Search Results

Culture/People:

probably Chican Ostionoid (Chicoid) (archaeological culture) (attributed)  Search this

Seller:

Alice L. De Santiago (Alice Loughran De Santiago/Mrs. José M. Santiago), Non-Indian, 1880-1942  Search this

Previous owner:

Alice L. De Santiago (Alice Loughran De Santiago/Mrs. José M. Santiago), Non-Indian, 1880-1942  Search this

Object Name:

Petroglyph

Media/Materials:

Stone

Techniques:

Pecked, carved, ground

Dimensions:

79 x 31 x 17 cm

Object Type:

Rock art

Place:

Puerto Rico

Archipelago:

Greater Antilles

Island Name:

Puerto Rico

Geographical Areas:

Caribbean Islands (West Indies)

Date created:

AD 1200-1500

Catalog Number:

14/492

Barcode:

140492.000

See related items:

Chican Ostionoid (Chicoid) (archaeological culture)

Rock art

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ws6032c57da-51e9-41e9-bc0a-bdf5f5887999

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:NMAI_150972

Culture/People:

Tsimshian  Search this

Collector:

George Thornton Emmons (George T. Emmons/G.T. Emmons), Non-Indian, 1852-1945  Search this

Previous owner:

George Thornton Emmons (George T. Emmons/G.T. Emmons), Non-Indian, 1852-1945  Search this

Seller:

George Thornton Emmons (George T. Emmons/G.T. Emmons), Non-Indian, 1852-1945  Search this

Presenter/funding source:

Harmon W. Hendricks (Harmon Washington Hendricks), Non-Indian, 1846-1928  Search this

Object Name:

Paint mortar

Media/Materials:

Stone

Techniques:

Ground

Object Type:

Art and Printing tools

Place:

Douglas Channel; Kitimat-Stikine Regional District; British Columbia; Canada

Catalog Number:

5/4407

Barcode:

054407.000

See related items:

Tsimshian

Art and Printing tools

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ws60a0a7edb-0622-4673-b6a2-6afb87eebe3c

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:NMAI_58736

Interviewee:

Kingman, Dong, 1911-2000  Search this

Interviewer:

Phillips, Harlan B. (Harlan Buddington),, 1920-  Search this

Subject:

Federal Art Project (Calif.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Mural painting and decoration  Search this

Asian American art  Search this

Asian American artists -- Interviews  Search this

Educators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this

Chinese American art  Search this

Chinese American artists  Search this

Asian American painters  Search this

Chinese American painters  Search this

Asian American illustrators  Search this

Chinese American illustrators  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12912

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213605

AAA_collcode_kingma65

Theme:

Asian American

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213605

Creator:

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Subject:

Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa)  Search this

Loring, Charles Greely  Search this

Sewall, Henry F.  Search this

Rowlands, Walter  Search this

Shirlaw, Walter  Search this

Smillie, James David  Search this

Stuart, Frederick T.  Search this

Walker, Charles Alvah  Search this

Dougal, William H.  Search this

Falconer, John Mackie  Search this

Farrer, Henry  Search this

Moran, Thomas  Search this

Topic:

Prints -- Technique  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9074

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211267

AAA_collcode_musefabr

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211267

Creator:

Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827  Search this

Subject:

Peale, Charles Willson  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Art, Modern -- 17th-18th centuries -- United States  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)13484

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213195

AAA_collcode_pealchar2

Theme:

Diaries

Communities, Organizations, Museums

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_213195

Distributors:

Ensign, Thayer and Company  Search this

Maker:

Kelloggs & Comstock  Search this

Physical Description:

paper (overall material)

ink (overall material)

hand-colored (image production method/technique)

Measurements:

image: 13 in x 9 in; 33.02 cm x 22.86 cm

Object Name:

lithograph

Object Type:

Lithograph

Place made:

United States: Connecticut, Hartford

Date made:

ca 1850

Subject:

Costume  Search this

Courtship, love  Search this

Drinking  Search this

Flowers  Search this

Fraternal Associations  Search this

Temperance  Search this

Credit Line:

Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection

ID Number:

DL.60.2949

Catalog number:

60.2949

Accession number:

228146

Maker number:

363

See more items in:

Cultural and Community Life: Domestic Life

Domestic Furnishings

Art

Temperance Movement

Peters Prints

Family & Social Life

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a3-cbd1-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_325230

Artist:

Erlena Chisolm Bland  Search this

Medium:

acrylic and mixed media on plywood

Dimensions:

24 5/8 × 15 3/8 × 3 1/8 in. (62.5 × 39 × 8 cm)

Type:

painting

Date:

1990

Accession Number:

1992.0065.0001

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Anacostia Community Museum Collection

Data Source:

Anacostia Community Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dl89604392a-2b66-470f-ade4-b0c302808899

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:acm_1992.0065.0001

Artist:

Ira Blount  Search this

Medium:

origami paper, folded

Dimensions:

3 3/4 × 1 13/16 × 2 5/8 in. (9.5 × 4.6 × 6.7 cm)

Type:

origami

Date:

late 20th-early 21st Century

Cite As:

Gift of Ira Blount

Accession Number:

2011.0004.0088

Restrictions & Rights:

CC0

See more items in:

Anacostia Community Museum Collection

Data Source:

Anacostia Community Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dl8b9596990-144d-435e-96b8-0b59b6965ea9

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:acm_2011.0004.0088

Creator:

Karp, Ivan  Search this

Names:

Emory University  Search this

National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)  Search this

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Kratz, Corinne Ann, 1953-  Search this

Masolo, D.A.  Search this

Extent:

16.24 Linear feet (43 boxes and 2 sets of rolled maps)

0.21 Gigabytes

19 Sound recordings

Culture:

Teso (African people)  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Manuscripts

Field recordings

Photographs

Field notes

Correspondence

Electronic records

Place:

Busia District (Kenya)

Date:

circa 1945-2012

bulk 1969-2012

Summary:

Ivan Karp (1943-2011) was a curator of African Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) from 1984 to 1993. He was also a professor at Emory University from 1993 to 2011. He conducted fieldwork among the Iteso (Teso) of Kenya and made significant contributions to the areas of African systems of thought, social theory, museum studies, and public scholarship. His collection contains his research on the Iteso of Kenya; his work at Emory University and the Smithsonian Institution; his reviews of manuscripts and books; recommendations that he wrote for his colleagues and students; his published articles and papers presented at conferences; and his project files on various topics including museum studies, African philosophy, public scholarship, agency and personhood, and the history of social anthropology.

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains the professional papers of Ivan Karp, documenting his work as an anthropologist, professor, and museum curator. The materials include his research on the Iteso of Kenya; his work at Emory University and the Smithsonian Institution; his reviews of manuscripts and books; recommendations that he wrote for his colleagues and students; his published articles and papers presented at conferences; and his project files on various topics including museum studies, African philosophy, public scholarship, agency and personhood, and the history of social anthropology.

Karp's Iteso research files span from the late 1960s to the 1990s. These materials consist of his field notes, in both paper and digital form; household surveys; photographs; sound recordings; maps; grant proposals; bibliographic research; correspondence; notes and drafts of his dissertation; and his other writings. A great deal of the field materials was collected by his field assistants, particularly Steven Omuse. Some field materials were also collected by Karp's first wife, Patricia.

His Smithsonian files are electronic and contain little documentation regarding his administrative work. There are, however, some materials relating to the planning of exhibits at NMNH and a proposal to establish a program focusing on the African continent and the African Diaspora. There is also a memo with Karp's response to questions from a House Subcommittee regarding the National African American Museum and complaints about the NMNH Africa Hall. Other associated materials include his research and papers on museums and exhibits. While there are no files pertaining to the first two museum conferences he organized, a folder titled "Bellagio" contains documentation for the conference and associated workshops on museums and globalization that he organized while at Emory.

Karp's files from Emory are also in digital form and more substantive than his Smithsonian materials. They document his work on the different committees he chaired and programs he directed and founded, including the Center for the Study of Public Scholarship. His Emory files also include his comments on students' dissertations, papers, and proposals.

The digital files also document Karp's other areas of interests, particularly African philosophy; concepts of identity, personhood, and agency; and the relationships between international development and personhood. His work on African philosophy largely consists of files from a number of collaborative projects with Kenyan philosopher Dismas Masolo, including the 1993 conference in Nairobi they organized and the associated volume they edited, African Philosophy as Cultural Inquiry (2000). There are a few files of research on the Luo people. His research on development and personhood focuses on Africa, particularly on Kenya, and includes his papers, notes, and reference sources, which also exist in paper form. There are also files of obituaries and memorials of Karp from numerous publications and events.

Other materials in Karp's collection include his doctorate diploma, his Master's thesis, family photos, and a wedding album from his first marriage.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized into 6 series: 1) Iteso Research; 2) Development Discourse; 3) Personal; 4) Photographs; 5) Sound Recordings; 6) Born Digital Files.

Biographical / Historical:

Ivan Karp (1943-2011) was a curator of African Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) from 1984 to 1993. He conducted fieldwork among the Iteso (Teso) of Kenya and made significant contributions to the areas of African systems of thought, museum studies, and public scholarship.

Karp was born on August 27, 1943 in Stamford, Connecticut. He attended the University of Vermont as an undergraduate, majoring in Sociology and Anthropology (1961-1965), and pursued graduate studies in Social Anthroplogy at the University of Rochester (1967-1969). Karp received his M.A. (1969) and Ph.D. (1974) from University of Virginia. As a doctoral student he conducted research among the Iteso from 1969 to 1971. His dissertation, titled Fields of Change Among the Iteso of Kenya, was published in 1978. Karp continued his research on the Iteso into the 1990s and published various papers including "Beer Drinking and Social Experience in African Society" (1980) and "Laughter at Marriage: Subversion in Performance" (1987).

Before his employment at the Smithsonian, Karp held a teaching appointment at Colgate University from 1972 to 1975 and was a professor at Indiana University from 1976 to 1984. At Indiana University, he coedited with Charles S. Bird Explorations in African Systems of Thought (1980), the first of a 34-volume series published under his editorship.

He left Indiana University in 1984 to become the Curator of African Ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History. While at the Smithsonian, he served as Chair of the Ethnology Division and established with William Merrill the Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry. It was also during this period that Karp began to critically examine museum practice, concepts of identity and agency, and systems of representation in relation to museum exhibits. He and Steven Lavine organized two major conferences on museums and co-edited the resulting conference proceedings: Exhibiting Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display (1991) and Museums and Communities: The Politics of Public Culture (1992).

In 1993, Karp left the Smithsonian to direct the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts (1993-1996) at Emory University. He also served as director of the university's Institute of African Studies (1996-1999) and the Emory Center for International Studies (1996-1999). In addition, he cofounded and codirected with Corinne Kratz, his second wife, the Center for the Study of Public Scholarship (CSPS) from 1994 to 2009 and the Grant Writing Program from 1992 to 2011. Through the CSPS, he and Kratz also established and codirected the Institutions of Public Culture program, a collaboration with South African colleagues that brought together scholars of public culture from universities, museums, NGOs, political and arts organizations and related institutions (2000-2008). Karp also continued to facilitate discussions on museums, working with Kratz and his colleagues at the Rockefeller Foundation to organize a series of international workshops and a conference in 2002 on museums and globalization. He coedited Museum Frictions: Public Cultures/Global Transformations (2006), a collection of papers presented at the conference.

Karp retired from teaching at Emory University in May 2011 but planned to continue working with the Laney Graduate School's Grant Writing Program until full retirement in August 2013. Not long after finishing his last graduate seminar, Ivan Karp died at the age of 68 on September 17, 2011 in New Mexico.

1943 -- Born on August 27 in Stamford, Connecticut.

1961-1965 -- Undergraduate studies at University of Vermont with major in Sociology and Anthropology.

1965-1967 -- Graduate studies in Social Anthropology at the University of Rochester.

1969 -- Earns M.A. from University of Virginia. Begins conducting fieldwork among the Southern Iteso in Busia District, Kenya.

1972-1975 -- Instructor and Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Colgate University.

1974 -- Earns Ph.D. from University of Virginia.

1976-1984 -- Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University.

1984-1993 -- Curator of African Ethnology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Insitution.

1987 -- Organizes conference on "The Poetics and Politics of Exhibiting Other Cultures."

1988 -- Organizes conference on "Museums and their Communities."

1993-1996 -- Director of Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University.

1994-2009 -- Director of Center for the Study of Public Scholarship, Emory University.

1996-1999 -- Director of Emory Center for International Studies, Emory University. Director of Institute of African Studies, Emory University

2000-2008 -- Director of Institutions of Public Culture program through CSPS.

2002 -- Organizes conference on " Museums and Global Public Spheres" held in Italy at Bellagio Conference Center of the Rockefeller Foundation.

2009 -- Moves to Santa Fe, NM where he had bought a home in 2003.

2011 -- Retires from teaching at Emory University. Dies on September 17 at the age of 68.

Related Materials:

Artifacts collected by Ivan Karp can be found in the National Museum of Natural History's Department of Anthropology Collections (Accession #390893 and 416181). Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music holds some of Karp's original Iteso sound recordings.

Separated Materials:

Four DVDs and a videotape were separated from the collection and transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives. One of the recordings is an interview with Karp that Robert Lavenda and Emily Schultz conducted in 1989 to accompany their introductory anthropology textbook, Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition. The rest of the recordings are of Karp giving presentations.

Provenance:

This collection was donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Corinne Kratz in 2014.

Restrictions:

Recommendations that Karp wrote for his colleagues and students are restricted until 2061.

Access to the Ivan Karp papers requires an appointment.

Topic:

Museum techniques  Search this

Luo (African people)  Search this

Social sciences -- Philosophy  Search this

Philosophy, African  Search this

Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this

Teso language  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Manuscripts

Field recordings

Photographs

Field notes

Correspondence

Electronic records

Citation:

Ivan Karp papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

This collection was processed with the support of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Corinne Kratz.

Identifier:

NAA.2013-30

See more items in:

Ivan Karp papers

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-2013-30

Creator:

James, Alexander, 1890-1946  Search this

Names:

Faulkner, Barry, 1881-1966  Search this

Gugler, Eric, 1889-1974  Search this

James, Frederika Paine  Search this

James, Henry, 1843-1916  Search this

James, William, 1842-1910  Search this

James, William, 1882-1961  Search this

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Lankes, Julius J., 1884-1960  Search this

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925  Search this

Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921  Search this

Wilder, Thornton, 1897-1975  Search this

Extent:

3.6 Linear feet ((on 7 microfilm reels))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketchbooks

Date:

1893-1983

bulk 1914-1946

Scope and Contents:

Family and professional correspondence; exhibition and sales records; sketches; sketchbooks; photographs and printed materials documenting the career and activities of Alexander James.

A marriage certificate; a genealogy of the James family; autobiographical notes; passports for James and his wife Frederika Paine James; a diary with entries by both James (1907) and his mother (1921); loose pages from diaries kept by James and his wife (intermittent, 1917-1939). Correspondence to and from James family members, including eight letters from his father, William James; letters to and from colleagues, friends, museums, galleries, clients, and posthumous exhibition correspondence. Correspondents include Abbott Handerson Thayer, Rockwell Kent, and Eric Gugler.

There are also biographical notes on Abbott Handerson Thayer; a notebook containing James' description of his gesso techniques; Frederika James' notes on her husband's paintings and her account of a family trip to France; reminiscences of James by Barry Faulkner and Thornton Wilder; exhibition files containing correspondence, lists of works, address lists, guest books, clippings and catalogs (1937-1978); commission files; a card file with information on James' paintings, exhibitions and sales; sketches of landscapes and people including sketches of his father and John Singer Sargent.

Five sketchbooks (one too faint to film); an oil study of his father; three watercolors of Giverny, France; three pigment studies (unfilmed); 12 woodcuts by Julius J. Lankes; and a sketch of James by his brother, William James; expense journals; bank records; tax returns; insurance figures for paintings; a notebook of sales' records; price lists; invoices and receipts for materials; deeds; a will; certificates of name changes; photos of James, his studio and his work; photos and a photo album of William James and other family members; two albums of exhibition photos; photos of two sketches of James, one by John Singer Sargent, and the other by Barry Faulkner.

Arrangement:

Reels 4195-4201: I. Biographical materials. II. Family correspondence. III. General correspondence. IV. Writings. V. Exhibition files. VI. Commission files. VII. Card file. VIII. Art works. IX. Financial materials. X. Legal materials. XI. Photographs. XII. Photograph albums. XIII. Printed materials. Chronologically arranged except for commission files which are arranged alphabetically by name of subject.

Biographical / Historical:

Portrait painter. The younger son of psychologist William James (1842-1910), brother of painter William James (1882-1961), and nephew of novelist Henry James, Alexander James was actually christened Francis Temple Tweedy James in 1890. In 1925 he had his name officially changed to Alexander Robertson James. Later in life he dropped the Robertson and became Alexander James. He studied with Abbott Handerson Thayer and was a close friend of John Singer Sargent and Rockwell Kent.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives on microfilm only (reel 3828) is a bound volume containing 37 letters from William James to his youngest son, Alexander James, one letter from his mother, Alice Howe Gibbens James, and 11 postcards.

Provenance:

Donated 1986 by Michael James, the son of Alexander James, except for the bound volume on reel 3828 which was lent for microfilming.

Rights:

Reel 3828: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Alexander R. James, Glandore, County Cork, Ireland. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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.

Occupation:

Portrait painters  Search this

Painters -- New Hampshire  Search this

Topic:

Gesso  Search this

Sculptors -- United States -- Interviews  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketchbooks

Identifier:

AAA.jamealex

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-jamealex

Creator:

Wells, Oliver, 1907-1970  Search this

Extent:

2 Color prints

Culture:

Indians of North America -- Plateau  Search this

Northwest Coast  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Color prints

Photographs

Date:

circa 1967

Scope and Contents note:

Photographs depicting Mary Peters (Interior Salish) weaving a tapestry with a two-bar loom and Mrs. William Kelley (Coast Salish) spinning yarn with a spinning wheel. Photographs made in Sardis, Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Biographical/Historical note:

Oliver N. Wells (1907-1970) was owner of Edenbank Farm in Chilliwack, British Columbia, as well as an amateur historian and ethnologist. He assisted the effort to reestablish traditional Salish weaving techniques and wrote "The Return of the Salish Loom," an article published in the "Beaver" Hudson Bay Magazine in spring 1966.

Local Call Number(s):

NAA Photo Lot 81C

Location of Other Archival Materials:

Photographs of Coast Salish arts, collected by Oliver Wells, held in National Anthropological Archives in MS 4764.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Weaving  Search this

Spinning  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Photo lot 81C, Oliver Wells photographs of Salish spinning and weaving, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.81C

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-81c

Creator:

Woodward, Stanley Wingate, 1890-1970  Search this

Names:

Salmagundi Sketch Club  Search this

Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956  Search this

Butler, Mary  Search this

Cady, Harrison, 1877-1970  Search this

Carter, Janis, 1921-  Search this

Craine, Jeanne  Search this

Custis, Eleanor Parke, 1897-1983  Search this

Darnell, Linda, 1921-1965  Search this

Davis, Bette, 1908-1989  Search this

Day, Laraine, 1920-2007  Search this

Fabri, Ralph, 1894-1975  Search this

Grant, Gordon, 1875-1962  Search this

Hayworth, Rita, 1918-1987  Search this

Kent, Norman, 1903-1972  Search this

Lee, Madaline  Search this

Lupino, Ida, 1918-1995  Search this

Merrill, Gary  Search this

Nichols, Hobart, 1869-1962  Search this

Oakley, Thornton, 1881-1953  Search this

Powell, Eleanor, 1912-1982  Search this

Ryder, Chauncey F., 1868-1949  Search this

Smith, Alexis, 1921-1993  Search this

Smith, Howard (Howard Everett), 1885-1970  Search this

Tarbell, Edmund Charles, 1862-1938  Search this

Thieme, Anthony, 1888-1954  Search this

Extent:

6.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Diaries

Writings

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Date:

1875-1970

bulk 1905-1970

Summary:

The papers of marine painter, illustrator, writer and art instructor Stanley Woodward date from 1875-1970, bulk 1905-1970, and measure 6.6 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, family and personal correspondence, seventeen diaries, notes, notebooks and other writings, business records, a scrapbook and printed material including exhibition announcements and catalogs; and photographs of Woodward, members of his family, friends, his studio, and artwork. Files containing letters, clippings, and photographs concern actresses including Janis Carter, Linda Darnell, Bette Davis, and Eleanor Powell. Writings include drafts of Woodward's book Adventure in Marine Painting.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of marine painter, illustrator, writer and art instructor Stanley Woodward date from 1875-1970, bulk 1905-1970, and measure 6.6 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, artworks, family and personal correspondence, seventeen diaries, notes, notebooks and other writings, business records, a scrapbook and printed material including exhibition announcements and catalogs; and photographs of Woodward, members of his family, friends, and his studio. Files containing letters, clippings, and photographs concern actresses including Janis Carter, Linda Darnell, Bette Davis, and Eleanor Powell. Writings include drafts of Woodward's book Adventure in Marine Painting.

Biographical material includes miscellaneous accounts of Woodward's life, cards and certificates of membership in various organizations including the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Salmagundi Club, and the Academic Artist Association, military records of his service in both World Wars, and scattered artwork. A file concerning Woodward's portrait of Abraham Lincoln contains letters primarily discussing a reproduction of the portrait in The Boston Globe and the painting's eventual sale, in addition to notes, clippings, an ink drawing, and a photographic negative of the drawing.

Correspondence is between various family members, but also includes letters to Woodward from colleagues including Harrison Cady, Eleanor Parke Custis, Ralph Fabri, Chauncey F. Ryder, and Howard E. Smith. There are also scattered letters from other artists including Gifford Beal, Mary Butler, Gordon Grant, Norman Kent, Hobart Nichols, Thornton Oakley, Edmund Tarbell, and Anthony Thieme. Correspondence primarily concern his painting career, and includes lists of art work and financial material.

Artwork consists of a sketchbook and three sketches.

Files concerning actresses reflect Woodward's life-long friendship with former teenaged neighbor Bette Davis, who later introduced Woodward and his art work to her show business friends. The files contain letters, clippings, and photographs of actresses Janis Carter, Linda Darnell, Bette Davis, Laraine Day, Madaline Lee, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Powell, and Alexis Smith.

Seventeen diaries contain relatively detailed daily entries describing Woodward's art-related activities, experiences during World War II, and various travels, including a trip to Los Angeles to be a house guest of Bette Davis and visit her on the set of the motion picture Elizabeth and Essex. The 1905 diary contains photographs of Woodward's school friends.

Notes, notebooks, and writings include lists of art works, exhibition guest books, and miscellaneous writings by Woodward including drafts of his book Adventure in Marine Painting.

Business records include an auction catalog, account books for the sale of Woodward's book and art work, and miscellaneous receipts. Records of art classes taught by Woodward include lists of participants, accounts of fees paid, and printed advertisements.

A scrapbook containing clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs illustrates Woodward's early interests and art-related activities.

Additional printed material consists of clippings, copies of the U. S. Air Corps Magazine The Rip Chord for which Woodward did the cover illustrations, prospectuses with annotations of titles and prices of art work, exhibition announcements and catalogs, reproductions of art work, a booklet, and brochures for books and for art schools. Miscellaneous printed material includes reproductions of a photograph of Woodward's father, Frank E. Woodward, and a program for an event honoring Dr. T. Tertius Noble.

Photographs are of Woodward, family members, friends connected with the U. S. Army Air Force including Jack Dempsey, Woodward's studio, and art work. Three albums contain photographs of art classes and Woodward painting outdoors at various locations including Laguna Beach and Palm Springs, California, St. Augustine, Florida, and Rockport, Massachusetts. A third album also contains photographs of notable friends including Janis Carter, Jeanne Craine, Bette Davis, Rita Hayworth, and Gary Merrill.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 10 series. Each series is arranged chronologically.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1918-1968 (Boxes 1, 8; 15 folders)

Series 2: Artwork, circa 1920s (Boxes 1; 2 folders)

Series 3: Correspondence, 1910-1969 (Boxes 1-3; 2.9 linear feet)

Series 4: Files Concerning Actresses, 1931-1970 (Boxes 4, 8; 0.75 linear feet)

Series 5: Diaries, 1905-1969 (Boxes 4-5; 10 folders)

Series 6: Notes, Notebooks, and Writings, 1915-1969 (Boxes 5, 8; 21 folders)

Series 7: Business Records, 1924-1969 (Boxes 5-6; 15 folders)

Series 8: Scrapbook, 1875-1919 (Box 6; 1 folder)

Series 9: Printed Material, 1916-1970 (Boxes 6-7; 0.75 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, 1920-1969 (Boxes 7-8, OV 9; 11 folders)

Biographical Note:

Stanley Wingate Woodward was born on December 11, 1890, in Malden, Massachusetts, son of Alice E. (Colesworthy) and Frank E. Woodward. He was one of eight children and a twin of Sidney, who later became an art dealer and critic.

In 1909, Woodward graduated from Malden High School and the family moved to Wellesley Hills. He studied at the Eric Pape School of Art, the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He left school to serve in France as a Corporal in the Field Artillery 28th Division during World War I. After the war, he settled in Ogunquit, Maine, and became a free lance illustrator for Collier's and the Christian Science Monitor, where his brother Sidney was art editor.

In 1925, he held his first solo show of marine oils at Casson Galleries, Boston, where his twin brother Sidney was manager. He was encouraged to continue painting the ocean after the entire exhibition sold out.

Woodward married Ruth Brainerd in 1926 and they settled in Newton, Massachusetts, where they were neighbors to a young Bette Davis, who had recently graduated from high school. Woodward maintained contact with the actress for the rest of his life, and through Ms. Davis, he befriended other show business personalities.

During the 1930s, Woodward taught painting at the Woodward Outdoor Painting School of Rockport, Massachusetts, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida, and at the Laguna Beach School in California. In 1937, he established his residence and studio in Rockport, Massachusetts.

Woodward served as an Air Corps captain and director of camouflage training at McChord Field in Tacoma, Washington, during World War II. In 1947, he published a book on painting techniques entitled Adventure in Marine Painting. He was also the author of Marine Paintings in Oil and Water Color.

Woodward was a member of the Chicago Society of Etchers, the Concord Art Association, the Print Makers Society of California, the Boston Society of Water Color Painters, Allied Artists of America, the Guild of Boston Artists, the North Shore Art Association, the American Water Color Society, the Grand Central Galleries Association, and the Rockport Art Association. His work is in the collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Bowdoin College, Amherst College, Lehigh University, and the Prudential Life Insurance Collection.

Stanley Wingate Woodward died on March 21, 1970 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Provenance:

The Stanley Woodward papers were donated in two installments in 1973 by Stanley Woodward's daughter, Patricia Woodward Smith.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.

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.

Occupation:

Marine painters -- Massachusetts  Search this

Topic:

Educators -- Massachusetts  Search this

World War, 1914-1918  Search this

Marine painting -- Technique  Search this

Illustrators -- Massachusetts  Search this

Artists' studios  Search this

World War, 1939-1945  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Diaries

Writings

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Citation:

Stanley Woodward papers, 1875-1970, bulk 1905-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.woodstan

See more items in:

Stanley Woodward papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-woodstan

Creator:

Prown, Jules David  Search this

Names:

Copley, John Singleton, 1738-1815  Search this

West, Benjamin, 1738-1820  Search this

Extent:

11.8 Linear feet

0.004 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Photographs

Date:

1935-2010

bulk 1958-1975

Summary:

Jules David Prown research material on artists measures 11.8 linear feet and 0.004 GB and dates from 1935 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1958 to 1975. Prown, an art historian and educator, is an authority on the work of artist John Singleton Copley, and these papers contain related notes, subject files, correspondence, portrait and attribution files, and photographs and digital photographs of artwork. Also found are Prown's research files on other artists, including Benjamin West, typescripts of his lectures, and copies of his published writings.

Scope and Contents:

Jules David Prown research material on artists measures 11.8 linear feet and 0.004 GB and dates from 1935 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1958 to 1975. Prown, an art historian and educator, is an authority on the work of artist John Singleton Copley, and these papers contain related notes, subject files, correspondence, portrait and attribution files, and photographs and digital photographs of artwork. Also found are Prown's research files on other artists, including Benjamin West, typescripts of his lectures, and copies of his published writings.

The bulk of the collection consists of Prown's research material on the work of John Singleton Copley, including notes and correspondence he compiled while working on his dissertation and later two-volume work John Singleton Copley. Of interest are a set of notes regarding the computer analysis of sitters of John Singleton Copley. Included are detailed biographical forms for each sitter and lists of codes and cross references used for Prown's computer analysis. Topics of his notes and subject files include biographical information on Copley, technique and materials, specific works of art such as Watson and the Shark, and painting themes. Correspondence found throughout his research files usually discuss dates of paintings, attribution, and provenance. Photographs and related printed material are often included with correspondence.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 4 series. The original order of the donor was maintained.

Series 1: Research Material on John Singleton Copley, 1935-2010 (8.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-9, 0.004 GB; ER01)

Series 2: Research Material on Benjamin West, 1965-1990s (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 9-10, 12-14)

Series 3: Research Material on Other Artists, 1950s-2008 (0.4 linear feet; Box 9)

Series 4: Lectures, 1960s-2010 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 10-11)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1960-2000 (0.3 linear feet; Box 11)

Biographical / Historical:

Art historian Jules David Prown (1930- ) is a Paul Mellon Professor Emeritus of the History of Art at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. He is an authority on American art and material culture. Prown is a graduate of Lafayette College and the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1961 with a dissertation on John Singleton Copley. That year he joined the faculty of the Department of the History of Art at Yale University where he was also Curator of American Art at the University Art Gallery and the founding Director of the Yale Center for British Art. In 1966 he published the two-volume John Singleton Copley. While working on the publication he conducted an in-depth computer analysis of Copley's 240 American sitters. Prown retired from Yale in 1999.

Related Materials:

Jules David Prown papers, 1954-2018, is located at Yale University Archives.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Jules David Prown in 2003, 2010, 2014, and 2015.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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.

Occupation:

Art historians -- Connecticut  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Jules David Prown research material on artists, 1935-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.prowjule

See more items in:

Jules David Prown research material on artists

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-prowjule

Creator:

Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827  Search this

Names:

Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827  Search this

Extent:

1 Linear foot ((on 3 partial microfilm reel))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1765-1826

Scope and Contents:

Diaries and an exhibition announcement.

REEL 3899: 26 volumes of diaries including daily entries relating to family, business, travels, sittings, Peale's museum and other topics.

REEL D9: A handwritten announcement for the exhibition of Peale's "Christ at Bethesda," March 20, 1821.

REEL N86/20: A diary kept in Philadelphia and Annapolis, May 30, 1788- May 5, 1789. Peale writes about working on his drawing machine "for taking perspective views"; about people sitting for portraits; techniques in painting repairing pictures; travel conditions between Philadelphia and Annapolis; the operation of his Philadelphia museum; recipes for preserving birds and animals; business and travel expenses; experiment in making bifocals; social activities and acquaintances.

Biographical / Historical:

Painter, engraver, naturalist; Philadelphia, Pa.

Provenance:

Microfilm of 26 diaries (reel 3899) purchased in 1987 from the American Philosophical Society as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Material on reel D9 donated 1955-1962 by Charles E. Feinberg, an active donor and friend of AAA. Material on reel N68/20 lent for microfilming 1968 by Fordham University Library.

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:

Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Art, Modern -- 17th-18th centuries -- United States  Search this

Function:

Museums -- United States

Identifier:

AAA.pealchar2

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-pealchar2

Creator:

Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956  Search this

Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984  Search this

Names:

Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this

Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this

Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975  Search this

Brooks, James, 1906-1992  Search this

Burkhardt, Rudy  Search this

Cavaliere, Barbara  Search this

Davis, Bill  Search this

De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this

Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994  Search this

Eames, Ray  Search this

Forge, Andrew  Search this

Friedman, B. H. (Bernard Harper), 1926-  Search this

Glaser, Jane R.  Search this

Gray, Cleve  Search this

Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994  Search this

Gruen, John  Search this

Holmes, Doloris  Search this

Isaacs, Reginald R., 1911-  Search this

Janis, Sidney, 1896-1989  Search this

Johnson, Philip, 1906-2005  Search this

Kadish, Reuben, 1913-1992  Search this

Maddox, Charles  Search this

Matter, Mercedes  Search this

McCoy, Sanford, Mrs.  Search this

Miller, Daniel  Search this

Miller, Robert, 1932 Apr. 17-  Search this

Motherwell, Robert  Search this

Namuth, Hans  Search this

Ossorio, Alfonso, 1916-1990  Search this

Pollock, Charles C.  Search this

Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956 -- Photographs  Search this

Rose, Barbara  Search this

Rouche, Burton  Search this

Smith, Tony, 1912-  Search this

Still, Clyfford, 1904-  Search this

Valliere, James  Search this

Wasserman, Tamara E.  Search this

Wright, William  Search this

Zogbaum, Wilfrid, 1915-1965  Search this

Extent:

16.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion pictures (visual works)

Video recordings

Photographs

Interviews

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Transcripts

Date:

circa 1914-1984

bulk 1942-1984

Summary:

The papers of abstract expressionist painters Jackson Pollock and wife Lee Krasner measure 16.1 linear feet and date from circa 1914 to 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1942 to 1984. The collection documents their personal and professional lives, as well as the legacy of Jackson Pollock's work after his death. Found are biographical material, correspondence, writings by Krasner and others, research material, business and financial records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork by others, photographs, interview transcripts, audio and video recordings, and motion picture film.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of abstract expressionist painters Jackson Pollock and wife Lee Krasner measure 16.1 linear feet and date from circa 1914 to 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1942 to 1984. The collection documents their personal and professional lives, as well as the legacy of Jackson Pollock's work after his death. Found are biographical material, correspondence, writings by Krasner and others, research material, business and financial records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork by others, photographs, interview transcripts, audio and video recordings, and motion picture film.

The collection is divided into two series, the first of which focuses on Pollock and includes his scattered papers dating from circa 1914 to his death in 1956, as well as Krasner's papers dating from his death to 1984 about managing Pollock's legacy. This series includes biographical materials, including transcripts and audio recordings of an interview with William Wright in 1949; Pollock's and Krasner's correspondence with Thomas Hart Benton, Betty Parsons Gallery, Bill Davis, B. H. Friedman, Reginald Isaacs, Sidney Janis, Violet De Lazlo, Martha Jackson Gallery, Alfonso Ossorio, Tony Smith, and Clyfford Still, and with one another; Krasner's correspondence concerning Pollock's estate and artwork after his death; numerous writings about Pollock, including an original draft of Bryan Robertson's biography and an essay by Clement Greenberg.

James Valliere extensive research files on Pollock for a never-published biography were given to Krasner and filed in Series 1. These include scattered correspondence with Lee Krasner, and Pollock's family and friends, including Charles Pollock, Thomas Hart Benton, and Robert Motherwell. There are also transcripts of interviews Valliere conducted with Pollock's friends and colleagues, including James Brooks, Dorothy Dehner, Clement Greenberg, Reuben Kadish, Lee Krasner, Charles Maddox, Mrs. Sanford McCoy, Daniel T. Miller, Robert Miller, and Tony Smith. The original audio reels and duplicates exist for many and are filed here. Additional interviews were conducted with Willem de Kooning, Alfonso Ossorio, and Burton Rouche, but not transcribed - these are filed in Series 1.10, Audio Recordings and Motion Picture Film.

Also found in Series 1 are scattered business records documenting Krasner's handling of Pollock's estate and legacy; printed materials relating to Pollock, including published biographies, exhibition catalogs, and clippings; two scrapbooks; and a sketchbook by an unidentified artist. Numerous photographs of Pollock include childhood and family photographs, photographs of Pollock in his studio by Hans Namuth, Rudy Burckhardt, and Herbert Matter, photographs of Pollock with Lee Krasner, and exhibition photographs. Audio recordings and motion film in Series 1 include a 1964 16mm film about Pollock (VHS copies are available) and reel-to-reel recordings of untranscribed interviews of Pollock's friends and colleagues by James Valliere, including interviews with Willem de Kooning and Alfonso Ossorio. Additional transcribed interviews are filed in subseries 1.4.

Lee Krasner's papers documenting her own career are arranged in Series 2 and date from 1927-1984. Biographical materials include resumes and awards, school documents, family documentation, and exhibition lists. Her correspondence with artist friends and art colleagues is extensive and includes many letters from artists such as Philip Johnson, Ray Eames, Cleve Gray, and Hans Namuth. She also maintained correspondence with many art historians and critics, curators, gallery owners, collectors, arts-related and social organizations, admirers, and family members.

There are thirteen transcripts of interviews with Krasner by Bruce Glaser, Barbara Cavaliere, Andrew Forge, Emily Wasserman, Barbara Rose, and others. The original audio recordings for these transcripts are filed in series 2.10, along with other audio recordings for which there are no transcripts, including interviews by John Gruen, Delores Holmes, Mercedes Matter, the Martha Dean Radio Show, NBC Today Show, and WQXR radio. There are also audio recordings of Krasner's lectures in series 2.10.

Krasner's papers also include writings and reminiscences by Krasner; writings about Krasner; printed materials such as exhibition catalogs and clippings; and one scrapbook containing clippings and photographs. Numerous photographs are of Krasner, including portrait photographs taken by Hans Namuth; of Krasner with Jackson Pollock and family and friends, and of her exhibitions and artwork.

Users should note that Pollock's and Krasner's papers contain similar types of material that often overlap in subject matter, especially among the correspondence and photographs.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 2 series:

Series 1: Jackson Pollock papers and Lee Krasner papers about Jackson Pollock, circa 1914-1984 (Box 1-7, 16, OV 18, FC 19-22; 7.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Lee Krasner papers, circa 1927-1984 (Box 7-15, 17; 8.6 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Jackson Pollock was born in 1912, in Cody, Wyoming, the youngest of five sons. His family moved several times during his childhood, finally settling in Los Angeles. In 1930 he joined his older brother, Charles, in New York City, and studied with Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League of New York. Pollock worked during the 1930s for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. During 1936 he worked in artist David Alfaro Siqueiros's Experimental Workshop. In 1938 he began psychiatric treatment for alcoholism, and his artwork was greatly influenced by Jungian analysis and the exploration of unconscious symbolism.

In 1943 Pollock had his first one-man exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim's New York gallery, Art of this Century, and continued to exhibit there over the next several years. A major turning point in Pollock's life and art was in 1945 when he married fellow artist Lee Krasner and moved to East Hampton, Long Island. There he developed his mature painting style, and became famous for his abstract pouring technique on large canvases. The height of his creativity spanned from 1947 to 1952, and his work was promoted by art critic Clement Greenberg. Along with other abstract expressionists including Hans Hofmann, Alfonso Ossorio, and Barnett Newman, he joined the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1947. He had his most successful one-man show in 1950 which was widely publicized and praised. This exhibition, combined with a 1949 feature article in LIFE magazine, made Pollock an American celebrity.

In 1952 Pollock moved his work to Sidney Janis Gallery and returned to earlier motifs in a search for new breakthroughs. The last few years of his life he suffered from mental and physical health problems, and in August, 1956 he died in a car accident. His wife, Lee Krasner, oversaw his estate and worked with many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, on Pollock retrospective exhibitions.

Lee Krasner was born Lenore Krassner in 1908 in Brooklyn, New York to Russian immigrant parents. In 1926 she was admitted to the Women's Art School of The Cooper Union, and in 1928 she attended the Art Students League. After graduating from The Cooper Union in 1929, she attended the National Academy of Design until 1932. After briefly attending City College and Greenwich House, she worked for the Public Works of Art Project and the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, and finally became an assistant in 1935 on the WPA Federal Art Project, Mural Division. From 1937 to 1940 she studied at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts and began exhibiting with the American Abstract Artists group.

In 1942 Krasner met Pollock as they were both preparing to exhibit work in the same show. Although they married and she became immersed in his career, she continued to exhibit her own work with other abstract artists and from 1946 to 1949 worked on the Little Image painting series. In 1953 she began working on collages, a medium she would come back to again later in her career. After Pollock's death her work was greatly influence by her sadness and anger, creating a visible evolution of her style.

For the rest of her career, Krasner consistently exhibited her work in both group and solo exhibitions. She had her first retrospective at Whitechapel Gallery, London, in 1965, and in 1966, she joined Marlborough Gallery, New York which represented Pollock's work as well. In the 1970s and early 1980s Krasner won many awards for her achievement in the visual arts, including the Augustus St. Gaudens Medal and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She returned to the medium of collage, and in 1976 joined the Pace Gallery, New York. In 1981 she joined the Robert Miller Gallery, New York. Lee Krasner continued creating art until her death in 1984.

Related Material:

Found in the Archives of American Art are the Charles Pollock Papers, 1902-1990, which includes correspondence, photographs, and other files relating to his brother, Jackson Pollock. Other resources in the Archives are oral history interviews with Lee Krasner, including a series of interviews conducted by Dorothy Seckler between 1964 and 1968, and interviews conducted by Barbara Rose in 1966 and Doloris Holmes in 1972.

Provenance:

The papers of Jackson Pollock were donated in 1983 by Lee Krasner through Eugene V. Thaw shortly before her death. Additional material about Pollock and the papers of Lee Krasner were donated in 1985 by Eugene V. Thaw, executor of Lee Krasner's estate.

Restrictions:

The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.

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.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State)  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Genre/Form:

Motion pictures (visual works)

Video recordings

Photographs

Interviews

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Transcripts

Citation:

Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers, circa 1914-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.polljack

See more items in:

Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-polljack

Creator:

Munn, Charles Allen, 1859-1924  Search this

Names:

Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827  Search this

Trumbull, John, 1756-1843  Search this

West, Benjamin, 1738-1820  Search this

Extent:

70 Items ((on 1 microfilm reel))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1788-1917

Scope and Contents:

A diary of Charles Wilson Peale, 1788-1789; letters, an account book, 1816, and a letter book, 1809-1810, of John Trumbull; and a brief manuscript autobiography of Benjamin West.

Charles Wilson Peale papers include a diary kept in Philadelphia and Annapolis, May 30, 1788-May 5, 1789. In in Peale writes about: working on his drawing machine "for taking perspective views"; people sitting for portraits; techniques in painting; repairing pictures; travel conditions between Philadelphia and Annapolis; the operation of his Philadelphia museum; recipes for preserving birds and animals; business and travel expenses; experiment in making bifocals; social activities and acquaintances.

John Trumbull papers include: two unsigned letters, 1819; account with A. C. DePoggi, 1791-1794; correspondence with Houdon; letterbook, 1809-1810; account book containing inventory of prints, 1816; correspondence with Charles Wilkes and Asher B. Durand, 1819-1822; and corrected proof of original manuscript of a description of Trumbull's pictures.

The Benjamin West papers consist of an undated autobiography.

Biographical / Historical:

Art patron; New York, N.Y.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming 1968 by Fordham University Library.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Occupation:

Art patrons  Search this

Painters -- United States  Search this

Topic:

Painting  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.munnchar

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-munnchar

Creator:

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Names:

Dougal, William H., 1822-1895  Search this

Falconer, John Mackie, 1820-1903  Search this

Farrer, Henry, 1843-1903  Search this

Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900  Search this

Loring, Charles Greely, 1828-1902  Search this

Moran, Thomas, 1837-1926  Search this

Rowlands, Walter, b. 1855  Search this

Sewall, Henry F., 1816-1896  Search this

Shirlaw, Walter, 1838-1909  Search this

Smillie, James David, 1833-1909  Search this

Stuart, Frederick T., 1837-1913  Search this

Walker, Charles Alvah, 1848-1920  Search this

Extent:

79 Microfilm reels

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilm reels

Date:

1870-1973

Scope and Contents:

Correspondence, minutes, accession records, building records, and records of the Department of Prints and Drawings.

REELS 536-565: Archives of the Museum, 1875-1954, including: correspondence of the President, Gardiner M. Lane, 1910-1914 (8 letterpress books and 1,256 items); correspondence of the Director, Charles Greely Loring, 1876-1901 (6 vols. and 11,355 items); correspondence of the Assistant Director, Benjamin Ives Gilman, 1894-1902 (6 vols. and 272 items); minutes of the Board of Trustees, 1870-1954 (17 vols.); minutes of the Committee on the Museum, 1875-1954 (25 vols.); minutes of the Executive Committee, 1876-1946 (5 vols.); and Visiting Committee records, 1906-1949 (1 loose leaf binder).

REELS 584-587: Records of the Department of Prints and Drawings, including 2 vols. of correspondence, 1904-1915, 14 accession books, 1872-1946, and 14 record books. Record books include the following: The Sylvester Rosa Koehler Collection, 1893 (3 vols.); the Harvey D. Parker-Henry F. Sewell Collection, 1897-1900 (4 vols.); Objects Entering the Department of Prints and Drawings, 1935-1947; Prices of Prints, 1877-1885; Engravings and Photographs Purchased in Europe, 1886-1887; Visitors to the Gray Collection, 1872-1889; Vistors Register, 1890-1915; and a register of books.

REEL 588 (SEALED): Accession records, 1967-1973.

REELS 589-590: Accession records, 1870-1951.

REELS 2436-2496: Directors' correspondence, 1901-1954.

REELS 2493-2497: Building records, including: records of the Copley Square Building with correspondence, 1870-1901, reports, minutes of the Executive Committee, financial records, and a prospectus and subscription list for the William Morris Hunt Memorial Exhibition, 1879; records of the Huntington Avenue Building, with reports, correspondence and financial records related to its personnel, departments, collections, and competitions; and clippings.

REEL 2715: Papers of the print department, ca. 1841-1901, including: letters from Sylvester R. Koehler, curator of the print department, to Charles G. Loring, director of the museum; letters to Koehler concerning printmaking techniques from W. H. Dougal, John M. Falconer, Henry Farrar, Thomas Moran, Walter Rowlands, Walter Shirlaw, James David Smillie, Frederick T. Stuart and Charles A. Walker; a report by Koehler on the print department, January 10, 1888; correspondence regarding the acquisition of the Henry F. Sewall print collection; a handwritten catalog of the Sewall collection, ca. 1880, including printmaker, title, catalog number, collector's mark and value, 463 p.; notes by Koehler; and printed material.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming 1973-1983 by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

REEL 588: SEALED; no access.

Occupation:

Museum curators -- Massachusetts  Search this

Museum directors -- Massachusetts  Search this

Topic:

Prints -- Technique  Search this

Function:

Art museums -- Massachusetts -- Boston

Identifier:

AAA.musefabr

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-musefabr

Creator:

Page, William, 1811-1885  Search this

Names:

National Academy of Design (U.S.)  Search this

Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887  Search this

Beecher, Thomas Kinnicut, 1824-1900  Search this

Briggs, Charles F. (Charles Frederick), 1804-1877  Search this

Curtis, George William, 1824-1892  Search this

Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876  Search this

Fenton, Rueben  Search this

Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879  Search this

Hicks, Thomas, 1823-1890  Search this

Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891  Search this

O'Donovan, William Rudolph, 1844-1920  Search this

Olmstead, Bertha  Search this

Olmstead, Mary  Search this

Page, Sophia Stevens, 1827-1892  Search this

Page, William, 1811-1885  Search this

Perry, E. W. (Enoch Wood), 1831-1915  Search this

Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884  Search this

Scranton, William Walker  Search this

Shaw, Francis George, 1809-1882  Search this

Stark, William, 1825-1873  Search this

Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874  Search this

Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907  Search this

Wilmarth, Lemuel Everett, 1835-1918  Search this

Extent:

11.06 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Sketches

Poems

Drawings

Diaries

Date:

1815-1947

bulk 1843-1892

Summary:

The papers of the portraitist and art theorist William Page and the Page family measure 11.06 linear feet and date from 1815 to 1947, bulk 1843-1892. In addition to the papers of William Page, the papers include documents related to Page's wife's career as a writer and records documenting their personal lives and the lives of their family members. Types of documents found include personal documents and artifacts, correspondence, essays, lectures, diaries, poems, notes and notebooks, financial records, legal records, published works, clippings, catalogs, photographs, and artwork.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of the painter William Page and the Page family measure 11.06 linear feet and date from 1815 to 1947, with the bulk of papers dating from 1843 to 1892. Papers contain records related to the life and career of William Page, president of the National Academy of Design from 1871 to 1873 and prominent portraitist and art theorist of his day. Also found are records related to his wife's career as a writer and records documenting their personal lives and the lives of their family members. Types of documents found include personal documents and artifacts, correspondence, essays, lectures, diaries, poems, notes and notebooks, financial records, legal records, published works, clippings, catalogs, photographs, and artwork.

Correspondence includes the personal and professional correspondence of William and Sophia Page, and their parents, siblings, and children. Significant correspondents include Thomas Hicks, Enoch Wood Perry, William Stark, Theodore Tilton, Lemuel Wilmarth, Wendell Phillips, William Walker Scranton, Francis G. Shaw; James Russell Lowell, Charles Frederick Briggs, George W. Curtis, Charlotte Cushman, Thomas K. Beecher, Mary Olmsted, and Bertha Olmsted.

Writings include the essays and lectures of William Page, as written by him and revised by Sophia Page in the late 1870s, as well as Sophia's writings as a columnist in Europe in the 1850s. Notes, notebooks, diaries, and poems are also found. Personal Business Records include business records related to the sale and exhibition of artwork as well as financial and legal documents. A small number of memoranda and documents related to Page's work at the National Academy of Design are also found. Printed Materials include exhibition catalogs, published works by William and Sophia Page, and clippings and articles about Page.

Photographs consist mainly of portraits, most of them mounted cabinet photographs or cartes-des-visites, some of which appear to have been used as studies for Page's painted portraits. Among those pictured are William Page, James Russell Lowell, Henry Ward Beecher, Reuben Fenton, Wendell Phillips, Charles Sumner, William R. O'Donovan, and William Lloyd Garrison. Many of the photographic portraits are unidentified. Artwork includes sketches, drawings, prints, and a small number of notes made by Page in the course of painting portraits.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 7 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Series 1: Biographical Materials and Artifacts, 1847-1917 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1815-1942 (Boxes 1-4, 9-10; 3.2 linear feet)

Series 3: Notes and Writings, 1839-1888, 1949 (Boxes 4-5, OV 10; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1848-1932 (Boxes 5 and 9; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1845-1938 (Boxes 5-7, 9, OV 11; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, 1845-1947 (Boxes 7-9, OV 12, MGP 5-6; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, 1856-1874 (Box 8, OV 13-16, rolled documents 17-19; 0.6 linear feet and 3 rolled documents)

Biographical Note:

The painter William Page was born in 1811 in Albany, NY. He attended public schools in New York City, and after working briefly in the law firm of Frederick de Peyster, was placed in the studio of the painter/engraver James Herring in 1825, where he received his first formal art training. He took classes at the National Academy of Design the year it was formed, in 1826, under Samuel F.B. Morse, and in 1827 he was awarded one of the National Academy's first annual student prizes.

Page joined the Presbyterian church and attended Phillips Academy and Amherst with the intention of becoming a minister, but his artistic ability won out, and by 1830 he was painting commissioned portraits in Albany, Rochester, and New York. He married Lavinia Twibill in 1833, and they had three daughters between 1834 and 1839. He joined the American Academy and served on its board of directors in 1835. He exhibited at the American Academy, the National Academy of Design, the Boston Athenaeum, and other venues throughout the 1830s. Favorable reviews brought steady portrait commissions, including John Quincy Adams and the New York governor William L. Marcy. He was made a full member of the National Academy in 1837.

In the 1840s, Page's reputation and maturity as a painter grew. His first wife left him around 1840, and in 1843 he married Sarah Dougherty. The couple moved to Albany, Boston, and back to New York seeking portrait commissions and patronage. He became friends with the poet James Russell Lowell and the writer and publisher Charles Frederick Briggs, two writers and editors who helped to promote his artwork in Boston and New York and published his theoretical writings. In 1844, Lowell dedicated his first published book of poetry to Page, and the following year, Briggs published a series of articles by Page in the Broadway Journal, entitled "The Art of the Use of Color in Imitation in Painting." The series described Page's arduous experiments with color and glazes, and his ideas about correspondences between spirituality and the natural world as expressed in art.

In 1850, Page traveled to Florence, Italy, where he painted several copies of the works of Titian in the galleries of the Uffizi and Pitti palaces, studying his use of color and further developing his own experimental techniques. He became friends with the sculptor Hiram Powers, who introduced him to the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg, a Christian metaphysician whose ideas fueled Page's interest in the spiritual aspects of art. In 1852, Page moved to Rome, a city with an international artists' community and a strong market for art. Page found a loyal following in Rome's large circle of American ex-patriates, including the sculptors Thomas Crawford and Harriet Hosmer, the actress Charlotte Cushman, and the poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, all of whom sat for portraits by Page.

In 1854, Page's second wife left him amidst public scandal, and he sank deep in debt to his bankers at Packenham and Hooker, an English firm that by 1856 had a lien on all the paintings in his studio. That same year Page met Sophia Stevens Hitchcock, an American widow traveling in Rome with Bertha Olmsted, Frederick Law Olmsted's sister. Hitchcock was from Barnet, Vermont and came to Europe after her first husband died in 1852 after only a year of marriage. She traveled to England and Paris, where she wrote regular columns on local customs and events for the New York Tribune that were published under the by-line "An American Woman in Paris." She and Page met in Rome in 1856, and in October 1857, after Page traveled back the United States to obtain a divorce from Sarah Dougherty, he and Sophia married.

The couple stayed in Rome until 1860. His wife's three brothers, all businessmen, helped to promote his artwork in Europe and America. Page's paintings of this period include several Venus subjects, one of which was championed by his most loyal patrons, who raised $3000 by subscription to buy the painting for the Boston Athenaeum. A later Venus painting was rejected from the Paris salon for indecency, a controversy that was later leveraged for publicity in a touring exhibition in the United States.

The Pages returned to the United States in 1860 and settled in Tottenville, New York. They had six children between 1858 and 1870. Page had a studio at Eagleswood, NJ, and later in the Studio Building on 10th Street in Manhattan, where he held a large exhibition in 1867. In the 1860s, he painted a self-portrait and a companion portrait of Sophia set in Rome, as well as a series of civil war heroes including Robert Gould Shaw, Winfield Scott, and David Farragut. Photographs played a consistent part in Page's technique of portraiture, and he is known to have worked with the photographer Matthew Brady, who attended art classes early on with Page, as well as the photographers Sarony and Charles Williamson, who taught classes on drawing from enlarged photo-transparencies. Brady photographs taken for Page include David Farragut and Reuben Fenton.

Page lectured frequently on Titian and Venetian art, a subject in which he was considered an expert, and on painting technique and his philosophical ideas about nature, art, and spirituality. In 1871, Page was elected the president of the National Academy of Design, a post he held until 1873, but his poor health following a collapse in 1872 limited his accomplishments in office. Despite these limitations, he continued to paint, including portraits of General Grant, an idealized portrait of the president based on early photographs and Charles Sumner. He also became interested in portraiture of William Shakespeare around this time, and his studies resulted in a book, Shakespeare's Portraits, a bust based on existing portraiture, and a full-length portrait entitled "Shakespeare Reading," based on Page's measurements of a supposed death mask in Darmstadt, Germany, which he went to inspect against the advice of his doctor in 1874.

In 1877, another collapse left Page incapacitated for the remainder of his life. Sophia Page tried editing and publishing his writings and lectures, but with little success. Page died in 1885. A life marked by personal scandal ended the same, when two of his daughters from his first marriage contested his will, tying up his estate in a lengthy and public probate trial. Their suit was dismissed in 1889, and Sophia Page died in 1892.

This biography relies heavily on Joshua Taylor's William Page: The American Titian (1957).

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds materials lent for microfilming (reel 1091) including letters from Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, Lydia Maria Child, Charlotte Cushman, James Russell Lowell, Charles A. Dana, and others. Lent material was returned to the donor and is This material is not described in the container listing of this finding aid.

Provenance:

A portion of the collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Mrs. Lesslie S. (Pauline Page) Howell, William Page's grandaughter, in 1963. William S. Page, Pauline Page Howell's nephew, donated additional papers in 1964 and 1973. Pauline Page Howell and William S. Page also loaned a group of letters to the Archives in 1964 which were microfilmed on reel 1091 and then returned to the donors. Mrs. Howell's son, William Page Howell, donated material in 1980.

Letters of Charles F. Briggs to James Russell Lowell (Series 2.2) were a part of Pauline Page Howell's 1963 donation to the Archives of American Art. They had been given to Mrs. Howell by Charlotte Briggs, daughter of Charles F. Briggs, because of her father's lifelong friendship with William Page. Letters from Lowell to Briggs are in the James Russell Lowell papers in Houghton Library at Harvard University.

Restrictions:

The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.

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.

Topic:

Works of art  Search this

Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Portrait painting -- 19th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Sketches

Poems

Drawings

Diaries

Citation:

William Page and Page Family papers, 1815-1947, bulk 1843-1892. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.pagewill

See more items in:

William Page and Page Family papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-pagewill

Interviewee:

McDarrah, Fred W., 1926-2007  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul  Search this

Names:

Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Littlefield, William Horace, 1902-1969  Search this

Nelson, Cyril I.  Search this

Pavia, Philip, 1915-2005  Search this

Extent:

75 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1971 June 15-July 15

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Fred McDarrah conducted 1971 June 15-July 15, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.

McDarrah speaks of his early family life and extreme poverty during the Depression period in Brooklyn; family influence; his first photographic efforts in the 1930s; his U.S. Army service; going to photography school at New York University; life in Greenwich Village in the 1940s and 1950s; his involvement with rock and roll music; getting his work into publications; the comparison between the "hippie" and the "beat" cultures; working as a photojournalist for Village Voice; his techniques and equipment; experiences covering public events; his philosophy on photography and its uses. He recalls Bill Littlefield, Philip Pavia, Cyril Nelson, and The Club.

Biographical / Historical:

Fred McDarrah (1926-2007) was a photographer from New York, N.Y.

General:

Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hrs., 25 min.

Provenance:

These interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.

Topic:

Photography -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Identifier:

AAA.mcdarr71

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-mcdarr71

Creator:

Taylor, Prentiss, 1907-1991  Search this

Names:

American University (Washington, D.C.). Fine Arts Dept. -- Faculty  Search this

Golden Stair Press  Search this

Society of Washington Printmakers (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Field, Rachel, 1894-1942  Search this

Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967  Search this

Hurston, Zora Neale  Search this

Kahlo, Frida  Search this

Landeck, Armin, 1905-  Search this

O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953  Search this

Pinckney, Josephine, 1895-1957  Search this

Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957  Search this

Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976  Search this

Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949  Search this

Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946  Search this

Toklas, Alice B.  Search this

Van Doren, Mark, 1894-1972  Search this

Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964  Search this

Extent:

20.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Drawings

Writings

Sketchbooks

Prints

Sound recordings

Date:

1885-1991

Summary:

The collection measures 20.4 linear feet, dates from 1885 to 1991 (bulk dates 1908-1986) and documents the career of Harlem Renaissance lithographer, teacher, and painter Prentiss Taylor. The collection consists primarily of subject/correspondence files (circa 16 ft.), reflecting Prentiss' career as a lithographer and painter, his association with figures prominent in the Harlem Renaissance, notably Carl Van Vechten and Langston Hughes, his activities as president of the Society of Washington Printmakers and other art organizations, his work in art therapy treating mental illness, and his teaching position at American University. The subject files contain mostly correspondence, but many include photographs and printed material. Also included are biographical, financial, legal and printed material; several hundred photographs; notes and writings; sketchbooks, drawings and a few prints by Taylor; and scrapbooks dating from 1885-1956.

Scope and Content Note:

The collection measures 20.4 linear feet, dates from 1885 to 1991 (bulk dates 1908-1986) and documents the career of Harlem Renaissance lithographer, teacher, and painter Prentiss Taylor. The collection consists primarily of subject/correspondence files (circa 16 ft.), reflecting Prentiss' career as a lithographer and painter, his association with figures prominent in the Harlem Renaissance, notably Carl Van Vechten and Langston Hughes, his activities as president of the Society of Washington Printmakers and other art organizations, his work in art therapy treating mental illness, and his teaching position at American University. The subject files contain mostly correspondence, but many include photographs and printed material. Also included are biographical, financial, legal and printed material; several hundred photographs; notes and writings; sketchbooks, drawings and a few prints by Taylor; and scrapbooks dating from 1885-1956.

The Langston Hughes files contain photocopies of letters from Hughes, greeting cards, ten original photographs of Hughes, and an autographed card printed with Hughes' poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers. In addition, there is a contract between Hughes and Taylor, witnessed by Carl Van Vechten, forming the Golden Stair Press, through which many of Hughes' poems were printed with illustrations by Taylor. A rare edition of their first publication, The Negro Mother, is found here. Also found in this file is a 1932 final copy of Scottsboro Limited, another collaborative effort between Taylor and Hughes that focused on a case where nine black youths were falsely accused of raping two white women. The collection contains extensive correspondence about Taylor's lithograph of the same title and the printing of the publication. Other rare Harlem Renaissance publications found within Taylor's papers include Golden Stair Broadsides, Opportunity Journal of Negro Life, The Rebel Poet, and Eight Who Lie in the Death House, several of which were also illustrated by Taylor.

Prentiss Taylor's long association with Langston Hughes and other figures of the Harlem Renaissance stemmed from his early friendship with Carl Van Vechten. Taylor's papers contain correspondence with Van Vechten, autographed copies of Van Vechten's booklets, and numerous photographs of notable Harlem Renaissance figures, many taken by Van Vechten, including Zora Neale Hurston, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Eugene O'Neill, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Paul Robeson, and many others. Also found are period photographs of Charleston, South Carolina and Harlem street scenes.

95 letters from Rachel Field, 75 letters from Langston Hughes, 3 letters from Armin Landeck, 46 letters from Josephine Pinckney, 1 letter from Gertrude Stein, 7 letters from Alice B. Toklas, 1 postcard from Mark Van Doren, and 25 letters from Carl Van Vechten are photocopies. Originals of the Hughes and Toklas letters are located at the Yale University Library. Location of the remaining original letters are unknown.

The Prentiss Taylor papers offer researchers insight into the rich cultural documentation of the Harlem Renaissance and the development of twentieth-century printmaking as an American fine art.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into ten series. The largest series housing Subject Files is arranged alphabetically, primarily by name of correspondent, maintaining Taylor's original arrangement. The remaining series are arranged in chronological order. Oversized material from various series has been housed in Box 21 (Sol) and OV 22 and is noted in the Series Description/Container Listing Section at the appropriate folder title with see also/see references.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1918-1985, undated (Box 1; 6 folders)

Series 2: Miscellaneous Receipts, 1929-1986, undated (Box 1; 11 folders)

Series 3: Insurance Records, 1960-1976 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 4: Notes, 1921-1984, undated (Box 1; 18 folders)

Series 5: Writings, 1924-1971, undated (Box 1-2; 51 folders)

Series 6: Art Work, 1916-1975, undated (Box 2; 14 folders)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1885-1956 (Box 2, 21; 10 folders)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1914-1990, undated (Box 2-3, 21; 29 folders)

Series 9: Photographs, 1908-1984, undated (Box 3, 21; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 10: Subject Files, 1885-1991, undated (Box 3-21, OV 22; 18.0 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Prentiss Taylor was born in 1907 at the Washington, D. C. residence of his maternal grandmother, his birth assisted by his grandmother's cook, affectionately known as Cookie Belle.

In the 1920s, Taylor studied painting with Charles W. Hawthorne in Provincetown, but turned to lithography in the late 1920s to early 1930s during his enrollment at the Art Students League in New York City. He received further training in that medium at the George C. Miller workshop in New York. During this period, he also designed costumes for the American-Oriental Revue. Taylor worked primarily in the printmaking medium for the rest of his life, experimenting with various techniques and compositions and ultimately achieving a status as one this country's great lithographers. Taylor depicted mostly realistic and narrative scenes of subjects and themes that reflected his personal interests in music, architecture, religion and social justice.

During his time in New York, Taylor developed close friendships with poet Langston Hughes and writer Carl Van Vechten. He collaborated with Hughes in the formation of the Golden Stair Press to produce publications reflecting the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. Taylor created a number of prints and illustration for the press and its publications.

After returning to Washington, D.C., Taylor's work was included in exhibitions at the Corcoran Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. He was represented by the Franz Bader Gallery in Washington, D.C., and by the Bethesda Art Gallery in Maryland. In 1942, Taylor was elected President of the Society of Washington Printmakers, a position he held for thirty-four years. He also worked as an art therapist for more than thirty years and taught oil painting at American University from 1955-1975.

Prentiss Taylor died October 7, 1991 in Washington, D.C.

Related Material:

Prentiss Taylor papers are also located at the Yale University Library.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 1392) including three notebooks detailing Taylor's lithographs, a gift and sales notebook, a guestbook, exhibition announcements, and a brochure. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

Prentiss Taylor lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming in 1978. Papers were donated in 1978 and 1984 by Taylor, and in 1992 and 2004 by his companion, Roderick S. Quiroz, for the estate of Prentiss Taylor.

Restrictions:

The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.

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.

Occupation:

Art teachers -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Painters -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Topic:

Lithography -- 20th century -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Lithographers -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Art therapy  Search this

Harlem Renaissance  Search this

Printmakers -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Drawings

Writings

Sketchbooks

Prints

Sound recordings

Citation:

Prentiss Taylor papers, 1885-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the conservation of Prentiss Taylor's photograph album, 1929-1939, was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.taylpren

See more items in:

Prentiss Taylor papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-taylpren