Britain building Whistler collection
1902 -- Views Whistler's, Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room
1904 -- Purchases Whistler's Peacock Room
1904 -- Offers his art collections and funds to build a museum in which to house them to the Smithsonian Institution
1905 -- Smithsonian committee visits Freer in Detroit
1906 -- United States government formally accepts Freer's gift on January 24
1906 -- Freer signs Deed of Gift to Smithsonian Institution on May 5
1907 -- On second tour of Asia, meets Hara Tomitaro 1868-1939) in Yokohama, Japan
1908 -- Takes third trip to Asia, specifically to West Asia to study Rakka ware
1909 -- Tours Europe to study art museums
1909 -- On fourth trip to Asia, attends memorial ceremony for Fenollosa (d.1908 September) at Miidera, Japan, and meets Duanfang (1861-1911) in China
1910 -- On last trip to Asia, visits Longmen Buddhist caves in China
1911 -- Suffers stroke
1912 -- Lends selection of objects for exhibition at Smithsonian Institution
1913 -- Meets Eugene (1875-1957) and Agnes E. (1887-1970) Meyer
1913 -- Commissions Charles Adams Platt (1861-1933) to design museum building in Washington
1914 -- Meets Katharine Nash Rhoades (1885-1965) in Detroit
1915 -- Settles in New York City
1915 -- Site of future Freer Gallery of Art is determined
1916 -- Platt's plans for Freer Gallery are approved by Smithsonian Regents and Commission of Fine Arts and ground is broken in September
1918 -- After falling ill in Detroit, Freer travels to New York for treatment
1918 -- Work on the museum building is delayed by the war
1919 -- Freer appends codicil to will permitting acquisitions of Asian, Egyptian, and Near Eastern (West Asian) art
1919 -- Dies in New York City on 25 September and is buried in Kingston, New York
1919 -- Construction of Freer Gallery completed
1920 -- John Ellerton Lodge (1876-1942) is appointed director of the Freer Gallery
1923 -- Freer Gallery opens to the public on May 9
1930 -- Memorial ceremony for Freer is held at Koetsuji, Kyoto
Charles Lang Freer was an American industrialist who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. He was a well-known collector of Asian art, and strongly supported the synthesis of Eastern art and Western art. One of his most famous acquisitions was James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room.
Index:
Index to cross-referenced correspondents in the series Charles Lang Freer correspondence
Beal, Junius E. -- See: -- Warring, Joseph Stephens
Black, George M. -- See: -- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Board of Education (Kingston, New York) See: Michael, M. J.
Bonner, Campbell See: University of Michigan
Boughton, George H. See: Yardley, F. C.
British Museum See: Binyon, Laurence; Hobson, R. L.
Brown, Harold H. See: Art Association of Indianapolis
Buchner, Evelyn B. See: Knoedler, M., and Company
Buckholder, C. H. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Butler, S. B. See: Unidentified correspondents
Carnegie Institute See: Balken, Edward Duff; Harshe, Robert B.
Carpenter, Newton H. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Caulkins, Horace James See: Pewabic Pottery
Chao, Shih-chin See: Gunn, Chu Su
Chicago & North Western Railway Co. See: Hughett, Marvin
Clark, Charles Upson See: Clark, Arthur B.
Cleveland Museum of Art See: Whiting, Frederic Allen
Columbia University See: Braun, W. A.; Gottheil, Richard; Hirth, Friederich
Commission of Fine Arts See: Moore, Charles
Corcoran Gallery of Art See: Minnigerode, C. Powell
Crocker, Anna B. See: Portland Art Association
Dannenberg, D. E. See: Karlbeck, Orvar
De Menoncal, Beatrice See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection
De Ricci, Seymour See: Ricci, Seymour de
Defnet, William A., Mrs., See: Franke, Ida M.
DeMotte See: Vigouroux, J.
Detroit Institute of Arts See: Detroit Museum of Art
Detroit Publishing Company See: Livingstone, W. A.
Detroit School of Design See: George Hamilton; Stevens, Henry
DeVinne Press See: Peters, Samuel T.; Witherspoon, A. S.
Dyrenforth, P. C. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Eddy, Arthur J. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Eggers, George Williams See: Art Institute of Chicago
Farr, Daniel H. See: Robinson and Farr
Farrand School (Detroit) See: Yendall, Edith
Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) See: Laufer, Berthold
Flagg, Frederick J. See: Allen, Horace N.
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University See: Forbes, Edward; Pope, Arthur Upham; Sachs, Paul J.
French, M. R. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Fu, Lan-ya See: Pang, Lai-ch'en
Fujii, Yoshio See: Yoshio, Fujii
Gerrity, Thomas See: Knoedler, M., and Company
Goupil Gallery See: Marchant, William
Gray, William J. See: Barr, Eva
Great Lakes Engineering Works See: Hoyt, H. W.
Grolier Club See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Heinemann, W. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Holden, Edward S. See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy
Hudson, J. L. See: Weber, William C.
Hutchins, Harry B. See: University of Michigan
Hutchins, Charles L. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Kelekian, H. G. See: Kelekian, Dikran G.
Kent, H. W. See: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Lee, Kee Son See: Li, Chi-ch'un
Levy, John See: Schneider, A. K.
Library of Congress See: Rice, Richard A.; Wright, Helen
Louvre (Paris, France) See: Midgeon, Gaston
Matsuki, Z. See: Matsuki, Kihachiro
McKim, Mead and White See: White, Stanford
Mills, A. L., Colonel See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Miner, Luella See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection
Minneapolis Institute of Arts See: Breck, Joseph; Van Derlip, John R.
Monif, R. Khan See: Rathbun, Richard
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston See: Lodge, John Ellerton
Naser, Katen & Nahass See: Katen, K.
Nordlinger, Marie, Miss See: Meyer-Riefstahl, Marie
Panama Pacific International Exposition See: Moore, Charles C.; Trask, John E. D.
Peabody Museum See: Morse, Edward Sylvester
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Trask, John E. D.
Saint-Gaudens, Augusta H. See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Saint-Gaudens, Homer See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Samurai Shokai See: Nomura, Yozo
San Francisco Art Association See: Laurvik, J. Nilsen
Scribner's, Charles, Sons See: Van Dyke, John C.
Shaw, Wilfred B. See: University of Michigan
Shirae, S. Z. See: Yamanaka and Company
Smith College See: Clark, Arthur B.
Smithsonian Institution See: Holmes, William Henry; Rathbun, Richard; Ravenel, Walcott, Charles D.
Society of Arts and Crafts (Detroit) See: Plumb, Helen
Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander
Stevens, George W. See: Toledo Museum of Art
Stratton, Mary Chase Perry See: Pewabic Pottery
Tanaka, Kichijiro See: Yamanaka and Company
Tuttle, William F. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Union Trust Company (Detroit) See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
United States Military Academy See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy
University of Chicago See: Zug, George Breed
University of Pennsylvania, Univ. Mus. See: Gordon, George Bryon
Ushikubo, D. J. R. See: Yamanaka and Company
Wallis & Son See: Barr, Eva; Thompson, C. Croal Ward, Clarence See: Oberlin College
Warren, Edward K. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Warring, Stephen See: Warring, Joseph Stephens
Watkin, Williams R. T. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Watson, Margaret, Miss See: Parker, Margaret Watson
Whistler, Anna See: Stanton, Anna Whistler
Whiting, Almon C. See: Toledo Museum of Art
Williams College See: Rice, Richard A
Wright, F. G. See: Orbach and Company
Yatsuhashi, H. See: Yamanaka and Company
Index to cross-referenced correspondence in the series Whistler correspondence
Bell, William See: Unidentified correspondents
Brown, Ernest See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee
Cowen, John T. See subseries: Charles Lang Freer Correspondence
Ford, Sheridan See: Reid, Alexander
Haden, Francis Seymour See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee
Haden, Francis Seymour, Lady See: Haden, Deborah Whistler
Leighton, Frederick, Baron See: Campbell, Lady Colin
Moore, Albert See: Reid, Alexander
Morley, Charles See: Pall Mall Gazette
Morris, Harrison S. See: Reid, Alexander
Pennell, Joseph See: Miscellaneous typescripts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Reid, Alexander
Prange, F. G. See: Reid, Alexander
Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander
Society of Portrait Painters See: Reid, Alexander
Stevens Fine Art See: Reid, Alexander
Studd, Arthur See: Miscellaneous typescripts
[Vanderbilt?], George, Mrs. See: George, Mrs.
Whistler, William McNeill, Mrs. See: Whistler, Nellie
Whistler Memorial Committee See: Miscellaneous typescripts
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art microfilmed portions of the Freer papers in 1992. The microfilm is available at the Archives of American Art's Washington D.C. office, the Freer Gallery of Art Library, and through interlibrary loan.
Provenance:
Gift of the Estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Papers of art collectors Pauline Baerwald Falk (1910-2000) and Myron Samuel (Johnny) Falk Jr. (1906-1992). This collection includes correspondence; art collection documentation; research materials; photographs (slides and prints) and audiovisual materials; financial information; biographical data; records of philanthropic and social activities; travel records; and appointment books.
Arrangement:
Organized into five series:
• Series 1: Biographic Materials
• Series 2: Travel
• Series 3: Correspondence
• Series 4: Collection Files
• Series 5: Slides
Biographical / Historical:
Pauline Baerwald was born in New York City in 1910, living there until her death in 2000. In 1932 she graduated from Smith College and went on to the School of Social Work at Columbia University. Pauline's father, Paul Baerwald, was a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist, as well as an executive board member of the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), an agency chartered to provide refugee services for European Jews who were victims of persecution throughout Russia and Europe. Pauline was an active volunteer with the JDC throughout World War II. After the war she was one of the founders of the National Refuge Service (later the New York Association for New Americans) as well as the Jewish Social Service Association. She also served as president of the Jewish Family Services, a predecessor agency of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services. In 1935 Pauline Baerwald married Myron "Johnny" S. Falk, Jr., and raised three children: Patricia, Michael and Nancy. Pauline, with support from Johnny, was a founder of the New Lincoln School in Manhattan, having attended the Lincoln School as a child. They maintained connection to charitable social work throughout their lives.
Myron "Johnny" S. Falk, Jr., son of Myron S. Falk, was born in New York City in 1906. In 1928 he earned a degree at Yale and a B.S. in Engineering from MIT in 1929. During World War II Johnny was a commissioned officer in the army, posted to the Pentagon ordinance section, applying his engineering and management skills to the task of munitions production. The family moved to Washington, D.C. during the war. In addition to his professional career as an investment banker with Ralph E. Samuels and Co., Johnny was a director of the New York Foundation and Hebrew Technical Institute. He was a board member of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies and Bennington College.
Pauline and Johnny were both introduced to Chinese art early in life. Johnny's father collected Chinese porcelain to decorate his New York home. In keeping with the taste of the times, most of his pieces were Kangxi blue and white porcelains. On his sixtieth birthday he divided his porcelains among his three children. Several years later Johnny and his sister, Mildred, gave many of those Kangxi porcelains to the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to be permanently installed, together with many other porcelains, to re-create the original appearance of the Whistler Peacock Room.
Pauline was introduced to Chinese art by her uncle, Emil Baerwald, who took her to the Metropolitan Museum to see the Bishop Collection and on visits to Yamanaka and Company on Fifth Avenue, where Mr. Shirai would take them into the private rooms to see the rarest pieces. Emil Baerwald lived in Europe, and, as an active collector of Chinese ceramics, he became acquainted with leading Chinese art collectors there, including George Eumorfopoulos and Sir Percival David. He provided introductions to collectors when Pauline and Johnny visited England in 1950.
In 1937 Pauline and Johnny made their first trip to China on Pan Am's Clipper, flying from San Francisco to Manila. It was during their first visit to China that Johnny and Pauline began buying early Chinese pottery and works of art. Pauline referred to this trip as the one trip that formed their collection. On this flight they met K.C. Chung, a consultant and friend for years to come. Pauline's uncle, Ernst Baerwald, lived in Tokyo and was well connected in the arts. Through his introductions they met significant art dealers, including Mathias Komor, who became an advisor to them.
Pauline and Johnny were contributors the founding of many Asian art organizations in America during the years following World War II and the Korean War. They participated in the establishment of the Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America in 1945, a scholarly journal which was renamed Archives of Asian Art in 1966 and continues publication today.
Pauline and Johnny were strong supporters of the Asia Society, where Johnny was a trustee. In 1971 they were among the first participants in the Japan Society and were founding members of the Friends of Japan House Gallery. Johnny was also a trustee of the Research Laboratory of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 1966 until his death. In 1950 Pauline and Johnny attended a meeting of the Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS) of London, and a few years later Johnny became the OCS representative in North America, a post he held for more than thirty years.
Johnny Falk died in 1992 and Pauline Baerwald Falk passed away in 2000, the same year the collection of approximately 700 items was assigned to Christie's.
Provenance:
Gift of the Falk family.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Genre/Form:
Correspondence
Photographs
Diaries -- 20th century
Maps -- 20th century
Citation:
Pauline B. and Myron S. Falk, Jr. Papers, FSA.A2002.03. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the Falk family.
Sponsor:
Processed in 2022 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History Initiative.
1 Film positive (silent, 12 minutes, black and white; color, 16mm)
Container:
Reel 4
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Film positives
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Place:
China -- Description and Travel
Korea
Japan
Date:
1937
Scope and Contents:
One of four reels 16mm motion picture film taken during Johnny and Pauline Falk's 1937 trip to China, Korea and Japan. The reel mixes color and black and white footage. Kodak had only recently made color film available, so this may be among the earliest color footage of many of the locations the Falks visited.
沈阳 서울 京都 日光 鎌倉
Biographical / Historical:
The Falks took one of the inaugural Pan Am Clipper flights to China in 1937. Myron S. (Johnny) Falk Jr., and his wife Pauline Baerwald Falk were active philanthropists, prominent Asian art collectors and were both active in the Jewish and Art communities.
0:00 - 1:08: Qing Tombs, Shenyang (May 14); 1:08 - 1:33: Injeongjeon Hall, Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul, Peony gardens and another building - not sure exactly which building within the palace (May 15); 1:33 - 1:48: Wongaksa Pagoda at Tapgol Park, Seoul (May 15); 1:48 - 2:00: Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, Gyeongbokgung Palace (May 16); 2:00 - 2:06: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul (May 16); 2:06 - 2:11: Yasaka Shrine OR Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto (May 18); 2:11 - 2:22: Kyoto Schoolchildren (May 18-19); 2:22 - 2:25: Horyu-ji temple, Nara (May 19); 2:25 - 4:01: Riding on the rapids of the Hozugawa River, Kyoto (May 20); 4:01 - 6:00: Nikko Tosho-gu, Nikko, Japan (May 23); 6:00 - 8:09: Daibutsu, Kamakura, Japan (May); 8:09 - 9:29: Unknown residence, perhaps "Ernst and the children" as mentioned in the diary, likely in Kyoto (May 21); 9:29 - 11:40: Unknown ryokan or the Miyako Hotel in Kyoto (date unknown); 11:40 - 12:00: Mrs. Falk and unknown friends appearing to be on board a ship (date unknown)
Local Numbers:
FSA A2002.03 4.4
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Genre/Form:
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Collection Citation:
Pauline B. and Myron S. Falk, Jr. Papers, FSA.A2002.03. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the Falk family.
Sponsor:
Processed in 2022 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History Initiative.
1 Film positive (silent, 16 minutes, color; black and white, 16mm)
Container:
Reel 1
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Film positives
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Place:
China -- Description and Travel
Philippines
Hong Kong
China
USA -- New York -- New York
Date:
1937
Scope and Contents:
One of four reels 16mm motion picture film taken during Johnny and Pauline Falk's 1937 trip to China, Korea and Japan. The reel mixes color and black and white footage. Kodak had only recently made color film available, so this may be among the earliest color footage of many of the locations the Falks visited.
广州 厦门 汉口重庆
Biographical / Historical:
The Falks took one of the inaugural Pan Am Clipper flights to China in 1937. Myron S. (Johnny) Falk Jr., and his wife Pauline Baerwald Falk were active philanthropists, prominent Asian art collectors and were both active in the Jewish and Art communities.
0:00 - 0:39: Alameda Airport, boarding the Philippine Clipper (March 24-25); 0:39 - 0:49: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (March 26); 0:49 - 2:49: 1. Pan American Airways Hotel at Midway / Wake Island (March 27-30); 2:49 - 4:34: Military parade of soldiers and children, Guam (March 31); 4:24 - 4:52: Manila (April 1); 4:55 - 5:47: Xiamen (April 5); 5:47 - 6:30: Hong Kong Harbor, on the boat to Kowloon (April 6); 6:30 - 6:38: Ruins of St. Paul's in Macau (April 8); 6:38 - 6:42: ? 6:42 - 7:04: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Guangzhou (April 10-11); 7:04 - 7:32: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall or Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou; 7:32 - 7:36: Hills outside of Guangzhou (April 10-12); 7:36 - 7:41: ? 7:41 - 8:09: Train from Guangzhou to Wubei on Hangkow Railroad (April 12); 8:09 - 8:11: Locals somewhere near train station between Guangzhou and Wubei (April 12); 8:12 - 8:20: Viewing Temple of the Six Banyan Trees from a distance, railroad stations along Hangkow RR (April 12); 8:20 - 8:33: Wuhan, along the Yangtze. Perhaps taken from the Chinese Customs House (April 12); 8:33 - 8:44: Nina & George Blowers, Hankou (April 13); 8:44 - 8:57: Hangkow Country Club (April 14); 8:57 - 9:06: Spectators in Hankou watching plane departure (April 15); 9:06 - 10:43: Pilot Hugh Chen preparing to fly a small Loening, views of Hankou port, Standard Oil Company, men carrying gasoline barrels (April 15); 10:43 - 11:30: Airport in Shasi District of Jingzhou, watching planes land and take off (April 15); 11:30 - 12:30: Crossing Yangtze river at Chongqing, looking out onto the mountains (April 16); 12:30 - 14:52: Taking "chairs" up into Chongqing hillside, looking out onto the hills, visited temple with many graves, looked down at Yangzi and Chongqing industry (April 16); 14:52 - 15:16: "Mr. Hamburger" or "Mr. Reuss" and Falks in Chongqing, home of a K.Z. Yang (April 17); 15:16 - 16:13: Crossing Yangzi in Chongqing on the way to Shanghai (April 17)
Local Numbers:
FSA A2002.03 4.1
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Genre/Form:
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Collection Citation:
Pauline B. and Myron S. Falk, Jr. Papers, FSA.A2002.03. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the Falk family.
Sponsor:
Processed in 2022 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History Initiative.
1 Film positive (silent, 14 minutes, black and white; color, 16mm)
Container:
Reel 2
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Film positives
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Place:
China -- Description and Travel
Shanghai (China)
Beijing (China)
Date:
1937
Scope and Contents:
One of four reels 16mm motion picture film taken during Johnny and Pauline Falk's 1937 trip to China, Korea and Japan. The reel mixes color and black and white footage. Kodak had only recently made color film available, so this may be among the earliest color footage of many of the locations the Falks visited.
上海 杭州 北京
Biographical / Historical:
The Falks took one of the inaugural Pan Am Clipper flights to China in 1937. Myron S. (Johnny) Falk Jr., and his wife Pauline Baerwald Falk were active philanthropists, prominent Asian art collectors and were both active in the Jewish and Art communities.
0:00 - 1:16: Landing at Shanghai airport, met by "Mr. Chung's car" (April 17); 1:17 - 1:52: Shanghai Harbor, ferry crossing the water, Mrs. Falk and K.C. Chung (April 17); 1:52 - 2:13: riding up "dike road" to Hangzhou from Shanghai with K.C. Chung (April 20); 2:13 - 2:24: Heavy rainfall on the sightseeing tour in Hangzhou, tea at the "largest temple in grove" (April 21); 2:24 - 3:37: Hangzhou, walking along the dike road that cuts off a part of the lake (April 21); 3:37 - 3:43: Huanglong Cave ("Grotto of Yellow Dragon"); in Hunan (April 22); 3:34 - 3:53: Winter Palace (Beihai Park) Pavilion, White Dagoba, Beijing (April 27); 3:53 - 5:51: Forbidden City (April 28-29); 3:51 - 6:11: Scenes from the train from Beijing to Hankou (April 30); 6:11 - 7:38: Donkey ride up to Great Wall from the Hankou pass (April 30); 7:38 - 8:11: Ming Tombs and stone elephant, Beijing (April 30); 8:11 - 8:41: Funeral procession, Beijing (April 30/May 1); 8:41 - 8:50: Duobao Glazed Tile Pagoda, Summer Palace, Beijing (May 1); 8:50 - 9:04: Summer Palace (May 1); 9:04 - 9:55: The Pagoda of Buddhist Virtue with KC Chung and his mother, Summer Palace, Beijing (May 1); 9:55 - 10:07: Summer Palace, Archway, bronze male lions (May 1); 10:08 - 10:14: Pagoda of Buddhist Virtue (May 1); 10:14 - 10:24: Viewing Pagoda of Buddhist Virtue from boat (Unknown date, likely May 1-7); 10:30 - 10:39: Banbi Bridge, Summer Palace (May 7); 10:39 - 10:55: Hall of the Sea of Wisdom, Summer Palace (May 7); 10:56 - 11:01: In the Summer Palace grounds (May 7); 11:01 - 11:12: Duobao Glazed Tile Pagoda, Summer Palace (May 7); 11:12 - 11:15: Detail of dragon head on Summer Palace roof (May 7); 11:15 - 11:21: Stupa, Summer Palace (May 7); 11:21 - 11:26: Bronze lion, Summer Palace (May 7); 11:26 - 11:32: Mrs. Falk and (likely) Mrs. Finnell in the Summer Palace grounds (May 7); 11:32 - 11:41: Lama monument, Beijing (May 4); 11:41 - 12:09: Lama monument, bas reliefs from Lama tomb (May 4); 12:09 - 13:32: Scenes from the Temple of Confucius, Beijing (May 4); 13:32 - 14:32: Nine Dragon Screen, Beihai Park, Beijing (April 27)
Local Numbers:
FSA A2002.03 4.2
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Genre/Form:
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Collection Citation:
Pauline B. and Myron S. Falk, Jr. Papers, FSA.A2002.03. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the Falk family.
Sponsor:
Processed in 2022 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History Initiative.
1 Film positive (silent, 12 minutes, black and white; color, 16mm)
Container:
Reel 3
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Film positives
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Place:
China -- Description and Travel
Beijing (China)
Date:
1937
Scope and Contents:
One of four reels 16mm motion picture film taken during Johnny and Pauline Falk's 1937 trip to China, Korea and Japan. The reel mixes color and black and white footage. Kodak had only recently made color film available, so this may be among the earliest color footage of many of the locations the Falks visited.
北京 承德 热河
Biographical / Historical:
The Falks took one of the inaugural Pan Am Clipper flights to China in 1937. Myron S. (Johnny) Falk Jr., and his wife Pauline Baerwald Falk were active philanthropists, prominent Asian art collectors and were both active in the Jewish and Art communities.
0:00 - 0:42: Sedan chairs and donkey ride in Western Hills (April 25); 0:42 - 1:40: "Feast Day of first Yuan Emperor" festival and procession, Western Hills (April 25); 1:40 - 1:46: unknown woman and elderly man at the "Mummy Temple" in Western Hills (April 25); 1:46 - 2:38: "Mummy Temple" in Western Hills (April 25); 2:38 - 4:02: Continued procession, sedan chair and donkey rides in Western Hills (April 25); 4:02 - 4:14: Forbidden City, Beijing (April 27); 4:14 - 5:03: Temple of Heaven, Beijing (April 27); 5:03 - 5:15: Mrs. Falk and friends at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing (April 27); 5:15 - 5:59: Temple of Heaven, Beijing (April 27); 5:59 - 6:06: Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Chengde (May 11); 6:06 - 6:28: Puning Temple, Chengde (May 11); 6:28 - 7:36: Puning Temple, unknown statues, Chengde (May 11); 7:36 - 7:40: Xumifushou Temple (Temple of Happiness and Longevity of the Sumeru Mountain, Chengde (May 11); 7:40 - 8:10: Liuli-Wanshou pagoda (Glazed Tile Pagoda of Longevity) Xumifushou Temple, Chengde (May 11); 8:10 - 9:17: Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Chengde; (May 11); 9:17 - 9:33: Main hall of the Putuo Zongcheng temple surrounding Wanfaguiyi Hall, Chengde (May 11); 9:33 - 9:40: Looking down at the Sarira Pagoda, Chengde (May 11); 9:40 - 10:02: Corner pavilion of Wanfaguiyi, Putoh Zongcheng Temple, Chengde (May 11); 10:02 - 10:54: Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Chengde (May 11); 10:54 - Villagers in Chengde, ruins 11:30 - 11:47: Sarira Pagoda at Chengde Mountain Resort (May 11); 11:47 - 11:55: Mrs. Falk and friends (May 11)
Local Numbers:
FSA A2002.03 4.3
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Genre/Form:
Home movies
Motion pictures (visual works)
Collection Citation:
Pauline B. and Myron S. Falk, Jr. Papers, FSA.A2002.03. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the Falk family.
Sponsor:
Processed in 2022 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History Initiative.
Photographs collected by Charles Lang Freer during his lifetime, including portraits, art objects, and travels to countries including China, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Japan, and Syria. Many of the photos depict temples, mosques, castles, landscapes, and people, with a special focus on architecture. Also includes photographs of memorial ceremonies to Freer conducted in Kyoto in 1921 and 1930.
Series 12: Charles Lang Freer, Collected Photographs
Arrangement:
Organized by country.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Collected photographic portraits of Charles Lang Freer by Edward Steichen, Alvin Langdon Coburn, etc. Taken in Detroit, Capri, Japan, Egypt etc. Photographs date from the 1880s to near his death in 1919.
Photographic portraits of Charles Lang Freer
Arrangement:
Organized by photographer and by country.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.01
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Photographs of artists and others, including Thomas Dewing, Ernest Fenollosa, Rosalind Birnie Philip, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Abbott Handerson Thayer, Dwight Tryon,Shugio Hiromichi, Stanford White, and Michael Tomkinson.
Series 12.3: Portraits of artists and colleagues
Arrangement:
Organized by country.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.03
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Seven albumen prints prints taken in 1892 by commission of Goupil Gallery director D.C. Thomson. The photographs were taken prior to the sale of 49 Prince's Gate, so furniture and porcelains have been removed. The prints were sent to Charles Freer by Goupil Gallery staff in 1902.
Photographs of the Peacock Room at 49 Prince's Gate, London
Arrangement:
Organized in 1 box.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.02.3.1
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Seven collodion prints prints taken by S.B. Bolon & Co. in 1904 by commission of Obach & Co., London. The photographs were taken as the present owner of 49 Prince's Gate sought to sell the room.
Photographs of the Peacock Room at 49 Prince's Gate, London
Arrangement:
Organized in 1 box.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.02.3.2
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Photographs of Charles Lang Freer at Villa Castello in Capri, ca.1903. Also includes photograph of Freer's friend Thomas Spencer Jerome (1864-1914), and views of the villa.
Photographs of Charles L. Freer in Capri
Arrangement:
Organized by country.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Freer first visited the Mediterranean island of Capri in 1894. In 1900 he purchsed the Villa Castello with fellow Michigander Thomas Spencer Jerome. In 1906, Jerome purchased Freer's share of the Villa.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.01.4
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Photographs of Charles Lang Freer and colleagues in japan, between 1895 and 1910. Although none are dated, two photographs of Freer with his rickshaw men are likely from his first visit to Japan in 1895. The other two were likely take in 1909 or 1911 at the Yokohama villa of Freer's friend Hara Tomitaro (原富太郎; 1868-1939).
Photographs of Charles Lang Freer in Japan
Arrangement:
Organized by country.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.01.6
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Photographs of Charles Lang Freer's home in Detroit Michigan, taken between 1892 and 1918. Views include 4 exteriors, showing before and after the addition built in 1906 to house the Peacock Room. Interior views include the Picture Gallery above the stables in 1906, and a glass plate negative of the new gallery completed in 1911.
Photographs of Charles Lang Freer's house in Detroit
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.04
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Twelve photographs depicting scenes and buildings in the Syrian city of Aleppo, likely acquired druing Freer's travel there in June of 1908. Nine additional prints depict the Byzantine and early Islamic period ruins at Resafa.
Photographs of Syria collected by Charles Lang Freer
Arrangement:
Organized by subject.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Lang Freer traveled to Syria in June 1908, mostly to pursue more examples of Raqqa pottery. The source of the prints are unknown.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.11
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Photographs of Charles Lang Freer taken by Alvin Langdon Coburn, February 1909. They depict Freer in a variety of poses, such as leaning against a desk, examining some artwork, or simply facing the camera. One print was sent to the Freer Gallery in 1955 by a relative of Freer's business partner Frank Hecker. Two autochromes and 14 platinum prints.
Arrangement:
Organized by country.
Biographical / Historical:
Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966) was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a middle class British family. Coburn began exploring photography after receiving a camera for his eighth birthday. However, it was not until a few years later that he began exploring photography seriously. Coburn opened his first studio in New York City in 1902 to exhibit his prints, and became part of a crowd that wanted to establish photography as art. He moved to London in 1904 to take portraits of celebrities, including an iconic one of George Bernard Shaw posed nude as Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker." Coburn not only shot portraits, but also unique street scenes of New York City. He was quite interested in creating the fractured affects of cubism and futurism through use of photography, as demonstrated in his "vortographs." He experimented with perspective and abstract patterns. Later in his life, Coburn became disinterested in photography as his interest in mysticism grew. He resumed photography in the 1950s before his death in 1966.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.01.2
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Photographs of Ernest Fenellosa's memorial service at Homyoin, Miidera in Otsu, November 14, 1909. Attendees included Charles Freer, Gaston Migeon, Hara Tomitaro and Fenollosa's widow. Includes 8 large format prints of the ceremony and 3 smaller, undated prints of the memorial.
Arrangement:
Organized by country.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 12.03.03
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
