Search Results

Extent:

272 Photographs

0.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

circa 1898-1902

Summary:

This collection contains 272 photographs and documents that were collected by Episcopal missionary and teacher Ida Roff Fick working in Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory circa 1898-1902. Most of the photographs are believed to have been taken by amateur photogarapher Annette Ross Hume (1858-1933).

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains 272 photographs and documents that were collected by Episcopal missionary and teacher Ida Roff Fick working in Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory circa 1898-1902.

The photographs depict scenes in Oklahoma Territory, primary Anadarko region and features portraits of Wichita, Kiowa, Niuam (Comanche), Oklahoma Delaware people; daily activities; reservation schools; beef issues; leisure such as games. The bulk of the photographs depict the land allotment registration and auction process in 1901 when "surplus" lands were open to non-Indian settlers.

It is unclear if Ida Roff Fick only collected the photographs or if she photographed some of them herself. It is believed that most of the photos were likely photographed by Annette Ross Hume, with whom Ida Roff boarded with until her marriage in 1902. A handful of photographs in this collection are also attributed to other photographers including George Addison, Russell and Miller Co, and William E. Irwin, among others.

The paper materials in this collection include correspondence, manuscripts, clippings, and notes, circa 1897-1955.

Arrangement:

Arranged by catalog number.

Biographical / Historical:

Ida Roff was born in New York City on May 3, 1868. In the late 1880s, Ida Roff Fick graduated from Hunter Normal School and then traveled to Oklahoma Territory to work as a missionary and Sunday school teacher. She also taught the art of lace making to the Native women she worked with as part of the Woman's Auxiliary of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church. She boarded with Annette Ross Hume (1858-1933) On Dec. 18, 1902, Ida Roff married Henry L. H. Fick. Ida Roff Rick died on February 16, 1960.

The biography of Annette Ross Hume below is from the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma history and culture on the Oklahoma History Society website.

"Annette Ross Hume, Amateur photographer and clubwoman Annette Ross Hume, daughter of James and Catherine Darling Ross, was born on March 8, 1858, in Perrysburg, Ohio. Annette Ross married Dr. Charles R. Hume on December 27, 1876, and in 1890 they moved to Anadarko, where Dr. Hume was agency physician for the Kiowa, Comanche, and Wichita. Of five children, two sons survived, Carleton Ross and Raymond Robinson.

In the late 1800s, with the advent of light-weight cameras and less toxic chemicals, middle-class women enjoyed photography as a hobby. For twenty years beginning in 1891 Annette Hume photographed American Indians (including Geronimo and Quanah Parker) living near the agency as well as the settling of Anadarko after the land lottery in 1901. Her photographs, numbering more than seven hundred, add imagery to history as Oklahoma Territory transformed from reservations to towns and farm communities.

Before her death on January 19, 1933, in Minco, Oklahoma, Hume, a Presbyterian, was president of the Women's Territorial Synodical Society. Inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1930, she was a charter member of the Anadarko Philomathic Club, organized in 1899, and had served as president of the Oklahoma Federation of Women's Clubs from 1913 to 1915. She wrote An Historical Sketch of the Federation of Women's Clubs of Oklahoma and Indian Territories, 1898–1908, published at Anadarko in 1908."

Related Materials:

Other Annette Ross Hume photographs can be found at the University of Oklahoma; the Annette Ross Hume Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society Research Center; and the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.

Separated Materials:

This collection includes drawings and watercolors by children in the class of Ida Roff that are housed in NMAI's object collections under catalog #s: 23/1620 - 23/1623

Provenance:

Gift of Margaret Cronk to the Museum of the American Indian in 1962.

Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Rights:

Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Ida Roff Fick collection of Oklahoma Territory photographs, image #, NMAI.AC.217; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAI.AC.217

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv40a154da3-962e-49c0-b9de-18ba395837c1

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-217

Container:

Box 22 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 22

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e11499

Container:

Box 24 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 24

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e13329

Container:

Box 16 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 16

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e5332

Container:

Box 20 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 20

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e10321

Container:

Box 22 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 22

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e11353

Container:

Box 22 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 22

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e11532

Container:

Box 23 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 23

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e12293

Container:

Box 17 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 17

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e5932

Container:

Box 19 of 27

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-002, National Museum of American History, Exhibition Records

See more items in:

Exhibition Records

Exhibition Records / Box 19

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa00-002-refidd1e9226

Creator:

Bishop, Carl Whiting, 1881-1942  Search this

Names:

Bishop, Carl Whiting, 1881-1942  Search this

Tung, Kuang-zung.  Search this

Warner, Langdon (1881-1955)  Search this

Wenley, A. G. (Archibald Gibson), 1898-1962  Search this

Extent:

20 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Negatives

Photographic prints

Manuscript

Place:

China

Date:

1923-1934

Summary:

An associate curator and associate in archaeology at the Freer Gallery of Art from 1922 to 1942, the collection of Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) document his Gallery-sponsored travels to China from 1923 to 1934 and include an unpublished manuscript describing his archaeological research in China; line drawings; rubbings; maps; note cards; and nearly 4,000 glass and film negatives with corresponding original silver prints. These document his expeditions in northern and central China, illustrating archaeological sites in Henan, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces. Specific digs include the large neolithic site at Wanquan, Shanxi, and sixth century C.E. tombs near Fenyin. Additional images show Chinese cityscapes, daily life and customs, topography, temples, pagodas, caves, and sculpture.

Scope and Contents:

The professional papers and official records of Carl Whiting Bishop include his unpublished two-volume manuscript, [not before 1940]; and photographs, nearly 4,000 images, 1915-1934; and undated. These materials document over a twenty-five year period in the course of Bishop's research and archaeological activities. They were retained at the Freer Gallery of Art after Bishop's death in 1942, and were supplemented with an addition received in 1956 from his widow Daisy Furscott Bishop.

The manuscript was prepared in a typescript format, over 421 pages of text, with photographic illustrations, and completed by Bishop sometime after 1939. Properly titled Archaeological Research in China 1923-1934, this unpublished manuscript constituted a field report that chronicled Bishop's Gallery-sponsored expeditions in northern and central China during the period 1923 to 1934. The reader is provided with a record of the day-to-day operations completed, of obstacles and opposition encountered, and the results obtained from their work. Key diplomatic and scientific representatives from the West and China are recorded who aided and contributed to the investigations. Moreover, there are descriptions of the academic, social and political climate in China during a period of civil war and economic strife. Against this background, Bishop also discussed their efforts in view of the history of China, with commentary on the country's geography, topography, climate, flora and fauna, mineral products, and ancient customs and legends.

The earliest still photographic prints in the Bishop Papers date from his employ at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where he conducted archaeological reconnaissance from 1915 to 1918 in China, Korea, and Japan. All subsequent images were created or collected by Bishop and his assistant Kuang-zung Tung during the Freer Gallery-sponsored expeditions of 1923-1934. Further descriptions of these materials may be found under Series 2 and Series 3 in this finding aid.

In the transliteration into English of the names of Chinese characters, Bishop followed the Wade-Giles system, with a few exceptions to those rules for certain well known and commonly used place-names, especially those of cities, towns, territorial divisions, and bodies of water. We have retained Bishop's romanization except in certain areas where clarification was needed. The Chinese personal and place-names have been kept as they appeared in his captions.

Arrangement:

Series 1: Manuscript/Writings 1915-1934 and undated

Series 2: Photography Prints

Series 3: Negatives

Series 4: Drawings, Rubbings, and Maps

Biographical / Historical:

Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) was an archaeologist, anthropologist, and specialist in the field of East Asian studies. Born in Tokyo, Japan, on July 12, 1881, he was the son of a Methodist missionary, the Reverend Charles Bishop. Except for a twelve-month residence in the United States during 1889-90, Bishop spent the first sixteen years of his life in Japan, before returning to this country in 1898 for college preparatory work at Northwestern Academy, Evanston, Illinois. He studied at Hampden-Sydney College and in 1912 received an A.B. degree from DePauw University. In 1913 he was awarded the degree of Master of Arts by the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, where he studied with the noted German anthropologist, Franz Boas (1858-1942). That same year he received his first scientific appointment as a member of the Peabody Museum Expedition to Central America.

From 1914-18 Bishop served as Assistant Curator in Oriental Art at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where on an expedition for that museum he made his first trip to China. Under the auspices of the university, he conducted archaeological reconnaissance during 1915 and 1916 in China, Korea, and Japan, and again conducted archaeological surveys in 1917 and 1918, although no systematic excavations were carried out at that time. When the United States entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers, Bishop enlisted in the United States Navy and was made assistant naval attaché, serving in China in the years 1918-20, with the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. He returned to Columbia University in 1921 to assume the position of Assistant in Anthropology, a post he held until the end of the academic season in 1922.

Effective 10 April 1922, Bishop was appointed as Associate Curator of the Freer Gallery of Art by then director John Ellerton Lodge (1878-1942). Asked to undertake important archaeological work, Bishop headed the gallery's first expedition to China, sponsored jointly by the FGA and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, lasting from 20 February 1923 to 6 August 1927. From 16 November 1929 to 11 April 1934, he headed another expedition, sent out this time by the Freer Gallery alone. When conditions in China made further efforts impractical, Bishop returned to Washington in 1934, where he remained at the gallery as Associate in Archaeology until the time of his death on 16 June 1942.

Carl Whiting Bishop was a member of a number of learned societies: the American Oriental Society, the American Archaeological Society, the Anthropological Society, the American Society for the Advancement of Science, the American Geographical Society, and he served on the advisory board of the American Council of Learned Societies until his death.

1881, July 12 -- Born in Tokyo, Japan

1898 -- Attends Northwestern Academy in Evanston, Illinois for college preparatory work Attends Hampden-Sydney College

1912 -- Receives A.B. degree from DePauw University

1913 -- Receives Master of Arts from Department of Anthropology from Columbia University, where he studied with Franz Boas

1914 -- Begins serving as Assistant Curator in Oriental Art at the University of Pennsylvania Museum

1915-1918 -- Makes several archaeological survey trips to China, Korea and Japan

1918-1920 -- Enlists in the U.S. Navy, serving as assistant naval attaché in China

1921 -- Serves as Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Columbia University

1922, April 10 -- Becomes Associate Curator of the Freer Gallery of Art

1923-1927 -- Heads the Freer Gallery's first expedition to China, co-sponsored by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

1929-1934 -- Heads the second Freer-sponsored expedition to China

1934 -- Returns to US and serves as Associate in Archaeology at the Freer Gallery of Art

1942, June 16 -- Dies.

Related Materials:

Additional Bishop material may be found in the following collections also found in the the Archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery:

Li Chi Reports, 1926-1929, regarding Li's reconnaissance work at Shi-yin Ts'un, Shansi Province, and the excavation at Anyang.

Archibald Gibson Wenley Papers, 1924-1926, including field diaries, notes, and photographs documenting his participation in the FGA expedition work in China.

Charles Lang Freer Papers, including 1915 correspondence between Freer and Bishop; newspaper clippings related to Bishop, and documents dated 1912-1913, relating to Freer's support for a proposed American School of Archeology in China.

A number of objects from the FGA expeditions, including bronzes, ceramics, and stone sculpture, have been accessioned into the permanent art collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. Additionally, remnants of antiquities, potteries, and metalwork accumulated during the field work, have been placed in the Freer Gallery Study Collection. Records for these items are retained with the Galleries' Registrar's Office.

Additional Bishop material may be found in the Smithsonian Institutional Archives:

Expedition Records, including correspondence of Carl Whiting Bishop, 1914; 1923-1942, nearly 3,000 letters arranged alphabetically by correspondent name; a manuscript catalogue of expedition acquisitions, Peking, 1923-1925; financial records, 1923-1934, including expedition fund ledgers, account statements, and receipts; and newspaper clippings, 1924-1932, documenting the gallery's field work and general archaeological work being conducted around the world at that time.

Smithsonian Institutional Archives, Central Files, Bishop folders, 1923-1942, including expedition letters, field reports, and photographs sent to John E. Lodge.

Personnel and Special Events Photograph Collection, containing portrait photographs of Bishop.

Additional Bishop matieral may be found in the University of Pennsylvania Museum Archives, Philadelphia:

Documentation of University of Pennsylvania Museum-sponsored field work in East Asia may be found there that includes records of C.W. Bishop, dated 1914-1927 (measuring about .5 linear foot), much of it created during his tenure as the Museum's Assistant Curator of Oriental Art from 1914-1918. Included are Bishop's journals consisting of daily entries for two trips to China for the University of Pennsylvania Museum; letters to and from G.B. Gordon, C.W. Harrison, and Jane McHugh, written during Bishop's travel in China and subsequent to his return; and detailed financial accounts of expenditures during the China travels. Additionally, the repository houses a group of Bishop's negatives taken in China to visually record the expedition work.

Provenance:

Gift of Carl Whiting Bishop.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.

Topic:

Archaeology  Search this

Archaeological expeditions  Search this

Archaeology -- China  Search this

Photography -- China  Search this

Genre/Form:

Negatives

Photographic prints

Manuscript

Citation:

The Carl Whiting Bishop Collection. FSA.A.02. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

Identifier:

FSA.A.02

See more items in:

Carl Whiting Bishop Collection

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc31125ea37-fbdf-4cd0-b413-1b022a34356b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-fsa-a-02

Names:

Andrade-Watkins, Claire  Search this

Bambara, Toni Cade  Search this

Dash, Julie  Search this

Gerima, Haile  Search this

Gunn, Bill, 1934-1989  Search this

Jafa, Arthur  Search this

Jones, Robert Earl, 1904-2006  Search this

Massiah, Louis  Search this

Micheaux, Oscar, 1884-1951  Search this

Moses, Ethel  Search this

Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976  Search this

Sanchez, Sonia, 1934- (poet, reader)  Search this

Snead, James A., 1953-1989  Search this

Spence, Louise, 1945-  Search this

Tucker, Lorenzo  Search this

Donor:

Bowser, Pearl, 1931-  Search this

Extent:

approximately 100 Motion picture films

213 Sound cassettes (7 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion picture films

Sound cassettes

Sound cassette

Oral histories (document genres)

16mm motion picture film

Vhs (videotape format)

Place:

England

Harlem (New York, N.Y.)

Roanoke (Va.)

Memphis (Tenn.)

Date:

bulk 1920-2001

Biographical / Historical:

Pearl Bowser is a filmmaker, producer, author, lecturer, and highly acclaimed scholar of African American film who is recognized as an authority on the works of Oscar Micheaux, a noted writer, director, and producer of race films from 1919 to 1948.

Born Pearl Johnson on June 25, 1931, in Sugar Hill, Harlem, New York, she was named after her mother (also Pearl Johnson), a domestic worker who had been raised in a Catholic nunnery. On occasional Saturdays, the younger Pearl would accompany her mother to work in apartments in lower Manhattan, where she would assist her by folding handkerchiefs for a small allowance. After moving to a lower part of Harlem when she was about four years old, she met Harlem entrepreneur "Bumpy" Johnson, for whom she and other children in the neighborhood did odd jobs such as counting coins or attending to his ice-cream stand. Johnson, who would sometimes give the children joy rides in his Cadillac, occasionally allowed Pearl and the other children to borrow books from his extensive library, provided that they read them and submitted to a quiz.

As a child, Bowser had several racist encounters. For example, one of her white kindergarten teachers at her elementary school wore gloves in the classroom as to not touch Black pupils. She was also occasionally teased for having a gap between her teeth but felt insulated from sustained bullying because she had several older brothers who sometimes protected her. On a separate occasion, when she was about nine years old, her mother sent her on a trip from New York to the South to visit relatives. Although her mother had purchased tickets for her to be in a Pullman car, when she changed trains in Washington, DC., she was forced to ride in the car behind the engine, which left her covered in soot.

An avid reader, Pearl excelled in elementary and high school and received a scholarship to attend Brooklyn College, where she majored in biology. She supplemented her income by recording the numbers in one of Bumpy Johnson's shops. Disappointed with the quality of the education she was receiving, Bowser withdrew from Brooklyn College, eventually landing a job at CBS where she worked on a team that analyzed Nielsen ratings.

In 1955, Pearl married fellow New Yorker LeRoy Bowser. By the mid-1960s, although Pearl and LeRoy Bowser had separate interests, they both were working simultaneously in the civil rights movement. While LeRoy was active in Brooklyn CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and went to the South in the summer to teach for what was the beginning of HeadStart, Pearl, along with other production activists, took to the streets documenting African American culture and issues—working to bring these films to schools. Additionally, Bowser wanted to write a cookbook to earn funds for Brooklyn's CORE organization. She was approached by David Davis, the editor of Tuesday Magazine. Tuesday had distribution in the Herald Tribune across the country as a Sunday supplement. As the urban-world magazine exploded in Black communities, "Joan" Bowser's two-page pictorials on Southern cooking with a set of recipes became very popular in the five years she wrote them. Bowser retained copyrights to the articles, and easily completed her cookbook a short time later.

Bowser's colleague at ABC, Charles Hobson, found a used book written by Peter Noble about Black films and Oscar Micheaux. The volume was slim and contained what little information contained in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) files. Hobson and his colleagues wanted to write a book about the topic, and they assigned Bowser to begin the research. As part of the project, Bowser went to California to interview actors who may have been in early Black films or may have worked with Micheaux. What she learned began her intensive scholarship into Micheaux and his fellow filmmakers.

In 1971, she organized her first film festival, the Black Film History Series. In 1979, she organized the nation's first American women's film festival in New York City. She also presented a major retrospective, Independent Black American Cinema 1920-1980, which toured the country during 1981 and 1982. She also directed the Journey Across Three Continents film and lecture series, which toured the country from 1983-1985. Bowser also served as president of the prestigious Flaherty Film Seminar in 1987. In 1989, she, alongside Grant Munro, programmed the 35th Flaherty Film Seminar, which featured films such as Finzan, Zajota and the Boogie Spirit, Daughters of the Dust, and many more. She has also been a judge at the world-renown Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESCPACO) in Burkina Faso (formerly known as Upper Volta).

In the 1980s Bowser was awarded an independent artists grant by the Ford Foundation to travel west and collect oral histories from individuals in Oscar Micheaux's orbit, loosely following the route he would have travelled decades earlier. Stopping in cities such as Roanoke, Virginia; Memphis, Tennessee; and Jackson, Mississippi, she collected dozens of oral histories from actors, actresses etc. that knew Oscar Micheaux. Through this research she became an eminent figure in the Black independent film industry. Working as a programmer, she travelled around the United States and the world showing films by domestic and Black filmmakers within the Diaspora.

Despite her wealth of experience working as a programmer, it wasn't until the 1990s that Bowser made her directorial debut with the documentary film Midnight Ramble. Funded by American Experience, the film looks at African Americans and Hollywood movies from 1910 through the 1950s. In 2000, she, along with Louise Spence, co-authored Writing Himself into History: Oscar Micheaux, His Silent Films and His Audiences, a book about the pioneering filmmaker. Additionally, she is founder and director of Chamba Educational Film Services, a film distribution company that specialized in distributing films by African American filmmakers. In the early 1980s, she renamed her company/collection as African Diaspora Images, a collection of historical and contemporary films documenting Black film history. She subsequently joined Third World Newsreel, where she was director of their theater department.

In 2012, Pearl Bowser donated her extensive collection of books, sound cassettes, films, film memorabilia, and papers to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Sources:

1940 United States Federal Census; New York, New York, New York, population schedule, p. 61B, house number 1486, family 195, Pearl Bowser; Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012 accessed: 10 Sept 2022); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm: m-t0627-02665

Bowser, Pearl. Pearl Bowser Oral History. Interview by Tuliza Fleming and Jennifer Lyon, July 21, 2011.

Provenance:

Acquired as a donation from Pearl Bowser in 2012.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.

Occupation:

Filmmakers  Search this

Actors -- Interviews  Search this

Topic:

Documentary films  Search this

Film festivals  Search this

African American actors  Search this

African American actresses  Search this

African diaspora  Search this

Race films  Search this

African American motion picture producers and directors  Search this

African American women authors  Search this

Meetings  Search this

Conferences  Search this

Lectures and lecturing  Search this

Amateur films  Search this

Motion picture soundtracks  Search this

Oral history  Search this

Radio broadcasts  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound cassette

Oral histories (document genres)

16mm motion picture film

VHS (videotape format)

Citation:

Pearl Bowser Collection, National Museum of African American History and Culture

Identifier:

NMAAHC.A2012.79.AV

See more items in:

Pearl Bowser Audiovisual Collection

Archival Repository:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3209e9c6d-3045-4a0a-941e-6519385b18d5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-a2012-79-av

Former owner:

James, Harriet Eddy  Search this

James, Arthur Curtiss  Search this

Landscape gardener:

Greatorex, John  Search this

Rosarian:

Foote, Harriett Risley, 1863-  Search this

Contractor:

Peckham Brothers  Search this

Hempstead of Boston  Search this

Lantern slide maker:

Van Altena, Edward  Search this

Landscape architect:

Olmsted Brothers  Search this

Provenance:

Garden Club of New Haven  Search this

Creator:

Powell, Alan, M/Ms  Search this

Hamilton, Samuel, Mrs  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Beacon Hill (Newport, Rhode Island)

United States of America -- Rhode Island -- Newport County -- Newport

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes correspondence, articles and information sheet compiled by GCA representative.

Biographical / Historical:

After Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Curtiss James's deaths, the gardens, with their pergolas, pools, and walls, fell into disrepair, ravaged by time and invasive trees and shrubs. The estate was subdivided into 3.25-acre parcels in the 1970s, and sold by developers as single home sites—with the remnants of the Blue Garden on one of the sites. Through the generosity of Dorrance H. Hamilton, a Newport summer resident, philanthropist, and garden enthusiast, the Blue Garden was rescued from its demise and rebuilt in 2014. A team, led by Parker Construction, Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects, and Arleyn A. Levee, Olmsted Historian, restored the garden to its former glory, using as reference original Olmsted plans, drawings, photographs, and correspondence from the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, the Library of Congress, the Archives of American Gardens, and the Redwood Library, among other repositories. As the name suggests, the Blue Garden incorporates a palette of blues early in the season and transitions to lavender blues and purples, with touches of white, as the summer progresses. Over 250 evergreen trees and flowering shrubs enclose the garden, and contribute to its designation as an arboretum. The Blue Garden is known today as a classic example of American landscape art and a triumph of historic preservation. The garden is open for tours on Thursdays from mid-June through early October. Photographs of the restoration and information are available at thebluegarden.org.

General:

"There is an austere elegance about a green garden; pink or yellow or red are frivolous except as accents, but the garden that appeals to the romantic, universal soul is the blue garden. That is why the Blue Garden of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Curtiss James was the ultimate goal of so many Newport Pilgrims. A very stately garden it is with the iridescent quality which blue flowers that really are mauve and purple and grayish, rather than true, sharp blue, impart. Its irregular symmetry makes it difficult to describe without a ground plan. At the two far distant ends are colonnades with gray rocks and irregular green plantations beyond, and the lower end is a circle of matchless turf whose boundary is rock and shrubs. The upper part is a circle, too, formed by a rustic lattice of slender split branches over which grow Clematis Jackmanii, mauve Sweet-peas and other charming creepers, backed by Cedars and Pines. In the center are two pools fed by water that trickles from beneath the colonnade."

"A thousand foot rose garden was blasted out of granite rock. A long grass allee originated by the reflecting pool, was planted with 5,000 roses of many varieties. The allee ascended several levels of stone walls and steps and climaxed under a high granite cliff, where a splendid stone and ironwork balustrade and imposing pergola were located. Mr. James died in 1942, all the roses were dug and sold and nature moved in to sow her seeds."

Persons associated with the property include: Arthur Curtiss James (former owner, 1909-1940); Olmsted Brothers (landscape architects); John Greatorex (superintendent of grounds and landscape gardener); Harriet R. Foote (garden designer and rosarian); Peckham Brothers (contractors for rose garden); Hempstead of Boston (landscape contractors/superintendent); Edward Van Altena (lantern slide maker).

Related Materials:

Beacon Hill, RI related holdings consist of 3 folders (5 hand colored glass lantern slides; 35 35mm slides (photographs); 5 8X10 glass plate negatives)

Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 03558, Arthur Curtiss James.

See others in:

Thomas Warren Sears photograph collection, 1900-1966. Perry Wheeler Collection, ca. 1880-1984. Richard Marchand historical postcard collection

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Rhode Island -- Newport  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File RI035

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Rhode Island

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6c8ae0a2a-d3c7-4b67-9873-badab4bb3b2d

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref10568

Former owner:

Olmsted, Albert H.  Search this

Greeley, Howard  Search this

Bennett, Thomas  Search this

Newlin, Lilian  Search this

Fissell, Ethel  Search this

Claggett, C. Thomas  Search this

Bove, Maria  Search this

Bove, Michael III  Search this

de Savary, Peter  Search this

Hamilton, Dorrance H.  Search this

Garden designer:

Hamilton, Dorrance H.  Search this

Architect:

Gill, Irving, 1870-1936  Search this

Spencer, Madison  Search this

Landscape architect:

Olmsted Brothers  Search this

Olmsted, John Charles, 1852-1920  Search this

Gardener:

Quarry, Dave  Search this

Landscape designer:

Flanagan, Mary Ellen  Search this

Provenance:

Newport Garden Club  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Wildacre (Newport, Rhode Island)

United States of America -- Rhode Island -- Newport -- Newport

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets, oversize photocopies of original plans, images, and articles.

General:

The Olmsted Brothers' 1901 design for the one-acre gardens within a seven-acre seaside property exemplified the great interest in Japonism at that time, featuring a koi pond, tea shelter, and thatch roofed parasols. The landscape design complemented California architect Irving John Gill's 1902 house, described as an Arts & Crafts variation on the New England shingle style with oriental features. The site is a rocky outcropping above a saltwater cove and the gardens highlighted natural features such as rocky outcroppings while preserving the wild character of the location. Wildacre, also known as the Japanese garden, was designed as a strolling garden with both open views of the ocean and composed garden rooms. Nearly 100 years later the garden was rejuvenated with reference to the original Olmsted plans and drawings.

The restoration included planting replacement specimen trees and adding a mixed layer of deciduous and evergreen trees as a privacy barrier along the road since the property had been reduced to 2.5 acres. A dense privet hedge clipped to resemble waves that acts as a buffer against the ocean was restored, and a gravel bocce court was installed nearby. Mostly white flowering trees, shrubs, bulbs and perennials were included in the predominantly green planting scheme. Gardens include the Japanese-themed entrance garden with a momi fir planted by Olmsted, a new Zen garden, a wisteria-covered tea shelter and surrounding garden, a pond garden, iris garden, peony garden, mountain garden and mountain top built from local rock. Many varieties of hosta, ferns, ornamental grasses, succulents, mosses, azaleas and conifers were planted throughout the property.

Persons associated with the garden include Albert H. Olmsted (1842-1929) (former owner, 1901- ); Howard Greeley (former owner, 1924- ); Thomas Bennett (former owner, 1929- ); Lilian Newlin (former owner, 1932- ); Ethel Fissell (former owner, 1935- ); C. Thomas Claggett (former owner, 1945- ); Maria Bove (former owner, 1953- ); Michael Bove III (former owner, 1982- ); Peter de Savary (former owner, 1997- ); Dorrance H. Hamilton (former owner, 1998- ); Irving John Gill (1870-1936) (architect, 1902); Madison Spencer (restoration architect, 1998); Olmsted Brothers (landscape architects, 1899-1902); Dave Quarry (head gardener, 1998-2013); Mary Ellen Flanagan (landscape designer, 1998- ); Dorrance H. Hamilton (garden designer, 1998-2013).

See also 35mm copy of 1919 postcard in the Richard Marchand Historical Postcard Collection. Image number RI091_MAR001.

Related Materials:

Wildacre related holdings consist of 3 folders (4 35mm slides; 20 digital images)

Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 02261, A. H. Olmsted, 'Wildacre.'

See others in:

Richard Marchand historical postcard collection, circa 1900s-1970s, bulk 1920-1940s.

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Rhode Island -- Newport  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File RI091

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Rhode Island

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6e74218e3-7e43-4fb4-9e55-3c50ab2048ba

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref10570

Former owner:

Tanner Family  Search this

Gardner, Samuel F.  Search this

Lawton, Robert  Search this

Lawton, Penelope  Search this

Austin, Samuel Reverend  Search this

Henderson, Francis  Search this

Brinley, Fanny S.  Search this

Lawrence, Sallie C.  Search this

Paul, Allen G.  Search this

Paul, Florence S.  Search this

Warren, George  Search this

Warren, Katherine Urquhart  Search this

Preservation Society of Newport County  Search this

Gardener:

Pleitez, Eusebio  Search this

Landscape designer:

Tunnard, Christopher  Search this

Provenance:

Newport Garden Club  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Warren House-Tunnard Garden (Newport, Rhode Island)

United States of America -- Rhode Island -- Newport -- Newport

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets, site plans, photocopies of articles.

General:

This Modernist garden was created right after World War II, designed by Christopher Tunnard. It still survives today, perhaps the only existing commissioned landscape design by the man who influenced many of the United States most celebrated postwar architects and landscape architects. At only 65' x 42', the garden has an extreme austerity in design with a hint of luxury in its fountains, thick hedges and sculpture. The plants are cut and trimmed into an ordained shape, and the pattern is designed to be seen from the ground, where its curves interlock and turn back on themselves. Only two kinds of trees are used - lime (Tilia) and arbor vitae (Thuja); and three kinds of permanent plants - ivy (Hedera), box (Buxus) and yew (Taxus). The lime trees will eventually be pleached into an architectural block to throw the ground pattern into even greater contrast. The ivy is in slightly raised mounds, edged in places with small summer flowers. The bedding plants are purple and white petunias with carnations and lemon-yellow thunbergias." The sculpture, 'Chimerical Font,' by Jean Arp, is golden bronze centered on a plinth in a black lacquered rectangular pool. The other pools (two circular, one biomorphic) are shallow and painted white. Of note are the unusual shapes of the pruned boxwoods in the shapes of question marks and semi-colons; the colorful flowers; and the 6th linden along the left and end wall, now covered in Boston ivy, and originally painted white to complete a design that very much relied on strong figure-ground relationship.

Christopher Tunnard (1910-1979) was born in Canada, moved to England in 1929 and received a diploma from the Royal Horticultural Society the following year. The period of the eclectic Arts and Crafts movement (which he characterized as "romantic trivialization" of garden design) prompted him to introduce his Modernist views of landscape design. This approach avoided decoration, sentimentality and classical allusion "in favor of functional minimalist designs that provided a friendly and hospitable milieu for rest and recreation." After 10 years practicing garden and landscape work, he immigrated to America at the invitation of Walter Gropius to teach at Harvard's Graduate School of Design (1938-1943). Following the War, Tunnard taught city planning at Yale, advancing to professor and chairman of this department; he did little garden design from that point forward, making this 1949 garden probably one of his last commissions. For the final thirty years of his life, Tunnard put his energies into urban planning and the preservation of historic buildings; his publications in this area include "Man-made America: Chaos or Control?" (1963) which won the 1964 National Book Award in Science, Philosophy and Religion. It is perhaps ironic that Christopher Tunnard ended up of very much the same sentiment as his American patron, Mrs. George W. (Katherine) Warren, founder of the Preservation Society of Newport County (1945). In "Pioneers of American Landscape Design," (2000), Lance Neckar notes that "by the time of his death, he had come full circle to be identified with conservation-and-preservation-oriented attributes toward city revitalization which were antithetical to the Modern movement" that Tunnard had originally espoused.

Tunnard's patrons, George and Katherine Warren, who purchased the property on Mill Street in 1933, chose a part of Newport that was then considered "the other side of the tracks" by their social set, most of whom resided out on Ocean Drive. In New York, where the couple lived "off season," Katherine Warren collected modern art and was on the Advisory Committee of the Museum of Modern Art. Interesting to note that the garden was commissioned in 1949 and distinguished by its functional, minimalist modern design in sharp contrast with its early Federal-style house. The Warrens also added two glass-enclosed rooms on the first and second floors of their home on the garden side, presumably to enjoy this new garden to its full extent. Mrs. Warren died in 1976, bequeathing her home to the Preservation Society of Newport County, which moved its offices to this location in 1977. While the Preservation Society of Newport County owned the property, the garden was heavily shaded by a large beech tree and had become overgrown. It was maintained as they found it without major renovation. The current owner moved into the Mill Street house in 1994 and restored the Tunnard garden in 2001 and has proven to be a conscientious caretaker of this rare, nationally significant garden.

Persons associated with the garden include Tanner Family (former owners, 1776-1807); Samuel F. Gardner (former owner, 1807-1809); Robert Lawton (former owner, 1809-1810); Penelope Lawton (former owner, 1810-1822); Reverend Samuel Austin (former owner, 1822-1826); Francis Henderson (former owner, 1826-1857); Fanny S. Brinley (former owner, 1857-1863); Sallie C. Lawrence (former owner, 1863-1886); Allen G. Paul (former owner, 1886-1916); Florence S. Paul (former owner, 1916-1932); George and Katherine Warren (former owners, 1932-1977); Preservation Society of Newport County (former owner, 1977-1994); Christopher Tunnard (landscape designer, 1949); Eusebio Pleitez (gardener, 2001- ).

Related Materials:

Warren House-Tunnard Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (10 digital images)

Additional photographs are also located in the collections of the Preservation Society of Newport County.

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Rhode Island -- Newport  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File RI201

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Rhode Island

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb61a6cdb7b-8abf-4457-9f57-0199646f406f

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref10575

Former owner:

Cocroft Family  Search this

Architect:

Sheldon, Walter G., 1855-1931  Search this

Landscape architect:

Smith, Sibley Coslett  Search this

Garden installation:

Whaley, Carder  Search this

Restoration garden designer:

Lapin, Linda  Search this

Gardener:

McCloskey, Brenda  Search this

Fence restoration:

McCluster, Glen  Search this

Provenance:

South County Garden Club  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Croftmere Garden (South Kingstown, Rhode Island)

United States of America -- Rhode Island -- Washington County -- South Kingston -- Matunuck

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets and photocopies of original plants lists and orders.

General:

Croftmere's sunken garden has been restored to the Arts & Crafts style designed in 1915 by landscape architect Sibley C. Smith. Adjacent to the 1906 wood shingle-style house the 44 by 74 feet garden room is part of an eight acre property that was part of a larger tract divided in the early 1900s among family members. The sunken garden is entered by descending three rough cut granite steps and surrounded on three sides by crisscross cedar fencing set on stone walls and supported by rough stone columns. At the far end of the garden room steps lead to a stone pergola draped with roses and wisteria. Small millstones are used for tables and a large one is sited on the grass terrace between the house and garden. A rectangular stone-lined lily pond with its original fountain is in the center of the garden room and deep beds of perennial flowers have been planted between the fences and the lawn as part of the restoration. Trimmed boxwood and viburnum, clematis and roses grow on the terrace and on an arbor alongside the house.

Persons associated with the garden include members of the Cocroft family since 1906; Walter G. Sheldon (1855-1931) (architect, 1906); Sibley C. Smith, ASLA (landscape architect, 1915); Carder Whaley (garden installation, 1916); Linda Lapin (restoration garden designer, 2000); Brenda McCloskey (gardener, 2005- ); Glen McCluster (fence restoration, 2015).

Related Materials:

Croftmere Garden related holdings consist of 2 folders (8 35mm slides; 35 digital images; 4 reference prints)

See others in:

Eleanor Weller collection, circa 1978-2006.

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Rhode Island -- South Kingstown  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File RI149

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Rhode Island

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6661051e4-1a4e-479f-a75f-512f529ff74d

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref10580

Former owner:

Cheek, Mabel  Search this

Cheek, Leslie, 1908-  Search this

Sharp, Walter, Mrs.  Search this

Sharp, Walter  Search this

Architect:

Fleming, Bryant  Search this

Landscape architect:

Fleming, Bryant  Search this

Coile, W. James  Search this

Callicott, P. Duncan  Search this

Sartor, Carolyn S.  Search this

Kevin Tucker and Associates  Search this

Horticulturist:

Andrews, Jenny  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Cheekwood (Nashville, Tennessee)

United States of America -- Tennessee -- Davidson County -- Nashville

Scope and Contents:

Materials relating to the public gardens of the Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The folder includes a slide list, brochures of Cheekwood, plans of the property, excerpts from publications featuring the property, and a worksheet and description completed by GCA researchers Richard C. Page and Cynthia Wall.

General:

"Once the private estate of the Leslie Cheek family, of the Maxwell House Coffee forturne, Cheekwood is a stunning example of an elegant lifestyle. The three-story neo-Georgian mansion features architectural treasures from some of the great houses of Europe, selected by the Cheeks and their archictect, Bryant Fleming."

"Outstanding ornaments include towering mahogany doors, an Adam mantel of lapis lazuli, a magnificent staircase, brilliant chandeliers, and trompe l'oeil paintings to panel the walls. Today, the 55-acre Cheek Estate is a lasting tribute to one of the wealthiest eras in American history. Its stately mansion, built in 1929 with Tennessee limestone quarried on the property, is surrounded by breathtaking grounds designed by the Cheeks' landscape architect. The original gardens feature marble sculptures, water gardens, bubbling streams and grand vistas."

"Guests continue to marvel at the historical Bryant Fleming landscape. Surrounding his design are 11 principal botanical garden areas - the award winning Howe Wildflower Garden, an Herb Study Garden, the Wills Perennial Garden, the Carell Dogwood Trail and a traditional Japanese Garden. Botanic Hall features horticultural exhibits, flower shows, and the popular Trees of Christmas celebration every December. There is no better place to experience the season of Middle Tennessee."

Persons associated with the property include: Bryant Fleming (architect and landscape architect); W. James Coile (landscape architect); P. Duncan Callicott (landscape architect); Carolyn S. Sartor (landscape architect); Kevin Tucker and Associates (landscape architects); Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Cheek (former owners); Mr. and Mrs. Walter Sharp (former owners); and Jenny Andrews (horticulturist).

The folders include two slides of Cheekwood brochures and two slides from an article in Country Life magazine.

Related Materials:

Cheekwood related holdings consist of 2 folders (44 35 mm. slides)

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Tennessee -- Nashville  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File TN045

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Tennessee

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6a675bac5-8715-4bf2-a4e8-8fc461d9fb25

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref10954

Architect:

Asmus, Christian A.  Search this

Clark, Richard R.  Search this

Landscape architect:

Page, Ben  Search this

Provenance:

Garden Club of Nashville  Search this

Garden Club of Lookout Mountain  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

The Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Robinson Jr. Garden (Nashville, Tennessee)

United States of America -- Tennessee -- Davidson -- Nashville

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets, photocopies of articles and other information.

General:

The garden and residence of Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Robinson represents one of the first "Country Place Era" gardens in Nashville. The Neoclassical home, designed by architects A. Christian Asmus and Richard R. Clark, was built in 1929 by F.J. McCarthy and his wife Mary Byrd McCarthy. When the current owners assumed ownership of the property in 1987, the garden areas near the house were primarily lawns surrounded by towering boxwood hedges, formal and static in design. With the desire to allow more light into the Neoclassical style house as well as to create terraces to accommodate an eight foot change in elevation and a garden room for a swimming pool, the owners turned to their sons-in-law, landscape architect Ben Page (ASLA) and architect Stephen P. Rick (AIA) to renovate the property. The four garden rooms that were designed are arranged laterally alongside and below the house with surrounding high walls and interior low walls. A pre-existing 50-foot antique wrought iron fence and a pergola built on massive piers were incorporated into the design and separate the garden rooms from the natural garden that comprises the rest of the property. The first room is a large terrace that can be tented for special events, with steps down to a more intimate sunken terrace for family use, followed by more steps to a formal parterre rose garden with a pool and fountain in the middle and pear trees espaliered against one wall, and lastly a landscaped pool and new pool house converted from a three car garage with cutting and vegetable gardens nearby. A door in the garden wall closes off the swimming area when it is out of season.

This garden features plant material and hardscape with provenance, starting with the Seven Sisters climbing roses that were transplanted from another family property in the 1930s. Peonies planted by the current owner's mother still thrive below the pool house and border the cutting and vegetable gardens. The antique wrought iron fence was salvaged from another Nashville property and bricks used for the walks once comprised East Nashville sidewalks laid in the late 1800s. A Charlie Hunt sculpture "Dove of Peace" was carved from a foundation stone salvaged from an East Nashville church, Saint Ann's Episcopal (1882-1998). Native limestone and Tennessee Crab Orchard stone are local materials used for the walls and terraces.

In early spring a row of Yoshino cherry trees blooms along one side of a brick walkway just inside the high limestone wall with tulips blooming on the other side. Pansies and tulips surround the fountain in the rose garden for early color. In summer Annabelle hydrangeas border the swimming pool, and perennial flower beds come into bloom.

The gardens on the estate provide ample opportunities for a wide variety of social, civic and charitable events. One such event was the 1993 Swan Ball Patron's Party for the benefit of Cheekwood Botanical Barden and Museum of Art. The current owner has also hosted a series of literary salons to benefit the Nashville Public Library. Numerous local non-profits have benefited from fundraisers and garden tours hosted at the estate.

Persons associated with the garden include Mr. F.J. and Mary Byrd McCarthy (former owners, 1929-1931); Mr. Edwin Wilson Craig and Elizabeth Wade Craig (former owners, 1931-1987); Christian A. Asmus and Richard R Clark (architects, 1929-1939); Ben Page, ASLA (landscape architect, 1988-1990); Stephen P. Rick (architect, 1988-1990); William Ralston (sculptor); Charlie Hunt (sculptor); Pink Ray (groundskeeper, 1931-1958); Mark Owen (groundskeeper, 1948-1971); Roy Goddard (groundskeeper, 1972-1981); Malcolm Campbell (grounds manager, 1981-1990); Norman David Pugh (grounds manager, 1990-present); Michele Webber (gardener, 2010-present).

Related Materials:

The Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Robinson Jr. Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (69 digital images)

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Tennessee -- Nashville  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File TN076

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Tennessee

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6a1ddf5a6-edcb-49ef-98ec-6110196bb072

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref10964

Landscape architect:

Adams, R. David  Search this

Provenance:

Tacoma Garden Club  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Hillside Gardens (Gig Harbor, Washington)

United States of America -- Washington -- Pierce County -- Gig Harbor

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets, a garden plan, and narrative description by owner.

General:

Two major loops form the design of this two-acre garden. The first begins at the pond that fronts the Asian-style home. Inside the gate, is a "Sweet Pea Teeppee," several Peony trees and samples of cement art made by the owner. A series of planned plateaus provides places for roses, strawberries, verbena, and vegetables.These plateaus, as well as the entire garden, are managed by a 26 zone sprinkling system, two wells and a large holding tank. A waterfall ends in a natural looking pond surrounded by a rock garden to form the entry garden.

Person(s) associated with the garden include: R. David Adams (landscape architect, 1994).

Related Materials:

Hillside Gardens related holdings consist of 1 folder (11 35 mm. slides)

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Washington (State) -- Gig Harbor  Search this

Water gardens  Search this

Rock gardens  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File WA035

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Washington

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb64e2d57b2-cc4b-485e-bbff-46bba3908da0

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref11412

Former owner:

Stockton, Gilchrist Admiral  Search this

Blount, Margaret Stockton Mrs  Search this

Landscape architect:

Manning, Wayne O.  Search this

Provenance:

Late Bloomers Garden Club  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Haskell Gardens (Jacksonville, Florida)

United States of America -- Florida -- Duval -- Jacksonville

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets, site plans, and additional information.

General:

Two vacant suburban parcels comprising three riverfront acres were assembled by the owners in the 1970s, and construction of the contemporary style residence and initial landscape planting were completed in 1978. Originally, the land was virtually devoid of trees or plants, whereas now lush and comprehensive landscaping reflects 37 years of careful and continuous design and planting. Today the property's landscape is best described as comprehensive and highly informal. Nearly half of the acreage consists of medium density woods at the north and south precincts of the property, comprising live oaks, magnolias and screening shrubbery such as viburnum, elaeagnus, holly, anise and ligustrum. The buildings and grounds are entirely screened from road view (west) by a continuous multi-layered tall hedge whose foreground planting includes azalea, sago palm and holly fern. The east lawn is generally open to the St. John's River. Inside the property, informally curving hedges of varying height define the boundaries of the woods, again using holly, eleagnus, viburnum, azalea and ligustrum, as well as aspidistra, pittosporum and podocarpus. A tennis court pavilion is arbored in jasmine, which also blankets the court fence. Certain walls of the residence are espaliered with jasmine and podocarpus, and ground cover in the oak-shaded areas includes liriope, juniper, mondo and jasmine. The more open areas are punctuated by specimen oaks, clusters of ilex, sago palm, Indian hawthorn, philodendron and flowering annuals.

The contemporary art collection extends from within the residence onto the grounds in the form of fourteen large outdoor sculptures. These vary in form and medium, but all are quite abstract and - most importantly - carefully integrated into the landscape.Nearly every sculpture occupies a curved, embracing niche giving its own partially enclosed space and creating a unique relationship between art and landscaping. Indeed, this integration of the sculpture collection with the planting is the most distinctive aspect of the gardens. The sculptors whose work has been installed are Arthur Gibbons, Tom Raye, Beverly Pepper, Charles O. Perry, Alexander Liberman, Amolldo Pomodoro, George Sherwood, Doris Leper, Ed Hallgeuik, and Kenneth Snelson.

Persons associated with the property include Admiral Gilchrist Stockton (former owner, 1935?-1972); Mrs. Margaret Stockton Blount (former owner, 1935?-1972); Wayne O. Manning, Jr. (landscape architect, 1970s).

Related Materials:

Haskell Gardens related holdings consist of 2 folders (24 digital images)

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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Florida -- Jacksonville  Search this

Sculpture gardens  Search this

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.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File FL169

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Florida

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6112f7cc8-6fdd-4f0a-a70d-66adb808f092

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref11963