Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 10109, Crane Reservation.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Biographical materials, letters and correspondence, photographs, diary, subject files, and printed ephemera.
REEL 2527: Biographical sketches; sculpture contracts; lists of Pratt's work compiled by his son, Dudley Pratt; a pencil sketch; photographs of Pratt at work in his studio; portraits of him; 172 photographs of his sculpture and a memorial exhibition installation; photographs of Frank Weston Benson and Alexander Phimister Proctor; clippings; and printed material.
REELS 3995-3998: An award from Yale School of Fine Arts; admission tickets; marriage certificate; identification card for his wife, Helen, from the Societe des Artistes Francais for the 1897 Salon; a 25-page diary of Helen, 1896-1898, describing the Pratts' wedding and their experiences in Italy and France; notices of Pratt's appointment to the Visiting Committee of Classical Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; biographical sketches; an anecdote by a nephew; and a letter of reminiscence by his son Dudley, 1941. Also included are letters from Pratt to his mother, Sarah Victoria Whittlesey Pratt, describing his activities, his contemporaries and his work; correspondence with friends, family, students, and associates and letters of condolence to Mrs. Pratt; subject files, arranged alphabetically by correspondent, containing letters, photographs and clippings from and about Pratt's friends and colleagues, including Frank Weston Benson, Bryson and Edith Woodman Burroughs, Daniel Chester French, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who gives Pratt advice and critiques two of his busts.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, teacher; Boston, Mass.; b. 1867; d. 1917 Studied at Yale, Art Students League, and with Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Kenyon Cox, and William Merritt Chase, and others.
Provenance:
Material on reel 2527 lent for microfilming 1982 by Thomas Leavitt, a descendant of Pratt. Material on reels 3995-3998 lent 1987 by Cynthia Kennedy Sam, Pratt's granddaughter.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Letters to Brauner, mainly from artists invited to participate in exhibitions arranged by Brauner at Cornell University. Prominent correspondents include: Giffford Beal, George Bellows, Frank Benson, Karl Bitter, Edith Burroughs, Emil Carlson, John Carlson, Charles Caffin, Arthur Crisp, Randall Davey, Paul Dougherty, Daniel Garber, Lillian Genth, William Glackens, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, Charles Hopkinson, Henry Hubbell, John Johansen, William Sargent Kendall; Leon Kroll, Jonas Lie, William Macbeth, William Mason, Gari Melchers, Willard Metcalf, Leonard Ochtman, Bela Lyon Pratt, Maurice Prendergast, A. Phimister Proctor, Edward Redfield, William Ritschel, Walter Sargent, Eugene Speicher, Robert Spencer, D. W. Tryon, C. Howard Walker, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Judd Waugh, and others.
Arrangement:
Arranged chronologically.
Biographical / Historical:
Olaf Brauner (1869-1947) was a portrait painter, occasional sculptor, and first professor of art at Cornell University.
Provenance:
The donor, Erling Brauner, is Olaf Brauner's son.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Letters received mostly from her friends, artists Edmund Tarbell and Bela Lyon Pratt of Boston, for whom she worked as a model during 1907-1908. Also included are a few clippings and a photograph of a Tarbell painting ("Girl Reading") for which West modelled.
Biographical / Historical:
Artists' model.
Provenance:
Donated 1971 by Larry Curry, a Los Angeles art historian who collected the material from West.
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.
Occupation:
Artists' models -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
Artists' models -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
The Crane's "Formal Garden" (also known as the "Italian Garden" was designed by the Olmsted Bros. The architects for the hardscape was the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. The firm also designed the first mansion on the site for the Crane's in 1910-11 and they worked with the Olmsted Bros. on the "Italian Garden." Boston-area sculptor Johan Selmer Larsen also worked with the Olmsted Bros. on the garden, designing cast-stone mermaid figures atop the columns and the relief sculptures along the walls. A large figural sculpture was designed by Bela Pratt. Pratt's solid white marble "Rainbow Fountain (1916) was located in a recessed niche behind the pool area. Landscape architect Arthur Schurcliff designed the Crane's circular Rose Garden and the Grand Allee among other garden areas on the property. In 1924-1928, David Adler later designed a second mansion on the site. The Great House is the central feature of Castle Hill that was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.
Related Materials:
Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 10109, Crane Reservation.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.
