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.
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 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.
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:
Missing Title
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.
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 open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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.
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.
3 Microfilm reels (800 items on 3 microfilm reels)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1857-1902
Scope and Contents:
The microfilmed Samuel Putnam Avery papers contain 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 Durand, 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.
The travel diaries were written exclusively during the summers of 1871-1882 while in Europe (circa780 pages). 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, Avery lists the works that he sees and art he purchases, 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 paintings, as well as 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 Écouen 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:
Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) was a wood engraver, art dealer, and collector in New York, New York. He was a founder and trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Avery took annual trips to Europe in the 1870s during which he commissioned art for clients. Avery also founded the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University and donated his collection of etchings and lithographs to the New York Public Library.
Related Materials:
The New York Public Library Manuscripts and Archives Division holds the Samuel Putnam Avery papers, 1822-1904. The New York Historical Society holds the Samuel Putnam Avery letters to William D. Murphy, 1902-1903. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Thomas J. Watson Library holds the Samuel Putnam Avery Papers, ca. 1850-1905.
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
4 Microfilm reels (5 linear feet on 4 microfilm reels)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1887-1925
Scope and Contents:
The microfilmed Paul Wayland Bartlett papers contain 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, 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 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 Barlett'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-page 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 circa 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.
The Archives of American Art also holds the microfilmed Suzanne Bartlett papers relating to Paul W. Bartlett, circa 1883-1950s; the microfilmed Caroline Ogden-Jones Peter papers relating to Paul W. Bartlett, 1955-1965; and the microfilmed Armistead Peter, Jr. papers relating to Paul W. Bartlett, 1920-1925. The Library of Congress Manuscript Division holds the Paul Wayland Bartlett papers, 1875-1959.
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.
