The Emmet Family papers document the lives and careers of two generations of the Emmet family from New Rochelle, New York and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, whose artistic talents flourished during the later 19th through the mid-20th centuries. The collection dates from 1792 to 1989, with the bulk of the material dating from 1851-1989, and measures 9.1 linear feet. Through biographical material, two diaries, correspondence, writings and notes, exhibition files, business records, printed material, two scrapbooks, artwork, and photographs of family, friends, exhibitions, and artwork, the papers provide both a rich overview and detailed insights into the daily lives, relationships, and careers of many members of the family. The collection focuses in particular on sisters Lydia Field Emmet, Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn, and Rosina Emmet Sherwood, their mother, Julia Colt Pierson Emmet, and their cousin Ellen Gertrude "Bay" Emmet, all noted painters and illustrators.
Scope and Content Note:
The Emmet Family papers document the lives and careers of two generations of the Emmet family from New Rochelle, New York and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The collection dates from 1792 to 1989, with the bulk of the material dating from 1851-1989, and measures 9.1 linear feet. Through biographical material, two diaries, correspondence, writings and notes, exhibition files, business records, printed material, two scrapbooks, artwork, and photographs of family, friends, exhibitions, and artwork, the papers provide both a rich overview and detailed insights into the daily lives, relationships, and careers of many members of the family. The collection focuses in particular on sisters Lydia Field Emmet, Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn, and Rosina Emmet Sherwood, their mother, Julia Colt Pierson Emmet, and their cousin Ellen Gertrude "Bay" Emmet, all noted painters and illustrators, whose artistic talents flourished during the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries.
Biographical material consists of family trees and family histories; individual biographical accounts, award certificates, and documentation for Julia Colt Pierson Emmet, Rosina Emmet Sherwood, Lydia Field Emmet, Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn, and Wilfrid de Glehn; a diary titled "Sedgemere Diary" containing drawings and entries primarily by Rosina Emmet Sherwood, and a smaller diary which mentions Rosina's son, future playwright Robert Sherwood; a documentary by Nancy B. Doyle on two VHS videocassettes, entitled The Emmets: Portrait of a Family; and artifacts comprising a rear-view optical device and locks of hair from an early nineteenth century generation of the Emmet family.
Correspondence forms the bulk of the collection and illustrates the interaction between members of this large and influential family and their colleagues and friends, offering a wide-ranging view of life in the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, and through two World Wars. The series consists of letters between family members, primarily Julia Colt Pierson Emmet and her daughters, as well as cousins Henry James, Ellen "Bay" Emmet Rand, and Rosamond Sherwood, and friends Cecilia Beaux, Louis Bancel LaFarge, Frederick MacMonnies, Lucien Monod, Roger Quilter, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Emily and John Singer-Sargent, Violet Sargent Ormond, and Stanford White. Topics include experiences of the Emmets while studying art in Paris, Rosina's presentation at Queen Victoria's court, Lydia's work at the Columbia Exposition, Jane's marriage to Wilfrid de Glehn and her friendship with John Singer Sargent, portrait painting activities, the troubles of their friend Susy Metcalfe in her marriage to Pablo Casals, and the activities of Rosina's son, playwright Robert Emmet Sherwood, and friends Alfred Lund and Lynn Fontanne.
Writings and notes consist of scattered manuscripts and poems by family members, two notebooks, one identified as belonging to Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn, and typescripts about Wilfrid de Glehn following his death. Also found is a book, Out of Town, written and illustrated by Rosina Emmet Sherwood, and Edna St Vincent Millay's poem "Autum Daybreak" written in Millay's handwriting.
Exhibition files document an exhibition held at the Berkshire Museum/Danforth Museum in Pittsfield/Farmingham, Massachusetts in 1982 entitled The Emmets: A Family of Women Painters, and include two audio cassettes of recordings from the "Art for Lunch" series at the Berkshire Museum discussing the exhibition.
Business records include account books belonging to Lydia Field Emmet and Rosina Emmet Sherwood, both of which document income from artwork and other sources, and expenses; a contract for the reproduction of Lydia Field Emmet's artwork; and a document concerning ownership of property, possibly of Emmet family ancestors.
Printed Material consists of clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and reproductions of artwork by Emmet family members and others.
Two scrapbooks contain a combination of drawings, primarily by Rosina Emmet Sherwood, reproductions of artwork, and photographs.
Artwork includes drawings and sketchbooks by Julia Colt Pierson Emmet, Rosina Emmet Sherwood, Lydia Field Emmet, Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn Ellen Emmet Rand, and other Emmet relatives, illustrating the early development of their talent.
Photographs are of family members, including Julia Colt Pierson Emmet and William Jenkins Emmet, their daughters Lydia Field Emmet, Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn and husband Wilfrid de Glehn, Rosina Emmet Sherwood and husband Arthur Murray Sherwood, and Robert Emmet Sherwood as a young man. Also found are photos of friends Richard Harding Davis, Frederick MacMonnies, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens; a series of photographs of the installation at Arden Galleries, New York (1936) for the exhibition Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures by Five Generations of the Emmet Family; and photographs of artwork by Emmet family members.
Arrangement:
The Emmet family papers are arranged as nine series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1855-1988 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1, 10, OV 12)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1792-1985 (6.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-7)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1870s-1981 (11 folders; Box 7)
Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1947-1983 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)
Series 5: Business Records, circa 1799-1945 (7 folders; Box 8)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1872-1989 (0.35 linear feet; Boxes 8, 10)
Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1870-1890 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 8, 10)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1850-circa 1920 (0.35 linear feet; Boxes 8, 10)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1870s-circa 1950s (1 linear foot; Boxes 8-9, 11)
Biographical Note:
The Emmet family, descended from patriot Thomas Addis Emmet, brother of Irish martyr Robert Emmet, counts many physicians, lawyers, and writers (including cousin Henry James) among its ranks. Although evidence of artistic talent existed in several previous generations, it flourished during the later 19th through the mid-20th centuries in the professional portraiture of sisters Rosina Emmet Sherwood, Lydia Field Emmet, Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn, and their cousin Ellen "Bay" Emmet Rand.
The eldest daughter of Julia Colt Pierson Emmet (1829-1908), herself a talented illustrator who had studied under Daniel Huntington, Rosina "Posie" Emmet (1854-1948) studied under William Merritt Chase at his Tenth Street Studio in New York and under Robert-Fleury at the Academie Julian in Paris. Before her marriage to Arthur Murray Sherwood in 1887, Rosina established a studio in New York and continued to submit illustrations to various publications. During her marriage, she slowed her creative activities, until financial reverses dictated her return to her career around the turn of the 20th century. Her daughter Rosamond Sherwood (1899-1990) was also a portrait painter. Her son, Robert Emmet Sherwood (1896-1955) became a four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright.
Lydia Field Emmet (1866-1952) studied under Collin, Bouguereau, MacMonnies, and Robert-Fleury at the Academie Julian. Upon her return to New York, Lydia continued her studies under Chase, Kenyon Cox, H. Siddons Mowbray, and Robert Reid at the Art Students League, as well as at Chase's Shinnecock Summer School of Art. She established her portrait studio in New York City and began spending summers at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where she built her home, "Strawberry Hill," in 1905. Best known for her portraits of children, Lydia's subjects were members of the socially prominent families of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The youngest sister, Jane Erin Emmet (1873-1961), also studied with Chase in New York, and in Paris. In 1904, she married British landscape painter Wilfrid Von Glehn, who had visited the United States with his friend John Singer Sargent. (The Von Glehns' surname was changed to De Glehn, in 1919.) Settling in London, Jane continued her painting, befriended many artists and composers, and accompanied her husband and Sargent on several art-related journeys through Europe.
The Emmet sisters' cousin, Ellen Gertrude "Bay" Emmet (1875-1941), studied in New York at the Art Students League and under Frederick MacMonnies in Paris, becoming a National Academician in 1934. She married William Blanchard Rand in 1911 and settled in Salisbury, Connecticut. After the stock market crash of 1929, Bay's portraits of prominent society figures provided most of her family's income.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel 4544) including one scrapbook, compiled by Rosina Emmet Sherwood, consisting of portrait sketches, drawings of her dogs, genre scenes, travel views, and photographs of travels, friends, actors, and the ship "Scythia,". Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
In 1988-1991, the bulk of the Emmet family papers were donated by Rosamond Sherwood, daughter of Rosina Emmet Sherwood (via Katharine Emmet Bramwell of New York), by Rosamond Sherwood's estate (via F. Douglas Cochrane, executor, from Boston), and by Rosamond's nieces, Virginia Sherwood and Julia Shipway. Additionally, one scrapbook was lent for microfilming in 1990 and subsequently donated by Mrs. Earl Maize. Douglas Cochrane then loaned another scrapbook for microfilming (reel 4344) in 1991 which was returned to Mrs. Earl Maize.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
The papers of Boston and New Hampshire painter Joseph Lindon Smith date from 1647-1965, with the bulk of papers dating from 1873-1965, and measure 8.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from family members, artists, museums, and art patrons; seven diaries by Smith and two by his wife Corinna, personal business records, notes and writings, files concerning charitable theatrical productions, one sketchbook and other art work, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, and sound recordings of radio interviews and a radio program on Smith.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Boston and New Hampshire painter Joseph Lindon Smith date from 1647-1965, with the bulk of papers dating from 1873-1965, and measure 8.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from family members, artists, museums, and art patrons; seven diaries by Smith and two by his wife Corinna, personal business records, notes and writings, files concerning charitable theatrical productions, one sketchbook and other art work, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, and sound recordings of radio interviews and a radio program on Smith.
Scattered biographical material consists of family history documents for the Smith and Putnam families, a Jenkes family tree, and passports for Joseph Lindon Smith and his family.
Over three linear feet of letters are from family members, artists including Cecilia Beaux, Frank Benson, George DeForest Brush, and Denman Ross, museum staff concerned with work in Egypt, and art patrons including Isabella Stewart Gardner, and individuals involved with Smith's charitable pageants. There are scattered letters from Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Henry James, Charles G. Loring, Paul Manship, General John J. Pershing, John Singer Sargent, and Abbott Handerson Thayer. Among the subjects discussed are student life at the Académie Julian, the Smiths' travels, and individuals known by Smith.
Seven diaries written by Joseph Lindon Smith document his ravels in Egypt, Persia, Europe, and New Mexico. Two diaries were written by Corinna Smith during her travels to Beiram and Egypt.
Personal business records business records include contracts, price lists, lists of securities, and miscellaneous receipts of the Smith and Putnam families, Joseph Lindon Smith, Corinna Smith, and their daughter Lois Smith.
Notes include engagement calendars, notebooks, lists of art work, lecture notes, minutes of meetings, notes on family history and on travel, and an autograph by Kit Carson. Writings include miscellaneous typescripts by the Smiths and others concerning travel, work in Egypt and elsewhere, and anecdotes about various friends and acquaintances. There are also three drafts of "Egypt - My Winter Home."
Theatrical production files concern plays, pageants, and masques written and/or produced by the Smiths. Many of the performances were benefits, dedication or anniversary celebrations, such as a pageant given at Fenway Court in honor of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a pageant at the dedication of a memorial to Abbott Handerson Thayer, and the centenary celebration of the founding of Amherst, Massachusetts.
Art work includes a sketchbook with extensive notes, a painting, drawings by Joseph Lindon Smith, and prints by other artists.
A scrapbook contains clippings and an exhibition catalog from the St. Botolph Club. Additional printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, programs, booklets, brochures, and books by others.
Photographs are of Smith, his family, friends including classmates from the Académie Julian, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Abbott Handerson Thayer, exhibition installations, military camp sites from World War I, travel scenes, and art work by Smith.
Audio recordings consist of four sound disc recordings of interviews for WKNE Radio, Keene, New Hampshire, with Corinna Smith and Barry Faulkner talking about Smith, and a program about Smith and his book Tombs, Temples, and Ancient Art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1711-1948 (Box 1, 10; 5 folders)
Series 2: Letters, 1768-1965 (Box 1-4, OV 11; 3.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Diaries, 1904-1949 (Box 4; 11 folders)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1647-1959 (Box 4, 10; 11 folders)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1783-1963 (Box 4-6; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 6: Theatrical Production Files, 1897-1950 (Box 6-7, 10; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Art Works, 1932-1943 (Box 8, 10; 8 folders)
Series 8: Scrapbook, 1888-1901 (Box 8; 1 folder)
Series 9: Printed Material, 1723-1963 (Box 8, OV 11; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 10: Photographs, 1884-1956 (Box 8-10; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 11: Audio Recordings, 1956 (Box 9-10; 2 folders)
All material is arranged chronologically except for the writings by others and travel photographs that are arranged alphabetically.
Biographical Note:
Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950) of Boston, Massachusetts and Dublin, New Hampshire, was a painter primarily known for his ability to meticulously depict the murals and tomb sculpture of Egypt and other ancient cultures.
Joseph Lindon Smith was born on October 11, 1863 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the son of wholesale lumberman Henry Francis Smith and Emma Greenleaf Smith, a cousin of John Greenleaf Whittier.
From 1880 to 1882, Smith studied drawing and painting at the Art School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts under Frederic Crowninshield and Otto Grundman. Accompanied by his friend, Frank Benson, he attended the Académie Julian and studied under William Bouguereau, Gustave Boulanger, and Jules Lefebvre from 1883 to 1885.
Upon his return to Boston, Smith established a studio as a portrait and landscape painter, attracting the attention of Denman Ross, a professor of History of Fine Arts at Harvard University. In the early 1890s Smith and Ross began to travel extensively and Smith became interested in ancient civilizations of Mexico, China, and Southeast Asia. In 1892, during a trip to Italy, Smith befriended Isabella Stewart Gardner, for whom he copied famous paintings, and occasionally acted as agent in purchasing art work.
Making his first trip to Egypt in 1898, Smith became enthralled with the art work of the ancient civilization and devoted himself to painting copies of the tomb sculptures and murals for educational uses in museums and other public institutions. In 1899, he married Corinna Haven Putnam and the couple spent much of their married life traveling between the United States and the Middle East, especially Egypt. From 1910 to 1939, Smith was a member of the Joint Expedition of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Harvard University directed by Dr. George A. Reisner.
For fifty years, Smith was also sought out as a writer and producer of plays and theatrical pageants, fetes, and masques primarily staged for various charitable fund-raising events.
Joseph Lindon Smith died on October 18, 1950 in Dublin, New Hampshire.
Related Material:
The papers of Smith's wife, Corinna Putnam Smith, are available at The Schlesinger Library of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
The Joseph Lindon Smith papers were donated by Jessie T. Hale, Smith's granddaughter, in 1977 and 1978.
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.
The Edward Mitchell Bannister scrapbook measures 0.6 linear feet and dates from 1866-1901. The scrapbook contains approximately 102 pencil, charcoal, and watercolor drawings by Bannister, newspaper clippings and writings about Bannister and his exhibitions, a poem, and an exhibition catalog.
Scope and Contents:
The Edward Mitchell Bannister scrapbook measures 0.6 linear feet and dates from 1866-1901.
The scrapbook contains approximately 102 pencil, charcoal, and watercolor drawings depicting landscapes with cattle, trees, brambles, rolling clouds, a few figure studies, seascapes, and Bibical scenes, by Bannister. The scrapbook also includes newspaper clippings and writings about Bannister including reviews of his exhibitions and tributes by George W. Whitaker, John Nelson Arnold, and T. Thomas Fortune; a 1901 poem about Bannister written by William E. Smith; and an exhibition catalog of the Edward Mitchell Bannister Memorial exhibition held at the Providence Art Club in May 1901.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series. The scrapbook has been disbound but contents remain in their original order and are arranged in three parts.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901) was a Canadian-born African American landscape and portrait painter in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. He was among Providence's leading painters during the 1870s and 1880s and was one of the few African American painters of the nineteenth century to win significant recognition.
Bannister moved to Boston in 1848 where he enrolled in evening classes at the Lowell Institute and learned to paint. He settled in Rhode Island with his wife in 1870 and in 1876 won the first-prize bronze medal at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Subsequently his growing reputation resulted in many commissions which allowed him to devote himself full-time to painting.
Bannister was an original board member of the Rhode Island School of Design and a respected art critic. Following his death in 1901 the Providence Art Club, of which he was a founding member, held a memorial exhibition of his paintings owned by Providence collectors.
Provenance:
The scrapbook was donated to the Archives of America Art in 1984 by Alan and Melvin S. Frank. The scrapbook was previously on loan to the National Museum of American Art.
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:
Landscape painters -- Rhode Island -- Providence Search this
Portrait painters -- Rhode Island -- Providence Search this
Landscape painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
Portrait painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
The papers of New Hampshire landscape painter William Preston Phelps and his daughter, artist Ina Phelps Hayward, measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1849-2001, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1890s to the 1920s. Papers include letters from Phelps, and correspondence regarding Ina Phelps Hayward's involvement in her father's 1917 estate sale; sales and legal records related to the Phelps estate; a scrapbook and printed material about William Preston Phelps; a sketchbook of sketches attributed to Phelps; sketches by Ina Phelps Hayward and her husband Roger Hayward; photographs of Phelps, his home and studio in Chesham, New Hampshire, and his artwork; and glass plate negatives, including two of Phelps and thirty-six of his artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New Hampshire landscape painter William Preston Phelps and his daughter, artist Ina Phelps Hayward, measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1849-2001, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1890s to the 1920s. Papers include letters from Phelps, and correspondence regarding Ina Phelps Hayward's involvement in her father's 1917 estate sale; sales and legal records related to the Phelps estate; a scrapbook and printed material about William Preston Phelps; a sketchbook of sketches attributed to Phelps; sketches by Ina Phelps Hayward and her husband Roger Hayward; photographs of Phelps, his home and studio in Chesham, New Hampshire, and his artwork; and glass plate negatives, including two of Phelps and thirty-six of his artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: William Preston and Ina Phelps Hayward Papers, 1849-2001 (1.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 2, Boxes 3-4)
Biographical / Historical:
William Preston Phelps (1843-1923) was known as "the painter of Monadnock," for his paintings of his native New Hampshire and the state's most prominent peak.
Phelps grew up working on his family's farm in Chesham, New Hampshire, and by his early twenties owned his own sign business in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, his first exhibition of paintings in Lowell, Massachusetts, attracted the attention of some local businessmen who funded an education for Phelps in Europe. During the late-1870s to the mid-1880s, Phelps studied in Munich and Paris with William Merritt Chase and others. Upon returning to the United States via England and Scotland, Phelps set up a studio in Lowell and then traveled west in 1886 where he painted a notable series of western landscapes, with subjects including the Grand Canyon. Following his father's death, Phelps took over and settled on the family farm, and painted the New Hampshire landscapes for which he is best known.
Following his son's death in an accident in 1901, and his wife's death six months later, Phelps's financial situation began to unravel and his health entered a steady decline. In 1914 he turned over his estate to an auctioneering firm, J. E. Conant & Co., from which he had borrowed money for a number of years. Phelps's daughter, Ina Phelps Hayward, herself an artist, attempted to ensure that her father's property was handled fairly in the estate sale, but much of his property and paintings, including some of his best known pictures, were sold for very little or disappeared with no record of provenance. Phelps, who was in the Concord State Hospital at the time, died five years later and his daughter's attempts to pursue J. E. Conant & Co. through the courts, were unsuccessful.
Phelps's paintings can be found in the collections of the William Benton Museum of Art, the New Hampshire Historical Society, the Shelburne Museum, and others.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 647) including a notebook kept by Ina Hayward containing notes on her father, William Preston Phelps, in preparation for a book on Phelps (never written). The notebook includes biographical information, data on a few of his paintings, and notes about his study in Munich, Germany. Her daughter, Hilda Hayward Parker, later added additional biographical data, and a description of the Phelps' homestead and family life in Chesham, New Hampshire. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Peter Hayward, grandson of Phelps, donated the collection to the Archives of American Art in 1969. Hilda Hayward Parker, Phelps' granddaughter, lent a notebook for microfilming in 1973. Karl Gabosh, an art dealer who purchased the papers from the estate, donated additional material in 2009.
Restrictions:
Use of 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.
The Oliver Ingraham Lay, Charles Downing Lay, and Lay Family Papers measure 10.54 linear feet and date from 1789 through 2000, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1870-1996. The collection presents an overview of the personal lives and careers of painter, Oliver Ingraham Lay and his son, landscape architect, Charles Downing Lay. In addition, there are the papers of Lay family members and friends, including those of the Marian Wait Lay family (wife of Oliver Ingraham Lay) and of the Laura Gill Lay family (wife of Charles Downing Lay). Also found are the papers of the landscape and nature painter Fidelia Bridges. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, diaries, writings and notes, scrapbooks, family business records, exhibition files, printed material, as well as original artwork, sketches, a sketchbook, landscape designs, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The Oliver Ingraham Lay, Charles Downing Lay, and Lay Family Papers measure 10.54 linear feet and date from 1789 through 2000, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1870-1996. The collection presents an overview of the personal lives and careers of painter, Oliver Ingraham Lay and his son, landscape architect, Charles Downing Lay. In addition, there are the papers of Lay family members and friends, including those of the Marian Wait Lay family (wife of Oliver Ingraham Lay) and of the Laura Gill Lay family (wife of Charles Downing Lay). Also found are the papers of the landscape and nature painter Fidelia Bridges. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, diaries, writings and notes, scrapbooks, family business records, exhibition files, printed material, as well as original artwork, sketches, a sketchbook, landscape designs, and photographs.
The extensive correspondence files illustrate the interaction between the Lays' and their extended circle of family members and friends, offering a view of the social and cultural milieu of a cross section of New England and New York gentry, from the mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries. The papers also provide a resource to study the work of Oliver Ingraham Lay and of Charles Downing Lay through original drawings, sketches, and landscape designs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Oliver Ingraham Lay and Marian Wait Lay Papers, 1789-1955 (4.2 linear ft.; Boxes 1-5, OV 11)
Series 2: Charles Downing Lay and Laura Gill Lay Papers, 1864-1993 (4.2 linear ft.; Boxes 5-9, OV 12-13)
Series 3: Fidelia Bridges Papers, 1857-2000 (1.4 linear ft.; Boxes 9-10)
Biographical / Historical:
Oliver Ingraham Lay (1845-1890) was a painter of portraits and genre scenes. Charles Downing Lay (1898-1956) was a landscape planner, architect, and painter.
Born in 1845 in New York City, Oliver Ingraham Lay studied under the painter Thomas Hicks (1823-1890) and attended the Cooper Institute and the National Academy of Design. Best-known for his portraiture, Lay's subjects included socially and politically prominent individuals, as well as artists, actors, and friends, such as Fidelia Bridges and Edwin Booth, among others. In 1876, Lay was elected to membership to the National Academy of Design and the Artists' Fund Society; in 1887 he became a member of the Century Association. Lay was married to Marian Wait, the niece of the pre-eminent pomologist, Charles Downing (1802-1885) and landscape gardener and rural architect, Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852).
Oliver's son, Charles Downing Lay was born in Newburgh, New York in 1898. He attended the School of Architecture at Columbia University from 1896-1900 and earned a Bachelor of Science from Harvard University's School of Landscape Architecture in 1902. That same year, Lay established a landscape practice in New York City; he also served as Landscape Architect for the City of New York from 1911-1912. In 1904, he married Laura Brown Gill.
In addition to his public work projects, he received numerous commissions for private homes and estates in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Lay, along with Henry V. Hubbard and Robert Wheelwright founded the professional magazine, Landscape Architecture where he served as publisher, editor, and contributor. He was a consulting architect to the 1939 New York World's Fair. In 1948, he established the Housatonic Valley Planning Association.
Oliver and Charles's lifelong friend, Fidelia Bridges (1834-1923) was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1834. Orphaned in her youth, she supported herself as a mother's helper in the Quaker household of the Salem merchant, William A. Brown. In the mid-1850s, after Brown had moved to Brooklyn, New York, Fidelia Bridges joined the family, where she took on the role of governess to Brown's daughters. Around this time, she met Oliver Ingraham Lay.
In the 1860s, Bridges studied art at the studio of William Trost Richards (1833-1905) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1867, Bridges, along with a group of young women artists that included Anne Whitney (1821-1915) left for Rome to pursue her artistic training. Upon her return, Bridges set up a studio in New York City. In the early 1890s, Fidelia settled permanently in Canaan, Connecticut.
Bridges, influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite school, depicted landscapes and nature scenes with detailed renderings of birds, meadows, and wildflowers. In addition, Bridges sold her artwork commercially; in the mid-1870s, Louis Prang and Company produced her chromolithographic designs on greeting cards and calendars. Bridges also illustrated magazines and books.
Related Materials:
A small collection of Oliver Ingraham Lay papers were loaned for microfilming and are available on reel 801. The originals are at the New-York Historical Society. The bulk of Charles Downing Lay's papers, 1898-1956 reside in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
Provenance:
George C. Lay, grandson of portrait painter Oliver Lay and the son of Charles Downing Lay donated the Oliver Ingraham Lay, Charles Downing Lay, and Lay Family Papers to the Archives of American Art in 2002.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the 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.
Hibbard, A. T. (Aldro Thompson) (1886-1972) Search this
Extent:
1.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Diaries
Date:
1914-1971
Summary:
The papers of landscape painter Aldro T. Hibbard measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1971. The papers document his career as a painter through correspondence; diaries, notes and other writings; awards, discussions, and other professional activity; clippings, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material; and personal sound recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of landscape painter Aldro T. Hibbard measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1971. The papers document his career as a painter through correspondence; diaries, notes and other writings; awards, discussions, and other professional activity files; clippings, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material; and personal sound recordings.
Correspondence includes letters to his wife, Winifred, fan letters, and letters to friends and art organizations. Writings include notes, a notebook, a diary of his travels through Europe in 1914, and a diary from 1962. Professional material includes awards, an audio reel lecture delivered to the Rockport Art Association, one motion picture film, photographs of Hibbard and his students, and a biographical statement. Printed material includes newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and material related to the Hibbard School of Painting. Sound Recordings consist of 17 wire recordings. The recordings are mostly unlabeled and primarily personal in nature, but some contain lectures and sales records.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1922-1971 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Writings, circa 1914-1962 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Professional Activity Files, 1927-1971 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, FC 4)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1933-1970 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 5: Sound Recordings, circa 1950 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Biographical / Historical:
Aldro T. Hibbard (1886-1972) was an American landscape painter who worked primarily in oil. He studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and later at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Hibbard assisted in founding the Rockport Art Association and served as its president for 20 years. Hibbard also created and taught at the Hibbard School of Painting in Rockport, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
The Aldro Hibbard papers were donated 1977 and 1979 by Winifred Hibbard, the widow of Aldro T. Hibbard.
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. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Aldro T. Hibbard papers, 1914-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
This bulk of 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:
National Academy of Design records, 1817-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of painters Emily and Jean Paul Selinger measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1882 to 1918. The collection provides scattered documentation of the lives and work of the Selingers through biographical materials, family correspondence, photographs, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painters Emily and Jean Paul Selinger measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1882 to 1918. The collection provides scattered documentation of the lives and work of the Selingers through biographical materials, family correspondence, photographs, and printed material.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Emily Harris Mcgary Selinger (1848-1927) was a painter, author, and poet in Boston, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Emily was originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, and was instrumental in establishing the Normal Art School in Louisville, Kentucky. She was known for her still-life and floral paintings.
Emily's husband, Jean Paul Selinger (1850-1909), was a landscape and portrait painter in Boston, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He opened a summer studio in Glen House, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the mid-1880s.
Provenance:
A portion of the papers was donated in 1982 by Charles and Gloria Vogel when acquired through research on White Mountain artists. Additional material was donated in 1982 by Marion C. Keaney, through her grandparents, the D. H. Remingtons, who were neighbors of Emily Selinger's mother, Mrs. McGary.
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.
Correspondence, printed material, and photographs documenting Chase's career and the art market of the 1920's. Letters to Chase primarily concern exhibitions, commissions, and advertisements (including a letter from Reginald Poland, Director of the Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, analyzing the work of Woodstock artists), with some letters from family and friends. Printed material includes reviews, exhibition announcements, gallery plans with notes on exhibit design, and color reproductions of Chase's work. Photographs depict Chase, his work, and his exhibitions. Biographical material consists of his passport and the official documents of his service in France and Germany for the Y.M.C.A in 1918-1919.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter. Chase lived and worked in Woodstock, New York and Nantucket, Massachusetts, teaching and exhibiting frequently in these areas. He also exhibited at The Art Institute of Chicago, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, and The Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego. Chase was best known in the 1920's for his paintings of woodlands.
Provenance:
Donated 1987 by the Vose Galleries of Boston.
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.
The photographs of painter Edwin Burrage Child measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1902-1936. Included in this collection are original photographic prints and copy prints; 101 negatives; 59 glass plate negatives; and one folder of miscellaneous papers including a sketch by Edwin Burrage Child. Photographs depict artwork, interiors, furniture, and people.
Scope and Contents:
The photographs of Edwin Burrage Child measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1902-1936. Included in this collection are original photographic prints and copy prints; 101 negatives; 59 glass plate negatives; and one folder of miscellaneous papers including a sketch by Edwin Burrage Child. Photographs depict artwork, interiors, furniture, and people.
Photographs of people and other subjects depict several portrait images of Edwin Burrage Child, as well as many photographs and negatives of unidentified groups and events, children, men building a log cabin structure at Child's Dorset, Vermont home, and several models for painting.
Photographs of landscapes, buildings, and animals include a series of landscape photographs of Central Park, complete with the city in the background; many images of the Dorset, Vermont landscape with Child's house and barn structures depicted; landscapes with rainclouds and lightning, also in Dorset, Vermont; and images of horses attached to carriages and wagons, and cows and sheep, as well as several images of a dead horse on the streets of a small town.
Photographs of interiors, furniture, and lighting are made up primarily of copy prints and negatives, and include images of pieces of furniture, light fixtures and sconces, as well as entire interior rooms of what is probably Child's Dorset home. Additionally, photographs of Child's studio with paintings hung on walls are also found here.
Photographs of artwork make up the bulk of the collection, with original prints, copy prints, negatives, and glass plate negatives of primarily portrait paintings by Edwin Burrage Child. Many of the original photographic prints have been annotated on the backs with descriptive information about the portrait model, where they are from, and their occupation. Some annotations contain anecdotal information about Child's interactions or experiences with the sitters, and have been written by Child's youngest son, Sargent Burrage Child. While some of the descriptive information has been identified as written by both Edwin Burrage Child and Sargent Burrage Child, some writing could not be identified. A set of glass plate negatives without prints also depicts several of Child's landscape paintings. Additionally, a dismantled photograph album contains original prints of Child's portraits of men, women, and children, as well as containing the most descriptive information of all the prints in the collection.
Miscellaneous papers contains a sketch with note by Edwin Burrage Child; a handwritten letter in pencil, on Child's stationery, by Child; a typed exhibition inventory of portraits in the Washington, D. C. exhibit, "Portraits by Edwin Burrage Child," in 1930; and a copy of the 5 x 7 glass plate negatives box that previously stored glass plate negatives.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series. Glass plate negatives are housed in Series 6 and are closed to researchers.
Missing Title
Series 1: Photographs of People and Other Subjects, circa 1908-circa 1936 (15 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Photographs of Landscapes, Buildings, and Animals, 1903-circa 1936 (24 folderst; Box 1)
Series 3: Photographs of Interiors, Furniture, and Lighting, circa 1902-circa 1936 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 4: Photographs of Artwork, 1902-1936 (28 folders; Boxes 2-3, 6)
Series 5: Miscellaneous Papers, circa 1930 (1 folder; Box 3)
Series 6: Glass Plate Negatives, 1910-circa 1930 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)
Biographical / Historical:
Edwin Burrage Child (1868-1937) was a landscape and portrait painter who lived and worked in New York City and Dorset, Vermont, and was most known for his male portraiture.
Child was born in Gouverneur, New York in 1868 to Jonathan Bush Child and Sarah Burnham. In the 1880s, Child attended Amherst College and received art lessons during the summers from artist Margaret C. Whiting (1860-1946). In 1890, he graduated from Amherst College and moved to New York City to pursue a career as an artist, becoming a student in 1891 at the Art Students League. Child's artistic debut was in 1892 at the National Academy of Design annual exhibition. From 1891 to 1895, he studied under painter, muralist, and stained-glass designer John LaFarge (1835-1910), and worked as his assistant from 1896-1901. Edwin Burrage Child then spent many years working as an illustrator and writer for leading periodicals such as Scribner's, Harper's, McClure's, and others.
As a landscape painter, Child was awarded a medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in St. Louis in 1904, and the majority of his landscapes were modeled from his summer home in Dorset, Vermont. In 1908, his focused moved to easel painting -- primarily landscapes and portraits. Child was most known for his portraits of intellectual males, with sitters including Senator Dwight M. Morrow, Governor Wilbur L. Cross of Connecticut, Professor John Dewey, and painter Ivan G. Olinsky, among many others. His work appeared in shows at the National Academy of Design and the Society of Independent Artists in New York, as well as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. He also had many one-man shows over the years, primarily in New York City. In 1930, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. held an exhibition of his portraits.
Child was married to Anna Gertrude Sykes in 1894, and they had three children: Katherine E. (1895-1966), Bradford (1896-1948), and Sargent Burrage (1900-1972). Child also made furniture as a hobby and remodeled his home in Dorset Hollow, as well as Gray's Tavern, which later became the Dorset Village Public Library. Additionally, he was a frequent lecturer, speaking at colleges and universities, including Yale, Michigan State College, Columbia, City College of New York, and Massachusetts State College at Amherst. Child spent the last ten years of his life living in Dorset, Vermont, and died in 1937.
Provenance:
The Edwin Burrage Child photographs were transferred to the Archives of American Art on June 6, 1979, from the National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA) Library.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plates are housed separately and not available to researchers. 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.
Edwin Burrage Child photographs, 1902-1936. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
This small collection measures 0.2 linear feet and comprises 13 letters written by renowned Hudson River School landscape painter Albert Bierstadt between 1860 and 1900. The majority of the letters were penned in the last two decades of his life and discuss his painting, the inspiration he found in nature, his studio, and concerns relating to commissions and finances.
Scope and Content Note:
This small collection measures 0.2 linear feet and comprises 13 letters written by renowned Hudson River School landscape painter Albert Bierstadt between 1860 and 1900. The majority of the letters were penned in the last two decades of his life.
Bierstadt writes specifically of his work in several of the letters and refers to two paintings, Laramie Peak and The Jungfrau. In one letter he writes of the inspiration he finds in nature through his love of the mountains. Bierstadt invites friends to his studio in New York City, mentions a trip to Yosemite in the 1870s and writes letters of introduction on behalf of friends. Two of the letters concern commissions and discuss financial matters.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection, items are arranged as one chronological series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Albert Bierstadt Letters, 1860-1900 (Box 1; 13 items)
Biographical Note:
Albert Bierstadt was born in Solingen, Germany, in January 1830. His family emigrated to the United States when he was two years of age and settled in Bedford, Massachusetts.
In 1853 Bierstadt traveled to Germany to study painting at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. In 1858, following his return to the United States, he gained national attention for organizing a large exhibition of paintings including fifteen of his own works. Bierstadt drew inspiration from the painters of the Hudson River School, and regularly visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire to make sketches for his landscape paintings.
In 1859 Bierstadt traveled to the Colorado and Wyoming territories sketching landscapes in the company of a United States government survey expedition. On his return he took studio space at the new Tenth Street Studio Building in New York City and began a series of large-scale western landscape paintings, including Yosemite Valley and Thunderstorm in the Rocky Mountains. These paintings, known for their theatrical and romantic depiction of the grandeur and drama of the American West, brought Bierstadt great popularity during the 1860s.
Bierstadt's paintings were widely exhibited in the United States and abroad and commanded some of the highest prices in American art at the time, although his reputation began to decline somewhat in the 1880s in the face of changing public tastes.
Bierstadt was a member of the Century Association from 1862-1902 and a member of the National Academy of Design from 1860 until his death in 1902.
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are the Robert Neuhaus papers concerning Clyfford Still and Albert Bierstadt, 1884-1984 (bulk 1941-1984). A circa 1875 photograph of Bierstadt by Bierstadt Brothers given to the Archives by an unknown donor is available in the Archives of American Art's Photographs of Artists Collection I and online.
Provenance:
The collection was acquired by the Archives of American Art in a series of accessions between 1955 and 2001. Six letters were donated by Charles Feinberg in 1955-1957; one letter was donated by Letitia Howe in 1976; one letter was donated by Mrs. Miles Reber, grandaughter-in-law of General Nelson in 1976; two letters were purchased from Charles Hamilton Autographs in 1956; one letter was purchased from Steele in 1956; and one letter was purchased from Scott J. Winslow Associates in 2001.
Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
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.
This collection measures 7.7 linear feet, dates from circa 1870 to 1992, and documents the life and career of painter Ross Moffett and, to a lesser extent, the life and career of his wife, painter, lithographer, etcher, and illustrator, Dorothy Lake Gregory Moffett. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, artwork including sketchbooks, and printed material including published writings, newspaper clippings, press releases, and exhibition catalogs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Ross and Dorothy Lake Gregory Moffett papers measure 7.7 linear feet and date from circa 1870 to 1992. Because Dorothy Moffett's papers were received separately they are filed together in Series 13. Series 1-12 deal primarily with the life and career of Ross Moffett. The collection documents Ross Moffett's participation in the Provincetown community as an artist and resident through correspondence, photographs, sketchbooks and printed material, including published writings, news clippings, press releases, and exhibition catalogs. The papers of Dorothy Moffett include family letters, photographs, a journal and original artwork providing scattered documentation of her life and career as an a printmaker and illustrator.
General correspondence primarily focuses on news and financial affairs of the Moffett family farm in Iowa. Also included are letters from Provincetown artist, Edwin Dickinson, and a small amount of correspondence with other artists, collectors and dealers.
Files documenting specific projects that Ross Moffett was involved with are arranged separately and include correspondence, printed material and photographs. Project files have been established for the following projects: the publication of Art in Narrow Streets, the Eisenhower mural, the Cape Cod National Seashore Park and the renovation of the Center Methodist Church.
The series of printed material, 1918-1992, relates to Ross Moffett's career as an artist and his general interest in art. Photographs primarily focus on scenes of Provincetown and include photographs of works of art by Provincetown artists. Also included are photographs of artwork by Moffett arranged chronologically, Moffett's studio in Provincetown, and installations at the Provincetown Art Association Galleries.
Artwork found in Series 10 and 11 includes drawings by Ross Moffett and 85 annotated sketchbooks, including four by Dorothy Moffett.
The collection also houses research notes and files written by Josephine Couch Del Deo in preparation of a biography of Ross Moffett. These annotations provide useful additional information about Moffett's life.
Papers of Dorothy Lake Gregory Moffett include Gregory family letters, Dorothy's correspondence with her father, and letters from other family and friends. Also found are drawings, lithographs and etchings by Dorothy and photographs of her family and friends.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into thirteen series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1888-1965 (box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1915-1972 (box 1; 0.6 linear ft)
Series 3: Financial Material, 1933-1971 (box 1; 2 folders)
Series 4: Notebook/Notes, undated (box 1; 2 folders)
Series 5: Projects, 1880-1969, undated (boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear ft.)
Series 6: Subject File, 1960-1968 (box 2; 1 folder)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1916-1992, undated (boxes 2-4, 7; 1.5 linear ft.)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1900-1975, undated (box 4; 15 folders)
Series 9: Slides of Art Association, Iowa Farmland and the Chrysler Museum, circa 1960, undated (box 4; 1 folder)
Series 10: Drawings, circa 1929-1934 (box 5; 1 folder)
Series 11: Sketchbooks, 1913-1969 (boxes 5-8; 2.5 linear ft.)
Series 12: Annotations/Item Descriptions by Josephine Couch Del Deo, undated (box 6; 2 folders)
Series 13: Dorothy Lake Gregory Moffett Papers, circa 1870-1975 (boxes 9-11; 0.7 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Ross Moffett (1888-1971) was an important figure in the development of modernism in American Art after World War I. His paintings primarily depict the life and landscapes of the Provincetown, Massachusetts area. Dorothy Lake Gregory Moffett is perhaps best known as a printmaker and illustrator of children's books and magazines.
Born in Iowa in 1888, Moffett trained at the Art Institute in Chicago and studied with Charles Hawthorne during the summer of 1913, in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Moffett then studied at the Art Students League and returned to Provincetown in 1915, to establish himself as an artist. He was one of the founders of the Provincetown Art Association and a leading figure in the art colony for many years. In 1920, Moffett married artist Dorothy Lake Gregory in Brooklyn, New York. Dorothy studied at the Pratt Institute and with Robert Henri and George Bellows in New York, and then went to Provincetown to study with Hawthorne as well.
During the 1920's and 1930's, Ross Moffett's success increased steadily and he had his first one-man show at the Frank Rehn Gallery in New York and also at The Art Institute of Chicago in 1928. He served on several exhibition juries around the country during this time. Between 1936 and 1938, Moffett painted four murals in two Massachusetts post offices for the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Moffett received full membership to the National Academy of Design in 1942.
While Moffett's painting slowed somewhat during World War II he continued his involvement in the arts by maintaining the Provincetown Art Association. He taught briefly at the University of Miami in Ohio from 1932 to 1933, and returned to Provincetown to pursue painting full-time. In the 1950's, Moffett became interested in archaeology and even delivered a few lectures on the subject. During this time he continued to paint and his art reflected his preoccupation with the science of archaeology. In 1954, Moffett was one of two artists selected by the National Academy of Design to paint murals depicting President Dwight D. Eisenhower's life for the Eisenhower Memorial Museum in Abilene, Kansas. Moffett was chosen to portray Eisenhower's civilian life.
In 1960, Moffett became active in the movement to establish the 1400 acres known as the Province Lands as part of the Cape Cod National Seashore Park. After the park was established Moffett wrote and published a history of the first thirty-three years of the Provincetown Art Association in a book titled Art in Narrow Streets, 1964. He continued to serve as a juror for the Provincetown Art Association and was artist-in-residence for the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center in 1970.
Dorothy Moffett also pursued a successful career in art, and publishers such as Rand McNally used her illustrations for youth magazines and childrens books, such as the classic Green Fairy Book. Her work was exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum, the National Academy, and the Brooklyn Museum, and her Alice in Wonderland series of lithographs was purchased for the permanent collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Though best known as a printmaker, Moffett also worked in oil.
Ross Moffett died of cancer on March 13, 1971.
Related Material:
Related resources in the Archives of American Art include a sound recording of a transcribed interview with Ross Moffett by Dorothy Seckler, August 27, 1962; and a sound recording of an untranscribed interview with Dorothy Lake Gregory Moffett by Robert F. Brown, September 22, 1972.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel D80) including 150 letters relating to art organizations, museums, and government art projects, news clippings, records of the Provincetown Art Association, and the Emergency Committee for the Protection of Province Lands, and miscellaneous publications. Lent materials were returned to Ross Moffett and are now housed at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Ross Moffett initally lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming in 1962. The remainder of the collection was donated in 1974 by his widow, Dorothy Lake Gregory Moffett (died 1975), via Ross Moffett's biographer, Josephine Del Deo, who turned the papers over in installments. Archaeological material and artifacts received with the papers were donated to the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Unpublished manuscripts, undated: "William Merritt Post: A Painter of Light in the Marshes" and "The Earliest Drawings of William Merritt Post, both containing photographs to illustrate the text; and biographical notes on Post. Also included are photocopies of 2 articles by Post, 1909 and 1910.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian; professor emeritus of Classical art at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Post was a late nineteenth century landscape painter, New England.
Provenance:
Donated by J. Leonard Benson, 1993.
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:
Photographs produced by Benson: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from J. Leonard Benson. 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.
