The papers of art critic, editor, and gallery director Sidney Woodward date from 1823 to 1963, bulk 1915-1932, and measure 3.5 linear feet. The majority of the collection consists of personal and professional correspondence and collected letters that pertain to Woodward's relationships with various artists, galleries, and arts organizations. Also included in this collection are two biographical documents; lecture notes and collected writings; printed material including books relating to the topic of art, exhibition catalogs, and newspaper clippings; a few personal photographs and reference photographs of paintings; and scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, art reproductions, and printed material from the Casson Galleries.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art critic, editor, and gallery director Sidney Woodward date from 1823 to 1963, bulk 1915-1932, and measure 3.5 linear feet. The majority of the collection consists of personal and professional correspondence and collected letters that pertain to Woodward's relationships with various artists, galleries, and arts organizations. Also included in this collection are two biographical documents; lecture notes and collected writings; printed material including books relating to the topic of art, exhibition catalogs, and newspaper clippings; a few personal photographs and reference photographs of paintings; and scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, art reproductions, and printed material from the Casson Galleries.
Artists that Woodward corresponded with and collected letters from include Ernest L. Blumenschein, Harrison Cady, Robert Henri, C. Lewis Hind, Rockwell Kent, John La Farge, Hermann Dudley Murphy, Violet Oakley, Water Pach, Elizabeth Robins Pennell, and Chauncey Foster Ryder, among many others. A significant number of letters in this collection were sent by his brother, marine painter Stanley, during his service in both World Wars.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence and Collected Letters, 1823-1963 (2.2 linear feet; Box 1-3)
Series 2: Biographical Material, 1918 (1 folder; Box 3)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1880-1940 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1880-1963 (0.4 linear feet; Box 3-4)
Series 5: Photographs, 1910s-1940s (4 folders; Box 4)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1920-1940 (0.7 linear feet; Box 5, BV 6-7)
Biographical / Historical:
Sidney C. Woodward (1890-1963) was an art critic and editor in Boston, MA. Woodward collected letters and autographs from notable artists, as well as manuscripts relating to art and theater.
Woodward was born on December 11, 1890, in Malden, Massachusetts, son of Alice E. (Colesworthy) and Frank E. Woodward. He was one of eight children and a twin of Stanley, marine painter and illustrator. Woodward was an art critic and editor for the Boston Post, Boston Herald, and Christian Science Monitor; and gallery director of Casson Galleries, and Irving & Casson's art gallery in Boston, MA.
Provenance:
A portion of the collection was purchased by the Archives of American Art from Sidney Woodward in 1963. Additional material was donated in 1975 by Mrs. Sidney C. Woodward.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
Gallery directors -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
A 9 p. handwritten draft of an article by Elizabeth Robins Pennell, "The Drawings of Abbott Thayer"; a letter from Pennell to Mr. Woodward commenting on the December 26, 1921 article in the Christian Science Monitor.
Biographical / Historical:
Writer; b. 1855; d. 1936. Elizabeth Robins Pennell was a writer and critic in New York, N.Y. and the wife of etcher and illustrator Joseph Pennell.
Provenance:
Donated 2005 by David Dufour, an art dealer who aquired the documents with a group of artist's letters and signatures from a dealer. Original provenance unknown.
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.
Letters to John Lane, May 28, 1896-June, 24, 1924; to Editor of the Bookman, August 13 and September 24, 1912; to A. St. John Adcock, October 30, 1912; to Mrs. John Lane, July 20, 1922-January 11, 1926; to Mrs. Crawford, June 10, 1928-January 9, 1932; to Mr. Grasberger, December 24, 1931; and to Miss Coogan (Helene Phelan née Coogan), Dec. 17th, 1932.
Biographical / Historical:
Writer, critic; New York, N.Y. Married artist Joseph Pennell.
Provenance:
All except one letter donated 1955-1962 by Charles E. Feinberg, an active donor and friend of AAA.
Letter to Helene Phelan (née Coogan) donated by Phelan in 1987.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Handwritten letter, 4 pages and envelope, dated July 2, 1931. Written by writer Elizabeth Robins Pennell to Boston artist G. William Patten about her husband, artist and author Joseph Pennell.
Biographical / Historical:
Elizabeth Robins Pennell (1855-1936) was a writer from Philadelphia, Pa. who worked in London, England and New York. Pennell was married to Joseph Pennell.
Provenance:
Donated 2016 by art historian Christine I. Oaklander who purchased the letter at auction.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Material relating to THE LIFE OF JAMES MCNEILL WHISTLER by Elizabeth and Joseph Pennell; letters regarding the book from Howard Mansfield, Richard Canfield, Royal Cortissoz, Charles Freer, and Ernest Haskell; two photographs of a portrait of Whistler as a boy with his brother, John; and a photographic copy of the "first Daguerreotype of the human face... taken by J. W. Draper...in 1839."
Biographical / Historical:
Illustrator, etcher, and writer; New York, N.Y. Wrote and/or illustrated over 100 books.
Provenance:
The letter from Howard Mansfield to Mr. Carrington and the clipping of Bulliet's review were found by the donor, Orme Lewis, in a copy of the book A WHISTLER CENTENARY. The other materials were found in copies of the Pennells' volumes.
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.
Papers relating to Gallatin's art collection, the Museum of Living Art, and other museums and activities.
REELS 507-508: Mainly correspondence. Letters pertain to the Museum of Living Art at New York University; Gallatin's work on the New York Mayor's Committee on National Defense, including many letters from artists regarding war work, 1918-1919; research for bibliographies; family matters; and business affairs. Correspondents include: Oscar Bluemner, Alexander Calder, Warrington Dawson, Robert Delaunay, Charles Demuth, Charles Freer, Walter Gay, William Glackens, Julio Gonzalez, Childe Hassam, Henry McBride, C. R. W. Nevinson, Ben Nicholson, Maxfield Parrish, Joseph & Elizabeth Pennell, Leonce Rosenberg, William Rothenstein, Allan Wade and Elizabeth Wharton.
The Bluemner material includes four letters, a sketch, and a note from Oscar Bluemner to Gallatin. Bluemner writes about the 1932 Whitney Museum show, French and American painters, architecture, and painting.
REEL 1293: 3 scrapbooks which include official press releases and clippings of artists about the opening of the Gallery of Living Art at NYU, and its subsequent acquisitions, exhibitions, change of name to Museum of Living Art, and discontinuance of the Museum and transfer to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Also included are reproductions of some of the works found in the collection, reproductions of photos taken by Gallatin of artists whose works are in this collection, a 1935 Gallery of Living Art Bulletin, and clippings and a portion of the Catalog of the Gallery of Living Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector; New York, N.Y. Gallatin formed one of America's earliest modern art collections, and displayed it as Gallery of Living Art (later Museum of Living Art) at NYU from 1907-1943, when he moved it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gallatin was also a painter.
Provenance:
Material on reels 507-508 lent for microfilming in 1973; reel 1293 lent by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Letter to Edward Robins from F. W. Stokes, Oct. 7, 1941, about George Grey Barnard, and a clipping, Oct. 5, 1939, about Joseph and Elizabeth Pennell by Robins.
Provenance:
Microfilmed by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for the Archives of American Art, 1955.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Correspondence of the Century Magazine and its predecessors, Scribner's Monthly, and St. Nicholas Magazine. Also included is material related to the Century War Series.
Among the correspondents are: Cecilia Beaux, James C. Beckwith, Samuel G. W. Benjamin, William M. Chase, William A. Coffin, Timothy Cole (98 letters), Charles C. Coleman, Royal Cortissoz, Kenyon Cox, Reginald C. Coxe, Christopher P. Cranch, Henry H. Cross, Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, Thomas W. Dewing, Alexander W. Drake, Wyatt Eaton, George W. Edwards, Frank E. Elwell, Gaston Fay, Harry Fenn, Mary H. Foote, William L. Fraser, Charles L. Freer, Daniel C. French, Frank French, Isabella S. Gardner, Jay Hambidge, Charles H. Hart, Arthur Hoeber, George Inness, Jr., August F. Jaccaci, Arthur I. Keller, Edward W. Kemble, Knoedler M. & Company, Christopher G. La Farge, John La Farge, Charles R. Lamb, Florence N. Levy, Frank J. Mather, Leila Mechlin, Gari Melchers, Francis D. Millet, Thomas Moran, Edward L. Morse, Hobart Nichols, Elizabeth Nourse, Thornton Oakley, Violet Oakley, Maxfield Parrish, William O. Partridge, Elizabeth R. Pennell (83 letters & 55p. handwritten article), Joseph Pennell, Henry R. Poore, Eva A. Remington, Henry Reuterdahl, Boardman Robinson, Henry Sandham, DeCost Smith, Jessie W. Smith, Albert E. Sterner, Alfred Stieglitz, William J. Stillman (ca. 95 letters), Lorado Taft, Henry O. Tanner, Abbott H. Thayer, Gerald H. Thayer, Dwight W. Tryon, John C. Van Dyke, Douglas Volk, Irving R. Wiles, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
A quarterly publication on the arts and current affairs.
Other Title:
Century Company collection (NYPL microfilm title)
Provenance:
Microfilmed 1956 by the Archives of American Art with other art-related papers in the Manuscript Division of the New York Public Library. Included in the microfilming project were selected papers of the Art Division and the Prints Division.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Elizabeth Robins Pennell, New York, N.Y. letter to G. William Patten, Dorchester, Mass, 1931 July 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Elizabeth Robins Pennell. Elizabeth Robins Pennell, New York, N.Y. letter to G. William Patten, Dorchester, Mass., 1931 July 2. Elizabeth Robins Pennell letters, 1896-1932. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.