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.
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 Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
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:
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 James D. Smillie and Smillie family papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
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.
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 John Gellatly letters received from artists are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
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.
Charles Lang Freer Papers. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
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.
