Family and business correspondence, including letters from Washington Allston, William Dunlap, Asher B. Durand, G.P.A. Healy, Charles B. King, Rubens Peale, and Thomas Sully.
Arrangement:
The papers were not put in chronological order before microfilming and there are no frame numbers.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; London, England and Paris, France.
Provenance:
The microfilm was purchased from the New York Historical Society, 1976, who filmed the papers at the Senate House Museum, Kingston, N.Y.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Stetson, Katharine Beecher, 1885-1979 or 81 Search this
Extent:
1.8 Linear feet ((on 4 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Date:
1879-1974
Scope and Contents:
Letters; sketchbooks; photographs and cyanotypes; scrapbook; writings, novelettes, and poetry by Stetson; biographical information; and printed material.
REELS 3211-3213: 9 letters, 1912, written by Stetson's widow to Edward B. Knight containing transcribed entries from Stetson's journal; a notebook, 1881-1908, "Opera," containing Stetson's notes on his paintings; novelettes and poetry by Stetson and his first wife, Charlotte Perkins Gilman; an autobiography by his daughter, Katharine Stetson Chamberlin; an unpublished manuscript by David Goodale on Stetson; 15 sketchbooks; a scrapbook containing etchings; three sketches by Frank Tolles Chamberlin and a brief biography of him; photographs of Stetson, his daughter, Katharine, and his paintings.
Also included are 734 photographs, including some cyanotypes, of Stetson, his family and friends, works of art, models, animals, buildings, children, landscapes, ships, and many other subjects; and clippings.
REEL 3646: 5 photographs, ca. 1880-1899, of Stetson, his second wife, Grace, his daughter, and interior and exterior views of his studio. [Also filmed on reels 3590 and 3612.]
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; California and Rome, Italy. Born in Rhode Island. His daughter, Katharine Beecher Stetson, a painter and sculptor also, married Frank Tolles Chamberlin.
Provenance:
Material on reels 3211 and portions of 3212 originally lent for microfilming 1983 by David Goodale, an art historian who studied Stetson. These papers were subsequently donated 1986 by Goodale's daughter, Shelley Luckenbach upon her father's death. Remaining material on reel 3212 and all material on reel 3213 donated 1983 by Doroth Stetson Chamberlin and Walter Chamberlin, grandchildren of Stetson. Photographs on reel 3646 transfered to AAA by National Museum of American Art via director, Charles Eldredge, 1985.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Russell, Xanthus, and Mary Smith family papers comprise 5.12 linear feet and are dated 1793-1977, bulk 1826-1977. Correspondence, writings, artwork, financial records, printed material, miscellaneous items and photographs provide documentation of the lives and works of painter, illustrator and poet, Russell Smith, and his son, painter Xanthus Smith, and scattered documentation of the lives of his wife, painter and educator Mary Priscilla Smith, and daughter and painter Mary Russell Smith.
Scope and Content Note:
The Russell, Xanthus, and Mary Smith family papers comprise 5.12 linear feet and are dated 1793-1977, bulk 1826-1977. Correspondence, writings, artwork, financial records, printed material, miscellaneous items and photographs provide documentation of the lives and works of painter, illustrator and poet, Russell Smith, and his son, painter Xanthus Smith, and scattered documentation of the lives of his wife, painter and educator Mary Priscilla Smith, and daughter and painter Mary Russell Smith.
Family papers include correspondence, writings, printed material, and miscellaneous items. Correspondence, the bulk of which is comprised of letters to and from Russell and Xanthus Smith, covers both personal and professional matters. Among the correspondents are family, friends, colleagues, and arts organizations. Writings, printed material, and miscellaneous items in this series refer either to the entire Smith family or multiple individuals. Miscellaneous items also concern Horace Binder, father-in-law of Xanthus Smith.
The Russell Smith papers are comprised of biographical information, writings, artwork, and financial records. Biographical information includes some personal documents such as passports and marriage certificates. Among Russell Smith's writings are an autobiography, transcripts of correspondence, and notes. Artwork consists of loose pages and sketch books containing sketches and drawings in pencil, ink, and watercolor. His financial records are cash books recording professional and personal expenses, and receipts and memorabilia from the family's 1851-1852 travels in Europe. The printed material consists of loose clippings and a scrapbook of clippings from Philadelphia newspapers, as well as a small number of exhibition catalogs.
The Xanthus Smith papers consist of biographical information, artwork, financial records, and printed material. Among the writings are his unpublished autobiography, biographies of his father and sister, impressions of the Centennial art exhibition, journals, notes, and poems. Artwork consists of loose sketches in pencil and ink, and sketchbooks containing sketches and finished drawings in pencil and ink, some colored with gouache or watercolor washes. Financial records are cash books recording personal and professional expenses. Printed material includes clippings and a scrapbook.
The Mary Smith papers consist of writings, sketches, and printed material. The papers of her mother, Mary Priscilla Smith, are comprised of writings and printed material.
Photographs are of people, artwork, and miscellaneous subjects. People represented are Russell and Mary Priscilla Smith, their children Xanthus and Mary Smith, and several other relatives including Xanthus's wife and Russell's sister, granddaughter, and uncle. Photographs include ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, and tintypes, along with glass negatives and a small number of original prints. Copy prints have been produced from the glass negatives and other cased photographs. Photographs of artwork are of paintings by Russell Smith, Xanthus Smith, and other artists.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Series 1: Smith Family Papers, 1793-1977 (Box 1; 0.9 linear ft.)
Series 2: Russell Smith Papers, 1805-1954 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear ft.)
Series 3: Xanthus Smith Papers, 1850-1953 (Boxes 3-4; 1.9 linear ft.)
Series 4: Mary Smith Papers, 1852-1877 (Box 5; 4 folders)
Series 5: Mary Priscilla Smith Papers, 1839-1874 (21 folders)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1845-1934 (Box 6-7, MGP 3, Black Cabinet; 0.9 linear ft.)
Microfilm reel numbers and frames are referenced at folder headings in parenthesis when known. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
Biographical Note:
Russell Smith (1812-1896) was a native of Glasgow, Scotland whose family came to the United States in 1819 and settled near Pittsburgh. The Smith children were educated at home, and Russell showed an early interest in art. His first formal training in portraiture and landscape painting was in Pittsburgh under James Reid Lambdin. Around 1827, Smith began painting backdrops for theaters and within 6 years had achieved a national reputation for his theatrical painting. In 1835 he moved to Philadelphia to paint for the Walnut Street Theater, and soon received commissions to paint for theaters in Boston and Washington. Around this time, he also began writing poetry. Even while engaged in theatrical work, Smith continued to paint landscapes which were exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Artists' Fund Society of Philadelphia as early as 1834.
Russell Smith married Mary Priscilla Wilson, a flower painter and teacher of French and drawing, in 1838. By the 1840s, in addition to painting landscapes and theatrical backdrops, Smith was advertising his services as an "illustrator for lectures on various branches of natural science painted in distemper." He accompanied the scientific expeditions of geologists William Barton Rogers and Henry Darwin Rogers to Virginia and the Susquehanna and Juniata River valleys of Pennsylvania in 1844 and 1845 as an illustrator. During this period, Smith also traveled extensively in New Hampshire and upstate New York for summer painting expeditions. The Smiths traveled to Europe with their two children in 1851-1852, touring Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, London, and Paris. Smith visited major museums and private collections, as well as architectural attractions, making sketches and keeping detailed notes of the trip.
Smith continued painting landscapes well into old age, even though his long out of fashion works were rejected with increasing frequency by the juries of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He died in 1896.
Born in Milestown, Pennsylvania in 1819, Mary Priscilla Smith (1819-1874) studied at a female seminary in Germantown, Pennsylvania operated by noted educator William Russell (Russell Smith's uncle) in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and at Charles Picot's school in Philadelphia. She eventually became a teacher of French, drawing, and painting at the Picot school, and later taught at a school established by William Russell in Philadelphia.
At her husband's urging, Mary Priscilla Smith, already an accomplished flower painter, began painting figures and landscapes, and participated in exhibitions of the Artists' Fund Society exhibitions. After becoming a mother, she painted very little but taught her children, Xanthus and Mary, to draw and paint. Mary Priscilla Smith died in 1874.
Xanthus Smith (1839-1929) was born in Philadelphia and was educated at home. During the family's European tour of 1851-1852 he saw a wide variety of art and, upon returning home, began painting with enthusiasm. Around 1858 he enrolled in a cast drawing class at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
At the start of the Civil War Xanthus Smith enlisted in the Navy, where he served as clerk to the commander of a flagship guarding Port Royal, South Carolina. He began producing detailed drawings of the ships both for official purposes and his own enjoyment. After the war, he continued painting ships and exhibited many of these paintings at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Further commissions of Civil War subjects followed, and Xanthus Smith was soon recognized as the foremost painter of Civil War naval battle scenes.
In the 1880s, Xanthus Smith began painting European landscapes, probably based on his father's sketches made during their 1851-1852 tour of Europe. By the 1900s, he was concentrating on portraiture and figure subjects, and continued painting well into old age. His final years were spent in an unsuccessful attempt to publish his autobiography, "An Unvarnished Tale." Xanthus Smith died in 1929.
Mary Russell Smith (1842-1878) was born near Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Her mother provided her with instruction in flower painting and she sketched animals and insects independently. At age fourteen Mary Smith completed her first oil painting and by 1858 had begun compiling a list of her completed pictures. She was encouraged by her parents to pursue a career as a professional artist. From 1859-1869, and in 1876 and 1878, Mary Smith exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She also participated in exhibitions at the National Academy of Design in New York, and in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia.
From early childhood, Mary Smith enjoyed raising poultry, and chickens became her favorite painting subject. Her paintings of chickens were popular with Philadelphia art collectors, and sought after in England.
Always sickly, Mary Smith died of gastric fever in 1878. At her request, Russell Smith established the Mary Smith Prize, awarded annually by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, for the best painting exhibited by a woman resident of Philadelphia.
Provenance:
The Smith family papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1978 and 1979 by Franklin R. Smith, a family descendent.
Restrictions:
The collection is partially microfilmed. Use of material not microfilmed 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.
Research material on William Rimmer compiled by Lincoln Kirstein, 1944-1955, and added to from 1958 on by Richard Sherman Nutt. Included are correspondence, notes and writings, scrapbooks, photographs, and printed materials.
Included are Rimmer family documents and genealogy; Kirstein's (1944-1955) and Nutt's (1958-1971) correspondence regarding Rimmer, mainly responses to Kirstein's requests for information from libraries, museums, relatives, and owners of Rimmer's work; subject files containing correspondence, photographs, writings, notes and printed material on people, places and topics relating to Rimmer, among them the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Whitney Museum, Margaret French Cresson, Henry W. Kent, Cooper Union, Marion MacLean, and others;
writings and notes by Kirstein on Rimmer, including a typescript of his catalog essay for the 1946 exhibition at the Whitney and notes on other artists; a typescript of a poem by Rimmer "The Love Chant"; Rimmer's annotated diagram of a wheel in motion, 1860; a book by Rimmer's daughter, ANIMAL DRAWING: A SERIES OF THIRTEEN PLATES WITH DESCRIPTIVE TEXT DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS BY CAROLINE HUNT RIMMER (Houghton, Mifflin, 1895), and ART ANATOMY (Houghton, Mifflin, 1884, c1887?) by William Rimmer, containing eighty one plates from the original drawings; a scrapbook compiled by Kirstein containing reproductions of catalogs, clippings, printed material, and photographs; photographs of Rimmer's family, including 2 on glass and a tintype; cartes de visites of French royalty; and printed material, 1864-1945, including material kept by Rimmer, articles and booklets about him, 2 clippings, 1898 and 1900 on Rimmer's daughter Caroline, a booklet "Rapport sur une Mission dans l'Amerique du Nord by M. Armand Dumaresq" reporting
on American drawing instruction and including a section on Rimmer and his work at the Cooper Institute and inscribed by Rimmer to his daughter Caroline, 1972; and other printed material compiled by Kirstein.
Biographical / Historical:
Lincoln Kirstein: writer, art historian; Richard S. Nutt: art historian. Dr. William Rimmer: noted 19th century painter, sculptor, and anatomy instructor.
Provenance:
Donated 1985 by Richard Nutt. The materials were mainly compiled by Lincoln Kirstein, who had hoped to write a book on Rimmer. In 1946 he wrote the catalog essay to the exhibit "William Rimmer, 1816-1979" at the Whitney, and in 1955 turned the materials over to Nutt for a catalog raisonne (never published). Both Kirstein and Nutt believe Mrs. Rimmer discarded her husband's papers.
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.
Correspondence, 1898-1965, including letters from Daniel Chester French and Norman Rockwell; scrapbooks of reviews, 1901-1911; printed material, 1901-1984, including exhibition catalogs and clippings; a ledger of sales and inventory of paintings, 1897-1934; photographs, 1896-? of Johansen, MacLane and their work; and 12 unsigned sketches.
Biographical / Historical:
Painters; New York, N.Y. and Massachusetts.
Provenance:
Donated 1986 by Margaret Johansen Worthington, Johansen and MacLane'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.
Monographs and other material relating primarily to Joseph Pennell, John Krimmel and lithography. Included are newspaper clippings relating to the death of Joseph Pennell, 1926; Writings by Jackson, including "Joseph Pennell as a Lithographer", "American Architecture Owes Something to the Drawings of Joseph Pennell," "Paintings by John Lewis Krimmel in Exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1812-1827," a history of lithography in Philadelphia discussing the introduction of the art into the United States, monographs and collected papers relating to art, personalities, lithography, Joseph Pennell and John Krimmel; and a letter from Pennell to Jackson.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, writer and lithographer; Philadelphia, PA.
Provenance:
Material lent for microfilming, 1955, by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Lithography -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
0.2 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1858-1982
Scope and Contents:
Letters, typescripts, notes, printed material and photographs regarding sculptor Edmond Romulus Amateis, and artist Francis Davis Millet.
REEL 1817 (fr. 136-141): Three copyprint photographs, including: one of Amateis, ca.1960; one of Amateis and other sculptors of the Labor and Interstate Commerce Building, Washington, D.C., ca. 1934; and one of Amateis seated in front of his work for the Department of Labor and Interstate Commerce Building in Paul Denivelle's studio hangar, San Francisco Presido, 1935. Photographers are unidentified. All are loaned copyprints and cannot be scanned.
REEL 2813: A letter (9 p.) from Amateis to Goode describing his life and work, May 27, 1975.
UNMICROFILMED: Letters, notes, typescripts and printed material regarding artist Francis Davis Millet. Included are typed extracts from the diary of Millet, 1858, 1864, and 1904, and published printed material by Goode.
Biographical / Historical:
Curator, architectural historian; Washington, D.C. Born 1939.
Provenance:
Photographs on reel 1817 lent for copying by Goode, 1973; copyprints were microfilmed in 1980 with AAA's Photographs of Artists-Collection II. The letter on reel 2813 donated 1975 by Goode via curator Harry Lowe, and the unmicrofilmed material re Millet was donated 1983 by Goode.
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 19th century -- United States Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
A catalogue of paintings in the possession of Gilmor, listing artists, descriptions of art work, dates, medium, prices, who he sold them to and estimated value.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector; Baltimore, Md.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming, 1983, by Robert Gilmor VI.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Painter. Full name is Frederick August Wenderoth. Painting subjects included landscapes, portraits, and animals.
Provenance:
Donated by Agnes M. Hooley, Wenderoth's great-granddaughter, who owns the painting of which this photograph was made.
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.
Landscape sketches in pencil and crayon, some dated with titles.
Other Title:
Rosenthal Collection of Drawings by American Artists.
Provenance:
Microfilmed in 1990 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. The sketchbook is part of the [Albert] Rosenthal Collection of Drawings by American Artists that contains 846 drawings by 19th and 20th century artists, most of whom were illustrators.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 19th century -- United States Search this
A ticket to the American Academy of Fine Arts, undated; a receipt for a subscription, April 27, 1790, signed by Anthony C. Poggi; a written receipt to A. C. Poggi, March 8, 1800, and a receipt for a subscription for a print of the Declaration of Independence "which I hereby promise to deliver according to the Propsals published at New-York on the 15th of January, 1818," all signed by Trumbull. Also found is a printed advertisement for "Declaration of Independence. Published by John Trumbull, New-York, Sept. 10th, 1822," describing the delay in printing due to "political convulsions which, during 25 years, were so fatal to the arts of peace."
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New Haven, Connecticut. Born in Lebanon, Ct. Studied under Benjamin West in London. Painted historic portraits and paintings.
Provenance:
Ticket and receipt donated 1956 by Charles Feinberg. The Poggi note was donated 1958 by Argosy Book Shop. The advertisement and receipt relating to The Declaration of Independence has an unknown donor.
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.
Family papers include letters to Giles Martin from William Hebert and others concerning the Martin's plans to emigrate from England to America, and ca. 50 letters, 1828-1860, to Giles and Angelique Martin in Marietta and at Trumbull Phalanx by reformers active in Ohio and Massachusetts temperance, antislavery, labor and/or Association movements, among them Sarah G. Bagley, Maria M. Eastman, Mary Moody Emerson, Frances D.B. Gage, Anna Q.T. Parsons, Caroline M. S. Severance, Adeline T. Swift, and others less known but very active. Also included are 3 letters from Spencer, 1842 Mar. 31 and June 10, and 1847 July 10 to her parents.
The Campus Martius Museum records consist of correspondence with owners of Spencer's prints, paintings and and papers; clippings, articles, and reproductions of Spencer's work.
Biographical / Historical:
Spencer was a portrait and genre painter; New York, N.Y. and Ohio. She was born Angelique Marie Martin November 26, 1822, in England to French parents, Giles and Angelique Martin, followers of the French social critic, Charles Fourier. Upon emigrating to the U.S. in 1830, and moving to Marietta, Ohio in 1833, the Martins, along with others active in the cooperative movement organized a communal association, Trumbull Phalanx, near Braceville, Ohio in 1845, and became active in women's rights and other reform movements. Spencer chose to concentrate on painting, first in Cincinatti and then in New York in 1848 with her husband Benjamin Rush Spencer, a cloth merchant. She maintained a successful painting career while raising seven children and moving several times, to Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Newark, N.J., and Highlands and Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Spencer died May 22, 1902.
Provenance:
Lent for filming 1971 by Campus Martius Museum, Ohio Historical Society.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Letters to Woodwell, undated and 1862-1868, from friends from Woodwell's student days in Paris, including: Albion Harris Bicknell, Joseph Foxcroft Cole, Daniel Ridgway Knight, August Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Frank H. Smith, Cephas Thompson, J. Ware, Jean ?, and a fragment of a letter from an unknown person.
Letters contain news of various friends and art related issues; The letter from Cephas Thompson is illustrated.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Studied in Paris in the 1860's.
Provenance:
Donated 1966 by the Carnegie Museum.
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.
Letters received, 1884-1967, concern Wores' art work, the Bohemian Club, the work of sculptor Douglas Tilden, and other matters. William Keith writes of his own work and choice of subject matter. Other correspondents include Orrin Peck, Frank Duveneck, Charles Rollo Peters, Mrs. Alexander Russel, Matteo Sandona, and Percy Gray. In addition, there are two scrapbooks, 1881-1938; a typescript of CALIFORNIA ART RESEARCH, 1937-Abstract from WPA Project 2874, which is a monograph on Wores with penciled corrections by him; and 5 articles from THE CENTURY ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE, 1889-1899, 4 of them written by Wores, and 1 illustrated by him.
Biographical / Historical:
Landscape painter, portrait painter, illustrator, teacher. Year of birth also cited as 1860. Born in San Francisco, resided many places.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming April 1974 by A. Jess Shenson, M.D., along with his brother Ben who spent many years researching Wores.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The papers of painter and teacher Frank Duveneck and his wife and painter Elizabeth Boott Duveneck measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1851-1972, bulk 1851-1919. Aspects of the lives and work of the artists are documented in correspondence, creative writings, research notes, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, ephemera, sketches and sketchbooks, and vintage photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter and teacher Frank Duveneck and his wife, painter Elizabeth Boott Duveneck measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1851-1972, bulk 1851-1919. Aspects of the lives and work of the artists are documented in correspondence, creative writings, research notes, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, ephemera, sketches and sketchbooks, and vintage photographs.
The limited amount of correspondence in this collection includes separate letters from Frank Duveneck and Elizabeth Duveneck, primarily to family members, which describe studies and travel abroad, works in progress, exhibitions, and after their marriage, reports on family life. Frank Duveneck's correspondence also includes a letter from sculptor William Couper concerning the marble for a memorial to Elizabeth Boott Duveneck. There is also a folder of letters to and from Mr. and Mrs. Francis B. Duvencek, the son and daughter-in-law of the artist couple, that include reminiscences about Frank Duveneck from former student Bessie Wessel and a letter to Francis Duveneck from Daniel Chester French requesting permission to make a bronze from the plaster cast of the Duveneck's effigy of Elizabeth at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Writings include Elizabeth Boott Duveneck's diary, a typescript of a speech attributed to Frank Duveneck, and research notes compiled by daughter-in-law Josephine Duveneck in preparation for her biography of her father-in-law.
Printed materials consist primarily of newspaper clippings and magazine articles on Frank Duveneck, but also include his Munich Royal Academy card and copy certificate from the Ministry of Florence, Italy. Newspaper clippings may also be found in the Scrapbook series, including Elizabeth Boott Duveneck's scrapbook of exhibition reviews of her paintings, and two folders of clippings pertaining to Frank Duveneck compiled by Josephine Duveneck. Frank Duveneck's scrapbook contains printed illustrations compiled by the artist while he was studying art in Munich.
Sketchbooks and sketches consist of four sketchbooks by Elizabeth Boott Duvenck and three by Frank Duveneck that document their growth as artists as they span several decades (particularly in the case of Elizabeth) of their respective careers. There are also two folders of loose, mostly early, portrait sketches by Elizabeth Boott Duveneck.
Vintage photographs depict Frank Duveneck alone, with family and friends, Elizabeth Boott Duveneck, Francis Boott with his daughter, John Twachtman, art classes including one of Wilhelm von Diez's classes in Munich, and a group photograph of the jury of the 1915 Panama-Pacific exposition. There is only one photograph that includes both Frank and Elizabeth Duveneck together along with her father Francis Boott and nurse Ann Shenston.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1856-1971 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 2: Writings and Notes, circa 1873-1970 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1871-1972 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 4: Scrapbooks, 1871-1962 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 5: Sketchbooks and Sketches, circa 1857-1886 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1851-1970 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Painter, etcher, and one of the most influential American art instructors of the nineteenth century, Frank Duveneck was born Frank Decker to German immigrants Bernard and Katherine Decker on October 9, 1848 in Covington, Kentucky. He acquired the name Duveneck from his stepfather after his father's death and mother's remarriage. Family and friends recognized his artistic talents early on and he was apprenticed to local German artisans who decorated churches through most of the 1860s. In 1870 he traveled to Munich to study at the prestigious Konigliche Akademie (Royal Academy), where he was quickly promoted to life classes and the painting class of Wilhelm von Diez. He quickly earned a reputation as the leading American artist in the Academy. Duveneck was only 24 in 1872 when painted one of his most well-known paintings, Whistling Boy.
Due to dwindling funds and a cholera epidemic in Europe, Duveneck returned to the United States in 1873 and began teaching at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati the following year, where John H. Twachtman was among his students. An 1875 exhibition of his paintings at the Boston Art Club met with critical and public acclaim. He also attracted the attention of William Morris Hunt, novelist Henry James, and his future wife, Elizabeth Boott, who was one among those who deeply admired his work, although the pair were not to meet for another three years. After his return to Munich later that year, he became part of a tightly knit group of other American artists including Frank Currier, William Merritt Chase, and Walter Shirlaw. All four artists exhibited their work in the United States in such venues as the National Academy of Design's annual exhibition of 1877, and the first exhibition of the Society of American Artists in 1878, which may have contributed to the increased popularity of the Royal Academy in Munich as a destination for young American artists. As enrollment rose, classes became overcrowded and Duveneck began teaching in Munich. A group of younger students, including John Alexander, and John H. Twachtman, who had followed the artist from Cincinnati to Munich, became known as the "Duveneck Boys." He also had acquired a private female student, Elizabeth Boott, who had traveled to Munich to study with him.
During this period in Italy, Duveneck experimented with with hard ground etchings, creating Venetian scenes similar to those produced by James McNeil Whistler. His painting changed as he focused more on landscapes executed in a ligher, more highly keyed palette, perhaps influenced by Lizzie Boott, who painted vibrant watercolor Italian landscapes during this period and with whom he began an extended courtship in 1880. Although Francis Boott admired Duveneck's work and had acquired one his portraits during the artist's successful 1875 exhibition at the Boston Arts Club, neither he nor family friends approved of the bohemian artist as a husband for his accomplished patrician daughter. However the pair eventually married in March 1886, and had a son, Francis Boott Duveneck that December. Tragically, Lizzie Boott died of pneumonia on March 22, 1888. Although he was not a sculptor, one of Duvenecks' most admired works is the effigy that he created with the help of sculptor Clement J. Barnhorn, for his wife's tomb in Florence, casts of which may be viewed at the Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
After his wife's death Duveneck returned to America, spending most of his time in his Cincinnati studio and teaching painting classes at the Cincinnati Art Museum. At the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, two galleries at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, were allotted to Duveneck for a retrospective of his work. The jury awarded him a gold medal of honor to commemorate his contributions to American Art. Frank Duveneck died in Cincinnati on January 3, 1919.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming. Reel 792 includes a group of eighty-four pencil sketches and caricatures of his students by Frank Duveneck and four black and white photographic reproductions of works of art. Reel 1097 contains correspondence, 1845-1919, of Duveneck and his wife, Elizabeth Boott Duveneck. Included are two letters from Duveneck to Theodore Wores and seven letters from Julius Rolshoven. Other correspondents include John W. Beatty, William Couper, Daniel Chester French, Mrs. Walter Shirlaw, and Thad Welch. Many of the letters from Elizabeth Boott were written from Europe, including 11 to William Morris Hunt's painting class (1876-1880), and a lengthy account of her travels written to her father (1881). Reel 1151 contains exhibition catalogs that were donated to the Archives of American Art with the Frank Duveneck and Elizabeth Boott Duveneck papers. While this material was transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Gallery Library in 1976, all other materials were returned to the lenders and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The papers of Frank Duveneck and Elizabeth Boott Duveneck were donated by Mr. and Mrs. Francis B. Duveneck, the son and daughter-in-law of Frank and Elizabeth Duveneck in 1974 with additional material lent for microfilming. In 1974, the Cincinnati Historical Society donated photocopies of original letters that were microfilmed and discarded. A portrait photograph of Frank Duveneck was donated in 1985 by Freda Schutze.
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.
15 vol. of letterbooks containing original letters, drafts and copies written by Whistler, or copies written by third parties and family members, 1892-1950; voluminous correspondence with family, artists, patrons, collectors, publishers and others; notebooks and ledgers, containing lists of etchings, copper plates, cataloges of silver china, copies of letters, the Valparaiso notebook, and other notes and biographical information; exhibition catalogs, 1874-1903, for Whistler's one-man shows; annotated proofs of publications and unpublished writings by Whistler; the typescript of an unpublished manuscript, "Whistler's Mother," by Kate McDiarmid, 1936; 25 v. of newspaper clippings compiled by and for Whistler, and by D.C. Thomson, J. W. Revillon, and A.P.A. Goodall; and photographs of Whistler, his family, friends, studios and homes, and of monuments to him and his family.
Also microfilmed are abstracts of both the letterbooks and correspondence, a list of the books owned by Whistler and copied from the University of Glasgow Library catalog; and a list of photographs in the collection, including five series not on microfilm.
Arrangement:
I. Letterbooks, reels 4600-4601; arranged chronologically. II. Notebooks and ledgers, reels 4601-4602. III. Correspondence, reels 4602-4611 and 4683-4686; arranged alphabetically by correspondent and thereunder chronologially. IV. Exhibition catalogs, reel 4686; arranged chronologically. V. Corrected proofs, reel 4686. VI. Press clippings, reels 4687-4690; in part, arranged chronologically. VII. Photographs, reels 4691-4692. VIII. Abstracts of correspondence, reels 4692-4699; arranged alphabetically and thereunder chronologically; letterpress books included. IX. Catalog of Whistler's library, reel 4699. X. Philip v. Pennell Lawsuit Documents. XI. List of photographs in Whistler collection, reel 4699.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, etcher; born Lowell, Mass. Lived alternately in Paris and London. Whistler was a cadet at West Point, 1851-1853. Draftsman at the Coast Survey, Washington, D.C., 1854-1855. Sailed to Paris in 1855. Published first group of French etchings in 1858. Well-known for portrait of his mother, first shown in 1872. Published The Gentle Art of Making Enemies in 1890. Served as President of the Society of British Artists and the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, 1890-1901.
Provenance:
Microfilmed 1985-1992 by the Glasgow University Library with funds provided the Archives of American Art. The bulk of the collection was donated to the University by Whistler's sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip in 1935 and 1954, and by her estate in 1958. Whistler's great nephew, Joseph Whistler Revillon, donated several hundred letters and documents in 1955. Correspondence with collector J.J. Cowen was donated in 1970 by Cowen's daughter, Lady Maconochie of Inverewe. E.A. Walton correspondence was received from Mrs. Dorothy Walton in 1974, and hundreds of letters were received through purchase.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from: Glasgow University Library, Keeper of Special Collections, Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QE, Scotland, U.K. All unpublished Whistler letters and other Whistler material subject to copyright is vested with the University Court of the University of Glasgow, Whistler's residuary legatees. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
