The bulk of collection consists of correspondence with his wife Alice Hirschberg and their son Laurence Nelson, but also included are letters to Hirschberg from Charles Yardley Turner and William St. John Harper, who write from abroad while studying art with Jean Paul Laurens and Leon Bonnat. Other correspondents include Walter Shirlaw, John Lavery, Edwin Austin Abbey, Arthur Hoeber and art patron J. Sanford Saltus. Nelson's correspondence relates to his experiences while studying abroad and with Birge Harrison at the Art Students League Woodstock Summer School. Also included are photographs, mainly of the family and a written work by Alice Hirschberg.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, illustrator; New York, N.Y. Born in Germany. Married to Alice Hirschberg (Alice Kerr-Nelson). Their son, painter and teacher Laurence Nelson, took his mother's name.
Provenance:
Donated by William Dolan Fletcher in 1985.
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.
1 Microfilm reel (circa 300 items on 1 microfilm reel)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1916-1923
Scope and Contents:
The microfilmed American Artists' Committee of One Hundred records contain letters from chairman William Anderson Coffin regarding membership, other artists, some personal matters, and the Allied Bazaar of 1916. Among the correspondents are Leon Bonnat and Edmond Thoumy Paris.
Biographical / Historical:
The American Artists' Committee of One Hundred was a relief organization formed by New York painters and sculptors to provide aid to the families of French soldier-artists, chiefly through the sales of artwork and donations. William Anderson Coffin was chairman.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the William Anderson Coffin papers, 1886-1924. The New York Historical Society holds the William A. Coffin papers, 1915-1926 which mainly consist of records of the American Artists' Committee of One Hundred of which Coffin was chairman.
Provenance:
Lent 1973 by New York Historical Society.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
47 photographs of 43 artists in their Paris studios. Artists include: Louise Abbema, Albert Aublet, Riene Bellcourt, Jean Beraud, Paul Albert Besnard, Maurice Bompard, Leon Joseph Florentin Bonnat, Gustave Rodolphe Clarence Boulanger, William Adolphe Bouguereau, Frederick Arthur Bridgman, Alexandre Cabanel, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Georges Jules Victor Clairin, Louis Joseph Rapheal Collin, Jean-Joseph Benjamin Constant, Fernand Cormon, Gustave Courtois, Pascal Adolphe Jean Dagnan, Jean Baptiste Edouard Detaille, Ernest Ange Duez, Carolus Duran, Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguiere, T. R. Fleury, J. Frappa, Walter Gay, Jean Leon Gerome, Henri Gervex, George Peter Alexander Healy, Antoine Auguste Ernest Hebert, Jean Jacques Henner, Charles Jacques, Jean Paul Laurens, Jules Lefebvre, Albert Maignan, Luc Olivier Merson, Aime Nicolas Morot, Mihaly Munkacsy, Alphonse Wane de Neuville, Georges Rochegrosse, Alfred Philippe Roll, John Singer Sargent, Alfred Stevens, and George Adolphus Storey.
The studios show mainly a strong Moorish influence.
Provenance:
Donated by the George Walter Vincent Smith Museum, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1971, which had received them from a Mrs. Kirkham?, a painter who probably purchased them while studying in Paris.
