Search Results

Creator:

Oakley, Violet, 1874-  Search this

Subject:

Pennsylvania State Capitol (Harrisburg, Pa.)  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Diaries

Glass plate negatives

Renderings

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Visitors' books

Sketches

Citation:

Violet Oakley papers, 1841-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Artists' materials  Search this

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- United States  Search this

Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women muralists  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9580

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211781

AAA_collcode_oaklviol

Theme:

Women

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211781

Creator:

Library Company of Philadelphia. Print Dept  Search this

Subject:

Richards, Frederick de Bourg  Search this

Sully, Thomas  Search this

Peale, Rembrandt  Search this

Moran, Edward  Search this

Moran, John  Search this

Richards, William Trost  Search this

Lewis, Edmund Darch  Search this

Wood, George Bacon  Search this

Williams, Isaac  Search this

Lambdin, James Reid  Search this

Waugh, Samuel Bell  Search this

Rothermel, Peter Frederick  Search this

Sartain family (Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Sartain, John  Search this

Sartain, Samuel  Search this

Sartain, William  Search this

Sartain, Emily  Search this

Read, Thomas Buchanan  Search this

Eakins, Thomas  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

Artists' Fund Society  Search this

James S. Earle & Son  Search this

Pennsylvania State Capitol (Harrisburg, Pa.)  Search this

United States Sanitary Commission  Search this

Great Central Fair for the U.S. Sanitary Commission (1864 : Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Citation:

Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. photograph collection, [ca. 1850]-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Photograph collections -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Photographs  Search this

Photography -- Early works to 1900 -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Photographs  Search this

Artists -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Photographs  Search this

Theme:

Photography  Search this

Art organizations  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)10147

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213118

AAA_collcode_librcomp

Theme:

Photography

Art organizations

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_213118

Creator:

Library Company of Philadelphia. Print Dept  Search this

Names:

Artists' Fund Society  Search this

Great Central Fair for the U.S. Sanitary Commission (1864 : Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

James S. Earle & Son  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

Pennsylvania State Capitol (Harrisburg, Pa.)  Search this

United States Sanitary Commission  Search this

Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916  Search this

Lambdin, James Reid, 1807-1889  Search this

Lewis, Edmund Darch, 1835-1910  Search this

Moran, Edward, 1829-1901  Search this

Moran, John, 1831-1903  Search this

Peale, Rembrandt, 1778-1860  Search this

Read, Thomas Buchanan, 1822-1872  Search this

Richards, Frederick de Bourg, 1822-1903  Search this

Richards, William Trost, 1833-1905  Search this

Rothermel, Peter Frederick, 1812-1895  Search this

Sartain family (Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Sartain, Emily, 1841-1927  Search this

Sartain, John, 1808-1897  Search this

Sartain, Samuel, 1830-1906  Search this

Sartain, William, 1843-1924  Search this

Sully, Thomas, 1783-1872  Search this

Waugh, Samuel Bell, 1814-1885  Search this

Williams, Isaac, 1817-1895  Search this

Wood, George Bacon, 1832-1910  Search this

Extent:

0.2 Linear feet ((on partial microfilm reel))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

[ca. 1850]-1890

Scope and Contents:

Photographs of 19th century artists, including Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, Frederick de Bourg Richards, Edward Moran, John Moran, William Trost Richards, Edmund Darch Lewis, George Bacon Wood, Isaac Williams, James Reid Lambdin, Samuel Bell Waugh, Peter Frederick Rothermel, the Sartain family, the Sartain home, John Sartain, Samuel Sartain, William Sartain, Emily Sartain, Thomas Buchanan Read, Thomas Eakins's motion studies, the Pennsylvania State Capitol, group portraits of women from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Artists Fund Society, James S. Earle and Son, and the Fine Art Gallery at the Great Sanitary Fair.

Biographical / Historical:

Archive repository; Philadelphia, Pa.

Provenance:

Microfilmed in 1986 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Photographs were compiled from various collections of the Print Dept. of the Library Company of Philadelphia.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Topic:

Photograph collections -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Photographs  Search this

Photography -- Early works to 1900 -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Photographs  Search this

Artists -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Photographs  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.librcomp

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw983d118a4-308e-44c3-8424-82190dbc0336

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-librcomp

Creator:

Oakley, Violet, 1874-1961  Search this

Names:

Pennsylvania State Capitol (Harrisburg, Pa.)  Search this

Extent:

56.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Diaries

Glass plate negatives

Renderings

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Visitors' books

Sketches

Date:

1841-1981

Summary:

The papers of painter, stained glass artist, and muralist Violet Oakley measure 56.4 linear feet and date from 1841-1981. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, and project drafts; diaries and journals; financial material; artwork; printed material, including scrapbooks; and photographs, 3 albums, 322 glass plate negatives, and 1600 film negatives of Oakley, her family and friends, and her work.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter, stained glass artist, and muralist Violet Oakley measure 56.4 linear feet and date from 1841-1981. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, and project drafts; diaries and journals; financial material; artwork; printed material, including scrapbooks; and photographs, 3 albums, 322 glass plate negatives, and 1600 film negatives of Oakley, her family and friends, and her work.

Biographical materials include certificates, family records, curriculum vitae, and identification cards, and studio guest books. About one-half of the collection is comprised of correspondence with family, friends, and business associates. Writings include Oakley's notes, essays and lectures, and writings related to 16 of her major artworks and publications, including her work on the Pennsylvania Capitol murals in Harrisburg. Diaries and journals include Oakley's travel notes and research on planned artworks.

Financial materials include a catalog of artworks and price lists, accounting records, and art supply receipts. Artwork includes early childhood juvenilia, a sketchbook, sketches of travel and friends, architectural renderings, and artwork by others. Printed materials include books, clippings, exhibition catalogs, programs, and reproductions of artwork by Oakley and others. Photographic materials include photographs, albums, and negatives depicting Oakley, her friends and family, her studio at Cogslea, and reproductions of artwork.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 8 series. A comprehensive index of individidual correspondents for the chronological correspondence is found in the first folder of the chronological correspondence in box 5, folder 41. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers, but listed where they fall intellectually within the collection.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1841-1970 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, OV 69, OV 71)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1857-1979 (26.7 linear feet; Boxes 3-30)

Series 3: Notes and Writings, 1899-1976 (10.6 linear feet; Boxes 30-38, 58-64, OV 66, OV 70)

Series 4: Diaries and Journals, 1891-1958 (0.9 linear feet, Boxes 38-39)

Series 5: Financial Material, 1874-1977 (3.1 linear feet; Boxes 39-42)

Series 6: Artwork, 1883-1955 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 43-43, 64, OV 67, OV 71)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1866-1981 (7.3 linear feet, Boxes 43-50, 65, OV 67)

Series 8: Photographs, 1890-1980 (5.3 linear feet; Boxes 50-57, 65, OV 68)

Biographical / Historical:

Painter, muralist, and stained glass designer Violet Oakley (1874-1961) lived and worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was known for her Renaissance-revival style of art and the series of murals she completed for the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

Born in Bergen Heights, New Jersey, to a family of artists, both of Violet Oakley's grandfathers were painters and members of the National Academy. In 1892, she began her art studies at the Art Students' League and traveled abroad a year later to study in Paris at the Academie Montparnasse, and in England with Charles Lazar. Upon her return to the states in 1896, she continued her studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and at Drexel Institute with Howard Pyle.

For fourteen years, Oakley shared her early studios at Red Rose Inn and Cogslea Estate with fellow artists and illustrators Elizabeth Shippen Green and Jessie Willcox Smith. These two studio homes were managed by their friend Henrietta Cozens in a cooperative arrangement which allowed all three artists to focus on their work as commercial artists. Early in her career, Oakley designed covers for magazines such as Collier's Weekly and Century Magazine, and also found work as a stained glass designer for the Church Glass and Decorating Company of New York. In 1900, she received her first major commission to design and execute two large murals and six stained glass pieces for the All Angels' Church in New York City.

In 1902 Oakley was approached by architect Joseph Huston to design 13 murals for the Governor's reception room in the new Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. She eventually completed two additional mural commissions for the Capitol's Senate (1911-1920) and Supreme Court (1917-1927) chambers. Her studies of William Penn in connection with her murals for the State Capitol inspired Oakley to work for international peace and eventually led to the publication of a portrait folio depicting League of Nations delegates (1932). Other significant works include murals, panels, and stained glass commissions completed for the Vassar College Alumni house, Charlton Yarnall house (Philadelphia), and Cuyuhoga County courthouse.

While working as an established artist, Oakley also taught courses at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, arranged a yearly lecture series, and published folios and other writings on topics ranging from art history to Christian Science under the Coslea Studios imprint. Her later studio, Lower Cogslea, was shared by artist and lifelong companion Edith Emerson, who after Oakley's death in 1961, established a memorial foundation in her name.

Oakley was the first woman elected to the National Society of Mural Painters, was a recipient of the Gold Medal of Honor of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and was the first woman to receive the Gold Medal of Honor from the Architectural League of New York. Her writings include The Holy Experiment: A Message to the World from Pennsylvania (1922) and Law Triumphant: The Opening of the Book of Law (1933).

Related Materials:

Also found among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation records and the Violet Oakley autograph and photograph. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts holds the Violet Oakley Foundation Art Collection, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art holds the Violet Oakley Collection.

Separated Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reels 1204, P12, 1187-1188, 1272, and 1194-1195).

Reel 1204 consists of two scrapbooks (circa 1896-1952) containing clippings from magazines of illustrations by Violet Oakley and her sister, Hester, and of Violet's murals for the State Capitol at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Reel P12 is of a scrapbook (1898-1936) containing a photograph of Oakely at her easel, clippings, and letters. Reels 1187-1188 consist of five scrapbooks (1920-1962) containing letters, clippings, exhibition announcements, catalogs, and awards. One of the scrapbooks is devoted to "The Holy Experiment", a limited edition publication by Oakley which commemorating William Penn, and which includes reproductions of Oakley's capitol murals in Harrisburg.

Reel 1272 contains two albums (circa 1900-1949) containing photos of Oakley working on murals in her studio, as well as her works of art, including stained glass windows at the Church of All Angels, New York; murals at the Harrisburg State Capitol; preliminary drawings and site photographs of "Dante's Window"; the lunettes and window for the Yarnall House; murals and preliminary drawings for the Cuyahoga Court House; the mural and dedication ceremonies for the Vassar Alumnae House; and photos and printed material on "Divine Presence--Christ at Geneva," "The Life of Moses," "Great Women of the Bible," and triptychs for the Army and Navy.

Reels 1194-1195 cobsist of photograph albums (circa 1870-1960) containing photographs of the Oakley and Swain families, of Violet Oakley, Edith Emerson, Jessie Willcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green, friends, her home, Oakley's "Red Rose" studio in Villanova, Pennsylvania, her "Cogslea" studio in Philadelphia, and of her works of art, mainly portraits of her friends and of delegates to the League of Nations.

Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

Violet Oakley first loaned the Archives of American Art materials for microfilming in 1959. Edith Emerson, Oakley's longtime friend and companion, donated and lent papers for microfilming in 1977 and 1984. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, who had received the papers from Emerson's estate, donated two feet of materials in 1988.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' research center in Washington, D.C.

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:

Stained glass artists -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Muralists -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Topic:

Artists' materials  Search this

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- United States  Search this

Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women muralists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Diaries

Glass plate negatives

Renderings

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Visitors' books

Sketches

Citation:

Violet Oakley papers, 1941-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.oaklviol

See more items in:

Violet Oakley papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b49c7557-9383-438b-805d-d1f873587f95

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-oaklviol

Author:

DeLorenzo, Amanda J  Search this

Hubbert-Kemper, Ruthann  Search this

Wilson, Jason L (Jason Lee) 1977-  Search this

Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee  Search this

Subject:

Pennsylvania State Capitol (Harrisburg, Pa.) History  Search this

Pennsylvania State Capitol (Harrisburg, Pa.) History  Search this

Physical description:

384 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm

Type:

Pictorial works

Place:

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg

Harrisburg (Pa.)

Date:

2006

C2006

Topic:

Historic buildings  Search this

Architecture  Search this

Buildings, structures, etc  Search this

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_895166