Family papers include letters to Giles Martin from William Hebert and others concerning the Martin's plans to emigrate from England to America, and ca. 50 letters, 1828-1860, to Giles and Angelique Martin in Marietta and at Trumbull Phalanx by reformers active in Ohio and Massachusetts temperance, antislavery, labor and/or Association movements, among them Sarah G. Bagley, Maria M. Eastman, Mary Moody Emerson, Frances D.B. Gage, Anna Q.T. Parsons, Caroline M. S. Severance, Adeline T. Swift, and others less known but very active. Also included are 3 letters from Spencer, 1842 Mar. 31 and June 10, and 1847 July 10 to her parents.
The Campus Martius Museum records consist of correspondence with owners of Spencer's prints, paintings and and papers; clippings, articles, and reproductions of Spencer's work.
Biographical / Historical:
Spencer was a portrait and genre painter; New York, N.Y. and Ohio. She was born Angelique Marie Martin November 26, 1822, in England to French parents, Giles and Angelique Martin, followers of the French social critic, Charles Fourier. Upon emigrating to the U.S. in 1830, and moving to Marietta, Ohio in 1833, the Martins, along with others active in the cooperative movement organized a communal association, Trumbull Phalanx, near Braceville, Ohio in 1845, and became active in women's rights and other reform movements. Spencer chose to concentrate on painting, first in Cincinatti and then in New York in 1848 with her husband Benjamin Rush Spencer, a cloth merchant. She maintained a successful painting career while raising seven children and moving several times, to Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Newark, N.J., and Highlands and Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Spencer died May 22, 1902.
Provenance:
Lent for filming 1971 by Campus Martius Museum, Ohio Historical Society.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
Polly Thayer (Starr) papers, 1846-2008, bulk 1921-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust
