Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with R. H. Ives Gammell, 1973 Mar. 21-June 12. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
REELS 4675-4677: Twenty-six diaries (1919-1981) and 3 notebooks with sketches, relating to European travel (1928-l930). There are no diaries for 1921-1928. The diaries were begun in Paris to record ideas and concepts relating to painting. They were later expanded to include reflections and thoughts about people, and they also reflect Gammell's strong interest in Jungian psychology and opera. He often used code names for people chosen from Biblical, mythological, or foreign language sources.
ADDITION: Papers, 1883-1956, comprised mainly of writings, the bulk relating to French academic painting, including 2 annotated typescripts of his Twilight of Painting (published 1946), with photo transparencies of Henri Regnault's "Automedon" for its cover. Other writings relate to Francis Thompson' poem "The Hound of Heaven" with illustrations based on a mural series by Gammell, ca. 1955-56; and to his colleague and teacher William MacGregor Paxton, "William Paxton and the End of an Epoch," (unpublished), ca. 1941-45. Also found are photographs of the Jean Léon Gérome atelier, Paris, 1883 (mounted) and of Dennis Miller Bunker.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, writer; Boston, Mass. Studied with Boston School painter William MacGregor Paxton. In 1946, Gammell's Twilight of Painting: an Analysis of Recent Trends to Serve in a Period of Reconstruction, was published. In addition to being a prolific writer, he was an allegorical painter; his major works incorporated classical, religious, imaginative, and contemporary cultural elements. A series of paintings based on Francis Thompson's poem, "Hound of Heaven" are considered to be some of his most important works. His biography of painter Dennis Miller Bunker was published in 1953.
Provenance:
Diaries and notebooks on reels 4675-4677 were lent for microfilming 1991 by Elizabeth Hunter, goddaughter of R.H. Ives Gammell. She donated additional papers 1998. Additions from Hunter are expected.
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 Edwin Walter Dickinson (1891-1978) measure 20.2 linear feet and date from 1909-1971. Included are photographs of works of art and personal photographs, object files, correspondence, a biographical account, and printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Edwin Walter Dickinson (1891-1978) was a painter in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Dickinson studied with William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League and was a member of Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives is material lent for microfilming on reels D93-D96 including 36 journals, 1916-1961, by Edwin Dickinson. The original journals are available at Syracuse University. Also in the Archives on microfilm reel 1130 are photographs, 1909-1965, of Dickinson and others, including Bill [Vaclav] Vytlacil, Richard Parmenter, Ross E. Moffett, Ted Beall, Henry Sutter, L.W. Veeder, R. H. Ives Gammell, Raymond J. Eastwood, Eugene Fitch, Thomas Bouchard, William F. Halsall, Charles W. Hawthorne, Coulton Waugh, and Charles Heinz.
Provenance:
A majority of the collection was donated in 2020 by Steven C. Baldwin, Edwin Dickinson's grandson. Material on reels D93-D96 and 1130 was lent for microfilming in 1962 and 1976 by Edwin Dickinson. A small portion of unmicrofilmed material was donated in 1972 by Edwin Dickinson.
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.
An interview of R. H. Ives Gammell conducted 1973 Mar. 21-June 12, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
R. H. Ives Gammell (1893-1981) was a painter and writer from Boston, Mass.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews Search this
William McGregor Paxton, N.A., 1869-1941 / exhibition organized by Ellen Wardwell Lee ; assisted by Martin F. Krause, Jr. ; biography by R.H. Ives Gammell
