Search Results

Creator:

Moran, Thomas, 1837-1926  Search this

Topic:

Painting, American  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)10042

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212877

AAA_collcode_morathop

Theme:

Diaries

Lives of American Artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212877

Creator:

Opper, John, 1908-1994  Search this

Subject:

Grace Borgenicht Gallery  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Drawings

Topic:

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

Painting, Abstract  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Artists' studios  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)16089

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)361492

AAA_collcode_oppejohn

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_361492

Creator:

Langlais, Bernard, 1921-1977  Search this

Type:

Video recordings

Drawings

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7856

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210023

AAA_collcode_langbern

Theme:

Lives of American Artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210023

Creator:

Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953  Search this

Type:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Asian American art  Search this

Asian American artists  Search this

Political clubs  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans  Search this

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

Japanese American art  Search this

Japanese American artists  Search this

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

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

Asian American painters  Search this

Japanese American painting  Search this

Asian American printmakers  Search this

Japanese American printmakers  Search this

Asian American photographers  Search this

Japanese American photographers  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9175

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211370

AAA_collcode_kuniyasu

Theme:

Asian American

Sketches & Sketchbooks

Lives of American Artists

Photography

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211370

Creator:

Kingman, Dong, 1911-2000  Search this

Andersen, Irene Poon  Search this

Subject:

Andersen, Stanley  Search this

Mills College  Search this

San Diego Museum of Art  Search this

United States  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Art and motion pictures  Search this

Asian American art  Search this

Asian American artists -- Interviews  Search this

Chinese American artists -- Interviews  Search this

Chinese American art  Search this

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

Artists -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area -- Interviews  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)11545

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216626

AAA_collcode_kingdong2

Theme:

Asian American

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216626

Creator:

Kanemitsu, Matsumi, 1922-1992  Search this

Topic:

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Asian American art  Search this

Asian American artists  Search this

Japanese American art  Search this

Japanese American artists  Search this

Asian American painters  Search this

Japanese American painters  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6482

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215669

AAA_collcode_kanemats

Theme:

Asian American

Lives of American Artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_215669

Creator:

Ikegawa, Shiro, 1933-  Search this

Topic:

Japanese Americans  Search this

Asian American art  Search this

Asian American artists  Search this

Japanese American art  Search this

Japanese American artists  Search this

Asian American women painters  Search this

Japanese American painters  Search this

Asian American printmakers  Search this

Japanese American printmakers  Search this

Asian American performance artists  Search this

Japanese American performance artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6025

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)236019

AAA_collcode_ikegshir

Theme:

Lives of American Artists

Asian American

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_236019

Creator:

Coffin, William A. (William Anderson), 1855-1925  Search this

Subject:

Stella, Joseph  Search this

Warren, Whitney  Search this

Mauer, Alfred  Search this

Benson, Frank Weston  Search this

Blashfield, Edwin Howland  Search this

Zorach, William  Search this

Gay, Walter  Search this

Gussow, Bernard  Search this

Bouché, Louis  Search this

Cortissoz, Royal  Search this

Pan-American Exposition  Search this

Société des artistes français  Search this

Exposition d'artistes de l'école Américaine  Search this

American Rights Committee  Search this

American Artists' Committee of One Hundred  Search this

Lotos Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Musée d'histoire et d'art (Luxembourg)  Search this

Committee for the Exhibition of American Painting and Sculpture (Paris, France)  Search this

Type:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Topic:

Harper's Weekly  Search this

New York Post  Search this

Art Exhibitions France Paris  Search this

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

Art, American  Search this

World War, 1914-1918 -- Civilian relief -- France  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7476

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209634

AAA_collcode_coffwill

Theme:

Lives of American Artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209634

Printer:

MacCormack, Forrest (intern)  Search this

Talman, Hugh (photographer)  Search this

Photographer:

Smillie, T. W. (Thomas William), 1843-1917  Search this

Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952  Search this

Collector:

Domestic Life, Division of (NMAH, SI).  Search this

Domestic Life, Division of (NMAH, SI).  Search this

Names:

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) -- Photographs  Search this

Extent:

2 Cubic feet (7 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Contact prints

Place:

White House (Washington, D.C.)

Washington (D.C.) -- 1890-1900

Chicago Ill. -- 1890-1900

Date:

1993 - 1993

circa 1888-1899, 1906

Summary:

Twenty glass plate negatives and reference copy prints of the images taken between the late 1880s and the early 1900s by Frances Benjamin Johnston and Thomas W. Smillie. The images depict the skyline of Washington D.C., views from the 1893 World's Fair: Columbian Exposition, blueprints for the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, and an unidentified orchestra.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of twenty glass plate negatives and associated reference copy prints depicting scenes from the 1893 World's Fair: Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois as well as images of the Washington D.C. skyline dating from between 1888 and 1899. The glass plate negatives range in size from 17" x 20" to 20" x 24" while the silver gelatin, resin-coated paper prints are all 20" x 24". All the images are black and white.

Series 1, Glass Plate Negatives, 1893, 1906, circa 1888-1899, is arranged by a numbering system, possibly assigned by the Smithsonian Office of Printing and Photographic Services (OPPS). The numbers were etched or written on the negatives, for example 3107. The series begins with the numbered images from Washington DC (#3101-#3107), followed by images without identifying numbers. The numbered images from the 1893 Columbian Exposition (non-inclusive #11302-11359) come next, followed by the images without identifying numbers.

The images of Washington D.C., when arranged in the following sequence, form a panorama of the Washington D.C. city: #3103, #3107, #3104, #3101, #3106, #3105, #3102. The images were taken from the tower of the Smithsonian Castle facing north, beginning with a view of the United States Capitol Building in the east (#3102) and ending with a view of the incomplete Washington Monument in the west (#3103). An unnumbered image of the United States Capitol taken after 1899 from the tower of the Old Post Office and Clock Tower looking down Pennsylvania Avenue is included. Two unnumbered blueprints dated July 19, 1906 show the second and third floor layouts of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building.

The images of the 1893 World's Fair: Columbian Exposition show various buildings built for the event as well as a replica of the Battleship Illinois which was constructed to illustrate advances in naval technology. Exterior views of the Administration Building, Government Building, Palace of Fine Arts, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building as well as an interior view of the World's Fair Post Office in the Government Building are found among the negatives. A number of the images appear to have been taken from atop some of the buildings looking down.

One unnumbered and unidentified picture of a musical orchestra sitting on stage is included at the end of the series.

Series 2, Copy prints, 1993, include duplicate or, in some instances triplicate, photographic copy prints of the images from the glass plate negatives. In the case of #11311 and #11359, no copy prints exist. The silver gelatin prints on resin-coated paper were created in the fall of 1993.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in two series.

Series 1: Glass Plate Negatives, 1893, 1906, circa 1888-1899

Series 2: Copy prints (reference copies), 1993

Biographical / Historical:

While the origin and provenance of some of the glass plate negatives is uncertain, it is likely that the images were created by Smithsonian photographer and curator Thomas W. Smillie and by Frances Benjamin Johnston, a prominent female photographer who was a protege of Smillie's.

Thomas W. Smillie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1843 and emigrated to the United States when he was five years old. He attended Georgetown University, where he studied medicine and chemistry. Shortly thereafter he became a photographer for the Smithsonian and remained with the institution until his death in 1917. In 1896 he was named "custodian" of photography for the Institution, in essence becoming its first photography curator. He staged photographic exhibits and actively collected both images and equipment related to photography.

Frances Benjamin Johnston was an early pioneer for women in the field of photography and photojournalism. Born in 1864 in Grafton, West Virginia, Johnston studied art in Maryland and later at the Académie Julien in Paris. Her high-profile family connection with the Eastman family as well as her insatiable appetite for knowledge about photographic processes quickly propelled her to a formidable professional career. Her work appeared in publications such as The Ladies' Home Journal, Harper's Weekly, and Cosmopolitan, among others. As an apprentice to Thomas W. Smillie, Johnston was engaged to photograph the 1893 World's Fair: Columbian Exposition in Chicago. She made Washington D.C. her home and had the opportunity to photograph a large number of high profile individuals and government officials, including five United States presidents. Her photography often documented mundane and commonplace aspects of life rather than spectacular or prominent ones. Later in her career she focused her photography on colonial architecture, with images of houses, barns, and other buildings that intentionally showed everyday life in the United States South rather than high profile structures which had already been well-documented. She moved to New Orleans in 1940 and died in 1952.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Records, circa 1883-1984 (SIA RU000529)

Field Research Photographs, circa 1909-1924 (SIA Acc. 02-086)

Personnel Records, 1892-1952 (SIA Acc. 05-123)

Collected Registers, 1908-1912 and undated (SIA Acc. 06-138)

National Anthropological Archives

Glass Negatives of Indians (Collected by Bureau of American Ethnology)

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Reference photograph copies should be used where possible. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special care is required when handling the glass plate negatives both because of their large size and because some of the negatives are broken.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 1890-1900

Contact prints -- 1950-2000

Citation:

Frances Benjamin Johnston and Thomas W. Smillie Glass Plate Negatives, 1888-1906, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0416

See more items in:

Frances Benjamin Johnston and Thomas W. Smillie Glass Plate Negatives

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0416

Collector:

Musical History, Division of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

Musical History, Division of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

Creator:

Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this

Names:

Duke Ellington Orchestra  Search this

Washingtonians, The.  Search this

Ellington, Mercer Kennedy, 1919-1996 (musician)  Search this

Strayhorn, Billy (William Thomas), 1915-1967  Search this

Extent:

400 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Phonograph records

Papers

Photographic prints

Posters

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Music

Clippings

Awards

Audiotapes

Place:

New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century

Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century

Washington (D.C.) -- 20th century

Date:

1903 - 1989

Summary:

The collection documents Duke Ellington's career primarily through orchestrations (scores and parts), music manuscripts, lead sheets, transcriptions, and sheet music. It also includes concert posters, concert programs, television, radio, motion picture and musical theater scripts, business records, correspondence, awards, as well as audiotapes, audiodiscs, photographs, tour itineraries, newspaper clippings, magazines, caricatures, paintings, and scrapbooks.

Scope and Contents:

Dating approximately from the time Duke Ellington permanently moved to New York City in 1923 to the time the material was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1988, the bulk of the material in the Duke Ellington Collection is dated from 1934-1974 and comprises sound recordings, original music manuscripts and published sheet music, hand-written notes, correspondence, business records, photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, concert programs, posters, pamphlets, books and other ephemera. These materials document Ellington's contributions as composer, musician, orchestra leader, and an ambassador of American music and culture abroad. In addition, the materials paint a picture of the life of a big band maintained for fifty years and open a unique window through which to view an evolving American society.

The approximate four hundred cubic feet of archival materials have been processed and organized into sixteen series arranged by type of material. Several of the series have been divided into subseries allowing additional organization to describe the content of the material. For example, Series 6, Sound Recordings, is divided into four subseries: Radio and Television Interviews, Concert Performances, Studio Dates and Non-Ellington Recordings. Each series has its own scope and content note describing the material and arrangement (for example; Series 10, Magazines and Newspaper Articles, is organized into two groups, foreign and domestic, and arranged chronologically within each group). A container list provides folder titles and box numbers.

The bulk of the material is located in Series 1, Music Manuscripts, and consists of compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and other composers. Series 6, Sound Recordings also provides a record of the performance of many of these compositions. The materials in Series 2, Performances and Programs, Series 3, Business Records, Series 8, Scrapbooks, Series 9, Newspaper Clippings, Series 11, Publicity and Series 12, Posters provide documentation of specific performances by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Ellington was a spontaneous and prolific composer as evidenced by music, lyrical thoughts, and themes for extended works and plays captured on letterhead stationery in Series 3, Business Records, in the margin notes of individual books and pamphlets in Series 14, Religious Materials and Series 15, Books, and in the hand-written notes in Series 5, Personal Correspondence and Notes.

During its fifty-year lifespan, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra were billed under various names including The Washingtonians, The Harlem Footwarmers and The Jungle Band. The soloists were informally called "the band", and Series 3 includes salary statements, IOU's, receipts and ephemera relating to individual band members. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains the soloists' parts and includes "band books" of several soloists (for example; Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges) and numerous music manuscripts of Billy Strayhorn. The changing role of Strayhorn from arranger hired in 1938 to Ellington's main collaborator and composer of many well-known titles for Duke Ellington and His Orchestra including "Take The A' Train" and "Satin Doll" can be traced in these music manuscripts. Series 7, Photographs and Series 2, Performances and Programs contain many images of the band members and Strayhorn. This Collection also documents the business history of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 3, Business Records contains correspondence on letterhead stationery and Series 11, Publicity contains promotional material from the various booking agencies, professional companies, and public relations firms that managed the Orchestra.

The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection provide insight into public and institutional attitudes towards African Americans in mid-twentieth-century America. The business records in Series 3 beginning in 1938 and published sheet music in Series 1 depict Duke Ellington's progression from an African-American musician who needed "legitimization" by a white publisher, Irving Mills, to a businessmen who established his own companies including Tempo Music and Duke Ellington, Incorporated to control his copyright and financial affairs. Programs from the segregated Cotton Club in Series 2, Performances And Programs and contracts with no-segregation clauses in Series 3: Business Records further illustrate racial policies and practices in this time period. The public shift in perception of Duke Ellington from a leader of an exotic "Jungle Band" in the 1930s to a recipient of the Congressional Medal Of Freedom in 1970 is evidenced in Series 2, Performances And Programs, Series 12, Posters, Series 7, Photographs and Series 13, Awards. Reviews and articles reflecting Ellington's evolving status are also documented in Series 8, Newspaper Clippings, Series 9, Scrapbooks, Series 10, Newspaper and Magazine Articles.

The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection reflect rapid technological changes in American society from 1923-1982. Sound recordings in Series 6 range from 78 phonograph records of three minutes duration manufactured for play on Victrolas in monaural sound to long-playing (LP) phonograph records produced for stereo record players. Television scripts in Series 4, programs in Series 2 and music manuscripts (for example, Drum Is A Woman) in Series 1 demonstrate how the development of television as a means of mass communication spread the Orchestra's sound to a wider audience. The availability of commercial air travel enabled the Ellington Orchestra to extend their international performances from Europe to other continents including tours to Asia, Africa, South America and Australia and archival material from these tours is included in every series.

Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts and Series 6, Audio Recordings contain scripts and radio performances promoting the sale of United States War bonds during World War II, and Series 7, Photographs includes many images of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra's performances for military personnel revealing the impact of historic events on Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 2: Programs and Performances, Series 9, Newspaper clippings and Series 8, Scrapbooks document the 1963 Far East tour aborted as a result of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The Duke Ellington Collection contains works by numerous twentieth-century music, literature, and art luminaries. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains original music manuscripts of William Grant Still, Eubie Blake, Mary Lou Williams, and others. Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts contains a play by Langston Hughes, and Series 12, Posters contains many original artworks.

Arrangement:

Series 1: Music Manuscripts, circa 1930-1981, undated

Series 2: Performances and Programs, 1933-1973, undated

Series 3: Business Records, 1938-1988

Series 4: Scripts and Transcripts, 1937-1970

Series 5: Personal Correspondence and Notes, 1941-1974, undated

Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1927-1974

Series 7: Photographs, 1924-1972, undated

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1931-1973

Series 9: Newspaper Clippings, 1939-1973, undated

Series 10: Magazine Articles and Newspaper Clippings, 1940-1974

Series 11: Publicity, 1935-1988

Series 12: Posters and Oversize Graphics, 1933-1989, undated

Series 13: Awards, 1939-1982

Series 14: Religious Material, 1928-1974

Series 15: Books, 1903-1980

Series 16: Miscellaneous, 1940-1974

Biographical / Historical:

A native of Washington, DC, Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April 29, 1899. Edward was raised in a middle-class home in the Northwest section of Washington described by his sister Ruth--younger by sixteen years--as a "house full of love." Ellington himself wrote that his father J.E. (James Edward) raised his family "as though he were a millionaire" but Edward was especially devoted to his mother, Daisy Kennedy Ellington. In 1969, thirty-four years after his mother's death, Ellington accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom with these words, "There is nowhere else I would rather be tonight but in my mother's arms." Both his parents played the piano and Ellington began piano lessons at the age of seven, but like many boys he was easily distracted by baseball.

In his early teens, Ellington sneaked into Washington clubs and performance halls where he was exposed to ragtime musicians, including James P. Johnson, and where he met people from all walks of life. He returned in earnest to his piano studies, and at age fourteen wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" also known as "Poodle Dog Rag." Ellington was earning income from playing music at seventeen years of age, and around this time he earned the sobriquet "Duke" for his sartorial splendor and regal air. On July 2, 1918, he married a high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson; their only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, was born on March 11, 1919. Duke Ellington spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Washington's culturally thriving Negro community. In this vibrant atmosphere he was inspired to be a composer and learned to take pride in his African-American heritage.

Ellington moved to New York City in 1923 to join and eventually lead a small group of transplanted Washington musicians called "The Washingtonians," which included future Ellington band members, Sonny Greer, Otto Hardwicke and "Bubber" Miley. Between 1923 and 1927, the group played at the Club Kentucky on Broadway and the ensemble increased from a quintet to a ten-piece orchestra. With stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith as his unofficial guide, Ellington soon became part of New York's music scene; Smith proved to be a long-lasting influence on Duke's composing and arranging direction. At the Club Kentucky, Ellington came under the tutelage of another legendary stride pianist, "Fats" Waller. Waller, a protege of Johnson and Smith, played solos during the band's breaks and also tutored Ellington who began to show progress in his compositions. In November 1924, Duke made his publishing and recording debut with "Choo Choo (I Got To Hurry Home)" released on the Blu-Disc label. In 1925, he contributed two songs to Chocolate Kiddies, an all-black revue which introduced European audiences to black American styles and performers. By this time Ellington's family, Edna and Mercer, had joined him in New York City. The couple separated in the late 1920's, but they never divorced or reconciled.

Ellington's achievements as a composer and bandleader began to attract national attention while he worked at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, from 1927 to 1932. The orchestra developed a distinctive sound that displayed the non-traditional voicings of Ellington's arrangements and featured the unique talents of the individual soloists. Ellington integrated his soloists' exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, their high-squealed trumpets, their sultry saxophone blues licks and Harlem's street rhythms into his arrangements. In the promotional material of the Cotton Club, the band was often billed as "Duke Ellington and His Jungle Band." With the success of compositions like "Mood Indigo," and an increasing number of recordings and national radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club, the band's reputation soared.

The ten years from 1932 to 1942 are considered by some major critics to represent the "golden age" for the Ellington Orchestra, but it represents just one of their creative peaks. These years did bring an influx of extraordinary new talent to the band including Jimmy Blanton on double bass, Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, and Ray Nance on trumpet, violin and vocals. During this ten year span Ellington composed several of his best known short works, including "Concerto For Cootie," "Ko-Ko," "Cotton Tail," "In A Sentimental Mood," and Jump For Joy, his first full-length musical stage revue.

Most notably, 1938 marked the arrival of Billy Strayhorn. While a teenager in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Strayhorn had already written "Lush Life," "Something To Live For" and a musical, Fantastic Rhythm. Ellington was initially impressed with Strayhorn's lyrics but realized long before Billy's composition "Take the A' Train" became the band's theme song in 1942 that Strayhorn's talents were not limited to penning clever lyrics. By 1942, "Swee' Pea" had become arranger, composer, second pianist, collaborator, and as Duke described him, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine." Many Ellington/Strayhorn songs have entered the jazz canon, and their extended works are still being discovered and studied today. Strayhorn remained with the Ellington Organization until his death on May 30, 1967.

Ellington had often hinted of a work in progress depicting the struggle of blacks in America. The original script, Boola, debuted in Carnegie Hall in November of 1943, retitled Black, Brown and Beige. The performance met with mixed reviews, and although Ellington often returned to Carnegie Hall the piece was never recorded in a studio, and after 1944 was never performed in entirety again by the Ellington Orchestra. Nonetheless, it is now considered a milestone in jazz composition.

After World War II the mood and musical tastes of the country shifted and hard times befell big bands, but Ellington kept his band together. The band was not always financially self-sufficient and during the lean times Ellington used his songwriting royalties to meet the soloists' salaries. One could assign to Ellington the altruistic motive of loyalty to his sidemen, but another motivation may have been his compositional style which was rooted in hearing his music in the formative stage come alive in rehearsal. "The band was his instrument," Billy Strayhorn said, and no Ellington composition was complete until he heard the orchestra play it. Then he could fine tune his compositions, omit and augment passages, or weave a soloist's contribution into the structure of the tune.

In 1956, the American public rediscovered Duke and the band at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. The searing performances of tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves on "Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue," his premiere soloist, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges on "Jeep's Blues", and the crowd's ecstatic reaction have become jazz legend. Later that year Duke landed on the cover of Time magazine. Although Ellington had previously written music for film and television (including the short film, Black and Tan Fantasy in 1929) it wasn't until 1959 that Otto Preminger asked him to score music for his mainstream film, Anatomy of a Murder, starring Jimmy Stewart. Paris Blues in 1961, featuring box-office stars Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier in roles as American jazz musicians in Paris, followed.

Ellington's first performance overseas was in England in 1933, but the 1960s brought extensive overseas tours including diplomatic tours sponsored by the State Department. Ellington and Strayhorn composed exquisite extended works reflecting the sights and sounds of their travels, including the Far East Suite, 1966. They wrote homages to their classical influences; in 1963, they adapted Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and celebrated Shakespeare's works with the suite Such Sweet Thunder in 1957. With Ella Fitzgerald, they continued the Norman Granz Songbook Series. Ellington also began to flex his considerable pianist skills and recorded albums with John Coltrane (1963), Coleman Hawkins (1963), Frank Sinatra, and Money Jungle (1963) with Charles Mingus and Max Roach. The First Sacred Concert debuted in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral in 1965. In his final years, Ellington's thoughts turned to spiritual themes and he added a Second (1968) and Third (1973) Concert of Sacred Music to his compositions.

In his lifetime, Duke received numerous awards and honors including the highest honor bestowed on an American civilian, the Congressional Medal Of Freedom. In 1965, Ellington was recommended for a Pulitzer Prize to honor his forty years of contribution to music but the recommendation was rejected by the board. Most likely he was disappointed, but his response at the age of sixty-six was, "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young."

Ellington never rested on his laurels or stopped composing. Whenever he was asked to name his favorite compositions his characteristic reply was "the next five coming up," but to please his loyal fans Ellington always featured some of his standards in every performance. Even on his deathbed, he was composing the opera buffo called Queenie Pie.

Duke Ellington died on May 24, 1974 at seventy-five years of age. His funeral was held in New York's Cathedral of St. John The Divine; he was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. His long-time companion Beatrice "Evie" Ellis was buried beside him after her death in 1976. He was survived by his only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, who not only took up the baton to lead the Duke Ellington Orchestra but assumed the task of caring for his father's papers and his legacy to the nation. Mercer Ellington died in Copenhagan, Denmark on February 8, 1996, at the age of seventy-six. Ruth Ellington Boatwright died in New York on March 6, 2004, at the age of eighty-eight. Both Mercer and Ruth were responsible for shepherding the documents and artifacts that celebrate Duke Ellington's genius and creative life to their current home in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

William H. Quealy Collection of Duke Ellington Recordings (AC0296)

Rutgers University Collection of Radio Interviews about Duke Ellington (AC0328)

Duke Ellington Oral History Project (AC0368)

Duke Ellington Collection of Ephemera and realated Audiovisual Materials (AC0386)

Annual International Conference of the Duke Ellington Study Group Proceedings (AC0385)

Robert Udkoff Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0388)

Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Prints (AC0389)

New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection (AC390)

Earl Okin Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0391)

William Russo Transcription and Arrangement of Duke Ellington's First Concert of Sacred Music (AC0406)

Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0415)

Music manuscripts in the Ruth Ellington Collection complement the music manuscripts found in the Duke Ellington Collection.

Carter Harman Collection of Interviews with Duke Ellington (AC0422)

Betty McGettigan Collection of Duke Ellington Memorabilia (AC0494)

Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0502)

Edward and Gaye Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0704)

Andrew Homzy Collection of Duke Ellington Stock Music Arrangements (AC0740)

John Gensel Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0763)

Al Celley Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC1240)

Materials at Other Organizations

Institute of Jazz Studies

Separated Materials:

Artifacts related to this collection are in the Division of Culture and the Arts and include trophies, plaques, and medals. See accessions: 1989.0369; 1991.0808; 1993.0032; and 1999.0148.

Provenance:

The collection was purchased through an appropriation of Congress in 1988.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Copyright restrictions. Consult the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Paul Ellington, executor, is represented by:

Richard J.J. Scarola, Scarola Ellis LLP, 888 Seventh Avenue, 45th Floor, New York, New York 10106. Telephone (212) 757-0007 x 235; Fax (212) 757-0469; email: rjjs@selaw.com; www.selaw.com; www.ourlawfirm.com.

Occupation:

Composers -- 20th century  Search this

Topic:

Big bands  Search this

Pianists  Search this

Bandsmen -- 20th century  Search this

Jazz -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Musicians -- 20th century  Search this

Music -- Performance  Search this

African American entertainers -- 20th century  Search this

African Americans -- History  Search this

Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

African American musicians  Search this

Genre/Form:

Phonograph records

Papers

Photographic prints

Posters

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks -- 20th century

Music -- Manuscripts

Clippings

Awards

Audiotapes

Citation:

Duke Ellington Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Processing and encoding partially funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0301

See more items in:

Duke Ellington Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0301

Photographer:

Evans, Clifford, 1920-1981  Search this

Tschopik, Harry, 1915-1956  Search this

Ubbelohde-Doering, Heinrich, 1889-1972  Search this

Extent:

40 Prints (silver gelatin)

Culture:

Incas  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Prints

Photographs

Place:

Cuzco (Peru) -- depicted

Pachacamac (Peru) -- depicted

Tiahuanacu (Bolivia) -- depicted

Ollantaytambo (Peru) -- depicted

Machu Picchu Site (Peru) -- depicted

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents note:

The collection consists of enlargements that were made as part of a United States National Museum exhibit on Latin American archeology (opened in 1954). It includes photographs made at Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, Tiahuanaco, Cuzco, Sacahuaman, Urcos, Viru Valley, and Pachacamac. Photograpers include anthropologists Harry S. Tschopik, Jr., Clifford Evans, and Heinrich Ubbelohde-Doering.

Local Call Number(s):

NAA Photo Lot 66A

Location of Other Archival Materials:

The National Anthropological Archives also holds the Clifford Evans papers and Clifford Evans photograph collection of exhibits at the Museo de Arqueologia in Trujillo, Peru (Photo Lot 93-15D).

South American music recordings with notes by Harry Tschopik held in the Center for Folklife and Culutral Heritage, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections in the Moses and Frances Asch Collection.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Photo lot 66A, Photographs collected for an Inca archeology exhibit, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.66A

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-66a

Creator:

Blue Eagle, Acee, 1907-1959  Search this

Names:

Abbott, Mae  Search this

Beaver, Fred  Search this

Bosin, Blackbear, 1921-1980  Search this

Campbell, Walter S.  Search this

Dale, Edward E.  Search this

Debo, Angie, 1890-1988  Search this

Dja, Devi  Search this

Echohawk, Brummett T., 1922-2006  Search this

Fairbanks, Charles H. (Charles Herron), 1913-1985  Search this

Feder, Norman  Search this

Field, Dorothy  Search this

Gilcrease, Thomas, 1890-1962  Search this

Houser, Allan, 1914-1994  Search this

Howe, Oscar, 1915-1983  Search this

Jackson, Oscar B.  Search this

Lemos, Pedro de  Search this

Marriott, Alice  Search this

Martinez, Julian, -1943  Search this

Martínez, María Montoya  Search this

McCombs, Solomon, 1913-1980 (Creek)  Search this

Medicine Crow, Joseph, 1913-2016  Search this

Mirabel, Eva  Search this

Momaday, Al  Search this

Pond, Charles E.  Search this

Rowan, Edward B.  Search this

Shears, Glen E.  Search this

Sheets, Nan  Search this

Steinke, Bettina, 1913-1999  Search this

Sunrise, Riley  Search this

Te Ata  Search this

Whitehorse, Roland Noah, 1920-1998  Search this

Extent:

673 Paintings (visual works) (approximate)

30 Linear feet (55 document boxes and 8 oversize boxes)

Culture:

Muskogee (Creek)  Search this

Indians of North America -- Southeast  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this

Chaticks Si Chaticks (Pawnee)  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Paintings (visual works)

Date:

1907 - 1975

Summary:

Acee Blue Eagle was a Pawnee-Creek artist, poet, dancer, teacher, and celebrity. The papers relate to both Blue Eagle's personal and professional life. Also included are some materials of Blue Eagle's friend Mae Abbott and a collection of art by other Indians.

Scope and Contents:

This collection reflects the life and work of Acee Blue Eagle, internationally famed Indian artist of Oklahoma. Identified for his brilliant paintings of tribal ceremonies, legend and dance, Blue Eagle's work is represented in numerous private collections and museums both in this country and abroad.

A portion of the papers contains correspondence. Fan mail written by school children to Chief Blue Eagle of the Chief Blue Eagle television program is included. Letters regarding Blue Eagle's participation in Indian festivals and events, art shows and exhibitions, speaking engagements on Indian life and culture are found in the collection. Personal correspondence is included; most frequent correspondents are Devi Dja, Mae Abbott, and Charles E. Pond. There are approximately 100 letters from Devi Dja, approximately 90 to or from Mae Abbott, and approximately 36 from Charles E. Pond. Some letters addressed to these individuals from other friends and acquaintances are also within this collection.

Photographs comprise a large portion of the Blue Eagle collection. Included are not only portraits of the artist himself and photographs of his art work, but a large number of prints of Blue Eagle in full costume and other Indians engaged in tribal ceremonies, identified by tribe, whenever possible. Photographs of Mae Abbott, Devi Dja and the latter's Balinese dance troupe are identified. A file of negatives is arranged in the same subject order as the prints. Newspaper and magazine clippings regarding Blue Eagle's work and activities are also included in the collection. These clippings have not been arranged. In addition, Mae Abbott's recipes and notes for her cookbook, wood blocks, greeting cards and other miscellaneous publications can be found in the collection. These items have been sorted but not arranged.

Within the collection are also over 600 pieces of artwork. A good number are by Blue Eagle while most are by other Native artists. Artists whose are work are represented in the collection include Fred Beaver, Harrison Begay, Archie Blackowl, Woodrow Crumbo, Allan Houser, Ruthe Blalock Jones, Quicy Tahoma, Pablita Verde, and members of the Kiowa Five (Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke).

Arrangement note:

The collection is arranged into six series: 1) Personal; 2) Collections; 3) Artwork; 4) Television; 5) Correspondence; 6) Photographs.

Biographical / Historical:

Acee Blue Eagle was an artist, poet, dancer, teacher, and celebrity. Born Alex C. McIntosh in 1907, Blue Eagle attended Indian schools in Anadarko, Nuyaka, and Euchee, Oklahoma, and the Haskell and Chilocco Indian schools. Advanced study came at Bacone Indian College and the University of Oklahoma. At the latter, he studied with Oscar B. Jacobson. Privately he studied with Winold Reiss. Discrepancies exist in the records regarding his early life: born in either Anadarko or Hitchita, Oklahoma; he's cited as both Pawnee-Creek and 5/8 Creek without any Pawnee blood; his mother is either Mattie Odom, the first wife of Solomon McIntosh or Ella Starr, McIntosh's second wife.

A prolific painter who, for the sake of authenticity, carried out research in libraries and museums, Blue Eagle was an outstanding American Indian artist of the 1930s-1950s. His paintings hung in many exhibits, including the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts, 1932-1933; International Art Exhibition of Sport Subjects at Los Angeles, 1932; Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, 1934; a one-man show at the Young Galleries in Chicago; National Exhibition of Art at the Rockefeller Center in New York, 1936; a one-man show at the Washington, D.C., Arts Club, 1936; Museum of Modern Art, 1941; Northwest Art Exhibition at Spokane, Washington, 1944; a one-man show at the Gilcrease Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1953; An Exposition of American Indian Painters in New York, 1955; and a one-man show at the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, 1957. Between 1946 and 1965, over fifty galleries hung his paintings. Some pieces are among the permanent holdings of many institutions.

In 1934, Blue Eagle joined the Work Projects Administration (WPA) Public Works of Art Project, painting murals in public buildings. In 1935 at Oxford University, he participated in a program of the International Federation of Education and lectured on Indian art. A tour of Europe followed. He taught at Bacone Indian College from 1935-1938 where he founded the art program and became Director of Art. He also taught at the University of Kansas extension division in 1949 and Oklahoma State Technical College beginning in 1956. During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Force; and, following the war, he spent a few years attempting to get into the movies. During 1946-1952, he was married to his second wife, a famous Balinese dancer, Devi Dja, and became involved in her career, an involvement that was briefly reflected in his art. However, Dja and Blue Eagle divorced and Blue Eagle lived with Mae Wadley Abbott for the last years of his life. During the 1950s, he had a television show for children on a Tulsa-Muskogee station. Acee Blue Eagle died on June 18, 1959 of a liver infection.

Sources Consulted

Martindale, Rob. Muskogee Paying Tribute to Blue Eagle. Biographical/Genealogical data, Box 1, Acee Blue Eagle Collection, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

West, Juanita W. 1967. Acee Blue Eagle: A.C. McIntosh. Biographical/Genealogical data, Box 1, Acee Blue Eagle Collection, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

1907 -- Born August 17, 1907 on the Wichita Reservation, north of Anadarko, Oklahoma

1928 -- Graduated Chilocco High School

1929-1934 -- Attended Bacone College, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Tech

1935 -- Toured United States and Europe giving lecture-exhibition program, "Life and Character of the American Indian"

1935-1938 -- Established and headed art department at Bacone College at Muskogee

1936 -- Exhibited at the National Exhibition of Art, Rockefeller Center, New York

1942-1945 -- World War II, U.S. Air Force (Army)

1947-49 -- Free-lance work in New York and Chicago

1951-52 -- Artist-in-residence at Oklahoma Tech

1950-54 -- Conducted TV program, Muskogee, OklahomaToured U.S. West Coast exhibiting and lecturing about ways to improve TV programs for children

1958 -- Named Indian-of-the-Year by the American Indian Expostion at Anadarko, Oklahoma

1959 -- Died June 18, 1959

Related Materials:

Other materials relating to Acee Blue Eagle at the National Anthropological Archives include correspondence in the Solomon McCombs papers, 1914-1972, and correspondence with Betty Meilink under Manuscript 2011-20.

Provenance:

Acee Blue Eagle's private papers and collection of paintings were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Mrs. Mae Abbott of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Restrictions:

There are no restrictions on access.

Rights:

Literary property rights to unpublished material in the collection in the National Anthropological Archives has been given to the public.

Topic:

Indian art -- North America  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Citation:

Acee Blue Eagle Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.1973-51

See more items in:

Acee Blue Eagle papers

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-1973-51

Creator:

Fisk, Edward, 1886-1944  Search this

Names:

Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this

Demuth, Charles, 1883-1935  Search this

O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953  Search this

Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946  Search this

Taggard, Genevieve, 1894-1948  Search this

Extent:

0.2 Linear feet ((on a partial microfilm reel))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1887-1990

Scope and Contents:

Biographical material, letters, a subject file on Genevieve Taggard, notes and writings, printed material, and photographs.

Two biographical accounts and a membership card for the American Artists' Congress; fourteen letters (1929-1990) include 3 from Stuart Davis (1938-1942), one from Charles Demuth (1929), and letters to family members including descriptions of his sister-in-law's meeting with Gertrude Stein and an account of Eugene O'Neill's house being damaged in a storm. A file, 1928-1938, on Genevieve Taggard contains 4 poems and 4 letters by Taggard, 1 letter from Fisk, and an announcement concerning the publication of Taggard's poems.

A notebook contains lyrical essays about Taggard and art, a 5 p. account of a day's activities, and notes on art history and design. Other notes and writings include two 17 p. short stories, a 1 p. account of prehistoric monuments in Cornwall illustrated with a map, and notes on line drawing and composition. Printed material consists of clippings (1912-1987) and exhibition announcements and catalogs (1922-1985). Photographs show Fisk with family members (1887-1942) and works of art.

Biographical / Historical:

Painter, printmaker. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Fisk studied at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design. He studied with Robert Henri, and in Paris with Othon Friege and Pierre Laprade. He also studied in Italy and spent 1933-1934 studying and painting in England. In 1930 he married Lucy Young. He taught at the University of Kentucky from 1926-1944.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming in 1991 by Milton Fisk and Allie Hendricks, Fisk's children.

Restrictions:

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

Occupation:

Painters  Search this

Poets  Search this

Printmakers  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.fiskedwa

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-fiskedwa

Creator:

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Extent:

131 Linear feet (29 architectural drawings)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Diaries

Financial records

Correspondence

Photographs

Place:

China

Syria

Egypt

India

London (England)

Japan

Boston (Mass.)

Detroit (Mich.)

Washington (D.C.)

Kandy (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka

Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)

Date:

1876-1931

Summary:

The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, and photographs.

Scope Content:

The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, financial material, architectural drawings, and photographs.

Correspondence, circa 1860-1921, includes Freer's correspondence, 1876-1920, with artists, dealers, collectors, museums, and public figures; letterpress books contain copies of Freer's outgoing letters, 1892-1910; correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler, and his wife Beatrix, 186?-1909, with Lady Colin Campbell, Thomas R. Way, Alexander Reid, Whistler's mother, Mrs. George W. Whistler, and others; correspondence of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, 1904-1913, regarding works in Canfield's collection; and correspondence of Freer's assistant, Katharine Nash Rhoades, 1920-1921, soliciting Freer's letters from his associates, and regarding the settlement of his estate.

Also included are twenty-nine pocket diaries, 1889-1890, 1892-1898, 1900-1919, recording daily activities, people and places visited, observations, and comments; a diary kept by Freer's caretaker, Joseph Stephens Warring, recording daily activities at Freer's Detroit home, 1907-1910. Inventories, n.d. and 1901-1921, of American, European, and Asian art in Freer's collection, often including provenance information; vouchers, 1884-1919, documenting his purchases; five volumes of scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeill Whistler, 1888-1931, labeled "Various," "Peacock Room," "Death, etc.," "Paris, etc.," and "Boston...London" ; three volumes of newsclippings, 1900-1930, concerning Freer and the opening of the Freer Gallery of Art.

Correspondence regarding Freer's gift and bequest to the Smithsonian Institution, 1902-1916; and photographs, ca. 1880-1930, of Freer, including portraits by Alvin Langdon Coburn and Edward Steichen, Freer with others, Freer in Cairo, China and Japan, Freer's death mask, and his memorial service, Kyoto, 1930; photographs of artists and others, including Thomas Dewing, Ernest Fenollosa, Katharine Rhoades taken by Alfred Stieglitz, Rosalind B. Philip, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Abbott H. Thayer, Dwight Tryon, and Whistler; and photographs relating to Whistler, including art works depicting him, grave and memorial monuments, works of art, the Peacock Room, and Whistler's memorial exhibition at the Copley Society.

Organization of the Papers:

This collection is organized into twelve series.

Series 1: Genealogical and Biographical Data

Series 2: Correspondence

Series 3: Diaries

Series 4: Freer Colleague Materials

Series 5: Art Inventories

Series 6: Financial Materials

Series 7: Exhibition Loan Files

Series 8: Biblical Manuscripts and Gold Treasure Files

Series 9: American School of Archaeology in China

Series 10: Printed Material

Series 11: Outsize Material

Series 12: Photographs

Biographical Note:

1854 February 25 -- Born in Kingston, New York

1873 -- Appointed accountant and paymaster of New York, Kingston and Syracuse Railroad by Frank J. Hecker (1846-1927)

1876 -- Moves to Indiana to work, with Hecker, for the Detroit and Eel River and Illinois Railroad

1880 -- Moves to Detroit, participates in organization of the Peninsular Car Works with Hecker

1883 -- Becomes vice president and secretary of Peninsular Car Company when it succeeds Peninsular Car Works

1883 -- Begins collecting European prints

1884 -- Peninsular Car Company constructs plant on Ferry Avenue

1887 -- Meets Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)

1887 -- Acquires proofs of 26 etchings, Venice, Second Series(1886), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

1887 -- Purchases a small Japanese fan attributed to Ogata Karin(1658-1715)

1887 -- Buys land on Ferry Avenue

1889 -- Meets Frederick Stuart Church (1826-1900) and Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925) in New York

1890 -- Commissions Wilson Eyre (1858-1944) to design house on Ferry Avenue, Detroit, Michigan

1890 -- On first trip to London, meets James McNeill Whistler(1834-1903)

1892 -- Moves to Ferry Avenue house

1892 -- Tryon and Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) undertake decoration of reception rooms

1893 -- Lends American paintings to World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago

1893 -- Purchases first piece of Chinese art, a small painting of white herons by an anonymous Ming dynasty (1368-1644) artist

1894 -- Begins yearlong trip around the world, which includes visit to the Whistlers in Paris and first trip to Asia, stopping in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, China, and Japan

1896 -- Meets Matsuki Bunkyo (1867-1940) in Boston

1899 -- Takes part in consolidation of railroad-car building companies then retires from active business

1900 -- Attends Exposition International Universelle in Paris

1900 -- Buys villa in Capri with Thomas S. Jerome

1901 -- Meets Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) in Paris and Ernest Fenollosa(1853-1908), who visits Freer in Detroit

1902 -- Meets Dikran Kelekian (1868-1951)

1902 -- Spends summer in Britain building Whistler collection

1902 -- Views Whistler's, Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room

1904 -- Purchases Whistler's Peacock Room

1904 -- Offers his art collections and funds to build a museum in which to house them to the Smithsonian Institution

1905 -- Smithsonian committee visits Freer in Detroit

1906 -- United States government formally accepts Freer's gift on January 24

1906 -- Freer signs Deed of Gift to Smithsonian Institution on May 5

1907 -- On second tour of Asia, meets Hara Tomitaro 1868-1939) in Yokohama, Japan

1908 -- Takes third trip to Asia, specifically to West Asia to study Rakka ware

1909 -- Tours Europe to study art museums

1909 -- On fourth trip to Asia, attends memorial ceremony for Fenollosa (d.1908 September) at Miidera, Japan, and meets Duanfang (1861-1911) in China

1910 -- On last trip to Asia, visits Longmen Buddhist caves in China

1911 -- Suffers stroke

1912 -- Lends selection of objects for exhibition at Smithsonian Institution

1913 -- Meets Eugene (1875-1957) and Agnes E. (1887-1970) Meyer

1913 -- Commissions Charles Adams Platt (1861-1933) to design museum building in Washington

1914 -- Meets Katharine Nash Rhoades (1885-1965) in Detroit

1915 -- Settles in New York City

1915 -- Site of future Freer Gallery of Art is determined

1916 -- Platt's plans for Freer Gallery are approved by Smithsonian Regents and Commission of Fine Arts and ground is broken in September

1918 -- After falling ill in Detroit, Freer travels to New York for treatment

1918 -- Work on the museum building is delayed by the war

1919 -- Freer appends codicil to will permitting acquisitions of Asian, Egyptian, and Near Eastern (West Asian) art

1919 -- Dies in New York City on 25 September and is buried in Kingston, New York

1919 -- Construction of Freer Gallery completed

1920 -- John Ellerton Lodge (1876-1942) is appointed director of the Freer Gallery

1923 -- Freer Gallery opens to the public on May 9

1930 -- Memorial ceremony for Freer is held at Koetsuji, Kyoto

Charles Lang Freer was an American industrialist who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. He was a well-known collector of Asian art, and strongly supported the synthesis of Eastern art and Western art. One of his most famous acquisitions was James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room.

Index:

Index to cross-referenced correspondents in the series Charles Lang Freer correspondence

Beal, Junius E. -- See: -- Warring, Joseph Stephens

Black, George M. -- See: -- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Board of Education (Kingston, New York) See: Michael, M. J.

Bonner, Campbell See: University of Michigan

Boughton, George H. See: Yardley, F. C.

British Museum See: Binyon, Laurence; Hobson, R. L.

Brown, Harold H. See: Art Association of Indianapolis

Buchner, Evelyn B. See: Knoedler, M., and Company

Buckholder, C. H. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Butler, S. B. See: Unidentified correspondents

Carnegie Institute See: Balken, Edward Duff; Harshe, Robert B.

Carpenter, Newton H. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Caulkins, Horace James See: Pewabic Pottery

Chao, Shih-chin See: Gunn, Chu Su

Chicago & North Western Railway Co. See: Hughett, Marvin

Clark, Charles Upson See: Clark, Arthur B.

Cleveland Museum of Art See: Whiting, Frederic Allen

Columbia University See: Braun, W. A.; Gottheil, Richard; Hirth, Friederich

Commission of Fine Arts See: Moore, Charles

Corcoran Gallery of Art See: Minnigerode, C. Powell

Crocker, Anna B. See: Portland Art Association

Dannenberg, D. E. See: Karlbeck, Orvar

De Menoncal, Beatrice See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection

De Ricci, Seymour See: Ricci, Seymour de

Defnet, William A., Mrs., See: Franke, Ida M.

DeMotte See: Vigouroux, J.

Detroit Institute of Arts See: Detroit Museum of Art

Detroit Publishing Company See: Livingstone, W. A.

Detroit School of Design See: George Hamilton; Stevens, Henry

DeVinne Press See: Peters, Samuel T.; Witherspoon, A. S.

Dyrenforth, P. C. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Eddy, Arthur J. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Eggers, George Williams See: Art Institute of Chicago

Farr, Daniel H. See: Robinson and Farr

Farrand School (Detroit) See: Yendall, Edith

Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) See: Laufer, Berthold

Flagg, Frederick J. See: Allen, Horace N.

Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University See: Forbes, Edward; Pope, Arthur Upham; Sachs, Paul J.

French, M. R. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Fu, Lan-ya See: Pang, Lai-ch'en

Fujii, Yoshio See: Yoshio, Fujii

Gerrity, Thomas See: Knoedler, M., and Company

Goupil Gallery See: Marchant, William

Gray, William J. See: Barr, Eva

Great Lakes Engineering Works See: Hoyt, H. W.

Grolier Club See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Heinemann, W. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Holden, Edward S. See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy

Hudson, J. L. See: Weber, William C.

Hutchins, Harry B. See: University of Michigan

Hutchins, Charles L. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Kelekian, H. G. See: Kelekian, Dikran G.

Kent, H. W. See: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lee, Kee Son See: Li, Chi-ch'un

Levy, John See: Schneider, A. K.

Library of Congress See: Rice, Richard A.; Wright, Helen

Louvre (Paris, France) See: Midgeon, Gaston

Matsuki, Z. See: Matsuki, Kihachiro

McKim, Mead and White See: White, Stanford

Mills, A. L., Colonel See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Miner, Luella See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection

Minneapolis Institute of Arts See: Breck, Joseph; Van Derlip, John R.

Monif, R. Khan See: Rathbun, Richard

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston See: Lodge, John Ellerton

Naser, Katen & Nahass See: Katen, K.

Nordlinger, Marie, Miss See: Meyer-Riefstahl, Marie

Panama Pacific International Exposition See: Moore, Charles C.; Trask, John E. D.

Peabody Museum See: Morse, Edward Sylvester

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Trask, John E. D.

Perry, Mary Chase, Miss., See: Pewabic Pottery

Philip, Ronald M. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Pope, G. D. See: Barr, Eva

Reinhart, A. G. See: Gottschalk, E.

Reitz, Sigisbert Chrétien Bosch See: Bosch-Reitz, Sigisbert Chrétien

Rutgers College See: Van Dyke, John C.

Saint-Gaudens, Augusta H. See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Saint-Gaudens, Homer See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Samurai Shokai See: Nomura, Yozo

San Francisco Art Association See: Laurvik, J. Nilsen

Scribner's, Charles, Sons See: Van Dyke, John C.

Shaw, Wilfred B. See: University of Michigan

Shirae, S. Z. See: Yamanaka and Company

Smith College See: Clark, Arthur B.

Smithsonian Institution See: Holmes, William Henry; Rathbun, Richard; Ravenel, Walcott, Charles D.

Society of Arts and Crafts (Detroit) See: Plumb, Helen

Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Stevens, George W. See: Toledo Museum of Art

Stratton, Mary Chase Perry See: Pewabic Pottery

Tanaka, Kichijiro See: Yamanaka and Company

Tuttle, William F. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Union Trust Company (Detroit) See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

United States Military Academy See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy

University of Chicago See: Zug, George Breed

University of Pennsylvania, Univ. Mus. See: Gordon, George Bryon

Ushikubo, D. J. R. See: Yamanaka and Company

Wallis & Son See: Barr, Eva; Thompson, C. Croal Ward, Clarence See: Oberlin College

Warren, Edward K. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Warring, Stephen See: Warring, Joseph Stephens

Watkin, Williams R. T. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Watson, Margaret, Miss See: Parker, Margaret Watson

Whistler, Anna See: Stanton, Anna Whistler

Whiting, Almon C. See: Toledo Museum of Art

Williams College See: Rice, Richard A

Wright, F. G. See: Orbach and Company

Yatsuhashi, H. See: Yamanaka and Company

Index to cross-referenced correspondence in the series Whistler correspondence

Bell, William See: Unidentified correspondents

Brown, Ernest See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee

Cowen, John T. See subseries: Charles Lang Freer Correspondence

Ford, Sheridan See: Reid, Alexander

Haden, Francis Seymour See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee

Haden, Francis Seymour, Lady See: Haden, Deborah Whistler

Leighton, Frederick, Baron See: Campbell, Lady Colin

Moore, Albert See: Reid, Alexander

Morley, Charles See: Pall Mall Gazette

Morris, Harrison S. See: Reid, Alexander

Pennell, Joseph See: Miscellaneous typescripts

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Prange, F. G. See: Reid, Alexander

Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Society of Portrait Painters See: Reid, Alexander

Stevens Fine Art See: Reid, Alexander

Studd, Arthur See: Miscellaneous typescripts

[Vanderbilt?], George, Mrs. See: George, Mrs.

Whistler, William McNeill, Mrs. See: Whistler, Nellie

Whistler Memorial Committee See: Miscellaneous typescripts

Related Material:

The Archives of American Art microfilmed portions of the Freer papers in 1992. The microfilm is available at the Archives of American Art's Washington D.C. office, the Freer Gallery of Art Library, and through interlibrary loan.

Provenance:

Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Topic:

Art, American -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Architecture -- Asia  Search this

Genre/Form:

Diaries

Financial records

Correspondence

Photographs

Citation:

Charles Lang Freer Papers. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Identifier:

FSA.A.01

See more items in:

Charles Lang Freer Papers

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-fsa-a-01

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:

Homer, William Innes  Search this

University of Delaware. Dept. of Art History  Search this

Delaware Art Museum  Search this

Names:

Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this

Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975  Search this

Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916  Search this

Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973  Search this

O'Keeffe, Georgia , 1887-1986  Search this

Seurat, Georges, 1859-1891  Search this

Smith, David, 1906-1965  Search this

Walters, Carl, 1883-1955  Search this

Extent:

6.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1938-1980

Scope and Contents:

Correspondence, writings, notes, forms, printed material, exhibition records, research material and photographs.

REEL 2814: frames 561-576: Photocopies of letters from George Barker to Homer, 1961-1965, regarding Thomas Eakins.

UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence with dealers, patrons and museum curators concerning an exhibition of the sculpture of Carl Walters, 1956-1958, including some notes and a few photographs of Walter's sculpture; letters, mainly from artists; and a photocopy of Shinn's "Everett Shinn Treatment, #1 and #2, 1945-1978. Among the correspondents are: Ansel Adams, Peggy Bacon, Saul Baizerman, Maurice Becker, Thomas H. Benton, Charles Burchfield, Faber Birren, Mrs. Homer Boss, Imogen Cunningham, Nell Daniel, Andrew Dasburg, Randall Davey, Stuart Davis, Theodore Lux Feininger, Lyonel Feininger, Laura Gilpin, Edith Halpert, Jay Hambidge, Emil Holzhauer, Lotte Jacobi, Mrs. William Sargent Kendall, Leon Kroll, Julien Levy, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Lewis Mumford, Georgia O'Keeffe, John H. Rhoades, Margery Ryerson, David Smith, Carl Sprinchorn, Edward Steichen, Mrs. Allen Tucker, and Carl Zigrosser. Also included are writings, notes, and printed material concerning the "Index of Dissertations and Theses in American Art" section of the Arts in America: A Bibliography (1979), edited by Bernard Karpel, covering years ca. 1930-1975.

Records of the 1975 exhibition "Avant-garde Painting and Sculpture in America, 1910-1925," organized by the Department of Art History and Division of Museum Studies, University of Delaware, in cooperation with the Delaware Art Museum. Included are correspondence regarding research, loans to the exhibition, and publicity; a grant proposal; photographs of artists, works of art, and installations of the exhibition; and an outline for the catalog.

Notebooks, 9 v. containing citations to dissertations and theses relating to American art, 1980-1997, compiled under Homer's direction, as a follow up to his "Index of Dissertations and Theses in American Art" section of the Bibliography of the Arts in America From Colonial Times to Modern Times (1979).

Homer's research material on Georges Seurat, ca. 1956-1980, including correspondence; essays, notes and draft writings; photocopies and microfilms of rare printed material; responses to questionnaires regarding ownership of paintings; bibliographies; biographical material on scientists and others who influenced Seurat; photographs and color transparencies of works by Seurat and his colleagues; and miscellany. Also included are correspondence and research notes on other Neo-Impressionists.

Biographical / Historical:

Art historian, educator; Newark, Del.; b. 1929. William Innes Homer is an art historian whose areas of expertise include European and American painting from 1865 to 1925 and American art after World War II. He has taught at Princeton University and Cornell University, but is most closely associated with the University of Delaware, where he is Professor Emeritus. He taught there from 1966 until his retirement in 1999.

Related Materials:

William Inned Homer papers are located at Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Michael S. Engl Family Foundation Library and Archive.

Provenance:

Donated 1980-2004 by William Homer. Photocopies of letters from Barker to Homer were discarded after microfilming.

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:

Art historians  Search this

Art historians -- Delaware  Search this

Educators -- Delaware  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Art, American -- Exhibitions  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Exhibitions  Search this

Avant-garde (Aesthetics)  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.homewill

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-homewill

Creator:

Grotell, Maija  Search this

Names:

Cranbrook Academy of Art  Search this

Eames, Charles  Search this

Extent:

2 Linear feet ((on 2 microfilm reels))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1923-1973

Scope and Contents:

Biographical materials, correspondence, awards, photographs, and printed materials relating to the career of the noted ceramist and teacher who devoted the last quarter century of her life to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Correspondence consists chiefly of letters received from museums, colleagues (including Charles Eames), friends and former students. Other materials include biographical sketches, resumes, exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, scrapbook fragments, a file relating to students and colleagues, a register of funeral visitors, numerous personal and family photographs and five photo albums of Grotell and her work.

Biographical / Historical:

Ceramist and educator. Born 1899. Died 1973. After several years as a textile designer in her native Finland, Grotell immigrated to the United States in 1927. For a short time she studied with Charles Fergus Binns and from 1938 to 1966 she headed the ceramics department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. During this period, the height of her career, she became one of the leaders in the development of ceramics as a medium of artistic expression. In addition, her research on glazes for Eero Saarinen made possible the widespread architectural use of colored glazed bricks.

Related Materials:

Slides of Grotell's work located at the George Arents Research Library for Special Collections, Syracuse University.

Provenance:

Order and arrangement is that of the George Arents Research Library for Special Collections, Syracuse University.

Restrictions:

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

Occupation:

Ceramicists -- Michigan  Search this

Topic:

Pottery -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Women artists -- Michigan  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.grotmaij

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-grotmaij

Creator:

Hanbury, Una, 1904-1990  Search this

Names:

Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain)  Search this

Saunders Sculpture International  Search this

Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964  Search this

Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-  Search this

Gilpin, Laura  Search this

O'Keeffe, Georgia , 1887-1986  Search this

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967  Search this

Ripley, Sidney Dillon, 1913-2001  Search this

Segovia, Andrés, 1893-  Search this

Extent:

5.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

1910-1994

Summary:

The papers of Una Hanbury measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1994, with the bulk of the material from 1966 to 1990. The collection documents the sculptor's career and the dispersal of her estate through business records, project files, subject files, printed material, and photographs. There is also a small amount of material relating to her personal life including correspondence with friends and family and photographs from various stages of her life.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of Una Hanbury measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1994, with the bulk of the material from 1966 to 1990. The collection documents the sculptor's career and the dispersal of her estate through business records, project files, subject files, printed material, and photographs. There is also a small amount of material relating to her personal life including correspondence with friends and family and photographs from various stages of her life.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1926-1983 (Box 1; 4 folders)

Series 2: Business Records, 1965-1991 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 3: Project Files, 1961-1992 (Boxes 2-3; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 4: Subject Files, circa 1924-1985 (Box 4, OV 7; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 5: Estate of Una Hanbury, 1990-1994 (Boxes 4-5; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1926-1990 (Box 5; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographs, 1910-1991 (Boxes 5-6, 0.3 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Una Hanbury (1904-1990) was a sculptor in Washington, D.C. and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hanbury was born in Middlesex, England, in 1904; the incorrect birth date of 1909 that she submitted to Who's Who and other biographical reference sources is cited in numerous published articles. Hanbury [née Rawnsley] exhibited artistic talent as a young child and received instruction from animal artist Frank Calderon. After graduation from London's Polytechnic School of Art, she studied for three years at the Royal Academy. Jacob Epstein was her most influential teacher.

Soon after completing her formal education, Una Rawnsley became Una Hanbury and devoted herself full-time to being a wife and mother. During World War II she left England for Bermuda and brought her family to the United States once the war was over. Hanbury settled in Washington, D.C., where she resumed her sculpting career, completing many large scale commissions for public buildings such as the Medical Examiners Building, Baltimore, and St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Springfield, Virginia, among others. She developed a fine reputation as a portrait sculptor, and commissions included busts of Rachel Carson, Enrico Fermi, Buckminster Fuller, Laura Gilpin, Richard Neutra, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Oppenheimer, S. Dillon Ripley, and Andrés Segovia. In addition, animals--particularly horses--were a favorite subject since childhood; sculptures were commissioned by several zoos, and horse portraits often were commissioned by owners.

In 1970, Una Hanbury relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she continued working well into old age and became a significant force in the art life of that region.

Provenance:

The Una Hanbury papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by the artist's daughter, Jillian Poole, in 1999 and 2006.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Topic:

Portrait sculpture -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Portrait sculpture, American  Search this

Women sculptors -- New Mexico  Search this

Animal sculptors -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Animal sculptors -- New Mexico  Search this

Animal sculpture  Search this

Sculptors  Search this

Women sculptors -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Una Hanbury papers, 1910-1994, bulk 1966-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.hanbuna

See more items in:

Una Hanbury papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hanbuna

Creator:

Hatch, Lorenzo James, 1856-1914  Search this

Names:

Harrison, Effie C.  Search this

Hatch, Grace  Search this

Sun, Yat-sen, 1866-1925  Search this

Yuan, Shikai, 1859-1916  Search this

Extent:

1.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Place:

China -- Social conditions -- 1644-1912

China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912

China -- History -- Revolution, 1911-1912

China -- Description and Travel

Date:

bulk 1902-1914

circa 1890-1950

Summary:

The Lorenzo James Hatch and Hatch family papers measure 1.7 linear feet and date from circa 1890-1950, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1902-1914. The papers consist of family correspondence, printed material, three scrapbooks of printed materials and photographs, and a travel account. Letters are from Lorenzo Hatch, his wife Grace Harrison Hatch, and other family members. Most of the collection concerns the family's time in Peking (Beijing), China from 1908-1914 while Hatch was assisting the Chinese government create a Bureau of Printing and Engraving. The papers reveal impressions of the social and economic conditions of the Chinese, the revolutionary events of 1911 and 1912, the Pneumonic Plague epidemic in China from 1910-1911, and sight-seeing trips. An unprocessed addition of 0.4 linear feet includes biographical material; photographs of Hatch, his family and works of art; personal correspondence; artwork; printed material, and legal and financial records relating to the estate of Lorenzo Hatch. Also included is a horseshoe from Harrison Hatch's pony "Moses" (in China).

Scope and Content Note:

The Lorenzo James Hatch and Hatch family papers measure 1.7 linear feet and date from circa 1890-1950, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1902-1914. The papers consist of family correspondence, printed material, three scrapbooks of printed materials and photographs, and a travel account. Letters are from Lorenzo Hatch, his wife Grace Harrison Hatch, and other family members. Most of the collection concerns the family's time in Peking (Beijing), China from 1908-1914 while Hatch was assisting the Chinese government create a Bureau of Printing and Engraving. The papers reveal impressions of the social and economic conditions of the Chinese, the revolutionary events of 1911 and 1912, the Pneumonic Plague epidemic in China from 1910-1911, and sight-seeing trips. An unprocessed addition of 0.4 linear feet includes biographical material; photographs of Hatch, his family and works of art; personal correspondence; artwork; printed material, and legal and financial records relating to the estate of Lorenzo Hatch. Also included is a horseshoe from Harrison Hatch's pony "Moses" (in China).

Letters trace the family's journey from California to Peking, China, and their life in China. Lorenzo's correspondence includes information concerning Chinese politics and the revolution, the roles of Sun Yat-Sen and Yuan Shih K'ai between 1911-1912 and the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Effie Harrison's and Grace Hatch's letters discuss day-to-day life in China, sight-seeing trips and their reactions to the social and political unrest in the country. Additional correspondence includes condolence letters sent to the family after Lorenzo's death. There is a also a written account by Effie Harrison describing her travel to China on a steamer ship.

Printed materials consist of clippings and a Macbeth Gallery exhibition catalog from a 1937 show of Hatch's paintings.

There are three photographs of Peking. Three disbound scrapbooks include photographs of the Chinese landscape and monuments, interior shots, and of the family traveling through China. Photographs are of the Ming Tombs, the Great Wall of China, as well as temples and city buildings. Some later photographs are of family members that were taken around 1920, after their return to the United States. The scrapbooks also contain examples of Chinese currency designed by Lorenzo James Hatch.

An unprocessed addition of 0.4 linear feet includes biographical material; photographs of Hatch, his family and works of art; personal correspondence; artwork; printed material, and legal and financial records relating to the estate of Lorenzo Hatch. Also included is a horseshoe from Harrison Hatch's pony "Moses" (in China).

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 6 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1902-1914 (Box 1-3; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 2: Writings, circa 1912 (Box 3; 1 folder)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1902-1937 (Box 3; 2 folders)

Series 4: Photographs, circa 1911 (Box 3; 1 folder)

Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1908-1911, circa 1920s (Box 3-4; 0.3)

Series 6: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1902-1937 (Box 5; 0.4)

Biographical Note:

Lorenzo James Hatch (1856-1914) was born in Vermont and is best known for his work as a portrait engraver in Washington, D.C. and New York. He worked for the United States Bureau of Printing and Engraving, private bank note printers, and in China, assisting the government with establishing a government bureau of printing and engraving.

Early in his career, Lorenzo found his talent for engraving intricate portraits in metals. In 1874, the head of the United States Bureau of Printing and Engraving admired Hatch's portrait of George Washington on copper and hired him. During his time in Washington, D.C., Hatch spent his nights studying drawing and watercolor painting. However, his talent to engrave vignettes of presidents and other famous figures proved more impressive.

In 1888, Hatch moved to Chicago to work for a private bank note company. There, he met Grace Harrison of California. They were married and had one son, Harrison in 1902. After taking a job in New York City with another bank note company, Hatch solidified his reputation in the field. Around 1908, the Chinese government invited Hatch to establish a Bureau of Printing and Engraving modeled after that of the United States. He accepted a six-year contract to oversee the building of the bureau and train the Chinese to run the office. With his wife, their son, and sister-in-law Effie Harrision, Lorenzo moved to Peking.

During his time in China, Lorenzo Hatch succeeded in building the foundations for a modern printing bureau. However, the revolution in China between 1911-1912 hindered completion. He described his experiences, perceptions, and insecurities of being in China to his family and friends through letters. Before his contract ended, Hatch passed away on February 3, 1914.

Provenance:

The papers of Lorenzo James Hatch and the Hatch family were donated in 1989 by Hatch's great-grandniece, Janet Young Brockmoller. Additional materials were donated in 2015 by John and Janet Fesler, who acquired the material from a neighbor who received the papers from Gail Hatch, Hatch's sister-n-law and executor for Hatch's wife Grace Harrison Hatch.

Restrictions:

The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. A 2015 addition to the papers is not digitized. 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.

Topic:

Engravers  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Citation:

Lorenzo James Hatch and Hatch family papers, 1902-1937, bulk 1908-1914. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.hatclore

See more items in:

Lorenzo James Hatch and Hatch family papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hatclore

Creator:

Institute of Contemporary Arts (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Names:

Meridian House Foundation  Search this

People-to-People (Organization)  Search this

United States. Veterans Administration  Search this

Albers, Anni  Search this

Albers, Josef  Search this

Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this

Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990  Search this

Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), 1894-1962  Search this

Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965  Search this

Fangor, Wojciech, 1922-  Search this

Gabo, Naum, 1890-1977  Search this

Giampietro, Alexander  Search this

Gordimer, Nadine  Search this

Graves, Robert, 1895-1985  Search this

Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969  Search this

Hawkins, Erick  Search this

Huxley, Aldous, 1894-1963  Search this

Jahn, Janheinz  Search this

Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966  Search this

Raine, Kathleen, 1908-2003  Search this

Read, Herbert Edward, Sir, 1893-1968  Search this

Richman, Robert  Search this

Richter, Hans, 1888-1976  Search this

Sage, Kay  Search this

Tanguy, Yves, 1900-1955  Search this

Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963  Search this

Extent:

36 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

School records

Date:

1927-circa 1985

bulk 1947-1967

Summary:

The records of the Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts, measure 36 linear feet and date from 1927-circa 1985, with the bulk of the material spanning the organization's active years, 1947-1967. The collection documents the arts and cultural programming organized by the ICA through correspondence, artists' files, program and exhibition files, administrative and financial records, printed materials and photographs. Also found are administrative, student, and teacher records of the ICA school; records of the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Project; and some personal papers of the ICA's founder, Robert Richman.

Scope and Contents:

The records of the Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts, measure 36 linear feet and date from 1927-circa 1985, with the bulk of the material spanning the organization's active years, 1947-1967. The collection documents the arts and cultural programming organized by the ICA through correspondence, artists' files, program and exhibition files, administrative and financial records, printed materials and photographs. Also found are administrative, student, and teacher records of the ICA school; records of the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Project; and some personal papers of the ICA's founder, Robert Richman.

Robert Richman's professional and personal relationships with numerous artists and writers which the ICA hosted in D.C. are documented in Correspondence and Artists' Files. Correspondence files include letters from Joseph and Anni Albers, Alfred Barr, e.e. cummings, Alexander Giampietro, Naum Gabo, Walter Gropius, Erick Hawkins, Duncan Phillips, Hans Richter, Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy, and William Carlos Williams. Also found is correspondence with benefactors, board members, and arts organizations regarding exhibitions and administrative details; and with teachers and the Veteran's Administration regarding school issues.

Artists' Files contains mostly incoming and outgoing correspondence, but also found are biographies, exhibition printed materials, handwritten notes, newspaper clippings and scattered portrait photographs. Of interest are files on Aaron Copland, e.e. cummings, T.S. Eliot, Wojciech Fangor, Nadine Gordimer, Robert Graves, Aldous Huxley, Janheinz Jahn, Kathleen Raine, and Sir Herbert Read.

In addition to Correspondence and Artists' Files, materials regarding ICA's programming, such as correspondence with artists and galleries, press releases, shipping records, financial records, printed materials, photographs, inventory and price lists, are found in ICA Program Files.

The ICA and Robert Richman collaborated with numerous arts and international exchange organizations to organize exhibitions, performances, symposium, and to host visiting artists. Materials regarding such collaborations are found in Organizations and includes correspondence, scattered financial records, notes, and printed materials such as bulletins, brochures, schedules, reports, and press releases. This series also includes substantial material related to the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Program, an international exchange initiative of President Dwight D. Eisenhower begun in 1956.

The school's records include correspondence, notebooks (attendance books), teacher files documenting classes and grades, extensive student files and student enrollment cards, mailing lists, class cards, and notes for classes taught by Robert Richman.

Administrative and Financial Files include accounting and banking records, budgets, founding documents, fundraising records, grants records, mailing lists, membership lists, and Meridian House Foundation records.

ICA's programs are also documented by comprehensive printed materials arranged by ICA seasons, 1947-1967. Printed materials include program calendars, exhibition announcements, invitations, membership forms, and press releases. Also found are newspaper clippings and three oversized clippings scrapbooks.

Photographs include black and white photographs and negatives of people, most of whom are unidentified. Robert Richman's personal papers includes personal correspondence, correspondence related to "New Republic," handwritten and typed writings, some bills, and his curriculum vitae.

Unrepresented in this collection are records of ICA's ICONART Collection (Contemporary Arts Archives), an archive of films and tapes of artists' performances, lectures and events held by ICA.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1937, 1944-1980 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 2: Artists' Files, 1943-1967, 1970-1979 (4.9 linear feet; Boxes 3-8)

Series 3: ICA Program Files, circa 1947-1968 (5.2 linear feet; Boxes 8-13, 27)

Series 4: Organizations, 1927, 1940s-1967 (7.3 linear feet; Boxes 13-20, OV 39)

Series 5: ICA School Files, 1945-1953 (7.0 linear feet; Boxes 21-27)

Series 6: Administrative and Financial Files, 1945-1979, 1983 (5.2 linear feet; Boxes 28-33, 38)

Series 7: Printed Materials, 1945-1970 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 33-35, 38)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1930s-1960s, circa 1985 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 35-36)

Series 9: Personal Papers of Robert Richman, 1940s-1980 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 36-37)

Biographical / Historical:

The Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), was founded by poet Robert Richman in 1947 to bring arts and culture to the nation's capital. The school, originally named the King-Smith School of Creative Arts, was redesigned and renamed Institute of Contemporary Arts by Richman in 1948. The school's philosophy was based on Sir Herbert Read's Education Through Art, and provided professional training in painting, sculpture, literature, music, and theater. In addition, the ICA operated an evening school and brought prominent artists and literary figures to the nation's capital for exhibitions, concerts, workshops, lectures, readings, and performances. Teachers at the school included potter Alexander Giampietro, sculptor David Aaron, designers Beatrice Takeuchi and Hubert Leckie, and painter Kenneth Noland.

The school closed in August 1951, but the ICA continued to provide an impressive roster of programs and performances held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and other D.C. institutions, such as exhibitions by Naum Gabo, Bernard Leach, Isamu Noguchi, and Hans Richter; readings by W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot, Katherine Anne Porter, and Dylan Thomas; lectures by Charles Eames, Aldous Huxley, Octavio Paz, and Frank Lloyd Wright; and performances by Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith, José Limón Dance Company, and Ravi Shankar. The organization also sponsored visiting professorships for international artists and writers, such as Nadine Gordimer, and hosted an annual Congress of Artists and Writers from 1959-1964.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the ICA was successful in securing some large grants to continue and expand its programming and to secure permanent space at the Meridian House Foundation. However, by the late 1960s the organization's programming declined.

ICA founder Robert Richman was a poet and literary editor at New Republic magazine in the early 1950s. He was active in the arts community in D.C. and in international exchange organizations, including the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Project, an initiative started by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the late 1950s. Robert Richman passed away in 1987.

Provenance:

The Institute of Contemporary Arts records were donated by Maida Richman, the wife of the ICA's founder, Robert Richman, in 1986.

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.

Topic:

Art -- Societies, etc. -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

School records

Citation:

Institute of Contemporary Arts records, 1927-circa 1985, bulk 1947-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collection Care Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

AAA.instcona

See more items in:

Institute of Contemporary Arts records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-instcona