Albert Laessle. Sketch of Turkey on log with head tilted, ca. 1911. Albert Laessle papers, 1897-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of engraver and illustrator Alice Barber Stephens measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1884 to 1986. The collection includes letters, photographs, printed material, and miscellaneous items.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of engraver and illustrator Alice Barber Stephens measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1884 to 1986. The collection includes letters, photographs, printed material, and miscellaneous items.
Letters are from publishers discussing projects and fees, and by writers complimenting her work. Correspondents include Edward Bok, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Hamlin Garland, Ella Higginson, Herbert Hoover, Thornton Oakley, Howard Pyle, and Jessie Willcox Smith.
Photographs contain pictures of Stephens, her husband, and their house Thunderbird Lodge in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania. There are also photographs of amateur theatrical productions and of the dedication ceremony for Albert Laessle's monument "The Beaver."
Printed material consists of clippings concerning Stephens' work and her husband's collection of Native American artifacts, reproductions of Stephens' illustrations, exhibition catalogs, and a booklet about Stephens.
Miscellaneous items includes a manuscript "The Artist's Masque" by Charles H. Stephens, various notes, an inventory of furniture, Library of Congress receipts for works of art, and award certificates.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Alice Barber Stephens (1858-1931) was an engraver and illustrator active in the arts and crafts community established by William Price in 1901. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins, the Drexel Academy under Howard Pyle, the Pennsylvania Academy of Design for Women, and at the Julian and Colarossi Academies in Paris. Stephens is primarily known for her illustrations in Harper's, Century, and Scribner's magazines. She was married to the illustrator Charles H. Stephens and lived in a barn remodeled by William Price in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.
Provenance:
The Alice Barber Stephens papers were donated in 1988 by Stephen's granddaughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Starr.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Illustrators -- Pennsylvania -- Rose Valley Search this
1.2 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1897-1971
Scope and Contents:
Letters, photographs, sketches, printed material and miscellany.
REEL 74: Photocopies of letters received commenting on specific sculptures and discussing such matters as exhibitions of his work and the theft of several of his sculptures from an art gallery. Includes letters from James Earle Fraser and his wife, Laura G. Fraser, David French of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as Mrs. Albert Laessle's correspondence with the National Collection of Fine Arts. Also included are copies of sketches, biographical data, D. Roy Miller's article about Laessle entitled "A Sculptor of Animal Life," and clippings.
UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence from colleagues, patrons and students; photographs of Laessle's work as a student and sculptor, clippings, and articles. Among the photos are one of him with a penguin sculpture taken by Vivian Chappel, 1917, and a group photo of Laessle, Charles Grafly, E. Boutier, and Victor Hugo Zoll in front of a sculpture, 1904. [Copyprints of these 2 photographs were microfilmed on reel 1817 with AAA's Photographs of Artists-Collection II].
Biographical / Historical:
Animal sculptor; Miami, Fla.
Provenance:
Donated 1971-1972 by Laessle's widow.
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 New York, Rome, and Paris painter Allen Townsend Terrell painter measure 4.5 linear feet and date from 1908-1982. Included are biographical materials; detailed letters from Terrell to his parents; fourteen diaries describing European travels; scattered financial records; three sketchbooks and miscellaneous sketches; printed material; and photographs of Terrell, his colleagues, his home and studios, artwork, and exhibition installations.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of New York, Rome, and Paris painter Allen Townsend Terrell painter measure 4.5 linear feet and date from 1908-1982. Included are biographical materials; detailed letters from Terrell to his parents; fourteen diaries describing European travels; scattered financial records; three sketchbooks and miscellaneous sketches; printed material; and photographs of Terrell, his colleagues, his home and studios, artwork, and exhibition installations.
Biographical material includes a passport, membership cards for miscellaneous organizations, brief biographical accounts, and a guestbook containing signatures from several exhibition openings. There are almost daily letters written by Terrell to his parents describing his travels and education in the arts while in Europe. Scattered letters are from friends and colleagues, including one from Albert Laessle.
Fourteen diaries describe daily events in Terell's European travels. Scattered financial material includes banking records and miscellaneous receipts.
Three sketchbooks contain several block prints and miscellaneous sketches by Terrell. Printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Terrell and for others, as well as programs, and miscellaneous brochures. Photographs are of Terrell, and of his colleagues, studio, and artwork, in addition to albums containing photographs of his apartment, the Riverhead studio, commissioned projects, and exhibition installations.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized as 7 series; each series is arranged chronologically.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1924-1978 (Boxes 1, 6; 3 folders)
Series 2: Letters, 1908-1978 (Boxes 1-3; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Diaries, 1965-1978 (Boxes 3-4; 12 folders)
Series 4: Financial Material, 1925-1933 (Box 4; 7 folders)
Series 5: Artwork, 1925-1982 (Boxes 4, 6; 7 folders)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1911-1976 (Box 4; 15 folders)
Series 7: Photographs, 1925-1972 (Box 5; 15 folders)
Between 1924 and 1926, Terrell established a studio in Paris, later moving to Rome between 1928 and 1931. From 1934 to 1935, he taught watercolor and still life painting at the Parsons School of Design.
Among other exhibitions in Paris, New York, and Philadelphia, Terrell had a solo exhibition at the National Arts Club in 1975. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society and president of the Alumni of the American School at Fontainebleau.
Allen Townsend Terrell died on July 8, 1986.
Provenance:
Allen Townsend Terrell donated his papers in 7 installments between 1975 and 1981.
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.
Correspondence, 1867-1972, of Peabody Institute officials regarding gallery exhibitions, including artists' and museums' requests for exhibition space and gifts, loans, and purchases of works of art. Correspondents include Robert Aitken, Gaetano Cecere, F. Tolles Chamberlin, Isidore Konti, Albert Laessle, Paul Manship, Walter Pach, Leonce Rabillon, Saul Raskin, Hans Schuler, Charles Watson, Mahonri M. Young, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Charcoal Club, the Maryland Academy of Design, and the School Art League of Baltimore.
Also included is a 22 page letter from Frank Blackwell Mayer to George W. Dobbin, 1872, in which he enumerates the requisites for the establishment of an art school. Also includes Provost's reports, reports to the Trustees, submitted by Executive Secretary Louis H. Dielman, annual reports and Gallery of Art committee reports concerning gallery expenditures, acquisitions, and renovations; acquisition records and lists of works of art in the Institute; lists of works deposited at the Baltimore Museum of Art, undated & 1964; records concerning the Art Loan exhibition, 1879; ca. 100 exhibition catalogs and announcements, ca. 1879-1924; printed materials; photographs of the gallery and of works of art; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Established 1866, Baltimore, Md. Founded by George Peabody to improve "the moral and intellectual culture of the inhabitants of Baltimore and ...the State." The institute was to include a research library, lecture series, academy of music and gallery of art. Served as Baltimore's art school and museum until the opening of the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1914 and the Walters Gallery in 1934. To enlarge the space available to the expanding conservatory of music, much of the Peabody collection was transferred to these institutions. Works of art belonging to the Peabody are still exhibited regularly including occasional exhibitions at the Institute.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1984 by the Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art patronage -- Maryland -- Baltimore Search this
Function:
Art museums, University and college -- Maryland -- Baltimore
An interview of Roswell Weidner conducted 1989 July 20-27, by Marina Pacini, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project. Weidner discusses his early life, education, and art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, first at the school at Chester Springs, and later at the main school in Philadelphia. He discusses the programs at both schools, and recalls some of the faculty members, including Roy Nuse, Albert Laessle, George Harding, Joseph Pierson, Francis Speight, Daniel Garber, and Henry McCarter. He discusses the courses, exhibitions, and the competitions for traveling scholarships. He also discusses his study at the Barnes Foundation with Violette De Mazia and Angelo Pinto. After leaving the Academy, he joined the National Youth Administration and then transferred to the WPA with the Museum Extension, the Painting Project and the Print Project. He speaks of his work for each of these programs, their administration, and some of the individuals involved including Dox Thrash. He recalls Mary Curran and the efforts made by Albert Barnes to have her removed as head of the Painting Project. Weidner discusses his fifty years as a teacher at the Academy, beginning in 1939, and the changes in the institution since then, including the introduction of printmaking, the growth of abstraction, the hiring of women and black instructors, and other changes. He speaks of his wife, Marilyn Kemp Weidner, a paper conservator, and the development of her practice, as well as his own future work.
Biographical / Historical:
Roswell T. Weidner (1911-1999) was a painter and educator from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr.; 18 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
