73 Items (Letters, written in ink, ball point, graphite, typewriter)
26 Items (Stamps)
3 Items (Photographs)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Place:
USA -- Tennessee -- Nashville
Date:
1831-1979
Scope and Contents:
This collection is an amalgamation of letters written and recieved by prominent figures in 19th and 20th century American Art. Included in the collection is a significant portion of letters from Abbott Thayer to correspondents from his circle of family, friends and art world figures such as Maria Oakey Dewing and Samuel Coleman.
Arrangement:
Organized alphabetically by author.
Biographical / Historical:
Beginning in his youth Thomas Brumbaugh collected autographed correspondence. Mr. Brumbaugh's collecting instincts resulted in a unique collaborative collection providing a glimpse into the lives of a variety of 19th and 20th century American artists, such as Abbott Thayer. Brumbaugh was a professor of fine arts at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and author of many articles on American art and artists.
Local Numbers:
FSA A2009.06
Other Archival Materials:
Thomas B. Brumbaugh research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer and other artists, 1876-1994 (bulk 1960s-1994); Also located at Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The papers of painter, author, and designer Nancy Douglas Bowditch and the George de Forest Brush family measure 6.2 linear feet and date from circa 1860 to 1985. The majority of the collection consists of Bowditch's correspondence with family and friends and her notes and writings, particularly concerning her biography of her father George de Forest Brush The Joyous Painter, and her unpublished biography of her husband painter William Robert Pearmain. Brush family material includes scattered correspondence of George de Forest Brush and other family members, notes, sketches, clippings, and the family home building files, five scrapbooks, including two on William Robert Pearmain, and numerous photographs of the Brush family, Bowditch, and William Robert Pearmain. There is also correspondence between William Robert Pearmain and his family and artwork by Pearmin.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of painter, author, and designer Nancy Douglas Bowditch and the George de Forest Brush family measure 6.2 linear feet and date from circa 1860 to 1985. The majority of the collection consists of Bowditch's correspondence with family and friends and her notes and writings, particularly concerning her biography of her father George de Forest Brush The Joyous Painter, and her unpublished biography of her husband painter William Robert Pearmain. Brush family material includes scattered correspondence of George de Forest Brush and other family members, notes, sketches, clippings, and the family home building files, five scrapbooks, including two on William Robert Pearmain, and numerous photographs of the Brush family, Bowditch, and William Robert Pearmain. There is also correspondence between William Robert Pearmain and his family and artwork by Pearmin.
Scattered family biographical materials include invitations, biographical sketches of George de Forest Brush, a ship's register, certificates, an obituary, and a sound recording of Nancy Bowditch.
Scattered personal business records include deeds of gift from various institutions and agreements from the publishing of The Joyous Painter.
One-third of the collection is correspondence with Nancy Douglas Bowditch, William Robert Pearmain, George de Forest Brush, and other members of the Brush, Pearmain, and Bowditch families. The majority of Nancy Douglas Bowditch's correspondence is from family and friends, although professional correspondence is also found. Nancy's notable correspondents include Jane Clemens, Barry Faulkner, Rockwell Kent, members of the Abbot Handerson Thayer family, and Nelson C. White. Also found are Nancy's letters to her first husband, William Robert Pearmain. Pearmain's correspondence includes letters from his parents, siblings, and his father-in-law, and a few letters from Pearmain to his family. George de Forest Brush's correspondence includes letters from friends and a few copies of letters written by Brush.
Writings and notes are primarily by Nancy Douglas Bowditch, the majority of which pertain to her biography of George de Forest Brush, The Joyous Painter, and her unpublished biography of William Robert Pearmain. Other writings are by George de Forest Brush, Tribbie Brush, Barry Faulkner, and William Robert Pearmain.
Artwork consists of approximately 78 drawings and sketches by William Robert Pearmain, 5 drawings and paintings by Nancy Bowditch, and one drawing by George de Forest Brush.
Brush family home and building files contain materials relating to a log cabin in New Hampshire, and the family home Brushwood which was built by William Robert Pearmain in 1911.
Five scrapbooks were compiled by members of the Brush, Pearmain, and Bowditch families. Two are about Pearmain, two are about George de Forest Brush, and one was organized by Harold Bowditch that contains family photographs.
Within printed materials are exhibition announcements and catalogs for George de Forest Brush, Barry Faulkner, Stephen Parrish, and Abbot Handerson Thayer.
Extensive photographs are of members of the Brush family, the Pearmain family, the Bowditch family, friends, and works of art by Bowditch, Brush, Pearmain and Douglas Volk. Included are portraits, snapshots, travel photos, wedding photos, and photos of the Brush family homes.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Information, 1909-1965 (Box 1; 7 folders)
Series 2: Personal Business and Financial Records, 1908-1974 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 3: Correspondence, 1895-1979 (Boxes 1-3; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1900-1975 (Boxes 3-4; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Artwork, 1898-1950 (Boxes 4, 9-10; 4 folders)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1889-1974 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Brush Family Home Building Files, 1910-1971 (Boxes 4, 8, 10; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 8: Scrapbooks, circa 1907-circa 1985 (Boxes 5, 8; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1860-1979 (Boxes 5-7, 11; 1.0 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Nancy Douglas Bowditch (1890-1979) worked primarily in the New Hampshire area as a painter, author, and costume and set designer. Bowditch's father was painter George de Forest Brush and she was first married to painter William Robert Pearmain, who died at an early age.
Nancy Douglas Bowditch was born to Mary and George de Forest Brush on July 4, 1890 in Paris, France. Along with her siblings Mary, Jane, Thea, Gerome, Tribbie, and Georgia, she often served as a subject of her father's paintings. The family lived in the artist colony of Dublin, New Hampshire where Nancy became close friends with their neighbor Samuel Clemens' (Mark Twain) daughter Jean Clemens.
Nancy met and became close to one of her father's pupils, William Robert Pearmain while traveling through Europe in 1907. Two years later, Nancy married Robert at the Brush family farm in Dublin, New Hampshire. Together, they had one daughter, Mary Alice whom they called Polly. Robert developed a strong political interest in growing anarchist movements, gave up painting and went to Pittsburgh to work in a factory. Shortly after, he became seriously ill and, upon the advice of a doctor, moved back to New Hampshire with Nancy. He soon died from leukemia in September 1912. In 1918, Nancy married her second husband Dr. Harold Bowditch from Boston, Massachusetts. With her second husband, Nancy had three more children, Martha, Henry, and George de Forest Bowditch.
Professionally, Nancy worked as a painter, wrote plays, and designed theatrical sets and costumes. In 1971, Bowditch published a biography of George de Forest Brush entitled The Joyous Painter. Nancy Douglas Bowditch died in 1979.
Related Archival Materials note:
Also among the collections at the Archives of American Art are the William Robert Pearmain and Pearmain family papers, 1888-1955, and an oral history with Nancy Douglas Bowditch conducted on January 30, 1974 by Robert F. Brown.
Provenance:
The Nancy Douglas Bowditch papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in several installments by Nancy Douglas Bowditch between 1968 and 1979. Bowditch's daughter, Mary A. Marlowe donated additional materials in 1982. In 2008, Joan Morgan, biographer of George de Forest Brush, donated additional papers she had acquired during her research.
Restrictions:
Use of originals 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.
Zolnay, George Julian, 1862 or 1863-1949 Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet ((68 items on 3 partial microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1905
Scope and Contents:
Biographical forms completed by artists and illustrators for the Art League Publishing Company's ARTISTS YEAR BOOK. Each contains details written by the artist concerning parentage, exhibitions and collections containing his work, books illustrated, memberships in clubs, etc.
Included are forms from: Hugo Ballin, Frederick E. Bartlett, James C. Beckwith, William V. Birney, Karl Bitter, Albert D. Blashfield, Carle Joan Blenner, Frederick A. Bridgman, Bolton Brown, Ray Brown, George Elmer Browne, George De Forest Brush, Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, Walter A. Clark, Kenyon Cox, Lockwood De Forest, Harry Fenn, James E. Fraser, Walter Granville-Smith, Jules Guerin, Birge Harrison, Thomas A. Harrison, Ernest Haskell, Albert Herter, George Hitchcock, Lucius Wolcott Hitchcock, Edward Kemeys, William S. Kendall, Alonzo Kimball, Charles MacCord, Thomas R. Manley, Richard F. Maynard, George H. McCord, Thomas Meteyard, Francis D. Millet, John H. Mills, Edward P. Moran, Henry Mosler,
Herman D. Murphy, Leonard Ochtman, Frederick B. Opper, Eric Pape, Ernest Peixotto, Edward Penfield, Louis M. Potter, Edward W. Redfield, Henry Reuterdahl, Louis J. Rhead, Henry Sandham, William Sartain, Claude A. Shepperson, Florence Scovel Shinn, George H. Smillie, James D. Smillie, Frederic D. Steele, Julian Story, Lorado Taft, Henry O. Tanner, Frank W. Taylor, Dwight W. Tryon, Charles Henry Turner, Charles Yardley Turner, Ross S. Turner, Simon H. Vedder, Carleton Wiggins, Irving R. Wiles, Henry Wolf, Charles H. Woodbury, Rufus F. Zogbaum, and George J. Zolnay.
Biographical / Historical:
Art publishing house; Chicago, Ill. Published, THE ARTISTS YEAR BOOK: A HANDY REFERENCE BOOK WHEREIN MAY BE FOUND INTERESTING DATA PERTAINING TO ARTISTS, AND THEIR STUDIO, HOME, AND SUMMER ADDRESSES, FOR 1905-1906. Arthur Hosking was the editor.
Provenance:
Donated 1958.
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.
The papers of painter and activist William Robert Pearmain (1888-1912) and the Pearmain family measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1888-1955. Papers are found for William Robert Pearmain, his wife Nancy Douglas Brush (later Bowditch), their daughter Mary "Polly" Pearmain, and other members of the Pearmain family. There are biographical materials; family correspondence; a watercolor; a travel diary and school essays by Pearmain; printed materials, including clippings and two publications by the Industrial Workers of the World; and photographs of the Pearmain family and artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter and activist William Robert Pearmain (1888-1912) and the Pearmain family measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1888-1955. Papers are found for William Robert Pearmain, his wife Nancy Douglas Brush (later Bowditch), their daughter Mary "Polly" Pearmain, and other members of the Pearmain family. There are biographical materials; family correspondence; a watercolor; a travel diary and school essays by Pearmain; printed materials, including clippings and two publications by the Industrial Workers of the World; and photographs of the Pearmain family and artwork.
Scattered biographical information includes materials concerning the Pearmain and Upton families including a wedding invitation, school transcripts, biographical sketches and a debutate ball program from 1931.
Much of the correspondence is from William Robert Pearmain to his family written while in school and in Europe. Pearmain's correspondence with his family discusses his career, marriage, daughter, travel, and political views. Later correspondence is from both Robert and Nancy to family members. Other family correspondence is between Nancy, Polly, Sarah Upton, Sumner, Alice, Margaret, and Jack Pearmain.
There are a few incoming letters to Robert, including one from Margaret Sanger. There are condolence letters to Nancy from John Graham Brooks, Rockwell Kent, William Sanger, and Alexander Beckman. A letter from George de Forest Brush to Robert's mother, possibly dated 1906, discusses her unhappiness about Robert leaving Harvard and staying with the Brushs' in Italy. A photocopy of a letter from Samuel Clemens to George de Forest Brush is found. Additional correspondents include Charles F. Dole and William E. Trautmann.
Artwork consists of one watercolor by William Robert Pearmain. Writings and notes include one diary written by Robert while in Europe (1907), school essays, and a list of European trip expenses. Printed materials include clippings, and one issue each of Solidarity , and Mother Earth. Photographs are of a drawing of William Robert Pearmain by Will Loring and family snapshots of Robert, Nancy, and Polly Pearmain in New Hampshire (1911).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1888-circa 1955 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1899-1955 (Box 1; 0.25 linear feet)
Series 3: Artwork, circa 1910 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1900-1908 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1907-1913 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1900-1911 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Biographical Note:
William Robert Pearmain (1888-1912), known as Robert, was a painter and political activist working in Boston and New York City. Born to a wealthy family in New England, Pearmain attended Harvard University to study architecture and studied painting in Italy under George de Forest Brush.
Between 1907 and 1908, Pearmain travelled through France and Italy studying with Brush and other artists. Upon returning to the United States, Pearmain married the eldest daughter of his mentor, Nancy Douglas Brush in Dublin, New Hampshire. Also an artist, Nancy settled with Robert in Boston and later in New York City. While in New York, Pearmain worked as an assistant to muralist Barry Faulkner. In 1911, the Pearmains welcomed their daughter Mary Alice, whom they called Polly.
While in New York, Pearmain grew dissatisfied with his artistic career. He discovered an interest in the conditions of the working class and his social and political viewpoints became increasingly radical. Despite his privilaged upbringing, he immersed himself in the world of manual labor. Leaving his wife and daughter behind, Robert walked from New York City to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to work at the Westinghouse Electric Company. Additionally, Pearmain became associated with the Industrial Workers of the World organization and participated in anarchist demonstrations.
Soon after arriving in Pittsburgh, Pearmain's health started to fail. His family believed the hard working conditions caused his illness and a doctor suggested that he return to Massachusetts to recover. In September of 1912, Robert Pearmain died of leukemia. Later, Nancy remarried Dr. Harold Bowditch.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is the Nancy Douglas Bowditch papers, circa 1900s-1970s that contain materials relating to her first husband, William Robert Pearmain and an oral history interview with Nancy Douglas Bowditch conducted on January 30, 1974 by Robert F. Brown.
Separated Material:
That Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 4589) including a drawing by Will Loring of William Robert Pearmain as a child. This item was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Nancy Bowditch and Edward F. McClennen, Pearmain's widow and grandson, donated the William Robert Pearmain and Pearmain family papers in 1973 and 1974. The photograph of the drawing on microfilm reel 4859 was lent for microfilming by William Robert Pearmain, Pearmain's nephew, in 1974.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of muralist, painter, and teacher Barry Faulkner measure 2.82 linear feet and date from circa 1858-1973. Faulkner's career; his relationships with family, friends, and fellow-artists; and his thoughts on art and artists are documented in biographical materials, correspondence, writings, sketchbooks, five diaries, two photograph albums and photographs, and one scrapbook. Correspondents include family members, Witter Bynner, Ann and Eric Gugler, Leon Kroll, Isabel Manship, James Johnson Sweeney, Maxfield Parrish and others. An unprocessed addition to the collection dating 1942 includes a one page letter mounted on board from Maxfield Parrish to Barry Faulkner.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of muralist, painter, and teacher Barry Faulkner measure 2.82 linear feet and date from circa 1858-1973. Faulkner's career; his relationships with family, friends, and fellow-artists; and his thoughts on art and artists are documented in biographical materials, correspondence, writings, sketchbooks, five diaries, photograph albums and photographs, and one scrapbook. An unprocessed addition to the collection dating 1942 includes a one page letter mounted on board from Maxfield Parrish to Barry Faulkner.
Biographical materials include biographical sketches, awards, and records documenting Faulkner's military service. Also found are a list of medications, a list of Faulkner's writings, party guest lists, an address book, a calendar, and materials related to the posthumous publication of Sketches From an Artist's Life. Of special interest are oversized architectural drawings by Eric Gugler for Faulkner's Keene, New Hampshire house.
Correspondence includes letters from Faulkner's friends, family, fellow artists, and art organizations and institutions. Faulkner's correspondence with his parents document his 1900-1901 trip to Italy with the Thayer family. Of special interest is his correspondence with writer Witter Bynner about Faulkner's daily life in New Hampshire, his travels through Europe, his artistic practice and career, Bynner's writings, his opinions on artistic and literary works, and his service in World War One. Many of the letters to Bynner include sketches by Faulkner of Abbott Handerson Thayer, Rockwell Kent, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Homer Saint-Gaudens, George de Forest Brush, Kahlil Gibran, and Mark Twain. Additional correspondents include sculptor Frances Grimes, architect Eric Gugler, painter Leon Kroll, and museum director James Johnson Sweeney.
Faulkner's writings are about art, artists, and the New Hampshire art community. Found are essays on Gifford Beal, George de Forest Brush, James Earle Fraser, Harriet Hosmer, Paul Manship, Charles Adams Platt, Hiram Powers, Edward Willis Redfield, Joseph Lindon Smith, Mary Lawrence Tonetti, Mark Twain, Lawrence Grant White, and Mahonri Young. Other writings discuss Faulkner's mural commissions, various aspects of New Hampshire history, and the history of the Dublin and Cornish art colonies whose inhabitants included George de Forest Brush, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Abbott Handerson Thayer. Of special interest is a manuscript for Faulkner's posthumously published memoir Sketches From an Artist's Life, and an unpublished manuscript titled A Neighborhood of Artists about the history and culture of the Connecticut River Valley.
Four sketchbooks by Faulkner contain drawings of landscapes, city scenes, architecture, people, nature, and studies of artwork by others. Also found are two loose sketches.
Five diaries document Faulkner's 1922-1924 trip through Europe, Africa, and Asia including stops in France, Italy, Egypt, and Turkey. Diaries record Faulkner's thoughts on architecture, tourist sites, and travel amenities. Found is one diary from 1956 that discusses social events, the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, the MacDowell Colony of artists, and various artists including Gifford Beal, Maxfield Parrish, Paul Manship, and Eric Gugler.
The bulk of printed material consists of clippings which document published writings by Faulkner, obituaries and published rememberances of Faulkner, local events in Keene, New Hampshire, and reproductions of Faulkner's artwork. Also found are exhibition catalogs of other artists, an announcement of Faulklner's death from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a publication illustrated with reproductions of Faulkner's murals for the National Archives.
Photographs include formal and informal images of Faulkner throughout his life, and photographs of his family and friends, his studio, and reproductions of his artwork. Also included are two photograph albums, one of which contains photographs of Faulkner during his youth and one that contains photographs primarily from the 1930s of Faulkner's Keene, New Hampshire house, himself, and his friends and family.
The collection also includes a scrapbook prepared for Faulkner's seventieth birthday containing photographs, cards, telegrams, and placecards with hand drawn illustrations which show the "taste and characteristics" of Faulkner.
Series 2: Correspondence, 1900-1973 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1912-1966 (Boxes 1-2; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 4: Sketchbooks and Sketches, circa 1910s-1930s (Boxes 2-3; 8 folders)
Series 5: Diaries, 1922-1956 (Box 2; 6 folders)
Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1858-1966 (Boxes 2-3; 8 folders)
Series 7: Photographs, 1892-1960s (Boxes 2-3; 15 folders)
Series 8: Scrapbook, 1951 (Box 3; 2 folders)
Biographical Note:
Francis Barrett Faulkner was born on July 12, 1881 in Keene, New Hampshire. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and went on to study at Harvard College. Around this same time, Faulkner began an apprenticeship with his cousin and painter Abbott Handerson Thayer and painter George de Forest Brush. He also met sculptors James Earle Fraser and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, both of whom became Faulkner's lifelong friends.
In 1901, Faulkner traveled to Italy for the first time with Thayer and his family. He returned to New York in 1902 and studied at the Art Students League and Chase School. He also completed illustration work for Century magazine.
In 1907, Faulkner won the Rome Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome. shortly thereafter, he left to study in Italy for three years, studying with George de Forest Brush and befriending sculptor Paul Manship. Upon his return in 1910, he started working on his first mural, commissioned by the wife of railroad executive E.H. Harriman. Having found his niche, Faulkner continued taking mural commissions until his career was interrupted by World War I and his service in the camouflage section of the army. Shortly after the war, he completed a mural for the marine headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.
Between 1923-1924, Faulkner worked in collaboration with Eric Gugler and Paul Manship to create the American Academy in Rome war memorial. Also following the war, Faulkner completed murals for the Eastman School of Music in 1922, the Rockefeller Center in 1932, and the National Archives in 1936. That same year, Faulkner bought and refurbished a house named "The Bounty" in Keene, New Hampshire, and built a studio nearby. In 1930, he was elected as a trustee of the American Academy in Rome.
During the 1940s, Faulkner created murals for numerous public buildings and sites around New Hampshire including the Senate Chambers in Concord, the Elliot Community Hospital, Keene National Bank, and the Cheshire County Savings Bank in Keene. During his final decades, Faulkner wrote an unpublished manuscript on the history of art in the Connecticut River Valley entitled A Neighborhood of Artists, and his posthumously published memoirs, Sketches of an Artist's Life. Faulkner died in 1966, in Keene, New Hampshire.
Related Material:
Found in the Nancy Douglas Bowditch papers at the Archives of American Art is correspondence, photographs, and printed materials related to Barry Faulkner. The Library of Congress, Manuscript Division also holds a small collection of Barry Faulkner's papers. Additional correspondence from Faulkner is found in the papers of Witter Bynner at the University of New Mexico and at Harvard University.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Francis Faulkner, Barry Faulkner's nephew, in 1974. An addition to the collection was donated by Jocelyn Faulkner Bolle in 2014.
Restrictions:
The bulk of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The records of Milch Gallery measure 42.5 linear feet and date from 1911-1995. Edward Milch (1865-1953) opened the Edward Milch Gallery in New York City. In 1916, he formed a partnership with his brother Albert Milch (1881-1951), a gilder and framer, creating E. & A. Milch, Inc., a gallery specializing in American art. Harold C. Milch (1904-1981), Albert's son, was appointed a partner in 1944 and continued the business until his death. Business records of Milch Gallery, 1911-1968, include correspondence, sales records, inventories, financial records, printed matter, photographs, and legal documents. Later additions to the records date from 1922-1995 and include correspondence; artists' files; financial, sales, and stock records; printed material; and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of Milch Gallery document the business transactions of the corporation and the professional and personal relationships of the Milch brothers with the artists they represented, as well as with the larger community of artists and art dealers between 1911 and 1995. Unfortunately, early correspondence is sparse. In a letter responding to a 1951 request for historical information, Milch replied: "Several years ago [1947] we had to give up our gallery at 108 West 57th Street, and move to smaller quarters here. Since we had no room for old records, we had to destroy most of them."
Alphabetical files are comprised mainly of incoming correspondence from 1911 to 1962. Correspondence concerns arrangements for exhibitions, sales and consignments, advice to collectors and executors of estates, and routine business matters. A number of the artists represented in these files were friends of the Milch brothers and some of their letters mention their personal lives as well as their formal business with the Gallery. Collectors who routinely dealt with Milch Galleries included John Gellatly, Mary Blair, Hersey Egginton, Carlton Palmer, and Edward Coykendell; a three volume manuscript catalogue of Coykendell's collection is included. Among the estates handled by Milch were Willard Metcalf, John Twachtman, Abbott H. Thayer, Maurice Fromkes, and Thomas Moran.
Also found are sales records and other financial records such as general ledgers, sales and purchase records, and tax information.
Printed matter consists of gallery exhibition catalogs, checklists, invitations, announcements, publications, and scrapbooks. Many catalogs and checklists are annotated with prices and other information. A complete run of Milch Galleries Art Notes, issued intermittently from 1918-1928/29 is preserved with the gallery records. as is a scrapbook relating to early exhibitions held at the Edward Milch Galleries and E. & A. Milch, Inc., and artists represented by them.
Photographs included with the records are less voluminous than might be expected, and pictures of works of art predominate. There are also a very small number of exterior and interior photographs of Milch Gallery, photographs of people including artists, Edward and Albert Milch, and photographs of groups such as Ten American Artists and the Associated Dealers in American Paintings.
The 1995 and 2014 additions measure 3 linear feet and date from 1922-1995. Milch Gallery activities are documented through correspondence; artists' files; financial, sales, and stock records; printed material; and photographs.
See Appendix for a list of Milch Gallery exhibitions and checklists
Arrangement:
Records of the Milch Gallery are organized into seven series. With the exception of the alphabetical files, records are arranged by record type and then chronologically. Photographs are categorized by subject, with pictures of individuals arranged alphabetically by name, and works of art arranged alphabetically by artist.
Missing Title
Series 1: Alphabetical Files, 1911-1962
Series 2: Sales Records and Inventories, 1911-1969, undated
Series 3: Financial Records, 1914-1980, undated
Series 4: Printed Matter, 1996, 1910-1967, undated
Series 5: Photographs, 1903-circa 1944, undated
Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1916-1970, undated
Series 7: Addition to the Milch Gallery Records, 1922-1995 (Boxes 60-65, 3 linear feet)
Historical Note:
Between 1911 and 1916, prior to the establishment of the Milch Galleries, Austrian immigrant Edward Milch (1865-1953) operated the Edward Milch Galleries at 939 Madison Avenue 1911, mainly handling prints and providing framing services.
Albert Milch (1881-1951) was employed by a gilder and later a picture framer before becoming the business partner of his older brother. In 1916 they incorporated as E. & A. Milch (with Edward as President and Albert as Secretary of the corporation) and opened the Milch Galleries at 108 West 57th Street, New York City. During their partnership, Edward served as President and Albert as Secretary of the corporation. According to Joseph Gotlieb, a long-time employee, during this period Montross Gallery became inclined toward modern French art and the American artists associated with them began searching for galleries more sympathetic to their interests. "As Albert Milch was a framemaker to several of them, and as he was opening a new gallery in 1916 to specialize in American Art, some artists decided to let the Milch Galleries, and others, handle their work. It turned out to be a good arrangement for both sides, and a successful one" (letter from Joseph S. Gotleib to Susan Hobbs [National Museum of American Art], December 30, 1977).
From the beginning, Milch Galleries dealt in American art almost exclusively, representing living artists, handling the estates of recently deceased artists; in addition they acquired nineteenth century works for resale and accepted pieces on commission. Although framing and restoration services continued to be offered to customers, this aspect of the business soon diminished in importance.
Harold C. Milch (1904-1981), Albert's son, was affiliated with the business, and upon his father's retirement was appointed partner; after Albert died in 1951, Harold was sole proprietor, serving as both President and Secretary.
Milch Galleries moved to smaller quarters at 55 East 57th Street in 1947, and ten years later to 21 East 67th Street. In 1967, the name was changed to Milch Gallery and the business relocated to 1014 Madison Avenue. The gallery dissolved upon the death of Harold Milch. A third brother, David C. Milch, was also an art dealer, but was not associated with Milch Gallery.
Missing Title
1911 -- Edward Milch Galleries opens at 939 Madison Ave.
1912 -- First exhibition at Edward Milch Galleries
1916 -- Incorporation of E. & A. Milch; Edward Milch, President, and Albert Milch, Secretary; change of name to Milch Galleries and relocation to 108 West 57th St.
1918 -- Milch Galleries Art Notes begins publication
1944 -- Edward Milch retires; Albert Milch President, and Harold C. Milch [son of Albert], Secretary
1947 -- Milch Galleries moves to 55 East 57th St.
1951 -- Death of Albert Milch (1881-1951); Harold C. Milch, President and Secretary
1953 -- Death of Edward Milch (1865-1953)
1957 -- Milch Galleries moves to 21 East 67th St.
1966 -- Archives of American Art begins acquiring records of the Milch Galleries (gifts and loans from Milch Galleries)
1967 -- Relocation to 1014 Madison Ave., and name change to Milch Gallery
1981 -- Death of Harold C. Milch (1904-1981)
1986 -- Archives of American Art receives the bulk of Milch Gallery records (gift of Salander-O'Reilly Galleries)
Appendix: List of Milch Gallery Exhibitions and Checklists:
Items marked with an asterisk (*) are contained in the scrapbook rather than with the Milch Gallery exhibition catalogs.
Missing Title
Nov. 16-Dec. 7, 1912* -- Exhibition of 300 Original Sketches in Oil by 100 Well Known American Artists
Feb. 15-March 8, 1913* -- Glimpses of Nature We Love to See, Feast, and Dwell On
April 28-May 7, 1913* -- Portraits of Children and Grown-Ups by Miss Susan Ricker Knox
Oct. 18-Nov. 1, 1913* -- Small Paintings and Bronzes
Oct. 18-Nov. 1, 1913* -- Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures by Noted American Artists
Feb. 9-21, 1914* -- Paintings by W. Herbert Dunton of The Old West
Oct. 17-31, 1914* -- Portraits in Oil, Miniatures, and Sculpture
Feb. 20-March 7, 1915* -- Paintings and Etchings by Gordon Mallet McCouch
April 26-May 8, 1915* -- Paintings by Frew W. Kost, N.A.
Nov. 7-19, 1915 -- Paintings and Sculpture by Matilda Browne
Nov. 15-30, 1915* -- Views of the Panama California Exposition and Landscapes of Southern California
Jan. 31-Feb. 12, 1916 -- Paintings by Garber, Pearson, Lathrop, and Spencer
Feb. 14-26, 1916* -- Landscapes by Walter Clark, N.A.
Feb. 14-26, 1916* -- Paintings by Guy Wiggins
Nov. 4-18, 1916* -- Opening Exhibition
Nov. 25-Dec. 9, 1916* -- Works by the Late Louis Loeb
Jan. 15-27, 1917* -- Paintings by Helen M. Turner
Jan. 30-Feb. 10, 1917* -- Paintings by Leonard Ochtman, N.A.
Feb. 14-24, 1917* -- Recent Paintings by William V. Schevill
March 6-24, 1917 -- Ten American Painters
March 13-24, 1917* -- George Bellows
March 14-24, 1917* -- Paintings by Frederick J. Waugh
March 26-April 7, 1917* -- Paintings by Howard Russell Butler, N.A.
April 10-21, 1917 -- Paintings by Harry F. Waltman and Howard Giles, and Sculptures by Willard D. Paddock
April 15-27, 1917* -- Paintings by Valentino Molina
April 24-May 5, 1917* -- Paintings by Thalia Millet
Oct. 27-Nov. 17, 1917* -- William Jean Beauley
Jan. 15-Feb. 15, 1918* -- Etchings, Dry-Point and Lithographs by Ernest Haskell
Jan. 28-Feb. 4, 1918 -- Sketches and Paintings by the "Nova Scotia Group"
Feb. 25-March 16, 1918* -- Paintings by Robert Henri
March 13-24, 1918 -- George Bellows
March 22-April 4, 1918* -- Paintings by H. Gabrielle Levey
April 8-, 1918* -- Etchings by Allen Lewis
Nov. 25-Dec. 16, 1918* -- Paintings by Edward H. Potthast, N.A.
Dec. 18-Jan. 16, 1918 -- Annual Holiday Exhibition of Selected Paintings of Limited Size by American Artists
Dec. 23-Jan. 10, 1919* -- Etchings and Dry-Points by Ernest Haskell
Jan. 13-25, 1919* -- Paintings by Mary Prindeville
Jan. 27-Feb. 13, 1919* -- With the A.E.F., Paintings and Drawings Made at the Front by S. J. Woolf
Feb. 14-26 [1919?]* -- Paintings by Arthur C. Goodwin
Feb. 18-March 1, 1919* -- Paintings by Jerome Myers
March 3-16, 1919* -- Recent Paintings of California by William Ritschel, N.A.
March 17-29, 1919 -- Recent Paintings by Lillian Genth, A.N.A.
March 28-April 9, 1919* -- Drawings of New York City by Peter Marcus
April 8-30*, 1919 -- Paintings by Leading American Artists
April 19-May 1*, 1919 -- Paintings by Valentino Molina
May 3-22, 1919 -- Recent American Sculpture
May 5-17*, 1919 -- Recent American Sculpture in Bronze, Wood, and Terra Cotta for the Town and Country House, the Grounds, and Garden
May 20-, 1919 -- Flag Pictures and Street Scenes by Childe Hassam
Nov. 16-Dec. 6, 1919 -- Childe Hassam
Nov. 17-Dec. 6, 1919 -- Exhibition of Works in the Various Mediums by Childe Hassam
Dec. 18-Jan. 16, 1920 -- Annual Holiday Exhibition of Selected Paintings of Limited Size by American Artists
Dec. 29-Jan. 15, 1920* -- Portraits and Other Paintings by Royston Nave
Feb. 2-14, 1920 -- George Biddle
Feb. 2-14, 1920* -- Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels, Monotypes, Silver-Points and Etchings by George Biddle
Feb. 16-28, 1920* -- Paintings by Ossip L. Linde
March 1-12, 1920 -- Bruce Crane
March 1-13, 1920 -- Bruce Crane, A.N.A.
March 15-April 3, 1920 -- Willard L. Metcalf
April 5-20, 1920 -- Paintings
April 8-30 [1920] -- Exhibition of Paintings by Leading American Artists
April 15-May 1, 1920 -- Valentino Molina
Oct. 18-30 [1920?]* -- Paintings of New England and Drawings of the Devastated Towns of Flanders by George Wharton Edwards
Nov. 1-13, 1920 -- Six American Painters [Clark, Potthast, Snell, Nichols, Olinsky, and Volkert
Nov. 1-15, 1920 -- Paintings by Theresa F. Bernstein
Nov. 15-27, 1920 -- Childe Hassam
Nov. 21-Dec. 3, 1920* -- Sculpture by Gleb Derujinsky
Dec., 1920* -- Exhibition by George Biddle
Dec. 1-21, 1920 -- Etchings and Color Etchings by William Meyerowitz
Dec. 27-Jan. 28, 1921 -- Albert Delbert Smith
circa 1920 -- Ossip L. Linde
circa 1920 -- William Meyrowitz
circa 1920 -- Exhibition
Jan. 10-29, 1921 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Brush, Crane, Dewing, Metcalf, Hassam, and Murphy
Jan. 31-Feb. 12, 1921 -- American Art
Feb. 14-26, 1921 -- Guy Wiggins
Feb. 14-26, 1921 -- Arthur G. Goodwin
Feb. 28-March 12, 1921 -- Paintings by Robert Henri
March 14-April 9, 1921 -- Paintings by Gari Melchers
March 28-April 9, 1921 -- Peter Marcus
April 11-23, 1921* -- Portraits and Figure Paintings by Edith Catlin Phelps
April 11-30, 1921 -- Paintings by Willard Metcalf
May 2-30, 1921 -- American Sculpture for the Town and Country House, the Garden, and the Grounds
Oct. 18-30 [1921?]* -- Paintings and Drawings by George Wharton Edwards
Oct. 24-Nov. 5, 1921 -- Portraits and Paintings of Old New Orleans by Wayman Adams
Nov. 7-19, 1921 -- Flower Paintings and Sculpture by Mathilde Browne
Nov. 7-19, 1921 -- Paintings in Oil and Water Color by George H. Clements
Nov. 19-Dec. 3, 1921 -- Sculpture-Gleb Derujinsky
Dec. 5-31, 1921 -- Works by Abbott H. Thayer, Including Important Paintings, Water Colors, and Drawings
circa 1921 -- Exhibition
Jan. 9-21, 1922 -- Paintings by Katherine Langhorne Adams
Jan. 9-21, 1922 -- Paintings of California by Douglass Ewell Parshall
Feb. 13-March 4, 1922 -- Paintings of Cape Ann by Harry A. Vincent, A.N.A.
March 6-25, 1922* -- Pastels of the Cascapedia River, Canada, by Arthur C. Goodwin
March 6-25, 1922 -- Connecticut Landscape Paintings by Wilson Irvine
March 27-April 15, 1922* -- Moonlight Motifs: Garden of the Gods, Colorado and Other Paintings by Robert Reid, N.A.
Dec. 26-Jan. 13, 1923 -- Paintings and Pastels by Henry C. White
Jan. 15-27, 1923* -- Paintings of Spain by William J. Potter
Jan. 29-Feb. 10, 1923 -- Water Colors of the South Sea Islands by William Ritschel, N.A.
Feb. 12-March 3, 1923 -- Paintings by Willard L. Metcalf
March 5-31, 1923 -- Paintings of the Far East by Leon Gaspard
March 19-31, 1923* -- Landscape Paintings by Guy Wiggins, A.N.A.
April 2-21, 1923* -- Portrait Drawings by Ercole Cartotto
April 19-May 6, 1923 -- Paintings by Leading American Artists
Oct. 1-20, 1923 -- Paintings by Sidney E. Dickinson, A.N.A.
Oct. 22- Nov. 3, 1923 -- Paintings and Sculpture by Mathilda Brown (Mrs. Frederick Van Wyck)
Nov. 5-17, 1923 -- Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by William Gedney Bunce
Dec. 11-23, 1923* -- Water Colors by James Montgomery Flagg
Jan. 14-26, 1924 -- Exhibition of Nudes, Portraits, Landscapes and Genre by Eugene Paul Ullman
Feb. 18-March 8, 1924 -- Paintings by Willard L. Metcalf
March 27-April 5, 1924 -- Connecticut Landscapes by Guy Wiggins, A.N.A.
Dec. 1-27, 1924 -- Maurice Fromkes
Jan. 5-17, 1925 -- Paintings of the Pacific Coast by Armin Hansen
Jan. 19-31, 1925 -- Martha Walter
Feb. 16-March 7, 1925 -- Willard L. Metcalf
March 9-21, 1925 -- John Noble
March 23-April 11, 1925 -- Bruce Crane
May 4-16, 1925 -- Brynjulf Strandenaes Exhibition of Portraits
May 18-30, 1925 -- Paintings by Robert Brackman
Dec. 7-31, 1925 -- Paintings by the Late Willard Metcalf
Dec. 7-21, 1925 -- Sketches by Dorothea A. Dreier,
Jan. 11-23, 1926 -- Recent Landscape Paintings by Frank V. Du Mond
Jan. 25-Feb. 13, 1926 -- Smaller Paintings by Max Bohm
Feb. 15-March 6, 1926 -- Paintings of the Sea by William Ritschel
April 13-May 2, 1926 -- Jonas Lie
April 26-May 15, 1926 -- Landscapes and Street Scenes by William Jean Beauley
Nov. 15-27, 1926 -- California Marine Paintings and Water Colors by Armin Hansen
Nov. 29-Dec. 18, 1926 -- Water Colors by Frank W. Benson
Nov. 29-Dec. 18, 1926 -- Silver-Point Drawings by Ercole Cartotto
Jan. 10-22, 1927 -- Portraits by Millie Bruhl Frederick (Mrs. Leopold Fredrick)
Jan. 24-Feb. 12, 1927 -- Paintings of Cornwall and Devonshire by W. Elmer Schofield
Jan. 24-Feb. 12, 1927 -- Etchings by Teresa Cerutti Simmons, Watercolors by Will Simmons
Feb. 14-March 5, 1927 -- Sculpture by Heinz Warneke
March 28-April 16, 1927 -- Paintings by Henry Golden Dearth
April 18-30, 1927 -- Decorative Flower Paintings by Olin Howland
April 18-30, 1927 -- Recent Water Colors by John Whorf of Boston
Oct. 10-28, 1927 -- Decorative Embroideries by Georgiana Brown Harbeson
Nov. 14-26, 1927 -- Pastels and Etchings of Cambodia and China by Lucille Douglass
Nov. 28-Dec. 24, 1927 -- Works by Gari Melchers
Nov. 28-Dec. 24, 1927 -- Sculpture by Max Kalish
Dec. 26-Jan. 14, 1928 -- Water Color Exhibition of West African Native Types by Erick Berry; Also a Group of West African Pottery and Brass Figures Made by the Natives of Nigeria
Dec. 29-Jan. 14, 1928 -- Paintings by Joacb Dooyewaard
Jan. 14-26, 1928 -- Decorative Paintings by Jane Peterson
Feb. 7-April 29, 1928 -- Alfred Hutty
Feb. 13-25, 1928 -- Water Colors by Alice Judson
March 12-24, 1928 -- Etchings of Ancient Dances by Teresa Cerutti-Simmons and Wild Life by Will Simmons
March 12-24, 1928 -- An Important Exhibition of Paintings and Pastels by John H. Twachtman
March 12-24, 1928 -- Sculpture by Heinz Warnecke
March 26-April 14, 1928 -- Water Colors by John Whorf
April, 1928 -- Water Colors by William Ritschel, N.A.
April 15-May 5, 1928 -- Portrait Drawings in Pastel by Jessie Voss Lewis
Oct. 22-Nov. 3, 1928 -- Water Colors of France and Italy, and Etchings by Louis Wolchonok
Oct. 22-Nov. 3, 1928 -- Poetic Landscapes with Figures by Henry M. Rosenberg of Nova Scotia
Nov. 19-Dec. 1, 1928 -- Water Colors by Frank W. Benson
Nov. 19-Dec. 1, 1928 -- Water Colors of Architectural Subjects in France, Also Landscape and Figures by William de Leftwick Dodge
Dec. 1-28, 1928 -- Alfred Hutty
Dec. 3-24, 1928 -- Important Exhibition of Early and Recent Works by Childe Hassam of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Dec. 3-24, 1928 -- Still Life Paintings by Ruth Payne Burgess
Dec. 20-Jan. 8, 1929 -- Drawings by Frank di Gioia
Dec. 20-Jan. 8, 1929 -- Memorial Exhibition, Water Color Sketches by Thomas Moran, N.A.
Dec. 27-Jan. 14, 1929 -- Erick Berry
Dec. 27-Jan. 14, 1929 -- Helen K. McCarthy Memorial Exhibition
Dec. 29-Jan. 14, 1929 -- Paintings by Jacob Dooyewaard
circa 1928 -- Indian and Animal Pictures and Bronzes by Edwin Willard Deming
Jan. 28-Feb. 9, 1929 -- Painitings of Western Life by F. Tenney Johnson
Jan. 28-Feb. 9, 1929 -- Paintings and Water Colors by Alice Judson
Feb. 11-23, 1929 -- Paintings and Drawings by Max Bohm
Feb. 11-23, 1929 -- Landscapes and Marines by Jay Connaway
Feb. 25-March 9, 1929 -- Water-Colors by Harold Putnam Browne
Feb. 25-March 9, 1929 -- Paintings by Truman Fassett
March 11-23, 1929 -- Recent Water Colors by C.E. Polowetski
March 11-23, 1929 -- Louis Ritman
March 25-April 6, 1929 -- Landscapes by Frank Vincent Du Mond
March 25-April 6, 1929 -- Water Colors by Armin Hansen of California
March 25-April 6, 1929 -- Sculptures by Roy Sheldon
April 8-20, 1929 -- Water Colors by John Whorf, Distinguished Young Boston Artist
Oct. 21-Nov. 2, 1929 -- Corners in Spain, An Exhibition of Paintings by Wells M. Sawyer
Nov. 4-17, 1929 -- Recent Sculpture by Heinz Warnecke
Nov. 4-16, 1929 -- Paintings of Ireland and Other Scenes by Power O'Malley
Nov. 18-30, 1929 -- Group of Recent Paintings by Hayley Lever
Nov. 18-30, 1929 -- Recent Water Colors and Etchings by Louis Wolchonok
Dec. 2-21, 1929 -- Paintings by Maurice Fromkes
Jan. 30-Feb. 11 [192?] -- Water Colors of Greek Temples in Sicily by Wm. De Leftwich Dodge
Feb. 2-15 [192?] -- Figure Paintings by Murray Bewley
March 15-April 3 [192?] -- Paintings by Willard L. Metcalf
March 28-April 16 [192?] -- Paintings by Henry Golden Dearth
April 2-21 [192?] -- Landscape Paintings by Bruce Crane, N.A
Oct. 17-29 [192?] -- Water Colors of the Rivera by Ferris Connah
Oct. 18-30 -- Paintings and Drawings by George Wharton Edwards
Oct. 25-Nov. 13 [192?] -- Recent Landscapes by John F. Carlson, N.A.
Oct. 25-Nov. 13 [192?] -- John F. Carlson
[192?] -- Indian and Animal Pictures and Bronzes by Edwin Willard Deming
Nov. 19-Dec. 1 [192?] -- Water Colors of Architectural Subjects in France, also Landscape and Figures by William De Leftwich Dodge
Jan. 20-Feb 1, 1930 -- West African Water Colors by Erick Berry
Jan. 20-Feb. 1, 1930 -- Paintings by Nelson C. White
Feb., 1930 -- Thelma Wood
Feb. 3-15, 1930 -- Paintings by Horace Brown
Feb. 17-March 1, 1930 -- Paintings by Francis Speight
Feb. 17-March 1, 1930 -- Paintings by Ruth Payne Burgess
March 3-15, 1930 -- Paintings by John Noble
March 17-29, 1930 -- Russian Paintings by Irwin D. Hoffman, Also a Group of Recent Watercolors
March 17-29, 1930 -- Alexander Warshawsky
March 31-April 12, 1930 -- Memorial Exhibition, Paintings and Watercolors of Sigurd Skou
March 31-April 12, 1930 -- Emmanuel Andrew Cavacos
April 14-26, 1930 -- Water Colors by John Whorf
Oct. 20-Nov. 1, 1930 -- Recent Paintings of Lake Como by Charles Warren Eaton
Nov. 3-15, 1930 -- Pastels and Etchings of Angkor and the Far East by Lucille Douglass
Nov. 17-29, 1930 -- Joseph Szekely
Nov. 17-29, 1930 -- Important Exhibiton of Paintings by a "Group of Americans"
Dec. 1-13, 1930 -- Diana Thorne and Canine Portraiture
Dec. 1-13, 1930 -- Recent Paintings of Ireland by Power O'Malley
Dec. 1-13, 1930 -- Paintings by Charles M. Cox of Boston
Jan. 19-31, 1931 -- Portraits by Jere R. Wickwire
Jan. 20-Feb. 1, 1931 -- Nelson C. White
Jan. 24-Feb. 7, 1931 -- Pastels and Etchings of Angkor and the Far East by Lucille Douglass
Feb. 2-24, 1931 -- Recent Paintings by Lillian Gentle
Feb. 2-24, 1931 -- Impressions of India and Palestine by Ruth Coleman
Feb. 16-28, 1931 -- Watercolors of Vermont Scenes and Other Views by Ruth Payne Burgess
Feb. 16-28, 1931 -- Martha Walter Recent Work in Oil and Watercolor
March 2-14, 1931 -- Recent Paintings by Alice Judson
March 2-28, 1931 -- Paintings & Drawings by Gari Melchers
March 16-28, 1931 -- Recent Watercolors by Harold Putnam Brown
March 30-April 11, 1931 -- Paintings by Louis Kronberg
March 30-April 11, 1931 -- Watercolors by John Whorf
April 13-25, 1931 -- Americans by American Artists, Exhibition of Portraits
April 13-25, 1931 -- Louis Kronberg
April 13-25, 1931 -- Portraits and Crayon Heads by Ferris Connah
April 13-May 2, 1931 -- Abbott H. Thayer
Sept. 22-Oct. 6, 1931 -- Water Colors by Gladys Brannigan, Alice Judson, Margery Ryerson
Oct. 19-30, 1931 -- Portraits by William Steene
Nov. 2-7, 1931 -- Portraits and Sketches by Maria Kammerer under the Patronage of Countess Laszlo Szechenyi
Nov. 9-21, 1931 -- Paintings by Bessie Lasky
Nov. 23-Dec. 5, 1931 -- Recent Oils, Water Colors and Etchings by Joseph Margulies
Dec. 7-21, 1931 -- Recent Paintings by George Wharton Edwards
Dec. 7-19, 1931 -- Paintings and Etchings of African and American Big Game by Major A. Radclyffe Dugmore
Dec. 7-19, 1931 -- Watercolors of Yucatan, "Land of the Mayas" by William de Leftwich Dodge
Dec. 20-Jan. 8, 1932 -- Water Colors of the Yellowstone and Mexican Series by Thomas Moran, N.A.
Jan. 11-23, 1932 -- Paintings, Watercolors and Etchings of Animals by Sybilla Mittell Weber
Jan. 25-Feb. 6, 1932 -- Paintings by George Oberteuffer, Member of the Salon d'Automne, Paris
Feb. 8-March 5, 1932 -- Important 19th and 20th Century American Painters
March 7-19, 1932 -- Paintings by Mrs. B. King Couper
March 7-19, 1932 -- Drawings by Maurice Sterne, Ernest Fiene, Alexander Brook, yasuo Kuniyoski, Bernard Karfiol, Peggy Bacon, and Leon Kroll
March 28-April 9, 1932 -- Watercolors by John Whorf
April 11-30, 1932 -- Forty Years of American Art
Oct. 3-15, 1932 -- New Paintings by American Artists
Oct. 19-Nov. 5, 1932 -- Paintings by Stephen Etnier
Nov. 7-30, 1932 -- Paintings by Edward Bruce
circa 1932 -- Recent Paintings by Stephen Etnier
Jan.30-Feb. 25, 1933 -- Important Exhibition of Paintings by Thomas Eakins
March 6-25, 1933 -- 19th and 20th Century Watercolors
March 27-April 14, 1933 -- Paintings by Francis Speight
April 17-May 6, 1933 -- Water Colors by John Whorf
May 15-31, 1933 -- 19th Century American Landscape Artists
Nov. 27-Dec., 1933 -- Water Colors by Emil Holzhaur
Feb. 26-March 17, 1934 -- Paintings by Stephen Etnier
March 19-April 7, 1934 -- Water Colors by John Whorf
April 16-May 5, 1934 -- Bali Studies by Maurice Sterne
June-Aug., 1934 -- Paintings by American Artists
Sept., 1934 -- Paintings by American Artists
Oct. 15-Nov. 3, 1934 -- New and Recent Paintings by American Artists
Nov. 5-21, 1934 -- Paintings by Sidney Laufman
Nov. 26-Dec., 1934 -- Recent Vermont Landscapes by Edward Bruce
circa 1934 -- American Figure Paintings of the 19th and 20th Century
Jan. 7-26, 1935 -- Paintings and Watercolors from the Samuel Halpert Estate
Feb. 4-28, 1935 -- Small Paintings by 19th and 20th Century American Artists
March 4-22, 1935 -- Recent Paintings by Stephen Etneir
March 25-April 13, 1935 -- Water Colors by John Whorf
April 22-May 11, 1935 -- Figure and Landscape Studies by Leon Kroll
May 20-June, 1935 -- Group Exibhition of Paintings
Summer, 1935 -- Paintings by American Artists
Oct. 1-26, 1935 -- Paintings by Childe Hassam
Oct. 28-Nov. 16, 1935 -- Watercolors by Millard Sheets
through Dec., 1935 -- Paintings by Americans
Jan. 1936 -- Paintings by Americans
Feb. 3-29, 1936 -- Important Exhibition of 19th and 20th Century American Painters
March 2-21, 1936 -- Stephen Etnier
March 30-April 19, 1936 -- Watercolors by John Whorf
May 18-June, 1936 -- Paintings by American Artists
Summer, 1936 -- Paintings by American Artists
September, 1936 -- Paintings by American Artists
Oct. 12-31, 1936 -- Contemportary Viewpoint
through Nov. 30, 1936 -- 19th and 20th Century American Figure Paintings
circa 1936 -- Landscapes--Contemporary Viewpoint
Jan. 11-30, 1937 -- Selected Landscapes
Feb., 1937 -- Contemporary American Sculpture
March 15-April 3, 1937 -- Watercolors by Millard Sheets
April 12-30, 1937 -- John Whorf
April 27-May 16, 1937 -- Maurice Sterne
May, 1937 -- Paintings by American Artists
Summer, 1937 -- Paintings
Oct. 1-15, 1937 -- Recent Watercolors
Oct. 18-Nov. 6, 1937 -- Paintings by Lucille Blanche
Nov. 8-30, 1937 -- Paintings by American Artists
Dec. 6-24, 1937 -- Watercolors by Lester Field
Jan. 3-22, 1938 -- Recent Paintings by Stephen Etnier
Jan. 24-Feb. 5, 1938 -- Paintings by Margaret Cooper
Feb. 7-26, 1938 -- Colonial Portraits
March 7-26, 1938 -- Recent Oils and Watercolors by Millard Sheet
April 4-23, 1938 -- Recent Watercolors by John Whorf
Summer, 1938 -- Paintings by American Artists
through Oct., 1938 -- Paintings by American Artists
Oct. 24-Nov. 12, 1938 -- Recent Watercolors by Karl Oberteuffer
Nov. 21-Dec. 17, 1938 -- Paintings for the Home by American Artists
Jan. 16-Feb. 4, 1939 -- Recent Paintings by Floyd Clymer
Feb. 6-25, 1939 -- Harry Hering
March 6-31, 1939 -- Figure Paintings by American Artists
April 3-22, 1939 -- Recent Watercolors by John Whorf
May 15-June 3, 1939 -- Recent Watercolors by Millard Sheets
Summer, 1939 -- Selected Group of Paintings by American Artists
Sept., 1939 -- Paintings and Watercolors by American Artists
through Oct. 13, 1939 -- Recent Paintings by a Group of American Artists
Oct. 16-Nov. 4, 1939 -- Recent Paintings by Saul Schary
Nov. 13-Dec. 2, 1939 -- Toreros and Dancers of Spain and Mexico by Carlos Ruano Llopis
Dec., 1939 -- Paintings for the Home
Nov. 5-17 [193?] -- Table Portraits by Eulabee Dix
[193?] -- Paintings by American Artists
Jan. 2-27, 1940 -- Stephen Etnier
Feb. 12-March 2, 1940 -- Recent Watercolors by Robert Carson
March 11-30, 1940 -- Daniel Serra Paintings
April 8-27, 1940 -- Recent Watercolors by John Whorf
April 28-May 18, 1940 -- Rubin Recent Paintings
through June 29, 1940 -- Paintings by a Selected Group of American Artists
through Sept. 28, 1940 -- Summer Exhibition of Paintings by a Selected Group of Early and Contemporary American Artists
Oct. 1-19, 1940 -- Recent Paintings by a Selected Group of American Artists
Oct. 21-Nov. 9, 1940 -- Recent Watercolors by Allen Ingles Palmer
Nov. 18-Dec. 7, 1940 -- Helen Sawyer
Dec., 1940 -- Selected Paintings for the Home, and A Group of Original Studies in Color by Maurice Sterne
Jan. 13-Feb. 8, 1941 -- Watercolors by American Artists
Feb. 17-March 15, 1941 -- Paintings by Stephen Etnier, Sidney Laufman, and Francis Speight
April 7-26, 1941 -- Recent Watercolors by John Whorf
April 28-May 17, 1941 -- Remembrances of South America and British West Indies by Manicol
May 19-June 30, 1941 -- Group of Paintings by Selected Contemporary American Artists
Summer, 1941 -- Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists
Sept., 1941 -- A Selected Group of Paintings by Americna Artists
Oct. 6-25, 1941 -- Recent Paintings by a Selected Group of American Artists
Oct. 27-Nov. 15, 1941 -- Eliot O'Hara Watercolors
Nov. 17-Dec. 5, 1941 -- Recent Paintings by Jay Connaway
Nov. 17-Dec. 6, 1941 -- Recent Watercolors by Richard A. Kimball
Dec. 8-27, 1941 -- Edith Blum Paintings
Jan. 5-24, 1942 -- Recent Paintings by Stephen Etnier
through Feb. 28, 1942 -- Selected Paintings by a Group of Contemporary American Artists
March 9-28, 1942 -- New Talents Presented by the Gloucester Society of Artists
April 6-25, 1942 -- Recent Watercolors by John Whorf
May, 1942 -- Selected Paintings by Contemporary American Artists
June 2-13, 1942 -- Yun Gee
Summer, 1942 -- Selected Paintings by Early and Contemporary American Artists
Summer, 1942 -- Paintings by Selected American Artists
Oct. 5-31, 1942 -- Recent Paintings by a Selected Group of American Artists
Nov. 9-30, 1942 -- Watercolors by American Artists
Jan. 18-Feb. 6, 1943 -- Paintings by Yovan Radenkovitch
April 4-24, 1943 -- Recent Watercolors by John Whorf
April 26-May 15, 1943 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Childe Hassam
May 25-June 5, 1943 -- Exhibition by Gladys Irene Cook
June, 1943 -- Selected Paintings by American Artists
Summer, 1943 -- Exhibition of Paintings by American Artists
Sept., 1943 -- Paintings by a Selected Group of American Artists
Oct. 4-23, 1943 -- Paintings by Yun Gee
Nov., 1943 -- Recent Paintings by a Selected Group of American Artists
Jan. 24-Feb. 12, 1944 -- Recent Watercolors by James Fitzgerald
Feb. 14-March 4, 1944 -- Paintings by Sidney Laufman
March 6-25, 1944 -- Paintings by Jessie Ansbacher
April 3-22, 1944 -- Recent Watercolors by John Whorf
May, 1944 -- Paintings by Important American Artists
Summer, 1944 -- Exhibition of Paintings by a Selected Group of American Artists
Summer, 1944 -- Exhibition of Selected Paintings by a Group of American Artists
Oct. 2-21, 1944 -- Recent Paintings by Jay Connaway
Oct. 23-Nov. 11, 1944 -- Harry Hering
Nov. 13-Dec. 2, 1944 -- Paintings by Hobson Pittman
Dec., 1944 -- Paintings for the Home by American Artists
Jan. 3-13, 1945 -- Paintings by Therese Steinhardt
Jan. 22-Feb. 10, 1945 -- Louis Ritman
Feb. 18-, 1945 -- Memorial Exhibition, Paintings and Pastels by William Henry Singer, Jr., N.A.
Nov. 19-Dec. 7, 1963 -- New Paintings by Aaron Bohrod
April, 1964 -- Watercolors and Pastels
April 21-May 9, 1964 -- Grigory Gluckmann
May 13-29, 1964 -- Frank di Gioia Recent Paintings
Oct., 1964 -- Group Exhibition
Nov. 3-21, 1964 -- Stephen Etnier
Nov. 24-Dec. 12, 1964 -- Thomas Blagden
Jan., 1965 -- Comtemporary American Artists
Feb. 2-14, 1965 -- Figure Paintings by Murray Bewley
Feb. 2-14, 1965 -- Exhibition by George Biddle
Feb. 11-23, 1965 -- Paintings and Drawings by Max Bohm
Feb. 14-26, 1965 -- Paintings by Arthur C. Goodwin
Feb. 16-28, 1965 -- Water Colors by Matilda Browne
Feb. 16-March 6, 1965 -- Water Colors by Adolf Dehn
March, 1965 -- 19th and 20th Century American Artists
March 1-13, 1965 -- Bruce Crane, N.A.
March 6-25, 1965 -- Pastels of the Cascapedia River, Canada, by Arthur C. Goodwin
March 26-April 7, 1965 -- Paintings by Howard Russell Butler, N.A.
March 23-April 10, 1965 -- Paintings by Dan Lutz
March 28-April 16, 1965 -- Paintings by Henry Golden Dearth
April 2-21, 1965 -- Landscape Paintings by Bruce Crane, N.A.
April 13-May 1, 1965 -- Paintings by Louis Bosa
April 16-28, 1965 -- Water Colors and Etchings by Adolphe W. Blondheim
May, 1965 -- Gallery Contemporaries
Oct. 25-Nov. 13, 1965 -- Recent Landscapes by John F. Carlson, N.A.
Oct. 26-Nov. 13, 1965 -- Twenty-Four New Paintings by Aaron Bohrod, Artist in Residence, University of Wisconsin
Nov. 2-14, 1965 -- Paintings by Ann Crane
Nov. 5-17, 1965 -- Memorial Exhibition of Paintings of Venice by Wm. Gedney Bunce, N.A.
Nov. 7-19, 1965 -- Paintings and Sculpture by Matilda Browne
Nov. 16-Dec. 4, 1965 -- Electra Bostwick
Dec. 7-30, 1965 -- Recent Drawings and Watercolors of European Countries and North Africa by Frank di Gioia
Jan. 11-29, 1966 -- Georges Schreiber Watercolors: 1963-1965
Jan.-Feb., 1966 -- 19th and 20th Century American Artists
Feb.-March, 1966 -- Group Exhibition
June, 1966 -- Group Exhibition
Oct. 11-29, 1966 -- Thomas Blagden
Nov. 1-19, 1966 -- Stephen Etnier
Nov. 22-Dec. 10, 1966 -- Pleissner
Jan. 24-Feb. 11, 1967 -- Xavier Gonzalez
April, 1967 -- Group Exhibition
April 18-May 6, 1967 -- Grigory Gluckmann
July, 1967 -- Group Exhibition
undated -- Etchings and Color-Etchings
undated -- Etchings of China and Cambodia by Lucille Douglass
undated -- Thomas Jefferson Bust in Bronze by Robert Aitken, N.A.
undated -- Paintings by Ossip L. Linde
undated -- Etchings by William Meyerowitz
undated -- Recent Screens and Panels by Roy Mac Nicol
undated -- Summer Exhibition of Paintings and Watercolors by 19th and 20th Century American Artists
undated -- Paintings by Clement
undated -- Important Works in Paintings and Sculpture by Leading American Artists
Jan. 3-14, undated -- Armin Hansen
Jan. 8-27, undated* -- Recent Etchings by William Meyerowitz
Jan. 8-31, undated -- Group of American Figure Paintings, 19th and 20th Century
Jan. 9-21, undated -- Paintings by Katherine Langhorne Adams
Jan. 16-28, undated -- Paintings by Dewitt Parshall, N.A., and Douglass Parshall, N.A.
Jan. 23-Feb. 11, undated -- Paintings by Bruce Crane, Elliott Daingerfield, Granville Smith, and F. Ballard Williams
Jan. 27-Feb. 11, undated -- Willam de Leftwick Dodge
Jan. 28-Feb. 16, undated -- Paintings by Gari Melchers
Jan. 29-Feb. 10, undated -- Paintings of the California Coast by Armin Hansen
Jan. 30-Feb. 11, undated -- Sigrud Skou
Feb. 13-25, undated -- Water Colors by Alice Judson
Feb. 13-25, undated -- Paintings by Guy Wiggins, N.A.
Feb. 13-March 11, undated -- Paintings by H.T. Keasbey
Feb. 15-March 5, undated -- Frederic James
Feb. 17-March 1, undated -- Silver Point Drawings by Thelma E. Wood
Feb. 18-March 6, undated -- Landcapes, Nature Moods Expressed in Terms of Light by Julie Mathilde Morrow
Feb. 18-March 8, undated -- Paintings of Venice, Rome and French Landscape, also Pastel Drawings of the Battle Sectors of the 26th Division, A.E.F. by J. Alden Twachtman
Feb. 27-March 10, undated -- Portrait Busts and Drawings by Alexander Portnoff
March 5-17, undated* -- Pastels of the Hudson River by Arthur C. Goodwin
March 7-16, undated -- Paintings of Africa and Spain by Lillian Genth
March 7-26, undated -- Sigurd Skou
March 8-20, undated -- Paintings by Sigurd Skou
March 10-22, undated -- MacDowell Club of New York City Annual Exhibition of Paintings
March 22-April 10, undated -- Paintings of the Cathedrals of France by Pieter Van Veen
March 26-April 12, undated -- Paintings by E. Martin Hennings
March 26-April 14, undated -- Recent Etchings by Elias M. Grossman
March 28-April 16, undated -- Martha Walter Water Colors of Spain and North Africa
April 5-17, undated -- Paintings by Ernest L. Blumenschein, Victor Huggins, Walter Ufer
April 7-19, undated -- Figure Paintings by Louis Ritman
April 12-23, undated -- Portraits and Figure Paintings by Edith Catlin Phelps
April 12-24, undated -- Paintings of American Gardens by Abbott Graves
April 16-28, undated -- Portrait Drawings in Pastel by Jessie Voss Lewis (Mrs. H.L. Daingerfield Lewis)
April 19-May 1, undated -- Paintings by Valentino Molina
April 21-May 3, undated -- Paintings of Tahiti and California by William Ritschel, N.A.
April 21-May 3, undated -- Leonard Lopp, Glacier Park Artist
April 22-May 15, undated -- Sculpture for House, Garden & Grounds by Leading American Artists, and Pottery by Clara L. Poillon
April 24-May 5, undated -- Paintings by Thalia Millett
April 26-May 15, undated -- Dan Lutz, Mighican Summer and Mexican Sojourn
April 26-May 15, undated -- William H. Singer
April 27-May 16, undated -- Recent Paintings by Gluckmann
May 3-28, undated -- Exhibition of Sculpture for Garden and Grounds by Leading Sculptors
May 5-17, undated -- Recent American Sculpture in Bronze, Wood and Terra Cotta for the Town and Country House, Grounds and Garden
Oct. 11-23, undated -- Paintings by Anna Heyward Taylor
Oct. 25-Nov. 13, undated -- Water Colors by Alice Judson
Oct. 27-Nov. 15, undated -- Paintings and Etchings by William Auerbach-Levy
Oct. 30-Nov. 11, undated* -- Connecticut Landscape Paintings by Robert Nisbet, A.N.A.
Oct. 31-Nov. 12, undated -- Paintings of China and Tibet by Alice Job
Oct. 31-Nov. 14, undated -- Drawings by James Wilkie
Nov. 5-17, undated -- Paintings of Venice
Nov. 15-27, undated* -- Water Colors by Childe Hassam
Nov. 16-Dec. 5, undated -- Recent Etchings by Alfred Hutty
Nov. 16-Dec. 5, undated -- Paintings by W. Elmer Schofield
Nov. 17-29, undated -- Paintings and Etchings by Power O'Malley
Nov. 18-30, undated -- Recent Work in Water Color and Etching by Louis Wolchonok
Nov. 19-Dec. 1, undated -- Winter Landscapes in Water Color by Walter Launt Palmer, N.A.
Nov. 19-Dec. 1, undated -- Painter Friends, Robert H. Nisbet, Guy C, Wiggins, Edward C. Volkert, Wilson Irvine, George M. Bruestle, and Carl J. Nordell
Nov. 23-, undated -- Landscapes by Ault, Brook, Coleman, Karfiol, Ritman, Speight, Sterne, and Weber
Nov. 23-Dec. 6, undated -- Portraits of America's Most Distinguished Women by Leon Gordon
Nov. 24-Dec. 3, undated -- Sculpture by Gleb Derujinsky
Nov. 26-Dec., undated -- Exhibition of Recent Vermont Landscapes by Edward Bruce
Nov. 26-Dec. 5, undated -- Alfred Hutty
Nov. 27-Dec. 9, undated -- Paintings by Sigure Schou
Dec. 1-27, undated -- Works Painted in Spain by Maurice Fromkes
Dec. 1-25, undated -- Annual Holiday Exhibition of Selected Paintings of Limited Size
Dec. 3-29, undated -- Recent Paintings, Water Colors, and Etchings by Hilde Hassam, N.A., of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Dec. 6-30, undated -- Selected Paintings for the Home by American Artists
Dec. 14-Jan. 2, undated -- Recent Paintings by George Shillard
Dec. 20-Jan. 8, undated -- Selected Small Paintings for the Home
Dec. 27-Jan. 12, undated -- Helen K. McCarthy Memorial Exhibition
Dec. 30-Jan. 18, undated -- Paintings by Stewart McDermot
Dec. 31-Jan. 12, undated -- Second Annual Exhibition in Pure Water Color by The Aquarellists
Provenance:
Milch Gallery gave the Archives of American Art a small selection of correspondence, photographs, and printed matter, and loaned a few other items in 1966-1967; these records were microfilmed on reels D285, N730, and NM1-NM2. Records of the Milch Gallery were purchased from the estate of Harold C. Milch by Elliott Galleries of New York City, and subsequently acquired by Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, which donated them to the Archives in 1986. With the exception of the scrapbook about Thomas Moran (reel N730; present location of the original is unknown), prior loans and gifts from Milch Gallery were incorporated and refilmed with the 1986 gift.
Stuart Feld of Hirschl & Adler Galleries donated an additional .8 linear feet of records in 1995. Zachary Ross of Hirschl & Adler Galleries donated 2.2 linear feet in 2014.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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.
An interview of Nancy Douglas Bowditch conducted 1974 January 30, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Bowditch speaks of her memories of early childhood; her father, George de Forest Brush, and his work; her relationship with her father; and her education and upbringing. She reminisces about Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Abbott H. Thayer, who were family friends, and their relationships with Brush; her family's home life, their travels in Europe; her family's relationship with Samuel Clemens and family; and her first husband, William Robert Pearmain, his family background, their marriage, his involvement with organized labor and social reform, and his early death from leukemia. She also recalls Douglas Volk and Barry Faulkner.
Biographical / Historical:
Nancy Bowditch (1890-1979) was a painter, a playwright, and costume and set designer. Bowditch was born in Paris, the second eldest child of painter George de Forest Brush. Brush made the artist-colony of Dublin, N.H. his American home, where Mark Twain and daughter Jean Clemens were neighbors. They spent considerable time in Paris and Italy. Nancy married William Robert Pearmain, a childhood neighbor and later, a pupil of her father, in 1909. Pearmain died of leukemia in 1912. Subsequently, she married Dr. Harold Bowditch whose father was instrumental in the development of Harvard University Medical School.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 38 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
5 Microfilm reels (800 items on 5 microfilm reels)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1864-1942
Scope and Contents:
The microfilmed American Academy of Arts and Letters records consist of artists' papers containing correspondence, notes, biographical material, exhibition catalogs, and other published material. Included is a volume of notes, drawings, and calculations made by George Bellows for a study of Jay Hambidge's theory of Dynamic Symmetry, as well as correspondence and biographical and critical material on George de Forest Brush, Childe Hassam, Francis D. Millet, Joseph Pennell, Elihu Vedder, and J. Q. A. Ward. The Hassam papers include letters from John Taylor arms, E. H. Blashfield, William Merritt Chase, Royal Cortissoz, J. Alden Weir, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. All groups contain official Academy correspondence from its secretary Robert Underwood Johnson.
Biographical / Historical:
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is an honor society in New York comprised of artists, writers, architects, and composers. The Academy was created in 1904 by members of the National Institute of Arts and modeled on the Académie française. The Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and letters merged on December 30, 1976.
Provenance:
Lent to the Archives of American Art for microfilming in 1965. This is a collection of miscellaneous papers representing a gathering over the years of unsolicited documentary resources on American art given or addressed to the Academy.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Function:
Arts organizations -- New York (State)
Learned institutions and societies -- United States
The papers of Boston and New Hampshire painter Joseph Lindon Smith date from 1647-1965, with the bulk of papers dating from 1873-1965, and measure 8.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from family members, artists, museums, and art patrons; seven diaries by Smith and two by his wife Corinna, personal business records, notes and writings, files concerning charitable theatrical productions, one sketchbook and other art work, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, and sound recordings of radio interviews and a radio program on Smith.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Boston and New Hampshire painter Joseph Lindon Smith date from 1647-1965, with the bulk of papers dating from 1873-1965, and measure 8.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from family members, artists, museums, and art patrons; seven diaries by Smith and two by his wife Corinna, personal business records, notes and writings, files concerning charitable theatrical productions, one sketchbook and other art work, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, and sound recordings of radio interviews and a radio program on Smith.
Scattered biographical material consists of family history documents for the Smith and Putnam families, a Jenkes family tree, and passports for Joseph Lindon Smith and his family.
Over three linear feet of letters are from family members, artists including Cecilia Beaux, Frank Benson, George DeForest Brush, and Denman Ross, museum staff concerned with work in Egypt, and art patrons including Isabella Stewart Gardner, and individuals involved with Smith's charitable pageants. There are scattered letters from Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Henry James, Charles G. Loring, Paul Manship, General John J. Pershing, John Singer Sargent, and Abbott Handerson Thayer. Among the subjects discussed are student life at the Académie Julian, the Smiths' travels, and individuals known by Smith.
Seven diaries written by Joseph Lindon Smith document his ravels in Egypt, Persia, Europe, and New Mexico. Two diaries were written by Corinna Smith during her travels to Beiram and Egypt.
Personal business records business records include contracts, price lists, lists of securities, and miscellaneous receipts of the Smith and Putnam families, Joseph Lindon Smith, Corinna Smith, and their daughter Lois Smith.
Notes include engagement calendars, notebooks, lists of art work, lecture notes, minutes of meetings, notes on family history and on travel, and an autograph by Kit Carson. Writings include miscellaneous typescripts by the Smiths and others concerning travel, work in Egypt and elsewhere, and anecdotes about various friends and acquaintances. There are also three drafts of "Egypt - My Winter Home."
Theatrical production files concern plays, pageants, and masques written and/or produced by the Smiths. Many of the performances were benefits, dedication or anniversary celebrations, such as a pageant given at Fenway Court in honor of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a pageant at the dedication of a memorial to Abbott Handerson Thayer, and the centenary celebration of the founding of Amherst, Massachusetts.
Art work includes a sketchbook with extensive notes, a painting, drawings by Joseph Lindon Smith, and prints by other artists.
A scrapbook contains clippings and an exhibition catalog from the St. Botolph Club. Additional printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, programs, booklets, brochures, and books by others.
Photographs are of Smith, his family, friends including classmates from the Académie Julian, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Abbott Handerson Thayer, exhibition installations, military camp sites from World War I, travel scenes, and art work by Smith.
Audio recordings consist of four sound disc recordings of interviews for WKNE Radio, Keene, New Hampshire, with Corinna Smith and Barry Faulkner talking about Smith, and a program about Smith and his book Tombs, Temples, and Ancient Art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1711-1948 (Box 1, 10; 5 folders)
Series 2: Letters, 1768-1965 (Box 1-4, OV 11; 3.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Diaries, 1904-1949 (Box 4; 11 folders)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1647-1959 (Box 4, 10; 11 folders)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1783-1963 (Box 4-6; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 6: Theatrical Production Files, 1897-1950 (Box 6-7, 10; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Art Works, 1932-1943 (Box 8, 10; 8 folders)
Series 8: Scrapbook, 1888-1901 (Box 8; 1 folder)
Series 9: Printed Material, 1723-1963 (Box 8, OV 11; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 10: Photographs, 1884-1956 (Box 8-10; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 11: Audio Recordings, 1956 (Box 9-10; 2 folders)
All material is arranged chronologically except for the writings by others and travel photographs that are arranged alphabetically.
Biographical Note:
Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950) of Boston, Massachusetts and Dublin, New Hampshire, was a painter primarily known for his ability to meticulously depict the murals and tomb sculpture of Egypt and other ancient cultures.
Joseph Lindon Smith was born on October 11, 1863 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the son of wholesale lumberman Henry Francis Smith and Emma Greenleaf Smith, a cousin of John Greenleaf Whittier.
From 1880 to 1882, Smith studied drawing and painting at the Art School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts under Frederic Crowninshield and Otto Grundman. Accompanied by his friend, Frank Benson, he attended the Académie Julian and studied under William Bouguereau, Gustave Boulanger, and Jules Lefebvre from 1883 to 1885.
Upon his return to Boston, Smith established a studio as a portrait and landscape painter, attracting the attention of Denman Ross, a professor of History of Fine Arts at Harvard University. In the early 1890s Smith and Ross began to travel extensively and Smith became interested in ancient civilizations of Mexico, China, and Southeast Asia. In 1892, during a trip to Italy, Smith befriended Isabella Stewart Gardner, for whom he copied famous paintings, and occasionally acted as agent in purchasing art work.
Making his first trip to Egypt in 1898, Smith became enthralled with the art work of the ancient civilization and devoted himself to painting copies of the tomb sculptures and murals for educational uses in museums and other public institutions. In 1899, he married Corinna Haven Putnam and the couple spent much of their married life traveling between the United States and the Middle East, especially Egypt. From 1910 to 1939, Smith was a member of the Joint Expedition of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Harvard University directed by Dr. George A. Reisner.
For fifty years, Smith was also sought out as a writer and producer of plays and theatrical pageants, fetes, and masques primarily staged for various charitable fund-raising events.
Joseph Lindon Smith died on October 18, 1950 in Dublin, New Hampshire.
Related Material:
The papers of Smith's wife, Corinna Putnam Smith, are available at The Schlesinger Library of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
The Joseph Lindon Smith papers were donated by Jessie T. Hale, Smith's granddaughter, in 1977 and 1978.
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.
The papers of wood engraver Timothy Cole date from 1883-1936, and measure 0.5 linear feet. Found within the papers are letters primarily written by Timothy Cole to the editors of Century Magazine, and letters to Cole from colleagues Gifford Beal, Alice Brown, George de Forest Brush, Kenyon Cox, David Finney, Helen C. Frick, Joseph Pennell, Caroline Powell, John Singer Sargent, and Helen M. Turner. Also found are miscellaneous writings, artwork including wood engravings and printing plates, miscellaneous clippings and a photograph of Cole and his wife.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Timothy Cole measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1883 to 1936. Found within the papers are letters primarily written by Timothy Cole to the editors of Century Magazine including A. W. Drake, W. Lewis Fraser, Richard Watson Gilder, Robert Underwood Johnson, and George Howes Whittle, discussing Cole's production of wood engraved copies of European master paintings for the magazine, and details of the wood engraving process. There are scattered letters to Cole from Century Magazine editors and colleagues Gifford Beal, Alice Brown (discussing Cole's wood engraved portrait of Louise Imogen Guiney for Brown's biography of her), George de Forest Brush, Kenyon Cox, David Finney, Helen C. Frick (concerning a bookplate), Joseph Pennell, Caroline Powell, John Singer Sargent, and Helen M. Turner.
Also found are miscellaneous writings including a notebook of poems by Cole, essays about Louise Imogen Guiney and Joseph Pennell, and an autobiographical essay, artwork consisting of wood engravings executed by Cole of works by the master painters of Europe and America, and two printing plates used by Century Magazine to reproduce Cole's wood engravings. Several clippings concern Cole, his work, and the publication of the book Timothy Cole: Wood Engraver by Alphaeus P. Cole and Margaret Ward Cole in 1936. There is also a photograph of Cole cutting a wood engraving block as his wife reads nearby.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 5 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Letters, 1883-1930 (Box 1; 32 folders)
Series 2: Writings, 1920 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 3: Artwork, 1907-1921 (Box 1, OV 2; 4 folders)
Series 4: Clippings, 1927-1936 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 5: Photograph, 1910 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Timothy Cole was a wood engraver working primarily in the New York City area. Cole worked for several notable magazines, Scribner's Magazine.
Timothy Cole was born in 1852 in London, England, the seventh of the twelve sons of Skinner Cole, a milliner. In 1857, the family immigrated to New York City. Following his mother's death, the family suffered financial hardship and Cole earned money as a delivery boy, newspaper seller, and lamplighter.
In 1868, the family moved to Chicago where Cole was apprenticed to a wood engraving firm and made rapid progress in learning this skill that was the most widely used method of magazine illustration at the time. When the Chicago Fire destroyed his place of employment in 1871, Cole returned New York City where his talents as a wood engraver were soon recognized by various artists and publishers. Cole began his career working for the magazines Hearth and Home, the Christian Weekly, and the Aldine Press.
After the Aldine Press went out of business in 1875, Cole was employed by Scribner's Magazine (later renamed Century Magazine.) During the same year, he married Annie Elizabeth Carter of Jersey City Heights, New Jersey. In 1883, Cole was commissioned by Century Magazine to travel in Europe and make wood engravings of the works of the old masters. He finished a series of Italian masters in 1892, a Dutch and Flemish series in 1896, an English series in 1900, a Spanish series in 1907, and a French series in 1910. In the course of his travels, Cole befriended many artists, including Joseph Pennell and James Abbott MacNeill Whistler. In 1910, Cole returned to the United States where he began work on a series of engravings of American master paintings in public and private collections.
Cole's work received a diploma of honor at the Chicago Exposition in 1893, the gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900, and the Grand Prix at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. He was an honorary member of the Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Engravers of London, a member of the American Academy of Arts and letters, and was elected a National Academician in 1908. In 1903, Cole received an honorary M.A. degree from Princeton University.
Timothy Cole died on May 17, 1931 in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel D30) including 181 letters. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The collection was acquired by the Archives of American Art in a series of accessions from several different donors between 1959 and 1973. Charles E. Feinberg donated letters in 1959. The artist's sons Percy J. Cole and Lucius Cole loaned 181 letters and gave the Archives materials in 1962. Alphaeus Cole, another son, donated papers in 1973.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Wood-engravers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
A letter from Pickard to many American artists requesting information from them for an art history course he was teaching at the University of Missouri in 1907 and replies from George de Forest Brush, Bryson Burroughs, Thomas Eakins, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, Albert Pinkham Ryder, and Dwight W. Tryon. Also included is a letter from Edwin H. Blashfield, 1916, and an article on Ryder.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian and educator; Columbia, Missouri.
Provenance:
The donor, Allen S. Weller, is the director of the Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois. He originally lent the collection for microfilming in 1973, and subsequently donated it to AAA in 1980.
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.
Brush acknowledges receipt of payment from Wilson for paintings, among them "The Picture Writers Story."
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New York, N.Y. and Dublin, N.H.
Provenance:
Material on reel D8 donated 1955 by Robert McIntyre.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of Howard Russell Butler measure 3.0 linear feet on 7 microfilm reels and date from 1874 to 1936. The collection includes writings, journals, organizational papers, correspondence, biographical information, printed matter, art works, and diaries.
Correspondence includes about 1700 letters concerning Butler's artwork, his interest in astronomy, support for the League of Nations and the World Court, his investigation of the Lincoln statue controversy, his management of the Andrew Carnegie house and property, and extensive correspondence about the various activities of the National Academy of Design and the American Fine Arts Society.
Also included are letters from Howard Russell Butler to family and friends, written from Princeton University, Cuba, Mexico, California, Colorado, and Europe; five diaries, 1876-1877; one drawing; and two oil sketches after a painting by Titian. It also includes a book of Butler's works, Howard Russell Butler, including an appreciation by F. Newlin Price, and an unpublished autobiography written from a journal kept by Butler.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 13 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1922 (Reel 0347)
Series 2: Correspondence and Exhibition Files, 1886-1933 (Reel 0347)
Series 3: Association Records, 1895-1932 (Reel 0347-Reel 0348)
Series 4: Project Files, circa 1918-1934 (Reel 0348-Reel 0349)
Series 5: Abraham Lincoln statue controversy, circa 1917-1922 (Reel 0349)
Series 6: Professional Files, 1903-1905 (Reel 0349)
Series 7: Book Projects, 1922-1931 (Reel 0349)
Series 8: Essay, undated (Reel 0349)
Series 9: Professional files, 1915-1920 (Reel 0349)
Series 10: Writings, circa 1936 (Reel 0089, Reel 0093)
Series 11: Letters, 1874-1907 (Reel 1189-Reel 1190)
Series 12: Diaries, 1876-1877 (Reel 1190)
Series 13: Artwork, circa 1888 (Reel 1190)
Biographical / Historical:
Howard Russell Butler (1856-1934) was a businessman, lawyer, and landscape painter from New York, NY. Butler was actively involved in many art associations, including founding the American Fine Arts Society. He was a National Academician of the National Academy of Design, and a member of the Architectural League and the Society of American Artists.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reels 89 and 93. Loaned materials were returned to the donor after microfilming.
Provenance:
Donated and lent 1970-1975 by H. Russell Butler, Jr., Butler's son.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Lawyers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The research material of Connecticut artists and authors Nelson and Henry C. White, measures 4.5 linear feet and dates from circa 1851-1961. The bulk of the collection consists of Nelson C. White's correspondence, writings, and research, primarily related to J. Frank Currier and Abbott Handerson Thayer, and referencing Thomas Wilmer Dewing. Also found are the correspondence, writings, and research files of Nelson's father, Henry C. White, primarily relating to Dwight W. Tryon. Research files include artist correspondence, writings and notes, printed material, photographs of the artists, and photographs of artwork and exhibition installations.
Scope and Contents:
The research material of Connecticut artists and authors Nelson and Henry C. White, measures 4.5 linear feet and dates from circa 1851-1961. The bulk of the collection consists of Nelson C. White's correspondence, writings, and research, primarily related to J. Frank Currier and Abbott Handerson Thayer, and referencing Thomas Wilmer Dewing. Also found are the correspondence, writings, and research files of Nelson's father, Henry C. White, primarily relating to Dwight W. Tryon. Research files include artist correspondence, writings and notes, printed material, photographs of the artists, and photographs of artwork and exhibition installations.
Nelson C. White's correspondence is with Elizabeth Currier, gallery owners, and other individuals in possession of artwork by Currier, conducted during his research on J. Frank Currier, as well as with Elizabeth Dewing Kaup and others concerning his research on Thomas Wilmer Dewing. Miscellaneous material includes reviews of White's autobiography on Abbott Handerson Thayer, and White's ink sketches for a holiday card.
Nelson C. White's writings and notes consist of annotated drafts of Abbott H. Thayer: Painter and Naturalist, The Life and Art of J. Frank Currier, and articles including "Cremona," and "The Art of Thomas W. Dewing."
White's research files form the bulk of the collection. 9 folders of research material on J. Frank Currier consist primarily of photos of artwork and of an installation at Lyman Allyn Museum, but also include a transcript of Currier's 1870 diary, and 3 photographs (copy prints) of Currier. White's research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer is substantial and includes: biographical material on Thayer, such as family reminiscences by Thayer's daughter, Gladys Thayer, and his father, William Henry Thayer; copies and originals of Thayer's letters to his first wife, Kate Thayer, and his second wife, Emma Beach Thayer, and correspondence with William Henry Thayer; typescript copies and originals of Thayer's correspondence with artists, politicians, naturalists and others including George Grey Barnard, Frank Weston Benson, George de Forest Brush, Royal Cortissoz, Maria Oakey Dewing, Thomas Wilmer Dewing , Charles Lang Freer, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent, Edward Martin Taber, and George Alfred Williams; annotated drafts of Thayer's writings and notes on art, philosophy, and nature including his theories on concealing coloration and wildlife preservation; printed material including 2 Thayer exhibition catalogs and news clippings of Thayer's letters to editors; and photographs of Thayer, his family and friends, his home and studio, and his artwork.
Henry C. White's papers include a folder of White's correspondence relating to the publication of his book, The Life and Art of Dwight William Tryon and including a letter from Elizabeth Currier; drafts of his biography of Tryon, including revisions by Mrs. Bender, Alfred Vance Churchill, and Mr. Rossiter; research material on Tryon including transcripts of letters from Tryon to George Alfred Williams, from Charles Lang Freer to Tryon, and from James McNeill Whistler to Henri Fantin-Latour; a typescript of autobiographical "notes and recollections" by Tryon; and photographs of Tryon, his home and studio, his artwork, and the Tryon Art Gallery at Smith College.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Nelson C. White Correspondence and Miscellaneous Material, 1921-1953 (Box 1; 0.25 linear feet)
Series 2: Nelson C. White's Writings and Notes, circa 1929-circa 1951 (Box 1, OV 6; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Nelson C. White's Research Files, circa 1851-1961 (Boxes 1-4, OV 6; 2.65 linear feet)
Series 4: Henry C. White Papers, circa 1860-1954 (Boxes 4-5; 1.1 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Connecticut painter, art historian, and collector, Nelson C. White (1900-1989) was born in Waterford, Connecticut, to artist Henry C. White. He studied at the National Academy of Design and Yale University and established himself as a landscape painter whilst also pursuing a literary career. He was the author of two biographies: The Life and Art of J. Frank Currier (1936), and Abbott H. Thayer: Painter and Naturalist (1951). White also penned an article on his friend, Thomas Wilmer Dewing ("The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing"), which was published in 1929.
White's father, Henry C. White (1861-1952), was an artist known primarily for his landscapes and seascapes of his native Connecticut. Born in Hartford, White began his career in 1875, studying with Dwight W. Tryon. In the 1880s he enrolled in the Art Students League in New York, while continuing to study with Tryon and other artists, including Kenyon Cox and George de Forest Brush. In the 1890s he traveled in Europe and then returned to Hartford where he taught drawing at the Hartford Public School, and co-founded the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts in 1910. Like his son, White had literary aspirations, and in 1930 published a biography of his life-long friend and teacher entitled The Life and Art of Dwight W. Tryon. Two years after his death in 1952, the Lyman Allyn Museum held a memorial exhibition for White, curated primarily by Nelson C. White.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art holds several collections related to the Nelson and Henry C. White research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer and Dwight William Tryon. These include research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer and other artists, 1895-1990, donated by Thomas B. Brumbaugh; the Abbott Handerson Thayer letter and drawings to Caroline Peddle Ball, circa 1890-1893; and the Dwight William Tryon papers, 1872-1930.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reels 1330 and 2807) including autobiographical notes by Tryon, letters to Nelson C. White and Henry C. white, photographs of artwork, and an article. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Archives of American Art purchased two linear feet of material from Nelson C. White in 1956. White also lent material and donated papers in 1978 and 1983.
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.
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.
The papers of painter and teacher Douglas Volk (1856-1935) and his father, sculptor Leonard Wells Volk (1828-1895), measure 12.4 linear feet and date from circa 1858-1965, 2008, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1870-1935. Douglas Volk's papers document his life and career through biographical material, family and professional correspondence, writings and notes, diaries and journals, financial records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographs of the artist, his family, friends, and artwork. The papers also provide documentation of the formation and operations of the Sabatos Handicraft Society established with Marion Volk from the Volk's summer home, Hewnoaks, in Center Lovell, Maine. Scattered documentation of the life and work of Leonard Wells Volk, is found in biographical material, land records, letters, memoirs, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and teacher Douglas Volk (1856-1935) and his father, sculptor Leonard Wells Volk (1828-1895), measure 12.4 linear feet and date from circa 1858-1965, 2008, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1870-1935. Douglas Volk's papers document his life and career through biographical material, family and professional correspondence, writings and notes, diaries and journals, financial records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographs of the artist, his family, friends, and artwork. The papers also provide documentation of the formation and operations of the Sabatos Handicraft Society established with Marion Volk from the Volk's summer home, Hewnoaks, in Center Lovell, Maine. Scattered documentation of the life and work of Leonard Wells Volk, is found in biographical material, land records, letters, memoirs, and photographs.
Douglas Volk's papers form the bulk of the collection and document all stages of his life from his first visits to Europe during his teenage years, until his death. Biographical material includes address books, biographical notes, genealogical records of Volk's family, and a warranty deed for land purchased by Marion Volk in Center Lovell, Maine, in 1904.
Family correspondence is primarily between Douglas and Marion throughout their courtship and marriage, but also includes letters from other family members including daughter Marion Volk Bridge and sons Wendell and Gerome Volk. General correspondence is with colleagues, art galleries, societies, institutions and museums, schools and colleges, government agencies, and others. Also found are letters from artists including George de Forest Brush, Elliott Daingerfield, Cass Gilbert, Philip Leslie Hale, Swedish woodcarver Karl von Rydingsvard, and J. Alden Weir; and friends Felix Adler and Percival Chubb.
Douglas Volk's writings and notes are on art, art instruction for children, and the significance and influence of his father's work, particularly Leonard Volk's Lincoln life mask, and include drafts of his monograph "Art Instruction in Public Schools."
Diaries and journals record details of Volk's early art education in Europe, including his friendships with Eugene Benson and George de Forest Brush and others, his time spent studying under Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux Arts, his appointment by the National Art Committee to paint portraits of World War I era politicians and military figures, and his Lincoln portrait painted just prior to Volk's death.
Financial records document day-to-day routine expense, as well as sales of artwork and other art-related transactions.
Printed material and a scrapbook of clippings and letters include press coverage of Douglas Volk's career from the early 1900s to 1918. An additional scrapbook provides documentation of the Sabatos Handicraft Society, including a copy of one of only three known editions of the society's publication The Fire Fly. Artwork includes sketches, two small oil paintings, and fifteen sketchbooks of Douglas Volk.
Photographs include portraits taken at various stages of Volk's career, family photographs, photographs of the main house at Hewnoaks and additional buildings, photographs of several artists including William Merritt Chase and Karl von Rydinsgsvard, photographs of world leaders including David Lloyd George, King Albert of Belgium, and General John J. Pershing, and photographs of artwork.
The papers of Leonard Wells Volk include seven volumes of his hand-written memoirs which document his relationship with Stephen A. Douglas, his first meeting with Lincoln, and his involvement with the Chicago Academy of Design. Also found are three letters including one written to Douglas Volk in 1887, and a memorandum related to the value of Leonard Wells Volk's Lincoln and Douglas statues at the Illinois State House. Photographs include three of Leonard Wells Volk, photographs of other family members including his wife Emily, photos of houses and woodland scenes, and photos of artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Douglas Volk Papers, circa 1870-1965, 2008 (11.85 linear feet; Boxes 1-12, 15-16, OVs 13-14)
Series 2: Leonard Wells Volk Papers, circa 1858-circa 1930 (0.45 linear feet; Boxes 11-12)
Biographical / Historical:
Chicago sculptor Leonard Wells Volk (1828-1895) created one of only two life masks of Abraham Lincoln. His son, painter and teacher Douglas Volk (1856-1935), was known for his figure and portrait paintings. Douglas Volk and his wife Marion Larrabee Volk established the Sabatos Handicraft Society, producing homespun woolen rugs and textiles from their summer home in Center Lovell, Maine.
Leonard Wells Volk was raised in New York State and Massachusetts, before moving to St. Louis to learn modeling and drawing. Around 1852 he married Emily Clarissa King Barlow, a cousin of Senator Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas took an interest in Volk's career and helped finance his trip to Rome and Florence between 1855 and 1857, where Volk studied art. On returning from Europe Volk settled in Chicago, opening a studio there and establishing himself as a leader in art circles and a founder of the Chicago Academy of Design. He served as president of the Academy (later the School of the Art Institute of Chicago) for eight years. Volk recorded his first meeting with Lincoln during the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, and the subsequent 1860 sittings with Lincoln for the life mask, hands, and bust, in his memoirs. The mask served as a model for many sculptors who made later portraits of Lincoln. Volk's other important works include the Rock Island County Soldier's Monument in Rochester, New York (1869), statues of Lincoln and Douglas for the Illinois Statehouse (1876), a bust of Douglas, and the Douglas Tomb monument (1881) in Chicago.
Douglas Volk was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1856. His artistic education began in his teens when he traveled to Europe with his family. In the early 1870s he lived in Rome and Venice, spending time with his friends George de Forest Brush and J. Alden Weir. He moved to Paris in 1873 where he studied at the École des Beaux Arts with Jean-Léon Gérôme, and exhibited his first picture, In Brittany, at the 1875 Paris Salon.
In 1879 Volk returned to the United States and accepted a teaching position at Cooper Union. He was elected to the Society of American Artists in 1880 and married Marion Larrabee in 1881. In 1883 Volk became a founder of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts and was appointed the first president of the subsequent Minneapolis School of Fine Arts in 1886, a position he held until 1893. During his time in Minneapolis, Volk purchased a summer studio and retreat in Osceola, Wisconsin, and he and Marion had four children: Leonard (1882-1891), Wendell (1884-1953), Marion (1888-1973) and Gerome (1890-1959).
In 1893 Volk returned to New York and accepted a position at the Art Students League, where he taught from 1893-1898, and also resumed his post at Cooper Union. He became interested in innovative ways to teach art and art history to children, and in 1895 the National Academy of Design printed his essay "A Plea for Art in the Public Schools," in its annual exhibition catalog. He was elected an associate of the Academy in 1898, becoming a full academician in 1899.
In 1898, looking to provide the family with a summer retreat, Marion Volk purchased property with a friend in Center Lovell, Maine, an area already enjoyed by the couple's friends, George de Forest Brush and Percival Chubb. The property was divided in 1901 and Marion added to her half creating a lot of approximately twenty-five acres. The Volks renovated the house, which they named Hewnoaks, and eventually built four more cottages and a studio for Douglas Volk on the property. During this period Marion Volk was working with handwoven wool on traditional area looms using fruit and vegetable hand-dyes and designs based on motifs from Native American art. In 1902 the Volks held the founding meeting of the Sabatos Handicraft Society at Hewnoaks, and the property became the hub of a Center Lovell community effort to produce rugs, textiles, and other handicrafts using traditional methods. Daughter Marion worked with her mother, and son Wendell, a printmaker and woodcaver, operated the Hewn Beam Press, printing pamphlets and a newsletter entitled the Fire Fly: A Periodical of Fearless Endeavour. Swedish-born wood carver Karl von Rydingsvard offered classes on wood carving at Hewnoaks, assisted by Wendell Volk.
Douglas Volk worked to make the Hewnoaks handicraft movement a success, but focused primarily on his own painting. The Maine woods provided endless inspiration and the setting for many of his paintings and murals, which primarily depicted romanticized historical subjects in Colonial America and reflected his traditional academic training. One of his best known works, The Boy with the Arrow (1903), a portrait of his son Leonard "Leo" Volk who died at the age of eight, is now in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Volk taught at the National Academy of Design from 1910-1917. He served as recording secretary and then on the council for the organization from 1910-1919. His acclaimed intimate portraits of friends and acquaintances, including Felix Adler (1914) and William Macbeth (1917), were painted during this period. In 1919 Volk was one of a group of artists commissioned by the National Art Committee to paint major figures from World War I. He subsequently painted portraits of King Albert of Belgium, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and General John J. Pershing, and recorded his meetings and sittings with the three men in his journals.
For the last fifteen years of his life Volk, using his father's life mask, painted a series of portraits of Abraham Lincoln, one of which hangs in the Lincoln Bedroom at The White House.
At least fifteen years prior to her death in 1925, Marion Volk's involvement in handicrafts at Hewnoaks declined, while Douglas Volk continued to focus on his own work. Wendell Volk's career in civil engineering took precedence over his interest in weaving and woodcarving and both he and his brother Gerome moved West in 1909. Following Douglas Volk's death in Fryeburg, Maine in 1935, Wendell Volk and his wife Jessie, also an artist, ultimately took possession of Hewnoaks. Wendell died in 1953, but the property was eventually bequeathed by Jessie Volk to the University of Maine and now operates as an artist colony.
Separated Materials:
Volumes 1, 3, 6-7, 9, and 10 of Leonard Volk's memoirs form part of the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana in the Library of Congress.
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 4280) including correspondence of Leonard Volk and photographs of his artwork. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The George Arents Research Library, Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York first lent material for microfilming in 1989. Most of the material was then donated in 2004–2005 by Jessie J. Volk, the daughter-in-law of Douglas Volk, who also bequeathed the Volk estate including additional Volk papers to the University of Maine. In 2006, University officials arranged for an auction of much of the property of the estate including the remaining family papers. The Volk Family estate auction was conducted by Cyr Auction Co., in Gray, Maine, on July 19, 2006. Several individuals purchased parts of the papers at that auction and subsequently donated them to the Archives. Those donors are: David Wright, who acquired the 1875 journal and Brush letters and donated them to the Archives in 2006; Dr. Christine Isabelle Oaklander, who purchased the account book, 1873–1875, and donated it to the Archives in honor of Judith Ellen Throm in 2007, and also donated additional letters and a photograph in 2008; and Mary K. and John F. McGuigan Jr., who purchased correspondence (1120 letters), speeches, lectures, articles, checks, check stubs and miscellaneous items and donated them to the Archives in 2015. In 2007, the University of Maine Foundation via Amos Orcutt donated the 1934 journal and 60 photographs.
John F. McGuigan Jr. and Mary K. McGuigan have purchased and donated additional archival materials to the Archives, including the Mary K. McGuigan and John F. McGuigan Jr. artists' letters collection, and 69 letters now among the Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers.
In 2007, the University of Maine Foundation via Amos Orcutt donated the 1934 journal and 60 photographs that were part of the Volk Family estate, but not included in the June 19, 2006 auction.
In 2019 Dr. Christine Isabelle Oaklander donated additional material purchased at auction, primarily photographs and some printed material.
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.
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.
Brumbaugh, Thomas B. (Thomas Brendle), 1921- Search this
Extent:
14 Items (Letters, written in ink, ball point, graphite, typewritter)
Type:
Archival materials
Lithographs
Correspondence
Place:
New York (N.Y.)
Date:
1779-1981
Scope and Contents:
This folder is an amalgamation of letters written and recieved by prominent figures in 19th and 20th century American art. Included in the folder are letters by Ambrose Andrews, Edward Bates, Gifford Beal, Aaron Bohrod, Carroll Clear, Samuel Colman, Josephine Daskam, Daniel Denison Rogers, William Elliot, George de Forest Brush, and Chester Harding. The letters' subjects cover a wide range of topics, including the buying and selling of art, invitations to dinner, and general correspondence.
Arrangement:
Organized alphabetically by author.
Biographical / Historical:
Ambrose Andrews was a portrait, miniature, and landscape portrait who worked throughout New England and the United States. He was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1801 and studied at the National Academy of Design. He exhibited paintings at many different institutions, including his portraits of Henry Clay and Sam Houston. Andrews's work is now in the New York Historical Society.
Edward Bates was a representative for Missouri in the mid-1800s. He served in the War of 1812 as a sergeant in a volunteer brigade, studied and practiced law, attended the state constitutional convention, was district attorney from 1821 to 1826, and was a member of the state senate. He declined to serve as Secretary of War for President Fillmore, but was appointed Attorney General of the United States by President Lincoln, and served from March 5, 1861 to September 1864. Bates died on March 25, 1869.
Admiral Charles Henry Davis was born on January 16, 1807, and served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation between 1862 and 1865. He then served as Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. He had three ships named after him.
Forbes Watson was an art critic, lecturer, and administrator in New York City in the early 20th century. He served as art critic for the New York Evening Post. In 1933 he was appointed Technical Director of the first New Deal art program, the Public Works of Art Project, which provided work for artists in the decoration of non-federal buildings. He later worked at the Treasury Department of Painting and Sculpture, which administered funding for decorating federal buildings. Watson finally served in the Treasury Department's War Finance Division, where he organized exhibitions and posters by combat artists to promote the sale of war bonds. Forbes Watson's papers are held in the Archives of American Art.
Gifford Beal was an American artist who worked with many organizations for the advancements of the arts, finding inspiration from a wide variety of sources, including holiday scenes, every-day life, and landscapes. Beal loved spontaneity and was influenced by French Impressionists. He was commissioned by the government to paint two murals: one on the post office in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and one in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C. Beal's papers are held in the Archives of American Art.
Aaron Bohrod was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 21, 1907, where he studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago. He worked for a while in the advertising art department at the Fair Department Store in Chicago, but eventually moved to New York City, where he joined the Art Students League. He died on April 3, 1992. During World War II, Bohrod worked as an artist for the United States Army Corps of Engineer and Life magazine in Europe.
Carroll Cloar was an American realist and surrealist who lived from 1913 to 1993. He grew up in Arkansas, but later moved to Tennessee, travelled Europe, and joined the Art Students League in New York City. During World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, and although he did complete some artwork during this period, none of it survives. Cloar then settled in Memphis. One of his paintings was chosen to commemorate President Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Cloar died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 10, 1993, after a long battle with cancer.
Samuel Colman was an American painter who belonged to the Hudson River School, and is most well-remembered for his landscapes. He was born in Portland, Maine, in 1832, and began exhibiting at the young age of 18. At 27 he was elected an associate of the National Academy, and later studied abroad in Paris and Spain. He was made a full Academician upon his return to the United States, and both founded and served as the first president of the American Water-color Society. He continued to both study in Europe and exhibit artwork, moving from New York to Rhode Island. Colman is represented in the metropolitan Museum, Chicago Art Institute, and many other collections. He died in New York City in 1920.
Josephine Daskam Bacon was an American writer known for writing about "women's issues" and using female protagonists. She wrote a series of juvenile mysteries and helped pioneer the Girl Scouts movement, writing a guidebook for the organization.
Daniel Denison Rogers is perhaps most widely remembered for the painting that John Singleton Copley completed of his wife, Abigail Bromfield.
Ithiel Town was an American architect and civil engineer who lived from October 3, 1784 to June 13, 1844. He worked in the Federal and revivalist Greek and Gothic styles, and was widely copied. He was born in Connecticut, and built both Center Church and Trinity Church in New Haven. Town patented a wooden lattice truss bridge, which made him quite wealthy. He formed a professional architecture firm with Alexander Jackson Davis. One of Town's most amazing feats was the construction of the Potomac Aqueduct in Washington, D.C., which allowed fully loaded canal boats to cross the Potomac River.
William Parker Elliot designed the old U.S. Patent Office, a very important Greek Revival building, with Ithiel Town.
George de Forest Brush was an American painter who grew up in Connecticut and is typified by his paintings and drawings of Native Americans. Even after moving from Wyoming, where he met the Native Americans, back to the East, Brush still occasionally enjoyed living in a teepee. Brush's artistic style later developed into Renaissance-inspired portraits. He was friends with Abbott H. Thayer, and along with Brush's wife, Mary, and son, Gerome, they all contributed to early camouflage designs. Brush died in New Hampshire in 1941.
Chester Harding was an American portrait painter born in Massachusetts in 1792. He worked in many different professions, finally becoming a self-taught itinerant portrait painter. Harding settled in Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, in a building that now houses the Boston Bar Association (the Chester Harding House, a Historic National Landmark). He studied at the Philadelphia School of Design, later setting up a studio in London, where he befriended and painted for royalty and nobility. Harding finally returned to Boston, where he died in 1866.
Local Numbers:
FSA A2009.06 4
Other Archival Materials:
Thomas B. Brumbaugh research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer and other artists, 1876-1994 (bulk 1960s-1994); Also located at Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Edgar P. Richardson papers, 1814-1996, bulk 1921-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
