Biographical material, extensive diaries, correspondence, notes, writings, business records, sketchbooks and drawings, project files, scrapbooks, printed materials, photographs and slides, motion picture film, and videotape relating to Weem's education and career as a sculptor. Also included are ca. 1 foot of papers of Weems' aunt, watercolorist Katharine Ward Lane (1862-1893), including letters, diaries, sketchbooks and photographs.
REEL 724: Biographical sketch, 1974; letters from Frederic Bartlett, George Demetrios, Walker Hancock, Leon Kroll, Lee Lawrie, Moissaye Marans, Adolph Alexander Weinman, and others; four sketchbooks, 1954-1965, containing pencil drawings of animals; a scrapbook of clippings, 1924-1941; and printed material.
UNMICROFILMED: Biographical material includes sketches and documents, and biographical information on Weems grandfather, Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, and father, Gardiner Lane. Diaries (74 v.), 1906-1983, contain entries relating to art studies and her development as a sculptor; some include clippings and photographs. Correspondence, 1898-1989, includes letters from Gifford Beal, Margaret French Cresson, Charles Grafly, John Gregory, Walker Hancock, Malvina Hoffman, Anna Hyatt-Huntington, Paul Manship, Brenda Putnam, Gurdon Tarbox, and Adolph Weinman, discussing Weems' work and participation in various sculpture organizations. There are four notebooks on art history; recipes for clay and plaster; notes on patinas for bronze; lecture notes; lists of Weems' works and exhibitions; an exhibition guest book, 1931-1957; poems, 1933-1981; invoices and receipts, 1919-1981; copyright records, 1928-1978; and art work, including 15 v. of sketchbooks, 1913-1964, drawings and tracings of animal figures. and a copper printing plate mounted on a wood block.
Fourteen project files contain letters, drawings, photographs, and printed material on: an enlarging machine, the Saltus Medal for Merit, the frieze and Rhinoceros sculpture for the Biological Laboratories at Harvard, 1930-1942, including 7 reels of 16mm motion picture film (with script transferred to VHS), the Lotta Fountain, 1939-1974, Legion of Merit Medal, 1949-1952, War Department project, 1946, Goodwin Medal, 1949-1952, Wallace Goodrich Plaque, 1954, Hospital Teaching Clinic, 1955, Boston Museum of Science, 1964-1965, "Dolphins by the Sea" for the New England Aquarium, 1969-1979, Heredities Limited, 1971-1974, and the Museum School, 1977.
Included are two scrapbooks, one of clippings about the work of other artists and one containing poems, clippings of landscapes, animals, works by others, and autographed photographs of actresses Katharine Cornell and Anna May Wong and sculptor Brenda Putnam. Printed material includes clippings, 1911-1989; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1922-1981; bulletins, programs, brochures on artists, organizations, Brookgreen Gardens, and supplies; reproductions of art works, and the books, Odds Were Against Me (1985, Weems autobiography, and Enrique Monjo (1955), inscribed by Mongo.
Photographs and slides, 1902-1988, are of Weems, family members, artists Charles Grafly, Walker Hancock, and Anna Hyatt-Huntington, Weems' house "The Chimneys," her studio, gardens, animals, works of art by Weems and others, exhibit installations, and views of New York City, Washington, D.C., Monticello, the University of Virginia, and Brookgreen Gardens. Nine albums, 1920-1980, contain photographs of an art class, Weems in her studio, her home, her friends, scenic views, and works of art. Videos and film include a videotape (5 min., U-matic) of an interview of Weems; a film, "From Clay to Bronze," showing the creation of Weems' sculpture "Dark Warrier" (transferred to VHS); motion picture film of the making of the sculpture "Rhinoceros" (transferred to digital betacam, VHS and DVD), and a home movie of a day at the beach, circa 1935.
The papers' of Weems' aunt, Katharine "Kitty" Ward Lane (d. 1893), include Lane's letters, 1898-1893, to her brother (Weems' father) and to other family members; a travel diary from Germany, 1886; notes; financial records, 1891-1892; 10 sketchbooks; printed material; and photographs, 1865-1893, of Lane, early views of Saranac Lake, and 9 views of the Columbia Exposition, 1893.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor; Boston, Mass. Died 1989. Specialized in animal sculpture. Studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Charles Grafly, Anna Hyatt-Huntington, George Demetrios, and Brenda Putnam. She married F. Carrington Weems in 1947. Named after her aunt, watercolor painter Katharine Ward Lane, who died in 1893.
Provenance:
Material on reel 724 lent for microfilming by Weems, 1974. The four sketchbooks on reel 724 were subsequently donated in 1989. Unmicrofilmed papers were donated 1975 and 1982 by Weems, and in 1989 by her estate. Eighteen diaries (1961-1965, 1967-1976 [1969 not included], 1978, and 1981-1983) and an apppointment book for 1966 donated by the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, 1991.
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:
Animal sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
The papers of sculptor, painter, and writer Marta Adams measure 4.2 linear feet, and date from circa 1914 to circa 1991. In 1935, Adams made her first visit to Mexico, and began spending more time there than in the United States. There, she met Diego Rivera who stimulated her interest in oil painting. In 1952 she moved to Mexico permanently. Found within are biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, legal and estate papers, printed materials, photographic material, one mixed-media scrapbook, and artwork, including three portfolios of lithographs, 30 Grabados de Galo Galecio,1946, containing 30 engraving prints by Galecio and Estampas de la Revolucion Mexicana, 1947, containing 85 engraving prints by 16 artists of the Taller de Gracia Popular, and Drawings: Seymour Swetzoff, 1949.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor, painter, and writer Marta Adams measure 4.2 linear feet, and date from circa 1914 to circa 1991. Found within are biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, legal and estate papers, printed materials, photographic material, one mixed-media scrapbook, and artwork, including three portfolios of lithographs, 30 Grabados de Galo Galecio,1946, containing 30 engraving prints by Galecio and Estampas de la Revolucion Mexicana, 1947, containing 85 engraving prints by 16 artists of the Taller de Gracia Popular, and Drawings: Seymour Swetzoff, 1949. .
Biographical material includes address books, curriculum vitaes, a passport, awards and certificates, and immigration materials.
Correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection and is primarily personal in nature. Most of the correspondence is between Marta and her daughter Kay Kulmala, though there are several files of a blend of personal and professional correspondence to and from others. Additional correspondents include other family members and friends, as well as the Galerie Günther Franke and Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. Notable correspondents include Charles L. and Hetty Kuhn, Raquel Jodorowsky, and Kojin Toneyama, among others.
Writings include drafts and manuscripts by Adams, of poetry and children's stories, as well as notes for an unpublished autobiography. Also found are writings about Adams by others.
After Marta Adam's death, her daughter, Kay Kulmala, dealt with her estate by conducting inventories, discussing exhibitions, and facilitating auctions of Adam's artwork, documented via legal and estate papers found within the collection.
Printed materials include clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs,
Photographs are of the artist, friends and family, and artwork. Also included are two family photograph albums. One scrapbook contains letters, notes, drawings, and photographs, and appears to have been created by friends and peers for Adams.
Artwork includes Christmas card designs, sketches and illustrations, and mixed media collages by Marta Adams. Also included are works by others including a signed lithograph by Leopoldo Méndez, and prints by Xavier Guerrero, José Clemente Orozco, Jose Guadalupe Posada, and Alfredo Zalce. There are three limited editions of portfolios of lithographs, 30 Grabados de Galo Galecio,1946, containing 30 engraving prints by Galecio, Estampas de la Revolucion Mexicana, 1947, containing 85 engraving prints by 16 artists of the Taller de Grafica Popular, and Drawings: Seymour Swetzoff, 1949.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1918-circa 1980 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, Box 6)
Series 2: Correpsondence, circa 1929-circa 1978 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1914-circa 1978 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 4: Legal and Estate Papers, circa 1963-circa 1991 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1940s-circa 1988 (0.7 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1916-circa 1980s (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 3-6)
Series 7: Scrapbook, circa 1963-circa 1964 (1 folder; Box 5)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1920s-circa 1978 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 5-6, OV 7)
Biographical / Historical:
Marta Adams (1891 or 1893-1978) was a painter, sculptor, and writer, active in Boston, Massachusetts and Mexico.
Born in Germany in 1891 or 1893, Marta Arnstem immigrated to Massachusetts around 1915, and married Edward Brinley Adams in 1916 who died in 1922. She apprenticed with sculptor Hans Stangl in Munich during the winter of 1925. Before moving back to Cambridge in 1933, Adams showed drawings and sculpture at the Günther Galerie in Munich, and was part of a social circle that included cartoonist Otto Nückl, writer A. M. Frey, and painter Karl Zerbe, among others. Animals were her favorite subject used in most of her artwork, though she also included flowers, and had a series on open-heart surgery. In 1935, Adams made her first visit to Mexico, and began spending more time there than in the United States. There, she met Diego Rivera who stimulated her interest in oil painting. In 1952 she moved to Mexico permanently. She exhibited with the Boris Mirski Gallery in Boston, and had numerous exhibitions in Mexico.
Provenance:
The bulk of Marta Adams papers were donated to the Archives in 1992 by the estate of Katherine Adams Kulmala (Adams's daughter) via Jonathan Strong, executor. In 1992, a sketch and a section of a watercolor were donated to the Archives by Phyllis Hughes, who purchased the artwork at an auction held at the Concord Art Association in Massachusetts.
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.
Rights:
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.
