The papers of landscape painter and art instructor William Kienbusch measure 5.0 linear feet and date from 1915 to 2001, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1936 to 1980. The collection documents Kienbusch's life as an artist in New York City and Cranberry Island, Maine. Files include biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; writings and notes; scattered printed material; photographs; and artwork, including 17 sketchbooks.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of landscape painter and art instructor William Kienbusch measure 5.0 linear feet and date from 1915 to 2001, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1936 to 1980. The collection documents Kienbusch's life as an artist in New York City and Cranberry Island, Maine. Files include biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; writings and notes; scattered printed material; photographs; and artwork, including 17 sketchbooks.
Biographical materials include military records, identification and membership documents, guestbooks, and an album entitled "Book of Friendship" containing short notes written by friends for Kienbusch on the occasion of his 60th Birthday. Also of note is copy of the "In Memoriam" written for Kienbusch by Karl Schrag.
The bulk of the papers consist of family and general correspondence. Family correspondence includes letters from Kienbusch to his parents regarding school, summer camps, travel, and the army. General correspondence includes many letters he sent to his close friend, Stanley Clifford, as well as letters from friends and associates, such as Stuart Davis, Antionette Kraushaar, Walter Maitland, Henry Varnum Poor, Abraham Rattner, Karl Schrag, Reuben Tam, and others.
Writings and notes include scattered notes, lists, and draft writings, as well as three notebooks, including one on casein technique. Printed material includes several armed forces publications and maps from World War II, clippings, and press releases. Photographs are of William Kienbusch, including two snapshots of Kienbusch with friends Dorothy Andrews and Reuben Tam. Also found are numerous travel and nature photographs. Artwork includes drawings created by Kienbusch while on his military tour in Guam and seventeen sketchbooks containting drawings in pencil, ink, and pastel.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1915-1980 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1920-2001 (Box 1-3; 2.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1940s-1970s (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1937-1980 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1920-1980s (Box 3-5; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Artwork, circa 1930s-1970s (Box 5; 0.8 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
William Kienbusch (1914-1980) was a painter and art instructor in New York, NY, and Cranberry Island, Maine.
Kienbusch was born in New York City and attended boarding school at Hotchkiss Preparatory school, where he was taught painting by Robert Osborn. During the summers of 1934 and 1935, while attending Princeton University, he studied watercolor with Eliot O'Hara at Goose Rocks Beach, Maine. After graduating from Princeton in 1936, he attended the Art Students League, studied with Henry Varnum Poor at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and spent a year in Paris, studying at the Academie Colarossi. During this time he also had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe before the outbreak of World War II. He returned to New York City in the winter of 1938 and settled in Greenwich Village, at one point living above artist Stuart Davis.
Kienbusch spent the summers of 1940 and 1941 in Stonington, Maine. Here he found his true identity as an abstract expressionist landscape painter. During World War II he served in the Army, teaching camouflage design and making maps in Guam. When he returned to New York in 1946, he began painting in casein rather than oils or watercolor. In 1947 he joined Kraushaar Galleries, which would continue to be his dealer for the remainder of his career. From 1948 to 1969 he taught at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School and spent summers in Maine. Kienbusch lost much of his artwork and personal papers in a 1969 fire at his New York studio apartment. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art among many others. After several years of poor health, Kienbusch died in 1980.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is the Walter Maitland correspondence with and about William Kienbusch, 1969-1981; the William Kienbusch letters to Francis and Sydney Hamabe, 1958-1977; the Thomas Barrett and Leni Mancuso papers relating to William Kienbusch, 1950-1980; and an oral history interview with William Kienbusch conducted by Forrest Selvig, November 1-7, 1968.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel N70-22) including a scrapbook of clippings, exhibition catalogs, photographs of Kienbusch, letters, writings, and two journals describing his travels in Europe and Asia. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
William Kienbusch lent materials for microfilming in 1970. Other papers were donated by his sisters, Millicent Kelly and Juliana Little, and his friend Stanley Clifford as co-executives of the Kienbusch estate from 1985-1991. Stanley Clifford donated additional materials in 2008 and 2010.
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.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of the prominent New York and Connecticut Weir family of artists measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1809-circa 1961, with the bulk of the material dating from 1830-1920. The papers are a collection of correspondence and photographs that constitute a small but vivid record of the influence and relationships of this family of Hudson River School, landscape, and miniature painters. Correspondence consists primarily of letters to painter John Ferguson Weir when he was director of the Yale School of Fine Arts, with scattered letters to his daughter Edith Weir (Perry), and a small amount of correspondence of Robert Weir, his daughter Carrie M. Mansfield, son-in-law Lewis William Mansfield, and Julia Bayard. Letters to John F. Weir are from many late-19th century artists, as well as actors, poets, lawyers, scholars, and clergymen, often concerning arrangements for visiting lectures at the school. Photographs are of Robert Walter Weir, Susan Bayard Weir, Julian Alden Weir, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of the prominent New York and Connecticut Weir family of artists measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1809-circa 1961, with the bulk of the material dating from 1830-1920. The papers are a collection of correspondence and photographs that constitute a small but vivid record of the influence and relationships of this family of Hudson River School, landscape, and miniature painters. Correspondence consists primarily of letters to painter John Ferguson Weir when he was director of the Yale School of Fine Arts, with scattered letters to his daughter Edith Weir (Perry), and a small amount of correspondence of Robert Weir, his daughter Carrie M. Mansfield, son-in-law Lewis William Mansfield, and Julia Bayard. Letters to John F. Weir are from many late-19th century artists, as well as actors, poets, lawyers, scholars, and clergymen, often concerning arrangements for visiting lectures at the school. Photographs are of Robert Walter Weir, Susan Bayard Weir, Julian Alden Weir, and artwork.
There are approximately 275 letters to John Ferguson Weir, some of which enclose sketches, photographs, and printed writings. The letters of Hudson River School artists including Frederic Edwin Church, Thomas Cole, Sanford Robinson Gifford, Jervis McEntee, and Worthington Whittredge, capture a sense of the intense ties those artists felt to the landscape and to each other. Often the correspondents mention their fellow artists in their letters in personal as well as professional terms, writing of family, friendships, visits to each other's homes, practical arrangements for delivering, retrieving, and exhibiting artwork, and their shared artistic aspirations, successes, and disappointments.
Many of the letters are responses from lawyers, scholars, clergymen, writers, and educators in reply to Weir's requests to speak at the Yale School of Fine Arts. Taken together the letters, which often go beyond routine matters to extend to more personal affairs, reveal the warm esteem in which Weir was held, not only in his capacity as director of the school but as an artist and a friend. The letters, such as those from Laura Hills, Lucia Fairchild Fuller, Adele Herter, and Candace and Dora Wheeler, also document the Weir family's friendships with and encouragement of women artists, at a time of limited support for women in the arts. Also of note are letters from actors Edwin Booth and Joseph Jefferson, who were both friends of John F. Weir.
Letters of Robert Weir and extended Bayard and Mansfield family members relate primarily to family affairs.
Photographs of Julian Alden Weir, Robert W. Weir, and Susan Bayard Weir include professional portraits and candid family shots, as well as photographs of two sketches of Julian Alden Weir and two miscellaneous photos of artwork.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of the collection, the Weir family papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
The New York and Connecticut Weir family of artists included painter and West Point professor Robert Walter Weir (1803-1889), his sons John Ferguson Weir (1841-1926) and Julian Alden Weir (1852-1919), and granddaughter Edith Weir (Perry) (1875-1955).
Julian Alden Weir was a renowned American Impressionist painter and a founding member of "The Ten," a loosely allied group of American artists dissatisfied with some of the established professional art organizations of the time who exhibited their work as a unified group. He also taught at the Women's Art School of the Cooper Union in New York.
John Ferguson Weir became acquainted with many of the rising young artists of his day when he took a room in the Tenth Street Studio in his early twenties and developed proficiency in landscape and still life painting. Like his brother, he then studied art abroad and returned to become director and later dean of the School of Fine Arts at Yale University from 1869-1913.
John Ferguson Weir married Mary Hannah French in 1866. Their daughter, Edith Weir Perry, was a noted miniature painter who studied under Lucy Fairchild Fuller.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the microfilm (Reels 70-71, 125-126, 577) for the Julian Alden Weir papers, 1869-1966, including correspondence (mostly typed transcripts); scrapbooks; photographs; sketches; notebooks and scrapbooks and clippings compiled by Dorothy Weir Young in preparation for her book, The Life and Letters of J. Alden Weir (1960, Yale University Press).
Additional Weir family records are held by the Yale University Archives. The records form part of the material previously lent to the Archives of American Art for microfilming by Reverend DeWolf Perry, and described above as separated materials.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming by Reverend DeWolf Perry. Included on reels 529-531 are correspondence of John Ferguson Weir, much of it with his brother Julian Alden Weir, with his future wife which he wrote while serving in the Civil War, and with artists; 77 letters, 1823-1881, of Robert W. Weir with members of the Congress and War Dept. regarding commissions, and with artists and others, including Horatio Greenough, William Page, Thomas Cole, William Cullen Bryant, and George P. Morris; a pocket diary of John F. Weir, 1860, with occasional poems and sketches; 2 sketchbooks, and 71 drawings, watercolors, and oils by John F. Weir; 3 sketchbooks and 165 original drawings, lithographs, watercolors and oils by Robert Weir; 4 portraits of John F. by others; sheet music with words and lithograph on the cover by Robert; 81 photographs of John and Robert, family, and work; exhibition material of Robert; a list of John F. Weir's paintings with prices; drafts of Robert W. Weir, Artist by Irene Weir (1947); and a typescript of a biography of John F. Weir by his daughter, Edith Weir (Perry); genealogical material; and clippings. Reel 533 includes a typescript of "The Story of My Life: The Inner Life of a Human Soul," by Mary French Weir, ca. 1920 (94 p.), and a typescript of a biography of her mother, Clara Miller-French, ca. 1920 (28 p.). Reel 565 contains family correspondence, 1866-1927, of Mary French Weir; an excerpt from the French family genealogy; and an obituary of Mary French Weir written by her daughter Edith Weir Perry. Reel 936 contains a sketchbook, 1826, by Robert Weir, of figures, statues, and buildings in Rome done while a student. The drawings are in pencil, ink wash, and pen and ink. (111 p.); reel 949 contains three sketchbooks, 1869-1902, by John F. Weir, done in watercolor, pencil and ink wash. (69 p.), of landscapes, figures, and heads of individuals in Italy, Switzerland, Dordricht, Holland, and France.
Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Photographs were given to the Archives of American Art in 2019 by Mary and John McGuigan, Jr. Letters to John Ferguson Weir were donated by Harold O. Love in 1961. Material on reels 529-531, 533, 565, 936 and 949 was lent for microfilming 1973-1975 by Rev. DeWolf Perry, grandson of John F. Weir. He also donated two photographs in 1975. The donor and date of acquisition of the manuscript draft of Julian Alden Weir's biography are 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:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Miniature painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Rockwell Kent conducted 1969 Feb. 26-27, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Kent speaks of his family background; his early interest and talent in art; studying painting with Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase; his early studies and work in architecture; Kenneth Hayes Miller as a teacher; experiences which influenced him and inspired him; his travels and explorations; his work in book design and illustration; mural commissions; the American Artists Group; his political life and public affairs. He recalls Merle Armitage and Carl Zigrosser.
Biographical / Historical:
In addition to being a successful painter, printmaker, illustrator, designer, and commercial artist, Kent pursued careers as a writer, professional lecturer, and dairy farmer. He travelled extensively, and was a political activist who supported the causes of organized labor, civil liberties, civil rights, anti-Fascism, and peace and friendship with the Soviet Union.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art 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.
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 papers of landscape painter and educator Reuben Tam measure 9.2 linear feet and date from 1931 to 2006. The papers document his career as a painter in New York, Maine, and Hawaii through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, art organizations, schools, and galleries; diaries, poetry, and other writings; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, other printed material; photographs; artwork, including seventeen sketchbooks; and eight scrapbooks.
There is a 1.1 linear foot unprocessed addition to the collection donated in 2020 that includes 34 sketchbooks, circa 1940-1974, by Tam from his time in New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Alaska and Canada.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of landscape painter and educator Reuben Tam measure 9.2 linear feet and date from 1931 to 2006. The papers document his career as a painter in New York, Maine, and Hawaii through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, art organizations, schools, and galleries; diaries, poetry, and other writings; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, other printed material; photographs; artwork, including seventeen sketchbooks; and eight scrapbooks. There is a 1.1 linear foot unprocessed addition to the collection donated in 2020 that includes 34 sketchbooks, circa 1940-1974, by Tam from his time in New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Alaska and Canada.
Biographical material includes school documents, records of his tenure as an instructor at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School, artwork consignment and sales records, and slides and accompanying audio cassette recording of the "Reuben Tam Show" about his work as an artist on Monhegan Island, Maine.
Correspondence is with family, fellow artists, including William Kienbusch and Hyde Solomon, as well as art organizations, schools, and museums, such as Brooklyn Museum of Art School, Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Maine Coast Artists group, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Also found is correspondence with the three galleries which represented his work: Downtown Gallery, Alan Gallery, and Coe Kerr Gallery.
The collection includes five bound diaries as well as diary entries written by Reuben Tam on loose sheets of paper, primarily documenting the 1940s. Other writings include drafts of poetry, one notebook, miscellaneous notes, and essays by others.
Printed material consists of school publications, exhibition catalogs and announcements for solo and group shows, brochures, flyers, magazines, bulletins, and news clippings. Eight scrapbooks found in this collection also include newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, as well as event invitations, membership cards, and letters, documenting 40 years of Reuben Tam's career.
Photographs are of Reuben Tam, Tam with friends and family, and artwork. One photograph album contains photographs from Tam's visits to Maine from 1946 to 1948, and includes photographs of fellow artists Hyde Solomon, Carl Nesjar, Dorothy Andrews, and William Kienbusch. Artwork in the collection includes prints, drawings, and watercolors as well as seventeen large sketchbooks documenting the coastal landscape of Monhegan Island, Maine.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1934-1993 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1931-2006 (Box 1-4; 3.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Diaries, 1932-1974 (Box 4-5; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, 1939-1987 (Box 5; 7 folders)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1935-1997 (Box 5-6, 9; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1930-1990 (Box 6-7, 9; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1936-1975 (Box 7, 9-10, OV 11; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1938-1978 (Box 7-8; 0.9 linear feet)
Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1940-1974 (Box 12, OV13; 1.1 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Reuben Tam (1916-1991) was a landscape painter and educator in New York, Maine, and Hawaii. Tam was born in Kapaa, Hawaii, in 1916. He received a degree in education in 1937 from the University of Hawaii and was briefly a public school teacher before attending graduate courses at the California School of Fine Arts. In 1941 he moved to New York and took courses in art history and philosophy at the New School for Social Research and Columbia University. Tam became affiliated with the Downtown Gallery in 1945 and was a prolific exhibitor in national and regional shows, winning critical praise as an abstract landscape painter. In 1948 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and first exhibited in the National Academy's annual exhibition in 1947.
Tam was an instructor at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School from 1946 to 1974. While there he taught advanced studies in painting and was chairman of the graduate painting department. He also served as a visiting professor at Oregon State University, Haystack, and Queens College, CUNY.
Beginning in 1948, Tam and his wife, Geraldine, spent summers at their home and studio on Monhegan Island, Maine. Tam's work was deeply influenced by coastal landscapes both in Maine and in his native Hawaii. In 1981 he and his wife moved back to Kapaa, Hawaii, where he continued to paint and exhibit his new works until his death in 1991.
Related Materials:
Reuben Tam papers, 1958-1966, are also located at Syracuse University.
Provenance:
Scrapbooks were lent for microfilming in 1970 by Reuben Tam and were subsequently donated in 2009 along with additional papers by Geraldine King Tam, Reuben Tam's widow. 34 additional sketchbooks were donated in 2020 by the Geraldine King Tam Trust, via Cindy King, trustee and niece of Geraldine King Tam.
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 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.
Reuben Tam papers, 1931-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of the Reuben Tam papers received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
Four sketchbooks representing Metcalf's early sketches.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter, illustrator; New York City.Born 1858. Died 1925. Willard Metcalf was one of a group known as The Ten American Painters. He worked in the Southwest U.S. painting Zuni Indians 1881-1883. He was associated with artists' colonies in Old Lyme, Conn., and Cornish, N.H.
Provenance:
Donated 1963 by IBM, who acquired the sketchbooks along with a painting they purchased for their company collection.
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.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
A diary in which Miller writes of personal affairs, daily activities, his work and friends; a notebook, "Hints and Recipes pertaining to Painting in Oil and Water Colors and the General Practice of Art"; manuscripts of the following writings: "My Rules and Plans of Life," "Fruit from the Tree of Life," "On Poetic Beauty in Nature"; "A Cunning Little Gypsy," "The Basket Maker of Bloomingdale," and "The Hunter's Song, or Life in the Woods."
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter; New York, N.Y. Born in England.
Provenance:
Lent 1974 by the New York Historical Society.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) Search this
Topic:
Painting, American -- New York (State) -- New York -- Technique Search this
Frames 14-180: Travel diary kept by Edmonds on a trip to England, France and Italy, spanning the period November 25, 1840 to July 29, 1841, much of the time with Asher B. Durand. Edmonds, in his day-by-day account, details the sights seen, comments on the work of many artists, and briefly mentions other artists whom he visited or met.
Frames 181-366: Diary, January 1, 1854-January 6, 1855, composed of short daily entries noting the weather and events of the day. Particular entries mention work on his house and property, visits to and from friends, deaths, the cholera epidemic, railroad breakdowns, meetings connected with his banking interests, domestic problems, and other topics.
Provenance:
Photocopy of travel diary was lent for microfilming 1977 by Dr. Maybelle Mann, who used it for her book Francis William Edmonds (1977.) The diary was donated 1977 by Edmonds granddaughter, Dorothy Coffen.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
23 letters between Metcalf and Charles L. Freer, 1917-1919, discussing prospective purchases of Metcalf's work for the Freer Collection, and 2 personal letters to Florence Griswold, 1905-06. Also included are a diary for 1876, recording the progress of some of his paintings, detailing sketching trips around Boston and Vermont, and noting daily expenses; sketchbooks, 1885, 1905, 1913-14; photographs of his murals and paintings; snapshots of his friends and himself; and a scrapbook of clippings, 1905-1925.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter, illustrator; New York City. One of The Ten American Painters. Worked in Southwest U.S. painting Zuni Indians 1881-1883; associated with artists' colonies in Old Lyme, Conn., and Cornish, N.H.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by Addison Metcalf, 1969.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Wyant writes from Carlsruhe, Westphalia, Germany about his mentor Hans Gude, mentions his own work, traveling to England, Switzerland, and Paris to study works of art, and buying works of art for Turlay.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
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.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of April Gornik conducted 2008 June 2-3, by Robert Enright, for the Archives of American Art, in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
Biographical / Historical:
April Gornik (1953- ) is a landscape painter in New York, N.Y. Gornik was educated at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art 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 administrators.
Restrictions:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
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.
Unstretched oil sketches; printed materials; photographs; correspondence; sketchbooks; and a book of watercolors.
REEL D9: Correspondence, undated and 1851-1888, with family members, and 2 letters from Jervis McEntee; 2 account books, undated and 1875-1879, containing sketches; 4 sketchbooks by Tubby, 1882, 1882-1884, 1887, and an undated sketchbook containing drawings from Kingston, New York; one book of watercolors entitled "Spring Song", by Lillie R. Hopkins, a relative of Tubby; and one clipping. Four miscellaneous notes and cards have not been filmed.
REEL 3832: Three photographs, one of Tubby and one each of his parents; a brochure, "Pictures from the Great Love-Mother's Book of Life"; and 7 unstretched oil sketches on canvas.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter; Born in London. Moved to New York State. Was a painter of the Hudson River school.
Provenance:
Donated 1956-1958 by Miss Gertrude O. Tubby, daughter of Joseph Tubby.
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.
REEL D359: Correspondence, 1946-1958, with galleries, art associations and clubs including the Century Association, the National Academy of Design; also, one letter from Archer M. Huntington and 2 from Elihu Root; photographs of Nichols and his work; clippings; and exhibition announcements and catalogs.
REEL 64: Photographs, including 42 photographs of paintings by Nichols, 1 photograph of him, and 1 of the 1948 exhibition "Painting in the United States" held at the Carnegie Institute.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter and illustrator; Bronxville, New York. Born in Washington, D.C. Studied at the Academie Julian. President of the National Academy of Design, 1939-1949, President Emeritus, from 1949; Vice-President and Director, Tiffany Foundation, New York; Assistant to Director of Fine Arts, United States Commission, Paris Exposition 1900.
Provenance:
Material donated by Leonora Nichols, Hobart Nichols' daughter, 1968.
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.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Landscape painters -- New York (State) Search this
Art dealer Leroy Ireland's research material on George Inness measures 2.0 linear feet and dates from 1916 to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960 to 1971. The collection documents Ireland's research for his book The Works of George Inness: An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonne through correspondence, research files, and photographs of artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
Art dealer Leroy Ireland's research material on George Inness measures 2.0 linear feet and dates from 1916 to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960 to 1971. The collection documents Ireland's research for his book The Works of George Inness: An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonne through correspondence, research files, and photographs of artwork.
Leroy Ireland's correspondence is with museums, galleries, private collectors, universities, and others regarding paintings by George Inness and works attributed to him. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1960 to 1969 during the period that Ireland was working on the catalogue raisonne. Scattered research files include a notebook, notes, and lists of works; photographs, letters, and documents regarding Inness which were received by Mrs. Ireland after Leroy Ireland's death; exhibition catalogs and other printed material. Also found are two copies of letters written by Inness. Photographs depict paintings by George Inness, paintings attributed to Inness but determined to be fakes, and paintings by other artists.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1916-2007 (Box 1-2; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Research Files Regarding George Inness, 1925-1973 (Box 2; 7 folders)
Series 3: Photographs, circa 1919-1972 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Leroy Ireland (1889-1970) was an art dealer and painter in New York and Philadelphia. Ireland is best know for his research on the works of landscape painter George Inness (1825-1894), culminating in a catalogue raisonne of his work.
Ireland began his career as a painter, studying with Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and exhibiting in many shows during the 1920s. He moved to New York and became an art dealer and appraiser. During that time he also studied and became an expert in the work of George Inness, specializing in the authentication of works held by galleries, museums, and private collectors. After nearly 30 years of research, his book The Works of George Inness: An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonne was published by the University of Texas Press in 1965.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming. Reels 992-996 contain an extensive photograph file of Inness paintings, correspondence, notes on and descriptions of art, sales records of Inness's works, ownership records of paintings, information about questionable attributions, exhibition catalogs and, miscellany. These materials were returned to the Chapellier Galleries in New York City. Reels 2824-2825 include twelve scrapbooks compiled by Ireland and contain circa 3,000 photographs of Inness paintings. The scrapbooks can now be found in the Fine Arts Library, University of Texas at Austin. Lent materials on microfilm are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Leroy Ireland research material on George Inness were given to the Archives of American Art in several different accessions. First, Leroy Ireland donated two letters and photographs of artwork in 1963-1964. In 1975, Chapellier Galleries in New York City, who had acquired papers from Ireland's estate, lent additional Leroy Ireland research material regarding George Inness for microfilming. In 1983, twelve scrapbooks compiled by Ireland were lent by Archer Huntington Art Gallery of the University of Texas at Austin for microfilming. Mrs. Leroy Ireland donated the remainder of the papers in 1993 via executor Irene Chapellier Little and in 2010 by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who received the collection from John Frisk, a friend of Ireland.
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.
Sketches and drawings by Spencer, and art work by others; printed material on Spencer; printed material and a few photographs used as source material for paintings; photographs of Spencer's work; personal photographs including one of Spencer; and a few letters.
REEL 3948: Fourteen drawings and preparatory sketches, undated; and a clipping, 1939.
REEL 4793: Art work by Spencer includes a poster design done while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, 1912, a self-portrait in pencil and ink, a pen and ink drawing of Abraham Lincoln, and nine pencil and ink drawings after Cezanne, Daumier, Matisse and Picasso; art work by others includes a charcoal sketch of Spencer by H.I. Smith, 2 watercolors by Spencer's father, Henry, 1900, and an engraving by Henry Hoppner Meyer, 1826, of Mexican statesman Lucas Alaman, inscribed by Alaman to Charles Naylor, 1848.
Also included are letters and two vol. of printed material on Spencer, compiled by book designer G. Alan Chidsey and presented to the family upon Spencer's death in 1952. Other printed material includes clippings, 1939-1961; an interview of Spencer conducted by Ernest Watson in American Artists Magazine, 1944; a press release for Spencer's 1954 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art; and four exhibition catalogs, including one for a Cezanne exhibition at Montross Gallery, 1916, containing a pencil sketch by Spencer on the back, and one for a Spencer exhibition at the Washburn Gallery, 1972.
Photographs are of industrial landscapes (4), probably used as source material for paintings, paintings by Spencer (16), and by others (4). A file on Slater Mill, owned by the Spencer family, containing an historical account and a photograph, 1972, is also included.
UNMICROFILMED: Clippings regarding art works by others, including two oversize reproductions of works by Cezanne, ca. 1930; and miscellaneous clippings featuring photographs of industrial sites and architecture, c.1920-1930.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New York, N.Y. Associated with the Precisionist school of painting.
Provenance:
Donated 1977 and 1989 by Brett Harrington, nephew of Niles Spencer's wife.
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.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
REEL 3472: A letter from Shurtleff to Charles Lang Freer, March 2, [n.y.], thanking him "for the check and the kind words of commendation of my work. I shall hope to be represented in your future exhibitions...." Also included is a snapshot of a painting by Shurtleff owned by George Russel, Detroit, Michigan.
REEL 1872: Six sketchbooks; three watercolors; two pencil sketches; and a photograph of a painting by Shurtleff.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter; New York City and Adirondacks, N.Y.
Provenance:
Material on reel 3472 donated 1978 by George Russel, an American ar collector. Material on reel 1872 donated 1980 by George R. Teale, who inherited the material from his family.
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.
Occupation:
Landscape painters -- New York (State) Search this
The papers of Edward Gay and the Gay family measure 2.6 linear feet and date from 1852 to 1983. Found within the papers are biographical materials on Edward and Duncan Gay; personal correspondence from Edward Gay, his wife Martha Feary Gay, and other family members; artwork by Edward and Duncan Gay; writings; printed materials; and photographs of Edward and Duncan Gay, their family, and their work.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Edward Gay and the Gay family measure 2.6 linear feet and date from 1852 to 1983. Found within the papers are biographical materials on Edward and Duncan Gay; personal correspondence from Edward Gay, his wife Martha Feary Gay, and other family members; artwork by Edward and Duncan Gay; writings; printed materials; and photographic materials of Edward and Duncan Gay, their family, and their work.
Papers of Edward Gay include legal documents; family and business correspondence, including correspondence from fellow artists; writings, including reminiscences by Martha Gay; printed materials; artwork, including one sketchbook; a small selection of business papers related to the Artists' Fund Society; and photographs of Edward and Martha Gay, their homes, and Gay's artwork.
Papers of Duncan Gay include biographical materials; family correspondence; printed material; artwork, including three sketchbooks and sketches of house plans; and photographic materials of Duncan Gay, his travels, and his artwork.
Gay family papers consist primarily of correspondence to Ingovar Gay and Helen Gay Learned, and photographs of the Gay family, extended family members, and friends.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Edward Gay Papers, 1852-1983 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1, OV 4-5)
Series 2: Duncan Gay Papers, 1870-1983 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Gay Family Papers, 1888-1970 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter Edward Gay (1837-1928) lived and worked in Mount Vernon and Cragsmoor, New York and was known for his works depicting the local countryside of upstate New York and the Hudson River Valley.
Born in Mullingar, Ireland to Richard and Ellen Gay, his family immigrated to Albany, New York in 1848. After showing an early affinity for art, Gay began his studies in the studio of local landscape painters William and James Hart. Under the Harts' advisement, Gay traveled to Karlsruhe, Germany in 1862 to continue his studies with Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and Karl Friedrich Lessing. After returning to America in 1864, Gay married the art critic Martha Feary and lived for a short time in New York City before moving his family to Mount Vernon and eventually purchasing a home there in 1870. He exhibited in museums and galleries throughout America and painted murals for public libraries in Mount Vernon and Bronxville, New York. Gay was a member of the National Academy of Design, New York Artists' Fund Society, and Lotus Club, and was a recipient of the National Academy's George Inness Gold Medal and the Society of American Artists' Shaw Prize.
Duncan Gay (1865-1948), Edward Gay's eldest son, was also an artist. Duncan worked as a draftsman and designer for Louis Comfort Tiffany, where he remained employed prior to becoming a self-employed artist and stained glass designer.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in separate accessions beginning in 1959 by Edward Gay's daughter, Dorothy Gay Gordon. Additional materials on Edward Gay were donated by Gay's grandson, Richard G. Coker, in 1974. From 1983 to 1995, materials on Edward and Duncan Gay and the Gay family were donated by Susanne G. Linville, Duncan Gay's daughter.
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 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.
Landscape painting -- 20th century -- New York (State) Search this
Landscape painting -- 19th century -- New York (State) Search this
Landscape painters -- New York (State) Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Edward Gay and Gay family papers, 1852-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for digitization of the Edward Gay and Gay Family Papers was made possible by a gift from Edward Gay's descendants Gay Fort Boswell, Wickie Fort Bridgforth, Melanie Fort Christian, Caleb Fort, Edward Fort, Hamlet Fort, James Fort, William Fort, Claudia Fort Heath, Jack Linville, and Jim Linville, in memory of Daniel Wilkins Fort
