The papers of portrait and genre painter Lilly Martin Spencer, measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1828-1966. The collection includes biographical material, scattered lists, notes, receipts, and legal documents relating to Spencer's life and work, Spencer's business and family correspondence, printed material, a lithograph, photographs of Spencer and others, and photographs of Spencer's artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of portrait and genre painter Lilly Martin Spencer, measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1828-1966. The collection includes biographical material, scattered lists, notes, receipts, and legal documents relating to Spencer's life and work, Spencer's business and family correspondence, printed material, a lithograph, photographs of Spencer and others, and photos of Spencer's artwork.
The collection documents Spencer's popularity and success as a painter, her involvement with art associations and civic organizations such as Sorosis, and her personal life as a wife, mother, and breadwinner through correspondence with family, artists including John Sartain and Benjamin John Lossing, dealers including Samuel Putnam Avery, writers and editors such as Robert Green Ingersoll and Fannie Raymond Bitter, and social activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series:
Series 1: Biographical Material and Other Papers, 1853-1959 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 3)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1828-1966 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1857-1961 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2, OV 3)
Series 4: Photographs, circa 1890-circa 1950 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
New York and Ohio painter Lilly Martin Spencer (1822-1902) was known for her popular portrait paintings and humorous domestic genre scenes.
Spencer was born Angelique Marie Martin in England to French parents, Giles and Angelique Martin, who were followers of the French social critic Charles Fournier. The family came to New York in 1830, moved to Marietta, Ohio, in 1833 and, in 1845, co-founded the communal settlement, Trumbull Phalanx, near Braceville, Ohio. In 1848, after her marriage to Benjamin Spencer at the age of 22, Spencer returned to New York. She achieved much success as a painter and was the main breadwinner for her family while giving birth to thirteen children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. The family moved several times, to Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Newark, New Jersey; and Highlands and Poughkeepsie, New York.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has microfilm (reel 132) of the Martin family papers and Campus Martius Museum records regarding Lilly Martin Spencer. Originals are located at the Campus Martius Museum, Ohio Historical Society.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reel 131 including family history; biographical material; circa 50 photographs of Spencer and her paintings; M.A. thesis, "Lilly Martin Spencer: American Painter of the Nineteenth Century," by Ann Byrd Schumer; articles about Spencer's life and work, 1959; and a list of paintings owned by her granddaughter, Lillian Spencer Gates. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 1971 by Lillian Spencer Gates, Spencer's granddaughter.
Restrictions:
This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing and digitization. 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.
Letters and documents of 19th century Americans, outstanding in literature and the arts.
Correspondents include: Washington Allston, Alexander Anderson, John Audubon, Samuel P. Avery, John Warner Barber, Mathew B. Brady, John Casilear, Vincent Colyer, Christopher P. Cranch, Felix O. C. Darley, Daniel P. Huntington, Washington Irving, James J. Jarves, Charles Lanman, Charles Leslie,Benjamin Lossing, Samuel F. B. Morse, Rembrandt Peale, Thomas B. Read, Thomas A. Richards, Thomas B. Thorpe, William D. Washington, and Benjamin West.
Biographical / Historical:
Editor; New York City. Edited, with his brother George, Literary World, 1847, and published a journal with him, 1848-1853. Also, edited CYCLOPAEDIA OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1855.
Provenance:
Microfilmed 1956 by the Archives of American Art with other art-related papers in the Manuscript Division of the New York Public Library. Included in the microfilming project were selected papers of the Art Division and the Prints Division.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Correspondence with family, artists, and others, 1887-1925; legal and financial documents, 1887-1925; printed materials, 1888-1925; sketches, drawings, and blueprints, undated 1916-1920; and certificates, 1915-1918.
Correspondence consists of a chronological series, 1887-1925, containing letters and postcards from John White Alexander, Samuel P. Avery, William A. Clark, Frank Edwin Elwell, John Flanagan, Daniel Chester French, Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, Gorham Company, J. Scott Hartley, John LaFarge (undated), Charles Loring, Frederick MacMonnies, Charles Sprague Pearce, Auguste Rodin, Frederic Wellington Ruckstull, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and scattered letters from other nineteenth century artists regarding the execution of works, commissions, exhibitions and expositions in Paris and the United States, among them the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904) and the Exposition Universale (1899-1900), and Bartlett's illness and death in 1925.
The remainder of the correspondence, arranged by subject, includes letters from Bartlett's father, Truman Howe Bartlett, 1899-1913, many written from Boston where he taught in the architecture department of MIT, or from New Hampshire where he kept a studio, and letters to Paul regarding his father's entry in the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1925; correspondence with the American Club of Paris, 1903-1906, regarding Bartlett's membership; correspondence with the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, 1905-1907 (some from Joseph Pennell) regarding exhibitions; correspondence regarding commissions, including Lafayette, McClellan, General Warren, Library of Congress and other statues; postcards from artists, 1892-1895; and miscellaneous letters.
Legal documents relate to the Lafayette statue, 1900, and also include Bartlett's death certificate. Financial records, 1899-1922, consist of bank statements, checkbooks, bills and receipts for casting, photography, dues and rent. Clippings and a scrapbook deal with Bartlett's Lafayette statue. Other printed material includes articles on various Bartlett sculptures and other sculptors, exhibition catalogs, passes and announcements, yearbooks from the American Club of Paris, 1905-1909, and material from the American Art Association of Paris, including a 20 p. booklet by Bartlett giving the history of the group, and an invitation, 1906, to an auction to benefit the victims of the San Francisco earthquake.
Also included are sketches by Bartlett and his father, undated and ca. 1913; oversized drawings, plans and prints for monuments, statues, and the Capitol ceiling, undated and 1916-1920; postcards depicting Bartlett's sculpture; and certificates from the National Academy of Design and the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor and portraitist; Paris, France and Washington, D.C. Bartlett was born in Connecticut and raised in France where he entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts and also studied under Emmanual Fremiet and Auguste Rodin. His early sculpture focused on animals and his piece "Bear Tamer" was presented to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1891 and exhibited in the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. After 1895, he produced a number of public monuments, sculptures, and historical portraits including the figures of Columbus and Michelangelo for the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress, the Lafayette statue presented to France, and the pediment for the House wing of the U.S. Capitol. Bartlett died in Paris of blood poisoning on September 20, 1925.
Related Materials:
Additional Paul Wayland Bartlett papers also located at: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by the Tudor Place Foundation, Inc., 1994. The Tudor Place Foundation inherited the papers in 1994 with the estate of Armistead Peter III of Tudor Place. Peter III was married to Caroline, the daughter of Bartlett's wife by her first marriage to Mahlon Odgen-Jones. After Bartlett's death in 1925, Suzanne cared for his papers, and donated the bulk of them to the Library of Congress in 1954. The papers she retained passed on to Caroline, and at her death to Armistead Peter III.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
A letter to Robert W. de Forest of New York City from Elinor L. P. Lyon of Norwalk, Conn., stating her interest in the "Eagle picture" and making an offer to buy it (reel 2803); and
two letters to James Reid Lambdin from Samuel Putnam Avery, discussing paintings, frames, dealers, etc. (reel 3091).
Biographical / Historical:
Art dealer.
Other Title:
Robert W. de Forest papers (microfilm title).
James Reid Lambdin papers (microfilm title).
Provenance:
These letters were originally catalogued under the names of their recipients.
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.
Letters to Weitenkampf, mainly from artists and collectors concerning examples of their works in the library's collection.
Among the correspondents are: John Taylor Arms, Samuel Putnam Avery, John W. Beatty, George Bellows, Frank W. Benson, George Biddle, James Britton, George Elmer Browne, Mary Cassatt, Royal Cortissoz, Frederick K. Detwiller, Olin Dows, Kerr Eby, Daniel C. French, Arnold Genthe, George O. Hart, Malvina Hoffman, Edward Hopper, Daniel Huntington, Rockwell Kent, Frederick Keppel, Richard Lahey, Will H. Low, Louis Lozowick, H. Siddons Mowbray, Frank A. Nankivell, Thomas W. Nason, Joseph Pennell, Preston Powers, Henry Ward Ranger, William T. Richards, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Lessing J. Rosenwald,Peter F. Rothermel, William Sartain, George H. Smillie, James D. Smillie, Harry Sternberg, Albert Sterner, Lorado Taft, Abbott H. Thayer, Dwight W. Tryon, Douglas Volk, Olin L. Warner, John F. Weir, Julian A. Weir, Harry Wickey, Irving R. Wiles, Thomas W. Wood, Charles H. Woodbury, George H. Yewell, Mahonri M. Young, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Curator; New York City. Chief of the Prints Division, New York Public Library.
Provenance:
Microfilmed 1956 by the Archives of American Art with other art-related papers in the Manuscript Division of the New York Public Library. Included in the microfilming project were selected papers of the Art Division and the Prints Division.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The William Trost Richards papers measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1848-1920. The collection documents Richards' personal life and his career as a landscape and seascape painter. The collection consists of correspondence, writings, business files, printed material, photographs, and other miscellaneous materials.
Scope and Contents note:
The William Trost Richards papers measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1848-1920. The collection documents Richards' personal life and his career as a landscape and seascape painter. The collection consists of correspondence, writings, business files, printed material, photographs, and other miscellaneous materials.
Correspondence files date from 1851 to 1917 and include family correspondence between Richards and his wife Anna as well as with their children. Of note are letters written by William Trost Richards to his wife while he was in Europe, which include many illustrations of his travels. Also found is general correspondence of a personal and professional nature between Richards and friends, artists, art dealers, and collectors, many of whom played a prominent role in Philadelphia society. Writings include essays written by Richards, homemade magazines written and illustrated by the Richards family, and writings by his wife Anna and others. Business files contain financial, legal, and real estate records, and printed material contains an exhibition catalog from 1976, news clippings, and event programs. Miscellany found in this collection include artwork by others, and inventory of paintings by others, compiled by Richards, and an interview transcript with Miriam Thayer Richards. Photographs include images of Richards, his wife Anna, and their home in Newport, Rhode Island.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1851-1917, undated (Box 1-2; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 2: Writings, 1849-1905, undated (Box 2-4; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Business Files, 1865-1920, undated (Box 4; 3 folders)
Series 5: Miscellany, 1848-1876, undated (Box 5; 5 folders)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1850-1900 (Box 5; 7 folders)
Biographical/Historical note:
William Trost Richards was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1833. From 1850 to 1858 he worked as a designer and illustrator of ornamental metalwork, and briefly studied draughtsmanship and painting with the German artist Paul Weber. Richards was also an active member of the Forensic and Literary Circle of Philadelphia during the early 1850s. In 1852 he had his first exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and a year later was elected a full Academician. He had great interest in landscapes and geological subjects, and spent summers sketching in the Catskills and Adirondacks. From 1855 to 1856 Richards toured Europe with William Stanley Haseltine and Alexander Lawrie, and was influenced by the Dusseldorf school of landscape painters.
Richards married aspiring poetess Anna Matlack in 1856, and they settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania, where they had eight children, five of which survived to adulthood. In 1858 he attended an exhibition of British art in Philadelphia, and was greatly influenced by the works of Pre-Raphaelite painters. He began painting outdoors, executing precise, naturalistic, yet atmospheric, landscapes. In 1862 he joined the National Academy of Design, and in 1863 joined the Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art, an American Pre-Raphaelite organization. From 1868 to 1874, Richards spent summers on the East Coast and began focusing on marine subjects painted in watercolor, exhibiting often with the American Watercolor Society. Richards also traveled to Europe several times, and lived there from 1879-1880 while trying to find a new direction for his artwork. In 1881 he built a summer house for his family in Newport, Rhode Island and moved there permanently in 1890. His wife Anna died in 1900, and he continued to paint landscapes and seascapes until his death in 1905.
Related Archival Materials note:
Also available on microfilm at the Archives are the Geoge Whitney papers relating to William Trost Richards, 1875-1885, which includes 112 watercolors and an oil painting by William Trost Richards. These items were lent anonymously in 1979 and returned to the lender after they were filmed. They are available on reels 1497.
Provenance:
The bulk of the collection was donated in 1980 by Mrs. James B. Conant, Richards's granddaughter. The Archives microfilmed this portion of the collection on reels 2296-2299 upon receipt. The inventory of paintings by others was donated by Victor Spark in 1954 and filmed on reel 3470.
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:
Marine painters -- Rhode Island -- Newport Search this
Marine painting -- 19th century -- Rhode Island -- Newport Search this
Landscape painting -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania -- Germantown Search this
Landscape painters -- Pennsylvania -- Germantown Search this
Genre/Form:
Daguerreotypes
Photographs
Citation:
William Trost Richards papers, 1848-1920. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Correspondence, printed material, and photographs relating to Rosenthal's work, primarily as a portrait painter and collector of American art and artists' papers. Some material pertains to Rosenthal's father, the engraver Max Rosenthal.
Included are: biographical notes and articles by and about Rosenthal and his father, Max; writings by Albert about his father; and reproductions of Albert's work.
Rosenthal's research material on early American art consists of articles on artists, notes about portrait painters, typescript copies of letters of or about early American artists, among them Rembrandt Peale, G.P.A. Healy, and John Rampage, several original letters, including 5 from John Quincy Adams Ward to various people, and one from Ben Silliman to Asher B. Durand, and an engraved copy of a letter from Ben Franklin to Mr. Strahan, July 5, 1775.
Other material includes files on Rosenthal's portraits of French officers who served in the American Revolution; Gilbert Stuart's (George) Washington portraits, 1922-1923; the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia (includes correspondence with Jules Mastbaum, the founder of the museum, and others, 1925-1932); Jean Antoine Houdon's busts of Washington and Lafayette, 1925-1932; Harry T. Peters' book "America on Stone", 1931; and on "Rosen-Thal," Albert's home that was originally the Huffinagle mansion in Buck's County, Pa.
There is voluminous business and other correspondence, 1860-1940, relating to Max, Louis, and Albert Rosenthal's work and to Albert's portraits of Supreme Court Justices. Among the diverse group of correspondents are: Samuel Putnam Avery, William Hunt Diederich, Charles Henry Hart, Sakakichi Hartmann, Oliver Wendell Holmes, A. Mitchell Palmer, Alfred Stieglitz, William Howard Taft, and J. Alden Weir.
Photographs are of Rosenthal's work and of unidentified portraits possibly by Rosenthal; reproductions of European paintings, miniatures, sculptures; and miscellaneous portraits by various artists.
Unmicrofilmed material (0.4 feet) consists of miscellaneous photographs and reproductions.
Biographical / Historical:
Albert Rosenthal (1863-1939) was a portrait painter, printmaker, writer, and collector in Philadelphia, Pa. Rosenthal was a student of his father, engraver Max Rosenthal, and later published a book about him. He is also known for his portraits of Supreme Court Justices, and his collection of American drawings, which he donated to the Free Library of Philadelphia in 1927.
Provenance:
Donated by Albert Duveen, 1959. Duveen collected American artists' and art related papers with the intention of forming an American artists reference facility. He purchased at least some of Rosenthal's papers and much correspondence from the Albert Rosenthal Estate, and subsequently gave them to AAA upon its formation.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The papers of arts administrator, museum director, collector, dealer, and editor Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909), measure 27.74 linear feet and date from 1843-1990 (bulk dates 1884-1909). The bulk of the collection consists of detailed chronological correspondence between Kurtz and his wife and family, friends, colleagues, and business associates that documents many notable exhibitions, galleries, museums, private collections, as well as cities, people, and events of the period. Also found in the collection are Kurtz's diaries, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Charles M. Kurtz papers measure 27.74 linear feet and date from 1843 to 1990 with the bulk of the material dating from 1884 to 1909. The bulk of the collection consists of chronological correspondence between Kurtz and his family, most notably his wife, friends, colleagues, and business associates. Kurtz's letters are amazingly detailed and document many notable exhibitions, galleries, museums, private collections, as well as cities, people, and events of the period. The letters between Kurtz and his wife are most interesting for their descriptive commentary on late 19th century life and offer a complete picture of Kurtz's activities. Many of Kurtz's letters to Halsey C. Ives can be found in the Halsey C. Ives Papers. Some of the letters in the collection are illustrated. Also found in the collection are Kurtz's diaries, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into twelve series.
Series 1: Biographical Information, 1885-1931, undated
Series 2: Correspondence, 1843-1940, undated
Series 3: Circulars/Requests for Submissions of Works of Art, 1886-1905
Series 4: Legal Records, 1881-1928
Series 5: Financial Records, 1870-1989, undated
Series 6: Diaries, 1894-1901
Series 7: Notes and Writings, 1872-1980, undated
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1878-1909
Series 9: Printed Material, 1873-1990, undated
Series 10: Photographs, 1898-1990
Series 11: Photographs of Works of Art, undated
Series 12: Miscellany, undated
Biographical Note:
Charles M. Kurtz's name is known to many scholars and students of American art history. To some he is important for his critical writings, others are interested in his management of exhibitions for the Art Union and the American Art Association. Many are aware of him because of his publication of National Academy Notes, which continued for nine years. Still others are familiar with Kurtz in his role as an art administrator for late 19th century art exhibitions like those at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the St. Louis Fair, or for his accomplishments as the first director of the Albright Gallery in Buffalo, New York. Sometimes researchers have become familiar with his name through the sale catalogue for his considerable collection, which was sold at auction after his death in 1909. His career, which encompassed the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, touched on virtually every aspect of art in America during that period.
Born in 1853 to Davis Brook Kurtz (1826-1906), an attorney, and Julia Wilder, Charles Kurtz enjoyed a genteel upbringing. The Kurtz family originated in Darmstadt, Germany, and migrated to America in the eighteenth century. D.B. Kurtz, a leading member of the Lawrence County bar, was also a vice-president of the National Bank of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. As a local representative of many important railroad and business interests, he accumulated assets estimated at one million dollars by the time of his death, just three years before that of his son, Charles, the eldest of his five children. Unlike his brothers Louis, who also became an attorney, and Edward, a professor at Columbia University, Charles eschewed a professional career to enter the art world, as did his sisters Emily, an artist, and Catherine, a musician.
After his graduation from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, Kurtz visited the Centennial Exposition, held in 1876 in Philadelphia, before coming to New York to study art at the National Academy of Design. These two activities foreshadowed the direction that his career would eventually take. As the chronology indicates, his early efforts revolve around writing for a variety of publications, most notably, his own National Academy Notes. In 1881 he took what was to be the first of many trips abroad to survey the art scene in Europe. Later in his career, his fascination with foreign art and his own entrepeneurial interests led him to become an outspoken opponent of tariffs on imported art.
Kurtz's personal life changed significantly in 1884 when he met Julia Stephenson, a physician's daughter and fledging art student from Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Throughout their courtship and after their marriage the couple was frequently separated. Consequently, they wrote lengthy letters which document not only their personal relationship but also Kurtz's aspirations and activities in the art world.
With his appointment as one of Halsey C. Ives's (1847-1911) chief assistants of the Fine Arts Department of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1891, Charles Kurtz's career achieved international stature. Among the most notable European artists he introduced into this country through circulating exhibitions were the Glasgow School, the Danish School, the Hungarian artist, Mihaly Munkacsy, and the subject of his final exhibition, the Spanish artist, Sorolla.
Throughout his life, Kurtz was plagued by health problems and, in 1899, illness forced him to resign as Assistant Director of Fine Arts for the United States for the Paris Exposition of 1900. Throughout the following decade, his work was increasingly interrupted by ill health. His death in 1909 at the age of 54, while sudden, was not entirely unexpected. However it most certainly cut short a cosmopolitan career that encompassed virtually every aspect of the art world and the pertinent issues of the day.
Kurtz is remembered for his editorial work with the National Academy of Design; as Art Director for the Southern Exposition, 1883-1886, and the St. Louis Exposition, 1894-1899 (where he introduced the Glasgow School of Painting); and as Assistant Chief/Director for the World's Columbian Exposition, the 1900 Paris Exposition, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. He was also director of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy.
1855 -- Charles McMeen Kurtz born
1876 -- receives B.S. degree from Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
1876-78 -- studies at the National Academy of Design, N.Y. with Lemuel Wilmarth and William Morgan; writes a column, "New York Letters," for The Courant published in New Castle, Pennsylvania
1878 -- edits a small daily paper published during a "National Camp Meeting for the promotion of Holiness" held that summer in New Castle, Pa.; its critical stance resulted in his public denouncement and earned him a reputation as a journalist in western Pennsylvania; receives M.A. from Washington and Jefferson College
1878-79 -- becomes the local editor of The Guardian of New Castle
1879 -- publishes The Daily Reporter, a financial success
1881 -- publishes the first issue of National Academy Notes; travels in Europe, spending time in England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France (Paris)
1881-82 -- prepares Illustrated Notes for Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition
1882 -- writes "Art Notes" in The New York Tribune and resigns Dec. 23rd
1882-83 -- accepts position to write for Music and Drama, a new daily paper
1883 -- becomes the general manager of the American Art Union; exhibits a large collection of Art Union paintings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Louisville, Ky., where they became part of the Southern Exposition's first great art display
1883-86 -- accepts offer to become Director of the Art Department, Southern Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky
1884 -- edits Art Union magazine until December; applies for position to head the Art Department of the New Orleans World's Fair in September
1884-86 -- accepts a position offered by the American Art Association; terminates uncongenial relationship in March, 1886
1885 -- writes catalogues for the sale of the George Seney Collection and for the Watts exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; October 1, marries Julia Stephenson (1861-1931), daughter of Dr. A. T. Stephenson of Harrodsburg, Kentucky; they had two daughters who survived them: Julia Wilder Kurtz (1889-1977), and Isabella Starkweather Kurtz (1901-1991); another daughter, Elizabeth Stephenson Kurtz (1886-1897), predeceased them
1886 -- terminates employment with the Art Association; daughter, Elizabeth Stephenson Kurtz, born
1886-87 -- manages the circulation of Mihaly Munkacsy's Christ Before Pilot for Charles Sedelmeyer to American venues: New York, Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Nashville, Phildelphia, Indianapolis; tour generates $90,000 in ticket receipts
1889-91 -- February 24, appointed art critic ("Art Notes") and book reviewer for New York Daily Star; later literary and art editor of the Sunday Star
1890 -- writes for the Sunday edition The Press, a New York paper
1891 -- writes for The World; art editor for The New York Recorder; contributes to the New York Truth
1891-93 -- contributes to Chicago Evening Post ; writes artist biographies for The Chicago Graphic, a regional magazine; appointed Assistant Chief of the Department of Fine Arts of the World's Columbian Exposition
1894 -- contributes column, "Art at the Exposition" to St. Louis Life
1895 -- tours Denmark, Scotland, and France during the summer on behalf of the St. Louis Exposition
1894-99 -- appointed Director of the Art Department of the St. Louis Annual Exposition
1896 -- elected member of The Japan Society, London
1897 -- daughter, Elizabeth (Daisy), dies
1898 -- receives a diploma and medal "in recognition of valuable services in connection with the Fine Arts Exhibit" from the directors of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition, Omaha
1899 -- appointed Assistant Director of Fine Arts for the United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900; resigned in July due to ill health
1901-04 -- appointed Assistant Chief of the Department of Art of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, August
1901 -- daughter, Isabella Starkweather Kurtz, born
1902 -- receives honorary Ph.D from Washington and Jefferson College "in recognition of distinguished ability and services as an art critic and writer"
1905 -- receives the cross of the Order of Merit from Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria; appointed Director, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, in January; exhibits Glasgow paintings at Albright Art Gallery from November until the following April
1906 -- writes Academy Notes, a bulletin pubished by the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and the Albright Art Gallery; father, D.B. Kurtz, dies in Newcastle, Pennsylvania
1907 -- accused of importing German pictures free of duty for exhibition purposes and then selling some for profit
1908 -- Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree conferred by Washington and Jefferson College
1909 -- Charles M. Kurtz dies in Buffalo, New York on March 21
1910 -- Sale of the private collection of Charles M. Kurtz at auction, Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, February 24-25
1931 -- Widow, Julia Stephenson Kurtz dies October 30
1977 -- Daughter, Julia Wilder Kurtz, dies
1991 -- Daughter, Isabel Starkweather Kurtz, dies in Buffalo, N.Y.; remaining Charles M. Kurtz Papers bequeathed to the Archives of American Art and the National Academy of Design, New York
Related Material:
The St. Louis Exposition/Halsey C. Ives papers in the Archives of American Art contain material relating to Charles M. Kurtz.
Additional Charles Kurtz papers, 1870-1910, including 340 letters which discuss exhibitions, sales of art, patronage, atelier visits, and submissions to publications, and letters to his parents in which he discsses the art market and art world new; as well as manuscripts, notebooks, a diary, and printed ephemera relating to exhibitions and publications, are available at the Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Los Angeles, California.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 4912) including Charles Kurtz's Glasgow painting diary. The loaned diary was returned to the lender and can now be found at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
For many years, the Kurtz Papers were thought to have been destroyed in a fire. Isabel Kurtz, a school teacher who lived with her older sister in Buffalo, New York, was vague when initially approached about her father's papers by Archives Regional Director, Robert Brown in the mid-1980s. However upon her death in 1991, her will revealed that the papers were indeed in her house in Buffalo and the bulk of them were bequeathed to the Archives of American Art. Paintings and a diary relating to the Glasgow School were given to the Yale Center for British Art. That diary has subsequently been duplicated on microfilm and is now also available in the Archives. Scorch marks on some of the papers and also on the paintings given to Yale suggest that there was indeed a fire. The material that was not bequeathed to the Archives included duplicates of printed documents along with books from the Kurtz library and a coin collection, all of which were dispersed in an estate auction that was held in Buffalo in 1991.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Rights:
Glasgow painting diary, Microfilm reel 4912: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Yale Center for British Art. 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.
Tuckerman, Henry T. (Henry Theodore), 1813-1871 Search this
Extent:
800 Items ((on 3 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1857-1902
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, including letters, calling cards and sketches from American and European artists, among them Albert F. Bellows, Eugene Benson, Edwin H. Blashfield, Rosa Bonheur, Adolph W. Bouguereau, Samuel Colman, Clarence Cook, Jasper F. Cropsey, F. O. C.Darley, Charles F. Daubigny, John Du rand, Sanford R. Gifford, E. D. E. Greene, Augustus Hoppin, Victor Hugo, John La Farge, Jules Lefebvre, Jervis McEntee, Charles H. Moore, William S. Mount, Thomas A. Richards, Launt Thompson, Henry T. Tuckerman, and James McNeill Whistler; five diaries, 1871-1882, detailing annual buying trips to Europe; catalogs, clippings, and miscellaneous publications pertaining to the Avery Art Gallery.
Travel diaries were written exclusively during the summers of 1871-1882 while in Europe (ca.780 p.). Avery visited England, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Italy, visiting galleries and studios, and attending sales in the major cities. In his entries, he lists the works that he sees and art purchases that he makes, detailing prices, sizes, and frame requirements. Avery spent most of his time visiting dealers, making shipping arrangements, and commissioning work from a variety of artists. He visited auction houses such as Christie's in London, and "bric a brac shops" where he purchased not only paintings, but also furniture, tapestries and jewelry. He mentions several dealers throughout Europe, especially the P.L. Everard Company and Mr. Boughton in London, and Mr. Van Hinsberg in Belgium. His social engagements included gallery exhibitions, concerts, trips to the opera, and dinners. He describes the French city of Ecouen and the Italian countryside vividly. Avery also records his meeting with the Spanish artist Cutazzi, and describes in detail the finery of the Makart studio in Vienna. Throughout the diaries, he corresponds and meets with Mr. Everard, Mr. Boughton, James McNeill Whistler, Vincent Van Gogh, and people he refers to only as Sam and Mary. Avery writes often of his occasional traveling companion, Mr. Lucas. Beginning in 1873, he mentions his wife, letters to her, and gifts that he buys her. At the end of the diary, he lists his accounts during these years.
Biographical / Historical:
Copper and wood engraver, art dealer, connoisseur and advisor to important collectors. Eventually Avery gave up commercial engraving and devoted himself exclusively to collecting and dealing art; particular specialty being old Dutch paintings and romantic French landscape painters. A founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, many of the paintings in that collection were selected by him. He gave notable collections of architectural books to Columbia University, and of engravings and etchings to the New York Public Library.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Engravers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The life of man : symbolised by the months of the year in a series of illustrations by John Leighton ... : and pourtrayed in their seasons and phases : with passages selected from ancient and modern authors / by Richard Pigot
Drinking-cups, vases, ewers and ornaments : designed for the use of gold and silversmiths : twenty-one fac-similes of extremely rare etchings / by Virgil Solis
The collection of paintings, drawings, and statuary : the property of John Taylor Johnston, esq., to be sold at auction : they will be on exhibition at the galleries of the National Academy of Design ... on the morning of Wednesday, November 29th, and will continue on exhibition every week-day and evening until the time of sale, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, December 19th, 20th and 22nd, 1876 ... Chickering Hall ... New York / the sale will be made under the direction of Samuel P. Avery ... ; R. Somerville, auctioneer
The diaries, 1871-1882, of Samuel P. Avery, art dealer / edited from the manuscript with an introd. by Madeleine Fidell Beaufort, Herbert L. Kleinfield, and Jeanne K. Welcher ; foreword by A. Hyatt Mayor
