Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Thirty-one letters, 1907-1944, received by Young, from Frank W. Benson, E. Irving Couse, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, Hobart Nichols and Frederick Church, regarding the disposition of paintings and their activities as artists.
Biographical / Historical:
Art dealer; Chicago, Illinois.
Provenance:
Donated 1965 by Leroy Ireland, an art historian.
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.
Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933 Search this
Extent:
1 Item ((on 1 microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1891
Scope and Contents:
Contains original etchings by Frederick Stuart Church, Charles A. Platt, William Langson Lathrop, Carlton T. Chapman, and Samuel Colman.
Provenance:
Mrs. Frank Hirst donated the catalog to the Archives. Previous owners included Constance Alexander Otwell and her aunt, Mrs. William Alexander.
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.
Randolph, Mary Leland Bloomer, 1880-1971 Search this
Names:
Church, Frederick S. (Frederick Stuart), 1842-1924 Search this
Extent:
1 Reel (ca. 140 items (on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1863-1923
Scope and Contents:
Ca. 110 illustrated letters from Frederick S. Church to "Mollie" [Mary Leland Bloomer Randolph]; a few letters from Randolph to Church; printed material including Church's exhibition checklist from the Macbeth Gallery, New York, 1916, clippings, a published article written and illustrated by Church, and reproductions; eight drawings by Church; and six photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Friend and model of Frederic S. Church. Church affectionately called her Mollie.
Provenance:
The lender, Mary Hobler, is the daughter of Mary Leland Bloomer Randolph.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
This small collection of items of New York painter Frederick Stuart Church, measures 0.1 linear feet and dates from circa 1895-1905. It includes letters, some illustrated, from Church to various people, a sketch, and a photograph of one of Church's paintings.
Scope and Contents:
This small collection of items of New York painter Frederick Stuart Church, measures 0.1 linear feet and dates from circa 1895-1905. It includes letters, some illustrated, from Church to various people, a sketch, and a photograph of one of Church's paintings.
Letters include three illustrated letters to Mike Gavin, in which Church describes himself as a bear and humorously addresses one letter to "Myrtle"; a letter to Mr. Hogan regarding an etching that Church made for him; an illustrated letter to W. F. Price; a letter to Mr. Putnam regarding Kenyon Cox; a letter to Mr. Van Allen regarding a work of art by Church that he suggested calling "Easter Morning"; a letter to an unidentified recipient regarding a female model; an illustrated note to an unknown recipient in which Church writes "This is a photo of a painting I gave to the Fund for relief of discharged employees of the Stock Exchange" with a photograph enclosed of the painting Mothers Return; and a signed sketch of a tiger by Church.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Frederick Stuart Church (1842-1924) was a painter, etcher, and illustrator in New York, New York, who specialized in animals.
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Church studied in New York City at the National Academy of Design and joined the Art Students League. By the 1870s he had a reputation as a gifted illustrator and worked for many magazines including various Harper's publications. He was most well-known for his depictions of animals, and his paintings were purchased by leading art collectors of the day, including Charles Lang Freer, Henry Clay Frick, and Potter Palmer.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Frederick Stuart Church letters and art work, circa 1892-circa 1923.
Provenance:
The collection is a combination of six gifts to the Archives of American Art: a letter was donated by Nina and Victor Spark; letters were donated 1955-1962 by Charles E. Feinberg; a note and a photo were donated in 1966 by Cummer Gallery of Art, Jacksonville, Florida, having received it from "a lady in Jacksonville"; the letter to Mr. Van Allen was donated in 1960 by the Flint Art Museum; and the letters to Michael Gavin were donated in 2012 by Ann Gavin Ffolliott, Michael Gavin's great-niece. The donor of the tiger sketch is unknown.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Etchers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Animal painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Citation:
Frederick Stuart Church papers, circa 1895-1905. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
REEL NOR 1: Correspondence, including letters and cards from Remington to his wife, Eva Adele Caten Remington, and with admirers and associates, including Edwin Austin Abbey, Albert J. Beveridge, Poultney Bigelow, Frederick Stuart Church, Powhatan Clark, Samuel L. Clemens, Royal Cortissoz, Homer Davenport, Richard H. Davis, Gen. George A.Forsyth, Childe Hassam, John Hay, A. Barton Hepburn, Arthur Hoeber, W. D. Howells, Carter P. Johnson, Rudyard Kipling, Daniel S. Lamont, Nelson A. Miles,W.L. Palmer, Howard Pyle, Julian Ralph, Theodore Roosevelt, Owen Wister, Gen. Leonard Wood, admirers and associates; and catalogs.
REEL 902: 11 brief letters from Remington to his friend Julian Ralph, and 1 letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Daniel W. Lord regarding Lord's apparent interest in New Mexico; a poem in Remington's hand; an autographed menu from a dinner of the Authors Club, New York City; and dedications in books written by Remington.
REEL 3470: A photocopy of a letter from Remington to "My Dear Colonel," March 21, 1903.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, sculptor, etcher, and illustrator New Rochelle, New York and Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Provenance:
Material on reel NOR 1 lent for microfilming by the Ogdenburg Public Library and Remington Memorial, 1956. Material on reel 902 lent for microfilming by Mr. & Mrs. Robert Benkert and Louis Fisher, 1974. Material on reel 3470 donated by Mrs. Miles Reber, 1981.
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.
Church, Frederick S. (Frederick Stuart), 1842-1924 Search this
Extent:
2 Volumes ((175 items on 1 microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Volumes
Date:
1906-1917
Scope and Contents:
Letters, some with sketches of bears, and other animals written to Evander and Grant B. Schley from Frederick S. Church. Also included are some photos of Church in his studio. (Microfilm title: Frederick Stuart Church Papers.)
Other Title:
Frederick Stuart Church Papers. (microfilm title)
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1968 by Evander Schley.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera measures 1.1 linear feet and dates from 1807 to 1946. Unrelated letters written by over 170 mostly 19th and early 20th century American artists are found in this compiled collection of art critic, dealer, and collector Albert Duveen. Additional ephemera includes printed material and photographs of artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera measures 1.1 linear feet and dates from 1807 to 1946. Unrelated letters written by over 170 mostly 19th and early 20th century American artists are found in this compiled collection of art critic, dealer, and collector Albert Duveen. Additional ephemera includes printed material and photographs of artwork.
Found are letters from artists Albert Bierstadt, Frederic E. Church, Frederick S. Church, Henry Inman, Constant Mayer, Jervis McEntee, Henry Mosler, Frederick Law Olmstead, Rembrandt Peale, Albert Rosenthal, and many others. Printed materials include catalog inventories of public and private art collections. There are also brochure booklets on New England historical houses and towns. Photographs are duplicate copies of early American artwork from Duveen's personal reference files.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Letters, 1808-1910 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Printed material, circa 1909-1946 (4 folders; Box 1, OV 2)
Series 3: Photographs, circa 1808-1910 (3 folders; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Art critic, collector, and dealer Albert Duveen (1892-1965) lived and worked in New York City, New York. He is known for his expertise in early American art and was a cousin to Joseph Duveen, president of Duveen Brothers art dealers.
Related Materials:
The Archives holds a microfilm copy of the Albert Duveen art reference files and a lecture, "An Art Dealer is Intrigued by American Folk Art," delivered by Albert Duveen, March 4, 1961.
Provenance:
The Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera was purchased from Duveen by the Archives of American Art in February 1956.
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.
Letters received; sketchbook; diaries; miniatures; photographs; clippings; and a manuscript draft.
REEL 3504: Letters from John W. Ames, W.C. Brownell of Charles Scribner's Sons, Katherine & Molly Childers, Frederick S. Church, John W. Cunliffe, Dr. Charles L. Dana, Jefferson B. Fletcher, Andrew Green, Gertrude Hall, Grace Hall, Leland Hall, Norman Hapgood, Theo Hawley, Laura Hills, Muriel "Pilla" Howells, Jeannette Meyers Hoyt, Ernest Lawson, Philip Littell, Mrs. J.W. McCarty, Gavin and Marie Mathison, Maxfield "Fred" Parrish, Elsie Pattel, Samuel H. Ranck, Edward Robinson, George Rublee, George Santayana, Edward Fred "Simmy" Simmons, Elizabeth Kendall Underwood, Janet Van Hise, Mary Viele, John F. Weir, Madeline Y. Wynne, and Cecilia Mary Young. Six of the 12 letters from F.S. Church are illustrated with drawings. Letters concern her health, her love affair with Simmons, her art, and financial concerns.
REEL 3825: Biographical material (1967, 1976); diaries (1890-1891, 1903); correspondence, including letters to her husband, Henry B. Fuller (1892-1922) and from John Singer Sargent and H. Siddons Mowbray (1890-1892); a sketchbook; miniatures; photographs (including a portfolio of photographs of miniature paintings); clippings (1910-1924); and a draft of THE MINIATURE AS AN HEIRLOOM by Lucia Fairchild Fuller.
Biographical / Historical:
Miniature painter; Cornish, N.H. Studied under Henry Siddons Mowbray and William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League in NYC. Married Henry B. Fuller in 1893. In 1899, she was one of the founders of the American Society of Miniature Painters. Was stricken with multiple sclerosis. Summered at the art colony in Cornish, N.H.
Provenance:
Lent by Lucia Taylor Miller, Fuller's granddaughter.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Wood, Charles Erskine Scott, 1852-1944 Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketches
Illustrated letters
Date:
1887-1931
Summary:
The John Gellatly letters received from artists measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1887 to 1931. Found within the collection are 120 letters to Gellatly from Emma and Abbott H. Thayer, Frederick S. Church, Irving Wiles, Albert Pinkham Ryder, C. E. S. Wood, and George Grey Barnard. Some of the letters contain sketches, particularly those from Church. Topics include the price and progress of artworks, requests for commissions, mutual friendships, and daily events. There are also two copies of the poem "The Flying Dutchman" by Albert P. Ryder.
Scope and Contents:
The John Gellatly letters received from artists measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1887 to 1931. Found within the collection are 120 letters to Gellatly from Emma and Abbott H. Thayer, Frederick S. Church, Irving Wiles, Albert Pinkham Ryder, C. E. S. Wood, and George Grey Barnard. Some of the letters contain sketches, particularly those from Church. Topics include the price and progress of artworks, requests for commissions, mutual friendships, and daily events. There are also two copies of the poem "The Flying Dutchman" by Albert P. Ryder.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 1 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: John Gellatly Letters Received from Artists, 1887-1931 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector John Gellatly (1853-1931) lived in New York City, N.Y. and established a real estate and insurance business in 1885. An art enthusiast, Gellatly furthered his interests by enrolling in classes. There, he would meet his future wife, the heiress Edith Rogers, whom he married in 1886. Together, they began collecting decorative art objects and contemporary paintings, including works by Albert P. Ryder, Abbott Thayer, and Childe Hassam. After Edith's death in 1917, Gellatly continued to collect art and eventually gifted the 1,640 objects and paintings in his collection to the Smithsonian in 1929. He died of complications from pneumonia in 1931.
Provenance:
The collection was initially bought by art historian Thomas Brumbaugh of Vanderbilt University from Walter R. Benjamin Autographs of Madison Avenue, and subsequently acquired in 1978 by the National Collection of Fine Arts, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Shortly thereafter, the letters were transferred to the Archives of American Art.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Sketches
Illustrated letters
Citation:
John Gellatly letters received from artists, 1887-1931. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
REEL 2029: 41 group photographs of artists' outings. Appearing in one or more photos are: George R. Barse, Charles Bittinger, A.E. Blackmore, Robert F. Bloodgood, J.G. Brown, Frederick S. Church, Percival De Luce, William H. Drake, Charles H. Ebert, Homer F. Emens, L. Farragut, William B. Faxon, William C. Fitler, Arthur R. Freedlander, J.C. Guy, Seymour J. Guy, William St. John Harper, Carl Hirschberg, William H. Howe, Francis C. Jones, James Kinsella, L. Kleiser, Homer Lee, Joseph Lauber, William H. Lippincott, Will H. Low, George W. Maynard, Charles F. W. Mielatz, B. Mitchell, James C. Nicoll, Ivan G. Olinsky, John F. O'Sullivan, W. P. Phelps, William M. Post, Frederick Richardson, Roswell M. Shurtleff, William T. Smedley, Charles Y. Turner, Douglas Volk, and Giles Whiting.
Biographical / Historical:
Artists' Fellowship's purpose is to assist artists and their families in case of sickness, bereavement or distress. It grew out of the Helpful Society, founded 1868, and housed in the Tenth Street Studio Building. It became the Artists' Mutual Aid Society, whose name was changed in 1889 to the Artists' Aid Society. In 1925 the Society was incorporated as Artists' Fellowhip, Inc.
Provenance:
Donated 1980 by Artists' Fellowship, via Michael Engel II, President. The original negatives and album of vintage prints on reel 2029 were found in the offices of the National Academy of Design, where the Fellowship at one time maintained offices.
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.
Rights:
Identities of recipients of awards: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from Artists' Fellowship, Inc. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Papers, mostly about 19th century American painters, including: correspondence, photos of art work, notes, artists' biographies, and printed matter. Many of the papers are stamped "de Forest Art Library," "de Forest Early American Portraits," or "de Forest Library of Americana." Also found are photographs of Henry Wilson, Edward Troye, Gutzon Borglum, George H. Yewell, William Sartain and Eastman Johnson; and two etchings of "The Mermaid" by Frederick Stuart Church.
Biographical / Historical:
De Forest was an art appraiser and gallery owner in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
De Forest acquired some of these papers from Charles Henry Hart (after the latter's death in 1918) for the De Forest Art Reference Library and for his art appraisal-gallery business. Later, they passed into the possession of M. R. Schweitzer, another art dealer in New York. Finally, Julius H. Weitzner owned them before giving them to the Archives of American Art.
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.
Artists' letters and documents collected by Zalesch and letters written to him in response to inquiries concnering autographs and biographical information.
REEL 3097: Twenty-six letters (1845-1973) written by George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Isabel Bishop, Frederick Stuart Church, Thomas Doughty, Ernest Fenollosa, Ben Foster, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, John La Farge, Homer Dodge Martin, Joseph Pennell, Edward Willis Redfield, John Rogers, John Singer Sargent, Richard Stankiewicz, Thomas Sully, and Elihu Vedder. Also included are a Harvard University bond for William Wetmore Story's tuition signed by Franklin H. Story (1834) and a biographical questionnaire completed by John La Farge for The Cyclopedia of American Biography (1925).
UNMICROFILMED: Letters written by Roy Lichtenstein, William Gropper, Gluyas Williams, Ordway Partridge, Frederick Burr Opper, James Wells Champney, C. Gray Parker, Ben Foster, Louis Betts, Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge, Richard Lippold, Romare Bearden, Isabel Bishop, Thomas Hart Benton, Richard Stankiewicz, and others; a brochure for a work of art by Robert Indiana; a certificate from The Brooklyn Art Association for one share of capital stock in the name of William Potter Lage; one page of correspondence documenting a decision made for the Society of American Artists containing a note from Francis D. Millet to J. Alden Weir, followed by a note from Weir to Frederic Church, signed "O.K." by Church.
Vol. XXVI, no. 5, Feb. 1924 periodical, Old Hughes, published by the students of Hughes High school in Cincinnati, Ohio containing a published exchange of letters between principal C. M. Merry and Josephine W. Duveneck, daughter-in-law of painter Frank Duveneck about the Hughes High School purchasing a painting by Duveneck, and a reminiscence of Duveneck by William P. Teal, head of the art department at Hughes High School.
Biographical / Historical:
Saul Zalesch, an art historian, began collecting artists' letters around 1981.
Provenance:
This collection of letters was lent for microfilming by Zalesch in 1984 (reel 3097). Zalesch donated an additional three letters in 1993, twenty-five in 1999, one letter in 2008, and a publication in 2009.
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 scattered papers of portrait painter Jane Freeman measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1904 to 1963. Largely concerning her portraits, the papers include biographical material, correspondence including letters from Walter Clifton, Frederick Stuart Church, and others, photographs of Freeman and of works of art, printed material, and writings and lectures on women in art and portrait painting.
Scope and Contents:
The scattered papers of portrait painter Jane Freeman measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1904 to 1963. Largely concerning her portraits, the papers include biographical material, correspondence including letters from Walter Clifton, Frederick Stuart Church, and others, photographs of Freeman and of works of art, printed material, and writings and lectures on women in art and portrait painting.
Biographical / Historical:
Jane Freeman (1871-1963) was a portrait painter and educator in New York City, New York. Born in England, Freeman studied at the Art Students League, the Grand Chaumière, and at the Cooper Union Art School. She was known for her portraits of Dr. Albert Schweitzer and Mother Cabrini. Jane Freeman died in New Jersey in a sanitarium in 1963.
Provenance:
The donor, Mrs. Walter T. Wittman, was Freeman's niece and the executrix of Freeman's estate. She donated Jane Freeman's papers to the Archives of American Art in 1964.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The scrapbook of New York painter and etcher Charles Yardley Turner consists of 3 folders of letters and date from 1894 to 1913. The disbound scrapbook contains 26 illustrated letters to Turner from painter Frederick S. Church, and one letter from John LaFarge.
Scope and Contents:
The scrapbook of New York painter and etcher Charles Yardley Turner consists of 3 folders of letters and date from 1894 to 1913. The disbound scrapbook contains 26 illustrated letters to Turner from painter Frederick S. Church, and one letter from John LaFarge.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection, the papers are arranged as one series.
Series 1: Charles Yardley Turner Scrapbook of Letters from Frederick S. Church and John LaFarge, 1894-1913 (3 folders; 27 items)
Biographical / Historical:
New York, N.Y. based painter and etcher Charles Yardley Turner (1850-1918) and painter Frederick Stuart Church were close friends and, according to Ruel Pardee Tolman, "were called 'the long and short of it.' Every Christmas morning they planned to have breakfast together."
Provenance:
The Charles Yardley Turner scrapbook of letters from Frederick S. Church and John LaFarge were transferred to the Archives of American Art from the National Museum of American Art Library in 1981. The letters on reel 3480 were originally donated to the National Collection of Fine Arts by Turner's sister, Mrs. A. T. Yardley, on July 17, 1926. Letters on reel D8 are from an unknown donor, possibly one "Whittenberg" in Oct. 1958.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning 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:
Etchers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Charles Yardley Turner Scrapbook of Letters from Frederick S. Church and John LaFarge, 1894-1913. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The James D. Smillie and Smillie family papers measure 5.6 linear feet and date from 1853 to 1957. The collection consists of the papers of four members of the Smillie family including James Smillie, his sons James David and George Henry Smillie, and George's wife, Helen 'Nellie' Jacobs Smillie. The majority of the papers are those of James D. Smillie, comprised of correspondence, forty-five daily diaries, a scrapbook, printed materials, and one etching. The papers of James Smillie consist of biographical materials and writings. The George Smillie papers include biographical materials, scattered correspondence, a scrapbook, printed materials, and photographs. The Helen Jacobs Smillie papers include corrrespondence and photographs. Also found are scattered materials relating to other family members, mostly the children of Helen Jacobs and George Smillie.
Scope and Content Note:
The James D. Smillie and Smillie family papers measure 5.6 linear feet and date from 1853 to 1957. The collection consists of the papers of four members of the Smillie family including James Smillie, his sons James David and George Henry Smillie, and George's wife, Helen 'Nellie' Jacobs Smillie. The majority of the papers are those of James D. Smillie, comprised of correspondence, forty-five daily diaries, a scrapbook, printed materials, and one etching. The papers of James Smillie consist of biographical materials and writings. The George Smillie papers include biographical materials, scattered correspondence, a scrapbook, printed materials, and photographs. The Helen Jacobs Smillie papers include correspondence and photographs. Also found are scattered materials relating to other family members, mostly the children of Helen Jacobs and George Smillie.
James David Smillie's papers consist of correspondence, personal business records, forty-five diaries, a scrapbook, and printed material. Correspondence is mostly professional in nature and includes letters from Albert Bierstadt, Frederick Stuart Church, Samuel Colman, Charles Henry Hart, Eastman Johnson, James Smillie, and A. T. Tait. Forty-five volumes of detailed daily diaries dating from 1865 until 1909 include entries about his work, but are exceedingly rich in references to over 200 artists with which Smillie was associated. Additionally, there are numerous loose documents, notes, and some photographs that were found tucked within the diaries. This finding aid includes a list of named artists referenced in the diaries along with the exact date of the notation. James D. Smillie's papers also include an original etching entitled Up the Hill.
James Smillie papers are scattered and include manuscript and draft copies of his published autobiography, A Pilgrimage, and memorabilia from his 50th wedding anniversary to Catherine Van Valkenburg Smillie.
George Henry Smillie papers contain biographical materials, scattered correspondence, a scrapbook of clippings, printed materials, and photographs. There is a certificate from the National Academy of Design dating from 1883 and photographs of Smillie, Smillie in his studio, and his family.
Helen Jacobs Smillie papers consist of family correspondence from her husband and parents, and studio portrait photographs.
Scattered papers from other family members include correspondence, a list of works of art by the family, a photograph album from Sheldon Smillie, and a portrait of William Smillie.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: James D. Smillie papers, 1853-1917 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-7)
Series 2: James Smillie papers, 1882 (0.2 linear feet; Box 5)
Series 3: George Henry Smillie papers, 1867-1920 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)
Series 4: Helen Jacobs Smillie papers, 1860-1910 (0.1 linear feet; Box 5)
Series 5: Other Smillie Family Members papers, circa 1880s-1957 (0.2 linear feet; Box 5)
Biographical Note:
James D. Smillie and the Smillie family members were active in New York City and the New England area as engravers and landscape painters during the nineteenth century. Members of the Smillie Family of artists include James Smillie (1807-1885), his sons James D. (1833-1909) and George Smillie (1854-1924), and George's wife Helen 'Nellie' Jacobs Smillie (1855-1926).
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland to David and Elizabeth Smillie, James Smillie immigrated to Quebec, Canada. James must have learned engraving from his father who worked with jewelry and silver. Upon his father's death in 1827, Smillie travelled to London and eventually to New York City, where he embarked on a career of creating engravings of paintings by other artists. By 1831, he had established his reputation primarily as an engraver of American landscape paintings. The portability of James Smillie's engravings helped to bring to the American public the grand landscapes by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, and Asher Durand. Smillie also worked for the American Banknote Company.
James Smillie married Catherine Van Valkenburg in 1832, and two of their sons, James David and George Henry also became artists. Elder son James D. assisted his father with engraving and later explored his own artistic talents in prints of the American landscape. Among his many subjects were the Sierra Nevada, Adirondack, Rocky, White, and Catskill Mountains. James D. Smillie was a founding member of the American Watercolor Society and served as its president from 1873 to 1879. Additionally, he was an early member of the New York Etching Club and the first meeting was held in his studio in 1877. James D. also wrote about art for various periodicals.
Like his older brother, George Henry Smillie learned engraving from his father, but turned to painting early in his career. By 1862, he had his own studio in New York City and exhibited with the National Academy of Design in 1864. George travelled throughout the United States sketching and painting landscapes inspired by Long Island, the Adirondack Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, and New England. Many of George's paintings of the American West were influenced by the Hudson River School. George married one of his brother's pupils, Helen Sheldon Jacobs.
Helen Jacobs Smillie, known as Nellie, was born in New York City to Samuel and Helen Jacobs. She received art instruction at Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design and was a pupil of James D. Smillie and J. O. Eaton. She married George Smillie in 1881, with whom she had three sons, Sheldon, Charles, and Gordon. Nellie was a member of the American Watercolor Society along with her husband and brother-in-law, and painted in the Hudson River School style.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is the Brucia Witthoft research material on James Smillie and the Smillie family, 1830- 1999. The National Gallery of Canada holds the James D. Smillie Papers.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds materials lent for microfilming (reels 3766 and 3829) including personal photographs, photos of Smille's house in Montrose, Pennsylvania, and a photocopy of a journal. Lent material was returned to the lenders and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
James Smillie, David Smillie, and Barbara Smillie Curtis donated the Smillie Family papers to the Archives of American Art in several installments between 1978 and 1990. James Smille lent photographs for microfilming in 1986.
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.
1.8 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1900-1962
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; photographs; sketches; writings; and printed material.
REEL D116: Business correspondence; photographs; catalogs and clippings. Included are personal notes from Edwin H. Blashfield, Frederick S. Church, Leon Kroll, and Maurice Sterne and a long early series of letters from John La Farge concerning the work Olinsky did with La Farge in Boston prior to 1910.
REEL 1007: 309 photographs, including 254 of Olinsky's works, and 55 personal photos, some of Art Students League group and a few photos of other artists. Included is one of Olinsky taken by Francis Scott Clancy, 1915.
UNMICROFILMED: Five sketches of Olinsky by artist friends, including Bernard Karfiol, 1900; 11 letters, 1962-1963, to Olinsky's daughter, Leonore Miller, mostly letters of condolence; an undated list of his works; a recipe for egg colors; a page of anatomy notes; a copy of JOHN LA FARGE; ARTIST AND WRITER by Cecilia Waern (New York: Macmillan and Co.) 1896; and miscellaneous exhibition catalogs and articles on Olinsky.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Old Lyme, Connecticut. Born in Russia.
Provenance:
Material on reel D116 lent for microfilming 1963, and donated in part in 1974, along with unfilmed material, by Leonore O. Miller, daughter of Olinsky.
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.
Papers concerning Freer's art collecting activities, including correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, and photographs. In addition to Freer's own correspondence, the papers include correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler and of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, correspondence of Freer's assistant Katharine Nash Rhoades, and correspondence regarding Freer's bequest to the Smithsonian Institution.
Correspondence, ca. 1860-1921, includes Freer's correspondence, 1876-1920, with artists, dealers, collectors, museums, and public figures; 30 v. of letterpress books containing copies of letters sent, 1892-1910; correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler, and his wife Beatrix, 186?-1909, with Lady Colin Campbell, Thomas R. Way, Alexander Reid, Whistler' mother, Mrs. George W. Whistler, and others; correspondence of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, 1904-1913, regarding works in Canfield's collection; and correspondence of Freer's assistant, Katharine Nash Rhoades, 1920-1921, soliciting Freer letters and regarding the settlement of his estate.
Also included are twenty-nine pocket diaries, 1889-1890, 1892-1898, 1900-1919, recording daily activities, people and places visited, observations, and comments; a diary kept by Freer's caretaker, Joseph Stephens Warring, recording daily activities at Freer's Detroit home, 1907-1910;
Inventories, n.d. and 1901-1921, of American, European, and Asian art in Freer's collection, often including provenance information; vouchers, 1884-1919, documenting his purchases; five volumes of scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeill Whistler, 1888-1931, labeled "Various," "Peacock Room," "Death, etc.," "Paris, etc.," and "Boston...London" ; three volumes of newsclippings, 1900-1930, concerning Freer and the opening of the Freer Gallery of Art;
correspondence regarding Freer's gift and bequest to the Smithsonian Institution, 1902-1916; and photographs, ca. 1880-1930, of Freer, including portraits by Alvin Langdon Coburn and Edward Steichen, Freer with others, Freer in Cairo, China and Japan, Freer's death mask, and his memorial service, Kyoto, 1930; photographs of artists and others, including Thomas Dewing, Ernest Fenellosa, Katharine Rhoades taken by Alfred Stieglitz, Rosalind B. Philip, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Abbott H. Thayer, Dwight Tryon, and Whistler; and photographs relating to Whistler, including art works depicting him, grave and memorial monuments, works of art, the Peacock Room, and Whistler's memorial exhibition at the Copley Society.
Among Freer's correspondents are: Otto Bacher, Bernard Berenson, Siegfried Bing, Laurence Binyon, W.K. Bixby, Sigisbert Chretien Bosch-Reitz, Charles H. Caffin, Colin Campbell, Richard Canfield, William Merritt Chase, Frederick Stuart Church, Alfred Vance Churchill, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Arthur Wesley Dow, Ernest Fenollosa, Albert Gallatin, John Gellatly, Frederick W. Gookin, Sadakichi Hartmann, Frank J. Hecker, Dikran Kelekian, M. Knoedler & Co., Berthold Laufer, Lien Hui Ching Collection, W.A. Livingstone, Frederick McCormick, Bunkio Matsuki, Gari Melchers, Agnes Meyer, Eugene Meyer, Charles Moore, Yozo Nomura, Rosalind Birnie Philip, Charles A. Platt, Theodore Roosevelt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Stephens Warring, Thomas Way, Abbott Handerson Thayer, Dwight W. Tryon, Charles Walcott of the Smithsonian Institution, Beatrix Whistler, James McNeill Whistler, K.T. Wong, Yamanaka & Co., and Seaouke Yue.
Arrangement:
All correspondence except letterpress books: arranged alphabetically by correspondent; letterpress books are chonological.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector; Detroit, Michigan. Collected Asian, American, and European art, including a large collection of works by James McNeill Whistler. Founded the Freer Gallery of Art, which is now part of the Smithsonian Institution.
Provenance:
Selected for microfilming from the Charles Lang Freer papers at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Microfilmed 1992 by the Archives of American Art with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Fellowships and Grants Research Resources Program. Portions of the correspondence and the letterpress books were previously filmed by the Freer in the 1970 (AAA reels 77, 453-456, and 1217-1232); those reels have been replaced by this microfilming project. See Finding Aid for information on papers not selected for microfilming.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Letters to Mr. Hogan, Mr. W. F. Price, and Mr. Putnam
Collection Creator:
Church, Frederick S. (Frederick Stuart), 1842-1924 Search this
Container:
Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1895
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Frederick Stuart Church papers, circa 1895-1905. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Church, Frederick S. (Frederick Stuart), 1842-1924 Search this
Container:
Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1895-1905
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Frederick Stuart Church papers, circa 1895-1905. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
