Wenley, A. G. (Archibald Gibson), 1898-1962 Search this
Extent:
20 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives
Photographic prints
Manuscript
Place:
China
Date:
1923-1934
Summary:
An associate curator and associate in archaeology at the Freer Gallery of Art from 1922 to 1942, the collection of Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) document his Gallery-sponsored travels to China from 1923 to 1934 and include an unpublished manuscript describing his archaeological research in China; line drawings; rubbings; maps; note cards; and nearly 4,000 glass and film negatives with corresponding original silver prints. These document his expeditions in northern and central China, illustrating archaeological sites in Henan, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces. Specific digs include the large neolithic site at Wanquan, Shanxi, and sixth century C.E. tombs near Fenyin. Additional images show Chinese cityscapes, daily life and customs, topography, temples, pagodas, caves, and sculpture.
Scope and Contents:
The professional papers and official records of Carl Whiting Bishop include his unpublished two-volume manuscript, [not before 1940]; and photographs, nearly 4,000 images, 1915-1934; and undated. These materials document over a twenty-five year period in the course of Bishop's research and archaeological activities. They were retained at the Freer Gallery of Art after Bishop's death in 1942, and were supplemented with an addition received in 1956 from his widow Daisy Furscott Bishop.
The manuscript was prepared in a typescript format, over 421 pages of text, with photographic illustrations, and completed by Bishop sometime after 1939. Properly titled Archaeological Research in China 1923-1934, this unpublished manuscript constituted a field report that chronicled Bishop's Gallery-sponsored expeditions in northern and central China during the period 1923 to 1934. The reader is provided with a record of the day-to-day operations completed, of obstacles and opposition encountered, and the results obtained from their work. Key diplomatic and scientific representatives from the West and China are recorded who aided and contributed to the investigations. Moreover, there are descriptions of the academic, social and political climate in China during a period of civil war and economic strife. Against this background, Bishop also discussed their efforts in view of the history of China, with commentary on the country's geography, topography, climate, flora and fauna, mineral products, and ancient customs and legends.
The earliest still photographic prints in the Bishop Papers date from his employ at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where he conducted archaeological reconnaissance from 1915 to 1918 in China, Korea, and Japan. All subsequent images were created or collected by Bishop and his assistant Kuang-zung Tung during the Freer Gallery-sponsored expeditions of 1923-1934. Further descriptions of these materials may be found under Series 2 and Series 3 in this finding aid.
In the transliteration into English of the names of Chinese characters, Bishop followed the Wade-Giles system, with a few exceptions to those rules for certain well known and commonly used place-names, especially those of cities, towns, territorial divisions, and bodies of water. We have retained Bishop's romanization except in certain areas where clarification was needed. The Chinese personal and place-names have been kept as they appeared in his captions.
Arrangement:
Series 1: Manuscript/Writings 1915-1934 and undated
Series 2: Photography Prints
Series 3: Negatives
Series 4: Drawings, Rubbings, and Maps
Biographical / Historical:
Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) was an archaeologist, anthropologist, and specialist in the field of East Asian studies. Born in Tokyo, Japan, on July 12, 1881, he was the son of a Methodist missionary, the Reverend Charles Bishop. Except for a twelve-month residence in the United States during 1889-90, Bishop spent the first sixteen years of his life in Japan, before returning to this country in 1898 for college preparatory work at Northwestern Academy, Evanston, Illinois. He studied at Hampden-Sydney College and in 1912 received an A.B. degree from DePauw University. In 1913 he was awarded the degree of Master of Arts by the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, where he studied with the noted German anthropologist, Franz Boas (1858-1942). That same year he received his first scientific appointment as a member of the Peabody Museum Expedition to Central America.
Effective 10 April 1922, Bishop was appointed as Associate Curator of the Freer Gallery of Art by then director John Ellerton Lodge (1878-1942). Asked to undertake important archaeological work, Bishop headed the gallery's first expedition to China, sponsored jointly by the FGA and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, lasting from 20 February 1923 to 6 August 1927. From 16 November 1929 to 11 April 1934, he headed another expedition, sent out this time by the Freer Gallery alone. When conditions in China made further efforts impractical, Bishop returned to Washington in 1934, where he remained at the gallery as Associate in Archaeology until the time of his death on 16 June 1942.
Carl Whiting Bishop was a member of a number of learned societies: the American Oriental Society, the American Archaeological Society, the Anthropological Society, the American Society for the Advancement of Science, the American Geographical Society, and he served on the advisory board of the American Council of Learned Societies until his death.
1881, July 12 -- Born in Tokyo, Japan
1898 -- Attends Northwestern Academy in Evanston, Illinois for college preparatory work Attends Hampden-Sydney College
1912 -- Receives A.B. degree from DePauw University
1913 -- Receives Master of Arts from Department of Anthropology from Columbia University, where he studied with Franz Boas
1914 -- Begins serving as Assistant Curator in Oriental Art at the University of Pennsylvania Museum
1915-1918 -- Makes several archaeological survey trips to China, Korea and Japan
1921 -- Serves as Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Columbia University
1922, April 10 -- Becomes Associate Curator of the Freer Gallery of Art
1923-1927 -- Heads the Freer Gallery's first expedition to China, co-sponsored by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
1929-1934 -- Heads the second Freer-sponsored expedition to China
1934 -- Returns to US and serves as Associate in Archaeology at the Freer Gallery of Art
1942, June 16 -- Dies.
Related Materials:
Additional Bishop material may be found in the following collections also found in the the Archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery:
Li Chi Reports, 1926-1929, regarding Li's reconnaissance work at Shi-yin Ts'un, Shansi Province, and the excavation at Anyang.
Archibald Gibson Wenley Papers, 1924-1926, including field diaries, notes, and photographs documenting his participation in the FGA expedition work in China.
Charles Lang Freer Papers, including 1915 correspondence between Freer and Bishop; newspaper clippings related to Bishop, and documents dated 1912-1913, relating to Freer's support for a proposed American School of Archeology in China.
A number of objects from the FGA expeditions, including bronzes, ceramics, and stone sculpture, have been accessioned into the permanent art collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. Additionally, remnants of antiquities, potteries, and metalwork accumulated during the field work, have been placed in the Freer Gallery Study Collection. Records for these items are retained with the Galleries' Registrar's Office.
Additional Bishop material may be found in the Smithsonian Institutional Archives:
Expedition Records, including correspondence of Carl Whiting Bishop, 1914; 1923-1942, nearly 3,000 letters arranged alphabetically by correspondent name; a manuscript catalogue of expedition acquisitions, Peking, 1923-1925; financial records, 1923-1934, including expedition fund ledgers, account statements, and receipts; and newspaper clippings, 1924-1932, documenting the gallery's field work and general archaeological work being conducted around the world at that time.
Smithsonian Institutional Archives, Central Files, Bishop folders, 1923-1942, including expedition letters, field reports, and photographs sent to John E. Lodge.
Personnel and Special Events Photograph Collection, containing portrait photographs of Bishop.
Additional Bishop matieral may be found in the University of Pennsylvania Museum Archives, Philadelphia:
Documentation of University of Pennsylvania Museum-sponsored field work in East Asia may be found there that includes records of C.W. Bishop, dated 1914-1927 (measuring about .5 linear foot), much of it created during his tenure as the Museum's Assistant Curator of Oriental Art from 1914-1918. Included are Bishop's journals consisting of daily entries for two trips to China for the University of Pennsylvania Museum; letters to and from G.B. Gordon, C.W. Harrison, and Jane McHugh, written during Bishop's travel in China and subsequent to his return; and detailed financial accounts of expenditures during the China travels. Additionally, the repository houses a group of Bishop's negatives taken in China to visually record the expedition work.
Provenance:
Gift of Carl Whiting Bishop.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
United States of America -- Washington -- Kitsap County -- Bainbridge Island
Date:
2005 Apr.
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:
Gardens -- Washington (State) -- Bainbridge Island Search this
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
United States of America -- Washington -- Pierce County -- Gig Harbor
Date:
1993 Sept.
General:
The grounds are designed in patterns of groundcover to house a collection of over 50 Japanese maples and pieces of outdoor sculpture.
Sculpture "The Sleeper" by Katy McFaddon. (Ceramic)
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.
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.
United States of America -- Texas -- Jefferson -- Beaumont
Date:
2014 Apr.
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.
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.
United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County -- Sewickley
Date:
2016 June.
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.
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.
1 Autochromes (photographs) (glass slide, col., 4 x 5 in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Autochromes (photographs)
Place:
Thompson Garden (Stockbridge, Massachusetts)
United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Berkshire -- Stockbridge
Date:
[1928?]
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:
Gardens -- Massachusetts -- Stockbridge Search this
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.
Woodlands Stables, Llewellyn Park (West Orange, New Jersey)
United States of America -- New Jersey -- Essex -- West Orange
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets and historical information.
General:
The residence originally was a horse stable built circa 1880 and the gardens now include an enclosed courtyard, designed in the 1960s during the conversion of the residence, and kitchen, vegetable and shade gardens, on about two acres, with another two acre lot kept as a mowed meadow for horseback riding and jumping. The original courtyard garden contained specimen trees including a Sir Harry Lauder walking stick and two white birches, no longer existing. Ornamental features include brick and ironwork gates with a sandstone carving of a horse's head, the original horses' water trough converted into a fountain, and brick walls. Trees planted by another previous owner that are still growing include star magnolias along a split rail fence and a giant sequoia and dawn redwood that have grown to impressive heights. The current owners are growing vegetables in raised beds, containers, and hay bales. Their kitchen garden has perennials, shrubs, a peach tree, berries and herbs; both areas are fenced to keep out deer. The shade garden between the house and meadow has been augmented with more ferns, mountain laurel, viburnum and a wisteria arch, and bluestone and brick walkways. In the courtyard garden the drainage has been redone and new trees and shrubs planted, including hawthorn, kousa dogwood, redbud, elms, maples, Norway spruce, and fruit trees.
The large estate mansion was built in the late nineteenth century by a member of the Guinness family, John Burke, who emigrated from Ireland to market Guinness stout in the United State. The mansion was demolished, and the property was divided among family members of the next owners, with the stables eventually given to a granddaughter as a wedding present. In addition to the house there are two studios for photography and ceramics, a garage and woodworking shop enclosing the courtyard. Llewellyn Park was one of the first planned suburbs in the United States, noted for naturalized plantings and specimen collections of trees.
Persons associated with the garden include John Burke (former owner, circa 1880s-1892); Mr. and Mrs. William Scheerer (former owners); John Babcock and Mary Scheerer Babcock (former owners, circa 1955-1968); Charles and Margaret S. Robbins (former owners, 1967-1999); Lois W. Poinier (garden designer, 1950s-1960s); Mark K. Morrison and Melissa Ix (landscape architects, 2000); and Claudia Thornton (landscape architect, 2008).
Related Materials:
Woodlands Stables, Llewellyn Park related holdings consist of 2 folders (12 35mm slides (photographs); 18 digital images, 4 digital prints)
See others in:
Lois W. Poinier slide collection, circa 1920-1999.
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.
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.
United States of America -- California -- Los Angeles County -- San Marino
Scope and Contents:
Holdings consist of a garden file with a description of the garden, photocopies of articles, and other information (15 35mm slides).
General:
The garden and house were first designed in 1939 on a flat ¾ acre property in San Marino, a small suburb of Los Angeles 30 miles from the coast. The area has a Mediterranean-like climate that receives approximately 14 inches of rain per year, in the winter only. Original to the front is a large lawn with Viburnum suspensum hedges on each side. Past the driveway, original concrete blocks surround the courtyard, and continue around both sides of the house and the perimeter of the rear garden. The original rear garden was mostly lawn, edged by a narrow path, hedges of Viburnum suspensum and an assortment of trees, including three large Quercus agrifolia, the coast live oak most common to this area. Still in existence from 1939 are the mature Plantanus ramosa (California sycamore) at the courtyard entrance. The second owners, in the 1960s turned part of the back lawn into lathe houses for their camellia collection, replacing some of the Viburnum suspensum with camellia specimens, which still exist.
After the original owners sold the property in 1960, it was owned by a second family for nearly a decade before being sold a third time to the present owners in 1969. Since the present owners bought the property, the gardens have undergone multiple revisions by four landscape architects, including the notable Robert Fletcher, who worked intermittently with the owners between 1985-1995. In every revision to this estate's gardens, every effort was made to preserve and incorporate the very mature trees and shrubs which provide form, color and shade. While the estate has plantings in the front lawn and flanking the east and west sides of their home, the most impressive landscape features are in the rear of the property, particularly the borders surrounding the central lawn and the plantings along the 'Bouquet Canyon' stone path to the pool. In the 1970s landscape architect Chuck Hoffman designed the rear garden, emphasizing the desire for informal and naturalistic garden spaces for outdoor living around the French colonial-style house. He designed the swimming pool, two terraces, and created curving borders around the lawn, and added four Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip trees). In the 1980s landscape designer Robert Fletcher built on Hoffman's footprint, adding more distinctive plant material, installing six bullet-shaped Syzygium paniculatum to anchor the borders, and turned one terrace into a small stone patio after an addition to the house. Nurseryman Frank Burkard added Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax), roses and other shrubs in the 1990s.
Garden features at the entrance of the courtyard include an espalier Magnolia grandiflora, a four-part sculpture, "Kyoto Protocol" by Ray Meeker, which is surrounded by Ophiopogon (mondo grass), with an overhanging Olea europaea (olive) and Plantanus racemosa and a large collection of potted succulent varieties on the terrace selected by landscape architect John Caitlin in 1970 for their heat tolerance.
Persons associated with the property include: Mr. and Mrs. M.D. Schatzman (former owners, 1939-1960); Carla Barker Hind and William O. Hind (former owners; 1960-1969); H. Roy Kelley (architect, 1939); John Caitlin (landscape architect, 1970); Charles Hoffman (landscape architect, 1972); Robert M. Fletcher (landscape architect and photographer, 1985-1995); Frank Burkard (nurseryman, 1990); Mark Bartos (landscape architect, 1999); Peter Lodato (sculptor, 1991); Ray Meeker (ceramic artist, 2005).
Related Materials:
The present owners have Charles Hoffman and Mark Bartos plans.
H. Roy Kelley papers, #3864, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
See others in:
Robert M. Fletcher Collection ca. 1979-1995.
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.
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.
United States of America -- California -- Los Angeles County -- Pasadena
Casa Favorita (Pasadena , California)
Scope and Contents:
18 digital images (2019) and 1 file folder.
General:
The half-acre property had a 1924 salmon colored Italian revival style house with three mature live oaks and tapestry hedges when the current owners moved there in 1996. They enclosed the front courtyard with matching stucco walls and wrought iron gates, changed the hardscape from asphalt to decomposed granite, and re-routed the walkway to the front door to showcase a live oak. Forest green is used as an accent color on shutters and large ceramic jars, and salmon-colored azaleas were planted in the foundation beds. Azalea standards, a matching climbing rose, and a collection of pink zonal geraniums in terra cotta pots create a unified palette in the front garden. Formal parterres were built along one side of the house and planted with pastel-colored hybrid tea and floribunda roses and lavender, with a fountain and small stone bench. On the same axis and through a small gate there is another set of four parterres planted with daffodils, delphinium or zinnia in season with a second fountain in the center.
More potted zonal geraniums are displayed on a low wall at one end of the pink stone terrace, succeeded by a patch of lawn and another live oak and sitting area. A 60-foot long vegetable garden for heirloom tomatoes at the back of the property has been replaced by a bocce ball court. A swimming pool was built with concrete planters at the corners for lemon and orange trees in keeping with the Mediterranean style. A salmon colored loggia with comfortable seating has been added along the side of the pool where there is a small waterfall. A shady side of the garden has a large mirror with ornamental banana plants, clipped boxwood, potted plants and two small statues. The owners named their property Casa Favorita honoring Mexican tradition.
Persons associated with the garden include: Hannah Nevin Shaw and Major Roy A. Shaw (former owners, 1923-1958); James Drake MacNeil (former owner, 1958-1968); Phillip Cushing McGrath (former owner, 1968-1996); James R. Shoch and Elena Miller Shoch (owners, 1996- ); Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury (architects, 1924); James J. Yoch (1938-2018) (landscape designer, 1996-1997); Thomas Batcheller Cox (landscape designer, 2007-2012).
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.
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.
United States of America -- Connecticut -- Fairfield County -- Westport
Scope and Contents:
This file contains 25 digital images and 1 folder.
General:
These 2 acres of gardens were developed over 50 years by owners, Eileen and Barry Blau. Before Ralph Alswang purchased the property in 1963, the land remained a wooded lot that had never been developed. It was not until Alswang built the midcentury modern house on the property that the former lot began to transform. The Blaus moved to Westport in the mid 1950s and purchased the property in 1964. Since then, Barry Blau has developed a complex arrangement of formal and informal gardens that exemplify mid-century garden design. Major hardscape features on the property include meandering stone paths and walks that connect each garden space with various benches placed throughout. Ornamental gates and double stone sculptures mark the entrance to new paths. Stone retaining walls and boxwoods supply the structure for each of the garden spaces. Major plantings on the property are large rhododendron groves planted below oak trees.
Persons associated with the garden/landscape design include: Ralph Alswang (1963), Barry Blau (1967-1999). See 55 year chronology for detailed list of designers and design changes.
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.
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.
United States of America -- Minnesota -- Ramsey County -- St. Paul
Scope and Contents:
This file contains 32 digital images and 1 folder. Images 029 and 032 are restricted.
General:
This .4 acre property features an urban residential garden landscape surrounding an English Tudor Villa style home. When the current owners purchased the property in 1968, the entire front landscape was obscured by a tall buckthorn hedge that lined the property. The current garden was established in 1972 after the owners replaced the hedge and massive trees with gardens. The owner is formally trained as a Master Gardener and enrolled in University of Minnesota horticulture and landscaping courses to expand their knowledge of landscape design. They also designed gardens for the Dale Street Greenhouse and started their own business as a garden writer and designer.
The garden design combines the formal hardscape elements of an English garden such as iron fencing, bluestone pathways, terrace, and brick wall, with the informal plantings indicative of English cottage gardens. The property features 8 garden areas: the front yard garden, the main garden, the east side woodland "wild garden," the back gardens, the herb garden, the terrace garden, conservatory indoor garden, and alley garden. The front yard garden, established in 1972, is surrounded by black iron fencing and garden beds edged in double running brick. This area features dwarf evergreen trees and shrubs, flowering deciduous trees, perennials and colorful annuals. Inside the front fence are 'White Lights' azaleas, "Jack Korbett' dwarf Korean pine, and a "Louisa" weeping crabapple that partially shades the perennials below. The main garden is bordered by Chicagoland Green boxwoods and features seasonal plantings. The "wild garden" along the east side of the home memorializes the owner's mother and features wildflowers and ferns inside its 80 by 20 square feet. The herb garden is structured with diamond shaped bluestone paths and a central armillary. The 40x23 foot, two-tiered bluestone terrace displays brick and ceramic planters of annuals. The conservatory indoor garden was designed by local architect Kathryn Olmstead and built in 2000. It features a collection of rhizomatous begonias and succulents. The 7-foot wide and 65-foot-long alley garden is edged in cobble stone and features Standing Ovation serviceberry. It also houses roses, flowering shrubs and prairie wildflowers.
Persons associated with the garden include: George Van Slyck (former owner, 1909); Emmalyn Van Slyck (former owner, 1909); Harold and Dorothy Nesbit (former owners, 1930 - 1940); Dorothy Nesbit and Paul Webster (former owners, 1940 - 1945); Ephraim and Grace Holmgren (former owners, 1945); David and Marjorie Hols (owners, 1968– ); Holm and Olsen (designer, 1972); Ed Reed (designer, 1975); Sally Ross and Marge Hols (designer, 1992); Rose Hassing (gardener, 2008- ); Madeline Pojar (gardener, 2008-present).
The garden submission includes an extensive bibliography.
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.
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.
United States of America -- Kansas -- Johnson County -- Fairway
Scope and Contents:
This file contains 20 digital images and 1 folder.
General:
This ¾ of an acre garden was established by the current owners in 1988. Behind the white picket fence at the entrance to the property lives white azaleas, large oaks, a purple beech, and dogwoods all enclosed within a low boxwood hedge. The fence to the east leads to a stone path bordered by hostas columbine and hydrangeas on one side, and birdhouses crafted by the owners' grandchildren on the other. The front garden opens to a large lawn. A brick patio bordered with ivy occupies the center of the yard along with a large sugar maple tree. The corner of the patio features a small pond lined with ceramic leaves. A garden of miniature hostas resides on the opposite side of the patio pond. A row of hostas leads to a vegetable garden sectioned into individual triangles and squares, guarded by an antique garden gate. Beyond the vegetable garden lies a stone path that leads to a secluded woodland garden featuring 'Annabelle' hydrangeas, Japanese cedars, Virgina blue bells, and for-get-me-nots. This stone path also curves to feature an antique picnic table surrounded by euphoria, pulmonaria, and hellebores. A large cottage-style perennial garden then leads into a boxwood-edged herb garden. David Austin 'Abraham Darby' roses, an arbor covered with 'new dawn' roses and 'romana' clematis line the picket fence bordering the south side of the herb garden. Behind the garden shed is a large compost bin containing three sections. Along a brick path through the arbor are rhododendron, espaliered apple trees, and lily of the valley. Jackmanii clematis and burning bush euonymus border the west picket fence that leads to the front of the house.
Persons associated with the garden include: Forest and Alice Gill (former owner, 1951); Stephen and Janet Harris (former owner, 1966); Howard and Peggy Du Bois (former owner, 1973); Joseph and Catherine Nigro (former owners, 1978); Walton and Mary Steele (former owners, 1988).
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.
Carolyn and George Kroh Garden (Fairway, Kansas) 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.
United States of America -- Connecticut -- Hartford County -- Hartford
Prospect Avenue Garden (Hartford, Connecticut)
Scope and Contents:
31 digital images (2022-2021) and 1 file folder.
General:
This Reformed Gothic style house and garden are steeped in Connecticut history, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The crabapple planted circa 1880 by the first owners, the Chinese Educational Mission, has been on the Champion Tree List since 1995 as the largest crabapple in the state. The property is slightly less than one and three-quarters acre. Since 1980 the current owners have studied and mostly maintained the original lawns, shade trees and shrubs planted by members of the Erving family from 1882 until 1980. Trees on the property that may date back to the late 19th century include maple, white pine, hemlock, oak, and spruce. Additions of native trees and shrubs in the early 20th century include rhododendron, laurel, euonymus, white cedar, lilacs and hydrangeas; non-native plants include Swedish weeping birch, European spruce, rhododendron, azalea, quince and yew. The current owners have replaced some losses with Japanese dogwood, redwood, and natives including dogwood, laurel, holly, pawpaw, clethra and pepperbush.
Gardens include a perennial garden, a 40-year old vegetable garden on the site of an older cutting garden, a cottage garden of annuals outside an additional residence building, a contemporary tulip garden and a new pollinator and wetland woodland garden with native shrubs, ferns and flowers. The perennial garden provides blooms for three seasons starting in spring with wood scilla, Chinese and herbaceous peonies, and black cohosh. In summer there are hollyhocks, lilies, astilbe, begonia and lantana with some in terracotta containers. For autumn bloom the garden has orchid dahlias, Japanese anemones, monkshood, sedum, and begonias. A 140-year-old wisteria drapes over a 75-foot dead hemlock – a "natural topiary". The tulip garden was replanted in 2019 with more than 500 late pastel varieties, followed by a day lily collection in midsummer. Individual beds have been planted with English hybrid hellebores, heirloom irises, heirloom dogtooth violets, and in an all-white bed there are two varieties of narcissus, leucojum and snowdrops. Antique and contemporary bronzes, pottery, garden ceramics, 19th century urns, English cast stone dogs, Japanese giboshi on upturned whiskey barrels, and cast iron seating are placed at focal points.
The vegetable garden at the back of the perennial garden is surrounded by a wire fence and has oak plank movable walkways. Plant supports include towers made from aluminum rods for heirloom pole beans. Crop rotation has been practiced for forty years. An heirloom cold frame is used to raise salad seedlings. There is a cottage on the property for a resident gardener who grows a cottage garden of annuals. The new pollinator and wetland woodland garden replaces a grove of infested hemlock and includes native shrubs, ferns and flowers. A grove of dogwood was started in the 1980's and added to in 2005. Mature woodland shade trees are underplanted with understory trees and shrubs with ivy ground cover and serve to disguise five compost piles.
Persons associated with the garden's design: Malcolm Larson, resident gardener (1915-1941); Raymond Baker, resident gardener (1941-1985).
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:
Gardens -- Connecticut -- West Hartford Search this
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.
United States of America -- Hawaii -- Honolulu County -- Honolulu
Hee Family Garden (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Scope and Contents:
13 digital images (2022) and 1 file folder
General:
This property had a house built in 1940 and an overgrown garden of tropical plants, especially invasive strawberry guava trees when the current owners acquired it in 1970. In 1990 landscape architect James C. Hubbard created a half-acre back garden, removing the invasives and planting a fresh tropical garden. His design used swathes of grass to open up views of Ko' olau Mountains and the neighboring protected forest's bamboo and tropical trees including kukui or candlenut, employing the Japanese concept shakkei, or the art of borrowed scenery. In 2015 the owners built a contemporary style house for their multigenerational family that is sprawling and tiered and hugs the mountainside. They needed a new garden for the new house that would reflect their Asian heritage and Hawaiian location, designed by landscape architect Stephen F. Mechler.
The garden's gathering place is a large, covered patio with a lava rock wall. The plant colors are mainly green, white and blue from swathes of agapanthus and hydrangea from the earlier garden, and green and white in the front garden. There is a 70-year-old avocado tree from the original garden, an inherited lychee, Meyer lemon, vegetable and herb gardens in raised boxes to protect them from snails and slugs, and two varieties of taro that are protected from wild boar. Vegetables include green onion and beets; herbs include rosemary and basil. As the area receives 107 inches of rain each year the family does not irrigate nor do they use any synthetic chemicals in their gardens.
Generations of family are respected throughout the garden, exemplified by the lychee and inherited gray bricks that border a small Zen garden. Accessories include antique Chinese ceramic pots once used for wine and thousand- year Chinese eggs, now planted with orchid and lotus. A teardrop shaped patch of mondo grass represents and modernizes the Zen garden, usually comprised of stone. Hawaiian plants include native gingers, stumps from other gardens, and so-called canoe plants – species brought to the islands by early settlers. Seeds and cuttings from family, friends and other native island plants replace the invasives that once dominated the property.
Persons associated with the garden's design: James C. Hubbard (1990), Stephen F. Mechler (2016)
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.
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.
1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 in. x 4in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Lantern slides
Place:
Miscellaneous Flower Arrangements (Summit, New Jersey)
United States -- New Jersey -- Union -- Summit
Date:
[between 1914 and 1949?]
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.
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.
United States of America -- Arkansas -- Pulaski County -- Little Rock
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes a worksheets, site plans and a photocopy of an article.
General:
Brown Garden, located on a half acres in Little Rock, was established in 1980. One can view the Arkansas River by looking over a rectangular swimming pool edged in limestone coping set in a Pennsylvania bluestone terrace, punctuated by large ceramic urns and a Tudor revival pool house. The main house has Tudor revival features such as clinker brick cladding that were copied for the pool house. Hardscape features have been used to define different areas of the garden, including rusticated stone pillars topped with iron urns at the entrance to the rear garden, iron gates and fences at the entrance, along the side boundaries and below the pool, a mortared fieldstone path into the rear garden, a stepping stone path set into the lawn behind the house, and broad stone stairs for graceful access to the different levels of terrain. Curving walkways, originally designed in 1987 by Memphis landscape architect Wiley Jones, which lead to the main house from the street and through the woodland garden to the pool house soften the rectangular lines of the property.
A mature weeping willow tree shades one end of the pool at the rear of the garden. A lawn of zoysia grass is bordered by curvilinear beds planted with forsythia, grape holly and yaupon holly, oak leaf and other hydrangeas, spiraea, dogwoods, azaleas, and lower story plantings of hostas, woodland ferns, mondo grass, golden creeping Jenny, coral bells, and daylilies. New Dawn roses and pink impatiens are planted around the pool terrace and around the house, while the large sea foam green ceramic urns on the terrace and on wide steps below the house are planted with seasonal tropical plants, English ivy and boxwood topiary.
The current owner purchased the house in 1980 and began landscaping the property but most of the plantings and the swimming pool were added after the owner married. A play area for children and a fenced rose bed are situated below the grade of the swimming pool, towards the river.
Persons associated with the property include: Mr. and Mrs. William A. Wirtz (former owners, 1945-1947); Louise A. Wirtz and Parma Basham (former owners, 1947-1980); Wiley Jones (landscape architect, 1987); W. Randall Byars (design consultant, 1999); Adrienne Taylor (landscape architect, 1999-2000); Chris Olsen (garden designer, 2003).
Related Materials:
Brown Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (11 35 mm. slides; 2 photographic prints)
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.
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.
United States of America -- Hawaii -- Honolulu County -- Honolulu
Date:
2012 Apr.
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.
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.
United States of America -- Mississippi -- Bolivar County -- Merigold
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, additional photographs, and photocopies of articles.
General:
McCartys Pottery on a five-acre former mule lot is comprised of garden rooms delineated by weathered cypress boards from former plantation tenant houses, a prostyle of bare cypress columns that outlines the swimming pool area, and a lattice roof over a walled walkway. Natural and salvaged materials are the hardscaping while the garden plantings were chosen for texture, varying shades of green, and durability in the hot Delta summers. Ceramic vases, pots and ornaments made by the owners from Mississippi clay for their pottery business are placed throughout the garden as well as iron garden furniture, planters, fountains, and an old cast iron sugarcane cooker used as a planter. Rectangular raised beds edged with railway ties recur throughout the property as the owners were inspired by the artist Mondrian when they designed their garden. Rectangles are repeated in stepping stones laid in gravel walkways and in the square concrete paving stones in the swimming pool area. A patio is paved with mossy old brick.
Lush greenery contained in straight-edged raised beds predominates in all the garden rooms except for the irregularly-shaped lily pond with curving sides that is bordered by bamboo. There is a square water garden within the pond and another square water garden at one end of the pond. Evergreen perennials, shrubs and trees comprise the planting scheme, including camellias, azaleas, Live oak, tulip poplar and magnolia, aspidistra, monkey grass, canna and fatsia. Flowering trees, shrubs and bulbs add spots of color in season along with pots of crotons and other seasonal container plantings. A cutting garden and kitchen garden feature more of the owners' pots, planted containers and ornaments.
Related Materials:
McCartys Pottery related holdings consist of 1 folder (22 digital images)
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.
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.
