Search Results

Artist:

Esther Bubley, 16 Feb 1921 - 16 Mar 1998  Search this

Sitter:

Marianne Moore, 15 Nov 1887 - 5 Feb 1972  Search this

Medium:

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions:

Image/Sheet: 25.5 × 34.1 cm (10 1/16 × 13 7/16")

Mat: 55.9 × 71.1 cm (22 × 28")

Type:

Photograph

Place:

United States\New York\Kings\New York\Bronx

Date:

May 1953

Topic:

Costume\Headgear\Hat  Search this

Exterior  Search this

Architecture\Fence  Search this

Costume\Outerwear\Cape  Search this

Nature & Environment\Animal\Elephant  Search this

Marianne Moore: Female  Search this

Marianne Moore: Literature\Writer\Poet  Search this

Marianne Moore: Journalism and Media\Editor  Search this

Marianne Moore: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher  Search this

Marianne Moore: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Librarian  Search this

Marianne Moore: Pulitzer Prize  Search this

Portrait  Search this

Credit Line:

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Object number:

NPG.77.137

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

Copyright:

© Esther Bubley

See more items in:

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Location:

Currently not on view

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4f7c345fa-89e2-4ffc-a917-b4d8ea7a0d15

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npg_NPG.77.137

Interviewee:

Custer, Arline, 1909-1975  Search this

Interviewer:

McCoy, Garnett  Search this

Subject:

Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this

Archives of American Art  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Arline Custer, 1975 April 7. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Women  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12231

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212615

AAA_collcode_custer75

Theme:

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212615

Interviewee:

Custer, Arline, 1909-1975  Search this

Interviewer:

McCoy, Garnett  Search this

Names:

Archives of American Art  Search this

Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this

Extent:

26 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1975 April 7

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Arline Custer conducted 1975 April 7, by Garnett McCoy, for the Archives of American Art.

Custer speaks of the early years of the Archives of American Art in Detroit.

Biographical / Historical:

Arline Custer (1909-1975) was a librarian from Detroit, Michigan. She worked for the Archives of American Art when it first began.

General:

Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav file. Duration is 45 min.

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 others.

Restrictions:

This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

Librarians -- Michigan -- Detroit  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

This interview received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool.

Identifier:

AAA.custer75

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98f5bb737-a5f6-473c-9f6a-2a35afc1760b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-custer75

Creator:

Smithsonian Libraries  Search this

Type:

Lectures

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2018-07-25T15:07:31.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Library science  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianLibraries

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianLibraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_46EaGn1t_gU

Creator:

Curtis, Edward S., 1868-1952  Search this

Extent:

16 Linear feet (23 document boxes, 5 oversize flat boxes)

1,950 Photographic prints (Gelatin Silver Chloride and Platinum)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographic prints

Date:

1899-1927

Summary:

The collection comprises series 2 of Photo Lot 59, the Library of Congress Copyright Office photographs of Native Americans and contains the photographs of Edward S. Curtis, primarily from his major publication, The North American Indian.

Scope and Contents:

The Library of Congress Copyright Office photos, Series 2 comprise almost 2000 prints submitted by Edward S. Curtis to the copyright office. Most of the photographs relate to his major 20-volume publication, The North American Indian. Included are photographs from all of the volumes with the exception of Volume 20, which focuses on Alaska and the North American arctic, which is not represented.

The photographs include portraits of individuals, village and landscape views, dances and ceremonies, day to day activities, and events.

Please see Photo Lot 59, the Library of Congress Copyright Office photographs of Native Americans for other photographs in Photo Lot 59.

Arrangement:

The Collection forms series 2 of Photo Lot 59, the Library of Congress Copyright Office Photographs. It is arranged in 19 subseries based on the volumes of Curtis's publication, The North American Indian (NAI). There is one subseries, "Other photographs" that contain photos not related to NAI.

Biographical note:

Edward Sherriff Curtis (1868-1952) was an American photographer famous for his photographs of the indigenous peoples of North America. His work was highly influential in shaping a sympathetic yet romantic view of cultures that he and many others believed to be "vanishing." Over the course of 30 years, Curtis visited more than 80 Native American communities and published his photographs and ethnographies in the twenty-volume North American Indian (NAI) (1907-1930).

Curtis was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin, to Ellen and Johnson Curtis in 1868. In about 1874, his family moved to a farm in Cordova, Minnesota. At a young age, Curtis built a camera, and it is possible that he may have worked in a Minneapolis photography studio for a time. In 1887, Curtis and his father moved West and settled on a plot near what is now Port Orchard, Washington, with the rest of the family joining them the following year. When Johnson Curtis died within a month of the family's arrival, 20-year-old Curtis became the head of the family.

In 1891, Curtis moved to Seattle and bought into a photo studio with Rasmus Rothi. Less than a year later, he and Thomas Guptill formed "Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers." The endeavor became a premier portrait studio for Seattle society and found success in photoengraving for many local publications. In 1892, Curtis married Clara Phillips (1874-1932) and in 1893 their son Harold was born (1893-1988), followed by Elizabeth (Beth) (1896-1973), Florence (1899-1987) and Katherine (Billy) (1909-?). Around 1895, Curtis made his first photographs of local Native people, including the daughter of Duwamish chief Seattle: Kickisomlo or "Princess Angeline." Curtis submitted a series of his Native American photographs to the National Photographic Convention, and received an award in the category of "genre studies" for Homeward (later published in volume 9 of the NAI). In 1896, the entire Curtis family moved to Seattle, which included Curtis's mother, his siblings Eva and Asahel, Clara's sisters Susie and Nellie Phillips, and their cousin William Phillips. Most of the household worked in Curtis's studio along with other employees. Curtis became sole proprietor of the studio in 1897, which remained a popular portrait studio but also sold his scenic landscapes and views of the Seattle Area. Curtis also sent his brother Asahel to Alaska and the Yukon to photograph the Klondike Gold Rush, and sold those views as well. Asahel went on to become a well-known photographer in his own right, primarily working in the American Northwest.

Curtis was an avid outdoorsman and joined the Mazamas Club after his first of many climbs of Mount Rainier. On a climb in 1898, Curtis evidently met a group of scientists, including C. Hart Merriam, George Bird Grinnell, and Gifford Pinchot, who had lost their way on the mountain, and led them to safety. This encounter led to an invitation from Merriam for Curtis to accompany a group of over 30 well-known scientists, naturalists, and artists as the official photographer on a maritime expedition to the Alaskan coast. Funded by railroad magnate Edward Harriman, the Harriman Alaska Expedition left Seattle in May of 1899, and returned at the end of July. Curtis made around 5000 photographs during the trip, including photographs of the indigenous peoples they met as well as views of mountains, glaciers, and other natural features. Many of the photographs appeared in the expedition's 14 published volumes of their findings.

In 1900, Curtis accompanied Grinnell to Montana for a Blackfoot Sundance. Here, Curtis made numerous photographs and became interested in the idea of a larger project to document the Native peoples of North America. Almost immediately upon returning from the Sundance, Curtis set off for the Southwest to photograph Puebloan communities. By 1904, Curtis had already held at least one exhibit of his "Indian pictures" and his project to "form a comprehensive and permanent record of all the important tribes of the United States and Alaska that still retain to a considerable degree their primitive customs and traditions" (General Introduction, the NAI) had taken shape and already received some press coverage. With his fieldwork now increasing his absences from home, Curtis hired Adolph Muhr, former assistant to Omaha photographer Frank Rinehart, to help manage the Seattle studio.

In 1904, Curtis was a winner in the Ladies Home Journal "Prettiest Children In America" portrait contest. His photograph of Marie Fischer was selected as one of 112 that would be published and Fischer was one of 12 children selected from the photographs who would have their portrait painted by Walter Russell. Russell and Curtis made an acquaintance while Russell was in Seattle to paint Fischer's portrait, and not long afterwards, Russell contacted Curtis to make photographic studies of Theodore Roosevelt's children for portraits he would paint. Curtis subsequently photographed the entire Roosevelt family, and developed a social connection with the President. Several important outcomes came of this new friendship, including Roosevelt eventually writing the foreword to the NAI, as well as making introductions to influential people.

Key among these introductions was one to wealthy financier John Pierpont Morgan, in 1906. After a brief meeting with Curtis during which he viewed several of Curtis's photographs of Native Americans, Morgan agreed to finance the fieldwork for the NAI project for five years, at $15,000.00 per year. It was up to Curtis to cover publishing and promotion costs, with the publication being sold as a subscription. In return, Morgan would receive 25 sets of the 20-volume publication. The ambitious publication plan outlined 20 volumes of ethnological text, each to be illustrated with 75 photogravure prints made from acid-etched copper plates. Each volume would be accompanied by a companion portfolio of 35 large photogravures. With high-quality papers and fine binding, a set would cost $3000.00. 500 sets were planned. Under Morgan, the North American Indian, Inc. formed as body to administer the monies. Also around this time, Frederick Webb Hodge, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology, agreed to edit the publications.

Curtis then began more systematic fieldwork, accompanied by a team of research assistants and Native interpreters. In 1906, Curtis hired William E. Myers, a former journalist, as a field assistant and stenographer. Over the years, Myers became the lead researcher on the project, making enormous contributions in collecting data and possibly doing the bulk of the writing for the first 18 volumes. Upon meeting a new community, Curtis and his team would work on gathering data dealing with all aspects of the community's life, including language, social and political organization, religion, food ways, measures and values, and many other topics. (See box 2 folder 1 in this collection for Curtis's list of topics.) Curtis and his assistants, especially Myers, brought books and papers to the field relating to the tribes they were currently concerned with, and often wrote from the field to anthropologists at the Bureau of American Ethnology and other institutions for information or publications. In addition to fieldnotes and photographs, the team also employed sound recording equipment, making thousands of recordings on wax cylinders. Curtis also often brought a motion picture camera, although few of his films have survived.

The first volume of the NAI was published towards the end of 1907. Already, Curtis was encountering difficulty in finding subscribers to the publication despite great praise in the press and among those who could afford the volumes. Curtis spent progressively more of his time outside the field season promoting the project through lectures and in 1911, presenting his "Picture Musicale"—a lecture illustrated with lantern slides and accompanied by an original musical score—in major cities. After the initial five funded years, only eight of the twenty volumes had been completed. However, Morgan agreed to continue support for the fieldwork and publication continued.

Starting in 1910, Curtis and his team worked among the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation on Vancouver Island, and in 1913 began to develop a documentary film project featuring the community in Alert Bay. In 1914, Curtis produced the feature-length film, In the Land of the Headhunters. The film showcased an all-indigenous cast and included an original musical score. Screened in New York and Seattle, it received high praise. However after this initial success, it did not receive the attention Curtis had hoped for, and resulted in financial loss.

Meanwhile, Curtis's prolonged absences from home had taken a toll on his marriage and in 1919 Clara and Edward divorced. The Seattle studio was awarded to Clara, and Curtis moved to Los Angeles, opening a photography studio with his daughter Beth and her husband Manford "Mag" Magnuson. Daughters Florence and Katherine came to Los Angeles sometime later. Curtis continued with fieldwork and promotion of the project, and in 1922 volume 12 of the NAI was published. Also in 1922, Curtis was accompanied during the field season in California by his daughter Florence Curtis Graybill, the first time a family member had gone to the field with him since the Curtis children were very small.

Curtis continued to push the project and publications along, yet never without financial struggle and he picked up work in Hollywood as both a still and motion picture photographer. John Pierpont Morgan, Jr., continued to provide funding for the fieldwork in memory of his father, but with the various financial upsets of the 1910s and 1920s, Curtis had a difficult time getting subscribers on board. In 1926, Myers, feeling the strain, regretfully resigned after the completion of volume 18. Anthropologist Frank Speck recommended Stewart Eastwood, a recent graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, to replace Myers as ethnologist for the final two volumes.

In 1927, Curtis and his team, along with his daughter Beth Curtis Magnuson, headed north from Seattle to Alaska and Canada on a final field season. Harsh weather and a hip injury made the trip difficult for Curtis, but he was very satisfied with the season's work. The party returned to Seattle, and upon arrival Curtis was arrested for unpaid alimony. He returned exhausted to Los Angeles, and in 1930 the final two volumes of NAI were published without fanfare. Curtis spent the next two years recovering from physical and mental exhaustion. Beth and Mag continued to run the Curtis studio in LA, but for the most part, Curtis had set down his camera for good. With the NAI behind him and his health recovered, Curtis pursued various interests and employment, eventually, settling down on a farm outside Los Angeles. he later moved in with Beth and Mag. Curtis died at home in 1952.

Sources Cited Davis, Barbara. Edward S. Curtis: the life and times of a shadowcatcher. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1984. Gidley, Mick. The North American Indian, Incorporated. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Related Materials:

The National Anthropological Archives holds additional Curtis material in Photo Lot 59, the Library of Congress Copyright Offie photographs, MS 2000-18, Curtis's research into Battle of Little Bighorn 2010-28, the Edward Curtis papers and photographs, 2022-12, Christopher Cardozo collection of Edward S. Curtis photographs and ephemera, and 2022-04, Edward S. Curtis photogravure printing plates.

The Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University holds Curtis's wax cylinder audio recordings from 1907-1913.

The Braun Research Library at the Autry Museum of the American West holds the Frederick Webb Hodge papers (1888-1931), which contain substantial correspondence from Curtis. The Braun also holds a small amount of Curtis papers and photographs, including some of Curtis's cyanotypes.

The Getty Research Institute holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1900-1978), which include the original manuscript scores for the Curtis Picture Musicale and film In the Land of the Headhunters.

The Palace of the Governors at the New Mexico History Museum holds original Curtis negatives pertaining to the southwest.

The Pierpont Morgan Library holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1906-1947), which contain the records of the North American Indian, Inc., as well as Curtis's correspondence to librarian, and later library director, Belle Da Costa Greene. The library also holds a large collection of Curtis's lantern slides, used in his Picture Musicale.

The Seattle Public Library holds correspondence of Curtis to Librarian Harriet Leitch (1948-1951), pertaining to his career.

The Seaver Center for Western History Research at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History holds collection GC 1143, which contains Curtis's field notes as well as manuscript drafts for the North American Indian.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian holds NMAI.AC.080, the Edward S. Curtis photogravure plates and proofs, as well as NMAI.AC.053, the Mary Harriman Rumsey collection of Harriman Alaska Expedition photographs.

The University of Washington Libraries Special Collections holds the Edward S. Curtis papers (1893-1983). Additionally, the Burke Museum holds papers and photographs of Edmund Schwinke, which relate to Curtis's work with the Kwakwaka'wakw community.

Provenance:

This set of Edward S. Curtis photographs form part of the Library of Congress Copyright Office photographs collection. The collection was formed from submissions made to the Library of Congress as part of the copyright registration process. Two copies of each item were required. Eventually the copyright submission photographs were sent to the Prints and Photographs division at the Library of Congress. In the late 1950s, arrangements were made to transfer the duplicate set of photographs relating to Native Americans to the Smithsonian Institution.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. On-site access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Citation:

Photo Lot 59, Library of Congress Copyright Office photographs, Series 2: Edward S. Curtis, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.59.Series2

See more items in:

Library of Congress Copyright Office photographs of Native Americans, Series 2: Edward S. Curtis

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3331cd47e-5933-44e6-a961-6511262d3f21

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-59-series2

Creator:

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-06-04T19:20:56.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

See more by:

OFI_Smithsonian

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution

YouTube Channel:

OFI_Smithsonian

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_2Ie5S70KSCQ

Creator:

Smithsonian Libraries  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-05-14T13:22:49.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Library science  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianLibraries

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianLibraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_HCp8QShKSSc

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-10-23T18:35:28.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_M3oVROHNLZE

Names:

Anacostia Museum  Search this

Washington, D.C.. Public Library  Search this

Tscherny, Elena  Search this

Collection Creator:

Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum  Search this

Extent:

2 Digital files

1 Sound cassette

Type:

Archival materials

Digital files

Sound cassettes

Place:

Washington (D.C.)

Date:

circa 1992-1993

Scope and Contents:

Elena Tscherny spoke about the Office of Library Services and Programs, her career with and work for the District of Columbia Public Library, services and events that the DC Public Library offers the Spanish speaking community, artist exhibitions, bilingual librarians and staff, and the Mt. Pleasant library. She also explained how she would be able to help with Anacostia Museum's Latino exhibit; her involvement with and thoughts about community organizations and DC government's Office of Latino Affairs; how DC government budget cuts affect the DC Public Library; and ideas for documenting the Latino community. Elena Tscherny was interviewed at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library in Washington, DC. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static, and very background noise, including voices and a vacuum, at the beginning of the interview; interviewee's voice can be difficult to hear at times.

General:

Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.

Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Librarians  Search this

Hispanic American librarians  Search this

Women  Search this

Women librarians  Search this

Hispanic Americans  Search this

Latin Americans  Search this

Public libraries  Search this

Interviews  Search this

Citation:

Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

See more items in:

Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records

Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 2: Research Files / Oral History Interviews

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7ebba32a4-6a83-400a-b97f-2e18b8c85c06

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-acma-03-027-ref1892

Creator:

Smithsonian Libraries  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-08-20T13:53:34.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Library science  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianLibraries

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianLibraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_a_A_10AtkQ8

Preparation:

watercolor

Taxonomy:

Plantae Monocotyledonae Asparagales Amaryllidaceae Amaryllidoideae

Published Name:

Amaryllis sp.

Other Numbers:

Botanical Art Plate Link : 3211

See more items in:

Botany

Non-specimen graphic

Botanical Art

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/36d13bcb6-9f6f-4976-92f7-d8285d7df97a

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_10959477

Culture/People:

Oklahoma Cherokee  Search this

Artist/Maker:

Virginia A. Stroud, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, b. 1951  Search this

Previous owner:

Lynne Altstatt, Non-Indian  Search this

Donor:

Lynne Altstatt, Non-Indian  Search this

Object Name:

Painting

Media/Materials:

Cotton canvas, acrylic paint

Techniques:

Painted

Dimensions:

51.0 x 40.7 x 2.0 cm

Object Type:

Painting/Drawing/Print

Place:

Oklahoma; USA (inferred)

Date created:

1975

Catalog Number:

26/8573

Barcode:

268573.000

See related items:

Oklahoma Cherokee

Painting/Drawing/Print

Data Source:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ws62cd899e5-cc3e-4e27-b565-be1f88a6d626

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:NMAI_401132

Creator:

Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Subject:

Chicago, Judy  Search this

De Bretteville, Sheila Levrant  Search this

Raven, Arlene  Search this

Feminist Studio Workshop  Search this

Women's Graphic Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Type:

Slides

Artists' books

Citation:

Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Works of art  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Feminism and art  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Art organizations  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6347

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215074

AAA_collcode_womabuil

Theme:

Women

Art organizations

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_215074

Creator:

Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Names:

Feminist Studio Workshop  Search this

Women's Graphic Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this

De Bretteville, Sheila Levrant  Search this

Raven, Arlene  Search this

Extent:

32.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Slides

Artists' books

Date:

1970-1992

Summary:

The records of the Woman's Building feminist arts organization in Los Angeles measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1970-1992. Originally founded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven in 1973, the Woman's Building served as an education center and public gallery space for women artists in southern California. The records document both the educational and exhibition activities and consist of administrative records, financial and legal records, publications, curriculum files, exhibition files, grant funding records and artist's works of arts and prints. A significant portion of the collection documents the Women's Graphic Center, a typesetting, design, and printing service operated by The Woman's Building.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the Woman's Building measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1970 to 1992. The organization played a key role as an alternative space for women artists energized by the feminist movement in the 1970s. The records document the ways in which feminist theory shaped the Building's founding core mission and goals. During its eighteen year history, the Building served as an education center and a public gallery space for women artists in Los Angeles and southern California; the records reflect both functions of the Building's activities.

The Administrative Files series documents the daily operations of the Building, with particular emphasis on management policies, budget planning, history, cooperative relationships with outside art organizations and galleries, special building-wide programs, and relocation planning. Included in this series are the complete minutes from most Building committees from 1974 through closing, including the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council. The General Publicity and Outreach series is particularly complete, containing publicity notices from most events, exhibits, and programs held at the Woman's Building, including brochures, announcements, programs, invitations, press releases, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles.

The Woman's Building's educational programs centered on courses offered by the Feminist Studio Workshop and the Extension Program. While the Workshop provided a two-year program for women interested in fully developing their artistic talent, the Extension Program offered a broad range of classes, specifically oriented to working women interested in art and art vocations. The records fully document both programs, focusing on the course development and descriptions, teacher contracts, class evaluations, budget planning, and scholarship programs. Although the Archives does not have the entire slide library, there are files concerning the establishment and administration of the library, as well as a few folders of slides.

The Gallery Programs series houses the records of the visual, performing, literary and video arts events held at the Woman's Building. Administrative files detail the daily operation of the gallery spaces. The files in the remaining subseries are primarily arranged by event and contain proposals, announcements, publicity, and artist biographies.

The Women's Graphic Center became a profit-making arm of the Woman's Building in 1981 but the typesetting and design equipment had been used by staff and students since 1975. The records in this series focus on the work produced at the Center, including general projects and artist designs and art prints. Many of the design and printing examples were produced for Woman's Building events and programs.

The Artist's Works of Art series includes artist books, resumes, correspondence, postcards, and samples of art in the form of sketches, drawings, and prints. There is also material related to Woman's Building projects. Especially noteworthy is the "What is Feminist Art?" project where artists gave their responses in various formats and mediums from text to pieces of artwork.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 6 series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, circa 1970-1991 (Box 1-9, 32; 9 linear feet)

Series 2: Educational Programs, 1971-1991 (Box 10-14; 4.9 linear feet)

Series 3: Gallery Programs, 1973-1991 (Box 14-20, OV 54; 5.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Women's Graphic Center, circa 1976-1989 (Box 20-23, 32, OV 33-50; 5.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Artists' Works of Art, circa 1972-1990 (Box 24-25, OV 51-53; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 6: Grants, 1974-1992 (Box 25-30; 5.3 linear feet)

Historical Note:

In 1973, artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven founded the Feminist Studio Workshop (FSW), one of the first independent schools for women artists. The founders established the workshop as a non-profit alternative education center committed to developing art based on women's experiences. The FSW focused not only on the development of art skills, but also on the development of women's experiences and the incorporation of those experiences into their artwork. Central to this vision was the idea that art should not be separated from other activities related to the developing women's movement. In November of 1973 the founders rented workshop space in a vacated building in downtown Los Angeles and called it The Woman's Building, taking the name from the structure created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The FSW shared space with other organizations and enterprises including several performance groups, Womanspace Gallery, Sisterhood Bookstore, the National Organization of Women, and the Women's Liberation Union.

When the building they were renting was sold in 1975, the FSW and a few other tenants moved to a three-story brick structure, originally designed to be the administrative offices of the Standard Oil Company in the 1920s. In the 1940s, it had been converted into a warehouse and consisted of three floors of open space, conducive to publically available extension classes and exhibitions offered by the Woman's Building staff and students. By 1977, the majority of the outside tenants had left the Woman's Building, primarily because they were unable to sustain business in the new location. The new building was more expensive to maintain and the FSW staff decided to hire an administrator and to create a board structure to assume the financial, legal, and administrative responsibility for the Building. The funds to operate came from FSW tuition, memberships, fund-raising events, and grant monies.

In 1981, the Feminist Studio Workshop closed, as the demand for alternative education diminished. The education programs of the Building were restructured to better accommodate the needs of working women. The Woman's Building also began to generate its own artistic programming with outside artists, including visual arts exhibits, performance art, readings, and video productions. That same year, the Woman's Building founded the Women's Graphic Center Typesetting and Design, a profit-making enterprises designed to strengthen its financial base. Income generated from the phototypesetting, design, production, and printing services was used to support the educational and art making activities of the Building.

When the graphics business closed in 1988, the Woman's Building suffered a financial crisis from which it never fully recovered. The Building closed its gallery and performance space in 1991.

Related Material:

Among the other resources relating to the Woman's Building in the Archives of American Art is an oral history with Suzanne Lacy on March 16, 1990, March 24, 1990, and September 24, 1990. While not credited as a founding member, Lacy was among the first group of staff of the Woman's Building which she discusses in her interview.

The Getty Research Institute also holds a large collection on the Woman's Building which includes a wide range of material relating to its exhibitions, activities, and projects.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art donated 5 boxes of video tape from the collection to the Long Beach Museum of Art, Video Annex in 1994. According to documentation, this was the desire of Sandra Golvin and the Board of Directors of the Woman's Building. Printed material collected but not produced by the Woman's Building regarding feminism was transfered to Smithsonian Institution Libraries.

Provenance:

The Woman's Building records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1991 by Sandra Golvin, President of the Board of Directors. An small addition of a set of "Cross Pollination" posters was donated in 2019 by by ONE Archives at University of Southern California Libraries via Loni Shibuyama, Archives Librarian.

Topic:

Works of art  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Feminism and art  Search this

Function:

Nonprofit organizations -- California

Arts organizations -- California

Genre/Form:

Slides

Artists' books

Citation:

Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and Joyce F. Menschel, Vital Projects Fund, Inc.

Identifier:

AAA.womabuil

See more items in:

Woman's Building records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw938796dfe-5dbf-49e9-96e7-5a8745391f13

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-womabuil

Creator:

Smithsonian Libraries  Search this

Type:

Lectures

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-05-28T19:26:49.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Library science  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianLibraries

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianLibraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_h8FMDb8Xj0U

Creator:

American Academy in Rome  Search this

Names:

American Academy in Rome  Search this

American School of Architecture in Rome  Search this

American School of Classical Studies in Rome  Search this

Aldrich, Chester Holmes, 1871-1940  Search this

Boring, William, 1859-1937  Search this

Breck, George, 1863-1920  Search this

Dinsmoor, William B.  Search this

Egbert, J. C. (James Chidester), 1859-1948  Search this

Ely, Theo. N.  Search this

Faulkner, Barry, 1881-1966  Search this

Guernsey, Roscoe  Search this

Hewlett, James Monroe  Search this

Kendall, William M.  Search this

La Farge, C. Grant (Christopher Grant), 1862-1938  Search this

Marquand, Allan, 1853-1924  Search this

McKim, Charles Follen, 1847-1909  Search this

Mead, William Rutherford, 1846-1928  Search this

Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912  Search this

Morey, Charles Rufus, 1877-1955  Search this

Mowbray, H. Siddons (Harry Siddons), 1858-1928  Search this

Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933  Search this

Pope, John Russell, 1874-1937  Search this

Roberts, Laurance P.  Search this

Smith, James Kellum, 1893-1963  Search this

Stevens, Gorham Phillips, 1876-  Search this

Vedder, Elihu, 1836-1923  Search this

Vitale, Ferrucio, 1875-1933  Search this

Ward, John Quincy Adams, 1830-1910  Search this

Extent:

65.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

1855-2012

Summary:

The records of the American Academy in Rome measure 65.9 linear feet and date from 1855 to 2012. The collection documents the history of the institution from its inception in 1894 as the American School of Architecture in Rome, through the end of World War II, and chronicles the contributions the academy has made to America's cultural and intellectual development. Nearly one-half of the collection consists of an unprocessed addition received in 2014 containing records that mostly post-date World War II and include correspondence and subject files of officers and executives based in the New York office of American Academy in Rome.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the American Academy in Rome measure 65.9 linear feet and date from 1855 to 2012. The collection documents the history of the institution from its inception in 1894 as the American School of Architecture in Rome, through the end of World War II, and chronicles the contributions the academy has made to America's cultural and intellectual development. Nearly one-half of the collection consists of an unprocessed addition received in 2014 containing records that mostly post-date World War II and include correspondence and subject files of officers and executives based in the New York office of American Academy in Rome.

Items predating the 1894 founding of the American School of Architecture in Rome are personal papers and memorabilia of individuals associated with the institution.

Series 1: Predecessor Institutions, is composed of the records of the American School of Architecture in Rome, 1894-1898, and the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, 1895-1913. Records of the American School of Architecture in Rome include records of its Managing Committee, correspondence, financial records, and printed matter. Among the Managing Committee's records are notes and correspondence relative to the founding of the institution, minute books and reports; also, legal documents including records concerning its dissolution prior to being reorganized as the American Academy in Rome. Correspondence is mostly that of Vice President Charles F. McKim who handled administrative matters. Financial records include capital stock certificates, invoices and receipts. Printed matter consists of scholarship competition announcements.

Records of the American School of Classical Studies in Rome include records of its Managing Committee, Committee on Fellowships, publications, printed matter, and treasurers' records. The Managing Committee's records consist of the proposed resolution concerning its merger with the American Academy in Rome. Committee on Fellowship records are comprised of correspondence, reports, and fellowship applications. Publications records include correspondence and invoices. Printed matter includes general information, annual reports of the Managing Committee and Director, annual reports of the Committee on Medieval and Renaissance Studies, fellowship applications and examination questions, and the proposed consolidation agreement. Treasurers' records include the files of Alex. Bell and Willard V. King. Bell's sparse records consist of a budget, receipts for salary payments, an invoice, canceled checks, and correspondence. King's files, while more substantial than those that survive from Bell's tenure, are quite incomplete. They include correspondence, banking records, budgets and financial statements, investment records, invoices, and receipts for salaries and expenses.

Series 2: Board of Trustees Records, is comprised of legal documents, minutes, and reports; records of Trustee committees; records of officers; and records of individual Trustees. Legal documents, 1897-1926 and undated, consist of by-laws and amendments, certificate of incorporation, and constitution and amendments. Minutes and reports of the Board of Trustees, 1897-1947 and 1957, including those of its annual meetings, are carbon copies rather than the official minute books, and are incomplete. Reports of officers are incomplete, as well. Also included are reports of Officers'/Trustees' visits to Rome, and reports of the Director and Secretary in Rome submitted to the Board of Trustees.

Records of Trustee committees, 1905-1946 and undated, consist of reports and/or minutes arranged alphabetically by committee; these, too are incomplete, with many committees represented by a single report. Committees represented are: Building Committee, Carter Memorial Committee, Endowment Committee, Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Library Committee, McKim Memorial Committee, Nominating Committee, Committee on Publications. Committee on the School of Classical Studies records consist of its own minutes and reports, reports of its Advisory Council and the Jury on Classical Fellowships. Committee on the School of Classical Studies also include reports of officers and staff of the School of Classical Studies to the Committee on the School of Classical Studies as follows: Director, Professor in Charge, Annual Professor, Director of the Summer Session, Professor of Archaeology, Curator of the Museum, Editor, Librarian, and Committee on the Welfare of Women Students. Committee on the School of Fine Arts records consist of its own minutes and reports, reports of its Special Committee on the Plan and Expense of a Department of Music in the School of Fine Arts, and report of Fine Arts Program, Triptych Project with the Citizens Committee for the Army and Navy, Inc.; also, reports of officers and staff of the School of Fine Arts to the Committee on the School of Fine Arts as follows: Director, Professor in Charge, Associate in Charge, Annual Professor, Professor in Charge of the Department of Musical Composition. In addition, there are minutes and/or reports of the Committee of Twelve and Subcommittee of Five and the Special Committee on Villa Aurelia.

Records of Officers. 1898-1957 and undated, consist mainly of correspondence files and reports, with large numbers of transcriptions and carbon copies. Included are records of: Presidents Charles F. McKim, William R. Mead, Charles A. Platt, John Russell Pope, and James Kellum Smith; Vice Presidents Theodore N. Ely, George B. McClellan, and Henry James; Secretaries H. Siddons Mowbray (Secretary/Treasurer), Frank D. Millet, C. Grant La Farge, William B. Dinsmoor, and H. Richardson Pratt; and Treasurers William R. Mead, William A. Boring, Leon Fraser, and Lindsay Bradford Office files of President Mead, Secretaries Millet and La Farge, and Treasurer Boring are the most complete; files of other individuals, the Vice Presidents in particular, are often quite sparse.

Records of individual Trustees, 1902-1946 and undated, consist of material relating to official Academy business that was created or maintained by each in his capacity as trustee. (Note: many of these individuals also served as officers or staff of the Academy, and their records documenting those functions will be found in the appropriate series.) Included in this subseries are the records of: Chester H. Aldrich, Gilmore D. Clarke, James C. Egbert, Barry Faulkner, Allan C. Johnson, William M. Kendall, C. Grant La Farge, Edward P. Mellon, Charles Dyer Norton, Charles A. Platt, John Russell Pope, Edward K. Rand, John C. Rolfe, James Kellum Smith, S. Breck Trowbridge, Ferruccio Vitale, John Quincy Adams Ward, Andrew F. West, and William L. Westerman. These records tend to be sparse; files maintained by James C. Egbert, Barry Faulkner, Allan C. Johnson, and Ferruccio Vitale are notable exceptions.

Series 3: New York Office Records, consists of records of staff, rosters, printed matter, photographs, personal papers, Association of Alumni of the American Academy in Rome, and miscellaneous records.

Records of staff, 1919-1950 and undated, include the office files of Executive Secretaries Roscoe Guersney, Meriwether Stuart, and Mary T. Williams; Librarian George K. Boyce; and Endowment Fund Campaign Secretaries Phillilps B. Robinson and Edgar I. Williams.

The rosters, 1895-1939 and undated, are printed forms completed by fellows and students, with occasional attachments (usually correspondence or photographs). Included are the rosters of the School of Fine Arts, School of Classical Studies, and School of Classical Studies Summer Sessions.

Printed matter, 1905-[1981?] and undated, has been classified as Academy produced and produced by others. Items produced by the Academy, 1905-[1981?], include general information including act of incorporation and by-laws, fundraising brochure, constitution, Directory of Fellows and Residents, histories of the institution, newsletter of the Director, and printed items relating to special events. Printed matter specifically relating to the School of Classical Studies includes annual announcements, the consolidation agreement, a directory, fellowship announcements and applications, lecture announcements, newsletters, and brochures about summer sessions. School of Fine Arts printed matter includes annual announcements, concert programs, exhibition checklists and catalogs, fellowship announcements and application forms, history, and newsletters.

Printed matter produced by others, 1905-1940 and undated, consists of three scrapbooks of news clippings and photographs compiled by the American Academy in Rome, extensive clipping files, and articles from miscellaneous publications. All of these items are about the American Academy in Rome, or by or about individuals associated with the institution. Also included is a poster for Leave Courses offered at the Academy for U. S. servicemen.

Photographs, 1891-1941 and undated, are organized into the categories of works of art, people, buildings, places, events, and miscellaneous. Works of art are by visiting students and fellows, Frank D. Millet, collaborative problems, Rome Prize Competitions in Architecture, Rome Prize Competitions in Landscape Architecture, and Prix de Rome Competition exhibitions. Photographs of people are both of individuals and groups; among the groups are summer school students and fellowship winners.

Buildings depicted are American Academy properties. Among them are the "New Building," including interior and exterior construction views; studios; and Villas Aurelia, Mirafiore, and Richardson. Also included is a group of photographs of Academy architecture students measuring buildings in Rome and Florence. Places pictured are views of the Academy property and surrounding areas.

Photographs of events include cricket games, Thanksgiving and Fourth of July dinners, Architectural League exhibition, and inauguration of the Manship Fountain. Miscellaneous photographs are of an architectural drawing for a proposed building.

Personal Papers, Memorabilia, and Ephemera, 1855-1923 an undated, were donated to the American Academy in Rome or otherwise left on its premises. None are official records generated by the institution. Included are: Ernest Lewis' photograph album/scrapbook; Allan Marquand's papers; Charles F. McKim's memorabilia, photographs, printed matter, and artifacts; Charles R. Morey's correspondence; and Elihu Vedder's Bible.

Records of the Association of the Alumni of the American Academy in Rome, 1913-1945 and undated), consist of a small number of scattered records including correspondence, fellows' war/government service information (compiled by Sidney Waugh), membership lists, and a newsletter.

Miscellaneous records, 1899-1926 and undated, are writings and architectural records. Writings consist of published and unpublished manuscript material about the American Academy in Rome and its history, and article by H. Siddons Mowbray advising on ornamentation, and text and illustrations for the Art and Archaeology issue on the Academy. Also included are fragments of unidentified letters. Architectural records [oversize] include property and floor plans of Villas Aurora, Chiaraviglio, Ferrari, and Ludovisi.

Series 4: Rome Office Records, consist of records of staff and personal papers. Records of staff, 1903-1947 and undated, include the office files of Directors H. Siddons Mowbray, George Breck, Jesse Benedict Carter, Gorham Phillips Stevens, James Monroe Hewlett, Chester H. Aldrich, Amey Aldrich [Acting Director, very briefly, perhaps unofficially], Charles R. Morey, and Laurance P. Roberts; and records of two members of the School of Fine Arts faculty, Frank P. Fairbanks, Professor of Fine Arts, and Felix Lamond, Professor of Music. Records of Carter, Stevens, Hewlett, and Aldrich appear to be fairly complete; records of early directors are sparse; those of Morey and Roberts appear to be missing significant portions; and those of Professors Fairbanks and Lamond consist of a few scattered items.

Also surviving are the personal papers of Director Gorham Phillips Stevens, 1912-1931 and undated), consisting of correspondence, financial records, and documentation of professional and charitable activities.

Series 5: Unprocessed Addition to the American Academy in Rome Records was received in 2014 and consists of 31.6 linear feet of the New York office's records for officers, directors, and executives.

Arrangement:

It was obvious that before they came to the Archives of American Art the records had been rearranged more than once, and in such a way that materials from many different departments had been intermingled. In keeping with archival theory and practice, the records were organized to reflect the structure and operation of the institution that created the records, making them more understandable and accessible to a wide variety of researchers.

In general, the records of each officer and staff member are arranged alphabetically, with general correspondence preceding the alphabetical sequence; arrangement within each file is chronological, unless noted otherwise.

Records of the American Academy in Rome are organized into five major series. Each series, except series 5, is divided into several subseries, with the arrangement described in detail in the series descriptions.

Missing Title

Series 1: Predecessor Institutions, 1894-1913 (box 1; 0.88 linear ft.; Reels 5749-5750)

Series 2: Board of Trustees Records, 1897-1957, undated (boxes 1-17, 35, 37; 15.25 linear ft.; Reels 5750-5777)

Series 3: New York Office, 1855-circa 1981, undated (boxes 17-32, 36; 15 linear ft.; 5777-5795)

Series 4: Rome Office, 1903-1943, undated (boxes 32-34; 3 linear ft.; 5795-5800)

Series 5: Unprocessed Addition to the American Academy in Rome Records, 1933-2002 (boxes 35-103; 31.6 linear ft.)

Historical Note:

While in Chicago to advise and work on the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, architects Charles F. McKim, Daniel Burnham, and Richard Howland Hunt, painters John La Farge and Frank Millet, and sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Daniel Chester French, among others, met regularly. From their collaborative experience and discussions came the idea for an American school for artists in Europe. Charles F. McKim was especially enthusiastic. He strongly believed that collaborative experience should be available to future American artists, and perceived a real need for an American school in Europe--preferably in Rome, the very best place to study art, in his opinion.

By March of the following year, McKim was busy devising plans for the school and persuading like-minded architects and artists to assist. He proposed to finance the school by convincing institutions with traveling scholarships in the arts to send those students to Rome. Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and the Rotch Scholarship fund readily agreed to the scheme, and in ensuing years many others followed suit. In October, 1894, the American School of Architecture in Rome opened temporary quarters in the Palazzo Torlonia. The school consisted of its Director, Austin Lord, three fellows, and a visiting student; its "library" contained but one volume.

A move to the larger, more suitable Villa Aurora occurred in July 1895. Rent from two subtenants (the newly established American School of Classical Studies in Rome and the British and American Archaeological Society Library in Rome), along with a personal contribution from McKim, made this financially feasible.

The American School of Architecture in Rome was incorporated in the State of New York, 1895, and 10 shares of capital stock were issued. Despite substantial fundraising efforts in Chicago, New York, and Boston, severe financial problems continued. The American School of Classical Studies in Rome vacated the Villa Aurora in 1896--and with it went a sizeable portion of the School of Architecture's income. McKim frequently made up the deficit from his own pocket.

Eventually, it was decided that the American School of Architecture in Rome must be reorganized along the lines of the French Academy and that national sponsorship needed to be obtained through an act of Congress. In June of 1897, the American School of Architecture in Rome voted to dissolve itself and create the American Academy in Rome. The new institution would assume all assets and obligations, fellowships in painting and architecture were to be added to the program, and its Board of Trustees would include architects and artists. The Academy is not a school. Its fellows and visiting students, already professionally trained, go to Rome for further development and for collaboration and association with others. In the words of Director Gorham Phillips Stevens: "The object of the American Academy in Rome is not to afford opportunities for a few individuals to perfect themselves for the practice of their chosen professions. The ideal is to create an atmosphere in which a limited number of carefully selected artists and scholars may develop that synthesis of intellectual culture which will make them worthy to preserve and continue the great traditions of the past in order that the standard of art and literature may be handed on from year to year, constantly strengthened and improved."

Beginning in 1901, bills to make the American Academy in Rome a "national institution" were introduced in Congress on several occasions. A hearing was finally scheduled in 1905, and a revised bill that prohibited government funding and specified that U.S. officials may not be Trustees was signed into law. Serious efforts to create an Endowment Fund and secure better quarters were associated with the movement to obtain status as a national institution. The Academy was successful in meeting all of these objectives. In 1904, the Academy moved to the Villa Mirafiore (also known as Villa Mirafiori), which it soon purchased and renovated. The Endowment Fund raised well over a million dollars. Donors of $100,000 to the Endowment Fund, designated "Founders" of the American Academy in Rome, were: The Carnegie Foundation, Henry C. Frick, Harvard College, Charles F. McKim, J. P. Morgan, Sr., J. P. Morgan, Jr., The Rockefeller Foundation, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., William K. Vanderbilt, and Henry Walters. Other categories of donors were "Incorporators" (a new Act of Incorporation was required at the time the American Academy in Rome was chartered as a national institution) and "Life Members."

The American School of Classical Studies in Rome, which had been established by the Archaeological Society in 1895 and during its first year shared the Villa Aurora with the American School of Architecture in Rome, entered into a consolidation agreement with the American Academy in Rome in 1911. Their merger went into effect on the last day of 1912, and ever since, the American Academy in Rome has consisted of the School of Fine Arts and the School of Classical Studies, administered by a common director. The School of Classical Studies is composed of fellows and visiting scholars who are graduate students, secondary teachers, or professors engaged in research in the areas of archaeology, ancient art, philology, and humanistic studies. Women were a part of the School of Classical Studies from its beginning, but were not permitted to participate in the School of Fine Arts until well after World War II. Beginning in 1923, the School of Classical Studies instituted Summer Sessions which appealed to secondary teachers, and attracted an enrollment that was largely female.

Originally, the School of Fine Arts offered fellowships in architecture, painting, and sculpture. Fellowships in landscape architecture were added in 1915; in 1920, a Department of Music was established, and along with it fellowships in musical composition. Fellowships in art history were established in 1947. Unmarried men under age 30 were eligible to compete for the fine arts fellowships awarded annually (except for landscape architecture, awarded every third year); the duration of fellowships ranged from one to three years at various points in the institution's history. In residence along with fellows of the American Academy in Rome, might be holders of various traveling scholarships: the McKim Fellowship, the Columbia Traveling Scholarship, the Perkins Scholarship, the Robinson Traveling Scholarship (Harvard), the Rotch Scholarship, the Julia Appleton Scholarship, the Traveling Scholarship and Stewardson Memorial Scholarship (University of Pennsylvania), the Cresson Scholarship (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts), the Drexel Institute Traveling Scholarship, the Lazarus Scholarship (Metropolitan Museum of Art), the Lowell Scholarship (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and the Rinehart Scholarship (Peabody Institute, Baltimore). Visiting students, who remained for a much briefer period than fellows or recipients of various traveling scholarships, were admitted to all lectures and granted use the library, but resided elsewhere. The Academy opened an Atelier in downtown Rome for visiting students in 1927, which operated until financial considerations forced its discontinuation seven years later.

As the merger was being planned, J. P. Morgan, Sr., who was interested in both the American Academy in Rome and the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, began buying properties on the Janiculum, adjacent to Villa Aureilia. Villa Aurelia, built on the summit of the Janiculum in 1650, had been bequeathed to the American Academy in Rome in 1909 by Clara Jessup Heyland. Complications surrounding the gift of Villa Aurelia--including the will being contested by Mrs. Heyland's brother, and problems with unsettled tax assessments--were overcome in the interest of acquiring the outstanding building and its extensive grounds. Not long before his death in 1913, Morgan donated his neighboring land, and the American Academy in Rome continued to expand its Janiculum holdings through purchases and gifts from others. Morgan also agreed to provide a loan for construction of a new building. This building, designed by McKim, Mead, and White and known as the Main Building or Academy Building, opened in 1915; it served as the fellows' residence and work area, and included room for the library, offices, and space for exhibitions and other public events.

During World War I, the American Academy in Rome managed to remain open, although no new fellows arrived during the war years and the number of resident fellows and staff dwindled considerably. Most who remained were involved in some type of civilian war work, often with the Red Cross. In fact, Villa Aurelia was rented by the Red Cross in Italy for office space, and the Main Building was offered as a convalescent hospital, but the war ended before it could be put to that use.

After Italy declared war on the United States in 1941, the American Academy in Rome closed for the remainder of World War II. Those who had been awarded fellowships in classics just prior to the Academy's closing were given the option of using their stipends for study at home or waiting until conditions permitted travel to Rome. A very reduced staff stayed to care for the property and continue library cataloguing, coping with often severe wartime shortages of food and fuel. In addition, there were financial hardships. When bank accounts of enemy aliens were frozen and it was no longer possible to transfer funds from the United States, the Swiss Legation and Vatican arranged for loans to keep the Academy and its staff afloat. Funds that would have been awarded to new fellows during this period were put to use in other ways. In 1943, the American Academy in Rome made a grant to the Citizen's Committee for the Army and Navy, Inc. for competitions to award commissions to artists and art students throughout the country, funding more than 100 triptychs for chapels, as well as murals, medals, and sculpture. Seniors in American colleges and universities were eligible to compete for several scholarships for graduate work in classical studies awarded by the American Academy in Rome.

In 1945, the Academy was the site of Leave Courses on various aspects of Italian culture offered to servicemen. From the end of the war until the Academy reopened at the start of the 1946/47 academic year, G.I. Fellowships were offered to discharged soldiers wishing to study at the Academy, making the institution eligible to receive surplus equipment and rations. During this time intensive planning was underway for administrative changes and new programs.

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1893 -- While in Chicago to collaborate on the fine arts section for the World's Columbian Exposition, architects Charles F. McKim, Daniel Burnham, Richard Howland Hunt, painters John La Farge, and Sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Daniel Chester French, among others, met regularly and from their collaborative experience and discussions came the idea for an American school in Europe.

1894 -- American School of Architecture in Rome opened in temporary quarters at the Palazzo Torlonia with Austin Lord, Director, three fellows, and a visiting student.

1895 -- Villa Aurora leased with 2 subtenants, the American School of Classical Studies and the British and American Archaeological Society Library in Rome American School of Architecture incorporated and 10 shares of capital stock issued (2 each to McKim and Hunt, and 1 to Burnham, Kendall, Schermerhorn, Boring, Garland, and Dill) McKim visits Rome.

1896 -- Metropolitan Museum of Art, administrator of Jacob H. Lazarus Scholarship for the study of mural painting, agrees to send the winner to Rome American School of Classical Studies in Rome vacates Villa Aurora.

1897 -- American School of Architecture in Rome dissolved and reorganized as the American Academy in Rome; the assets (including the lease on Villa Aurora) of the American School of Architecture in Rome were transferred and its program expanded to include fellowships in painting and sculpture Samuel A. B. Abbott appointed first Director Rome Prize discontinued (for 9 years) due to lack of funds.

1898 -- Incorporated in New York State; trustees begin to focus on raising an endowment.

1904 -- Move to Villa Mirafiore (also known as Villa Mirafiori); occupied until 1914.

1905 -- Chartered by the Congress of the United States; a bill signed by President Roosevelt made the American Academy in Rome a national institution (receiving no government funding and barring U.S. officials from acting as Trustees).

1906 -- Purchase of Villa Mirafiore finalized; renovations begun.

1909 -- Villa Aurelia bequeathed to the Academy by Clara Jessup Heyland (used until 1932); there were protracted problems surrounding the acquisition of the property including a brother who contested the will and unsettled taxes.

1911 -- School of Classical Studies in Rome (established by the Archaeological Institute of America in 1895) and the American Academy in Rome announce their consolidation [the merger became effective on the final day of 1912].

1912 -- Lands on the Janiculum adjacent to Villa Aurelia, recently acquired by J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr., transferred to the American Academy in Rome.

1913 -- American Academy in Rome now consists of the School of Fine Arts and the School of Classical Studies. New York office moves to the Architect's Building, 101 Park Ave., remaining at this location until 1973. By this date, largely through the generosity of J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr., nearly all of the land bounded by Via Angelo Masina, Via Giacomo Medici, Via Pietro Riselli, and the Aurelian Wall on the Janiculum had been purchased and many improvements made to the properties near the Villa Aurelia. Construction begins on the new Academy building designed by McKim, Mead, and White and situated on the grounds of Villa Aurelia; financed through a loan from J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr. (after Morgan Sr.'s death, his son offered to cancel the loan at an amount equal to funds raised by the Academy for the purpose).

1915 -- First Fellowship in Landscape Architecture established; opening of new Academy building housing the fellows' residential quarters, work areas, library, offices, and spaces for public programs.

1917 -- Villa Aurelia rented to the Red Cross for office space, and the new Main building was slated to become a convalescent hospital, but the war ended before it could be put to use.

1919 -- New York office reorganized by Roscoe Guernsey, executive secretary; sale of Villa Mirafiore; Academic Council established in Rome.

1920 -- Department of Music and Fellowship in Musical Composition established.

1923 -- School of Classical Studies establishes summer sessions, largely attended by teachers.

1926 -- Second Fellowship in Landscape Architecture funded by Garden Club of America (later permanently endowed).

1927 -- Academy opens an Atelier in downtown Rome, providing studios for visiting students (operated until 1934).

1929 -- First Thomas Spencer Jerome lecturer appointed.

1941 -- Academy closes for duration of World War II; a skeletal staff remain behind to care for the property and continue library cataloguing; Italy declares war on the United States.

1942 -- After transfer of funds from the U.S. proved impossible and enemy aliens were prohibited from withdrawing their own funds from Italian banks, the Swiss Legation and Vatican offered assistance to the Academy by providing loans.

1943 -- Academy grant to Citizen's Committee for the Army and Navy, Inc., funded hundreds of triptychs; murals, medals, and sculptures also commissioned Academy awards scholarships in classical studies at American colleges and universities.

1945 -- "Leave courses," held at the Academy, consisting mainly of lectures by distinguished scholars still in Rome, instituted for U.S. servicemen.

1946 -- Regular program resumes at the start of the academic year.

1947 -- Fellowship in the History of Art established.

1965 -- Loan of printed matter for microfilming by the Archives of American Art (reels ITRO 2-3 and 11-13).

1973 -- New York office moves to American Federation of Arts building, 41 East 65th St. (until 1993).

1982 -- Gift of New York office records to the Archives of American Art.

1990 -- Gift of Rome office records to the Archives of American Art.

1993 -- New York office moves to Metropolitan Club, 7 East 60th St.

Related Material:

Papers of a number of former fellows, trustees, and other individuals associated with the American Academy in Rome are among the holdings of the Archives of American Art.

Chaloner Prize Foundation records, 1915-1974 (microfilm reels 5664-5669) were received with the American Academy in Rome records. They have been arranged and described as a separate collection.

Valentine, Lucia and Alan Valentine. The American Academy in Rome, 1894-1969. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1973.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels ITRO 2-3, and ITRO 11-13) including annual reports, exhibition catalogues, a history of the American Academy in Rome, the American Academy in Rome at the World's Fair, and the Golden Gate Exposition and newsletter. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and can be found at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

The material on reels ITRO 2-3 and ITRO 11-13 were lent to the Archives of American Art for microfilming by the American Academy in Rome in 1965. Records of predecessor institutions, the Board of Trustees, and the New York office, including photographs and personal papers, were donated in 1982 by the Academy president, Calvin G. Rand. In 1990, Rand also gifted the Rome office records and the personal documents of Gorham Phillips Stevens. An addition of New York office records was donated in 2014 by the Academy director, Adele Chatfield-Taylor.

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.

Topic:

Architecture -- Study and teaching  Search this

Architecture, Classical -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art schools -- Italy -- Rome  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

American Academy in Rome records, 1855-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.ameracar

See more items in:

American Academy in Rome records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9eb425e5a-26de-478b-8ecc-8a9006e9dc52

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-ameracar

Creator:

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation  Search this

Cocke, Richard  Search this

Landscape architect:

Shurcliff, Arthur A. (Arthur Asahel), 1870-1957  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (col.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

Virginia -- Bremo Bluff

United States of America -- Virginia -- Fluvanna County -- Bremo Bluff

Date:

1930

General:

Request for publications: Audiovisual Editorial Librarian, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, P. O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, Va 23187-1776.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Plan views  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA073004

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA073: Bremo Bluff -- Bremo

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6555cbff6-39fa-42ae-bec5-ffabfde6c432

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref19023

Creator:

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation  Search this

Cocke, Richard  Search this

Landscape architect:

Shurcliff, Arthur A. (Arthur Asahel), 1870-1957  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (col.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

Virginia -- Bremo Bluff

United States of America -- Virginia -- Fluvanna County -- Bremo Bluff

Date:

1930

General:

Request for publications: Audiovisual Editorial Librarian, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, P. O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, Va 23187-1776.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Plan views  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA073005

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA073: Bremo Bluff -- Bremo

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6cdedd81e-647b-4b72-90a6-4ac1df9477fc

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref19024

Creator:

Monroe, James, 1758-1831  Search this

Massey, John E.  Search this

Johns, Jay V.  Search this

Johns, Jay V., Mrs.  Search this

Landscape architect:

Shurcliff, Arthur A. (Arthur Asahel), 1870-1957  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (col.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

Ash Lawn-Highlands (Charlottesville, Virginia)

United States of America -- Virginia -- Charlottesville

Date:

02/12/1929

General:

Request for publication: Audiovisual Editorial Librarian, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, P. O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Plan views  Search this

Gardens -- Virginia -- Charlottesville  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA049002

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA049: Charlottesville -- Ash Lawn-Highlands

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb66cf0ffff-251c-4515-9d67-1633ede34711

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref19216

Creator:

Monroe, James, 1758-1831  Search this

Massey, John E.  Search this

Johns, Jay V.  Search this

Johns, Jay V., Mrs.  Search this

Landscape architect:

Shurcliff, Arthur A. (Arthur Asahel), 1870-1957  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (col.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

Ash Lawn-Highlands (Charlottesville, Virginia)

United States of America -- Virginia -- Charlottesville

Date:

02/12/1929

General:

Request for publication: Audiovisual Editorial Librarian, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, P. O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Spring  Search this

Plan views  Search this

Gardens -- Virginia -- Charlottesville  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA049003

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA049: Charlottesville -- Ash Lawn-Highlands

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6e3f08566-ceef-4b45-93db-571bfd9b772a

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref19217