Search Results

Creator:

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Extent:

131 Linear feet (29 architectural drawings)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Diaries

Financial records

Correspondence

Photographs

Place:

China

Syria

Egypt

India

London (England)

Japan

Boston (Mass.)

Detroit (Mich.)

Washington (D.C.)

Kandy (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka

Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)

Date:

1876-1931

Summary:

The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, and photographs.

Scope Content:

The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, financial material, architectural drawings, and photographs.

Correspondence, circa 1860-1921, includes Freer's correspondence, 1876-1920, with artists, dealers, collectors, museums, and public figures; letterpress books contain copies of Freer's outgoing letters, 1892-1910; correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler, and his wife Beatrix, 186?-1909, with Lady Colin Campbell, Thomas R. Way, Alexander Reid, Whistler's mother, Mrs. George W. Whistler, and others; correspondence of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, 1904-1913, regarding works in Canfield's collection; and correspondence of Freer's assistant, Katharine Nash Rhoades, 1920-1921, soliciting Freer's letters from his associates, and regarding the settlement of his estate.

Also included are twenty-nine pocket diaries, 1889-1890, 1892-1898, 1900-1919, recording daily activities, people and places visited, observations, and comments; a diary kept by Freer's caretaker, Joseph Stephens Warring, recording daily activities at Freer's Detroit home, 1907-1910. Inventories, n.d. and 1901-1921, of American, European, and Asian art in Freer's collection, often including provenance information; vouchers, 1884-1919, documenting his purchases; five volumes of scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeill Whistler, 1888-1931, labeled "Various," "Peacock Room," "Death, etc.," "Paris, etc.," and "Boston...London" ; three volumes of newsclippings, 1900-1930, concerning Freer and the opening of the Freer Gallery of Art.

Correspondence regarding Freer's gift and bequest to the Smithsonian Institution, 1902-1916; and photographs, ca. 1880-1930, of Freer, including portraits by Alvin Langdon Coburn and Edward Steichen, Freer with others, Freer in Cairo, China and Japan, Freer's death mask, and his memorial service, Kyoto, 1930; photographs of artists and others, including Thomas Dewing, Ernest Fenollosa, Katharine Rhoades taken by Alfred Stieglitz, Rosalind B. Philip, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Abbott H. Thayer, Dwight Tryon, and Whistler; and photographs relating to Whistler, including art works depicting him, grave and memorial monuments, works of art, the Peacock Room, and Whistler's memorial exhibition at the Copley Society.

Organization of the Papers:

This collection is organized into twelve series.

Series 1: Genealogical and Biographical Data

Series 2: Correspondence

Series 3: Diaries

Series 4: Freer Colleague Materials

Series 5: Art Inventories

Series 6: Financial Materials

Series 7: Exhibition Loan Files

Series 8: Biblical Manuscripts and Gold Treasure Files

Series 9: American School of Archaeology in China

Series 10: Printed Material

Series 11: Outsize Material

Series 12: Photographs

Biographical Note:

1854 February 25 -- Born in Kingston, New York

1873 -- Appointed accountant and paymaster of New York, Kingston and Syracuse Railroad by Frank J. Hecker (1846-1927)

1876 -- Moves to Indiana to work, with Hecker, for the Detroit and Eel River and Illinois Railroad

1880 -- Moves to Detroit, participates in organization of the Peninsular Car Works with Hecker

1883 -- Becomes vice president and secretary of Peninsular Car Company when it succeeds Peninsular Car Works

1883 -- Begins collecting European prints

1884 -- Peninsular Car Company constructs plant on Ferry Avenue

1887 -- Meets Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)

1887 -- Acquires proofs of 26 etchings, Venice, Second Series(1886), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

1887 -- Purchases a small Japanese fan attributed to Ogata Korin(1658-1715)

1887 -- Buys land on Ferry Avenue

1889 -- Meets Frederick Stuart Church (1826-1900) and Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925) in New York

1890 -- Commissions Wilson Eyre (1858-1944) to design house on Ferry Avenue, Detroit, Michigan

1890 -- On first trip to London, meets James McNeill Whistler(1834-1903)

1892 -- Moves to Ferry Avenue house

1892 -- Tryon and Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) undertake decoration of reception rooms

1893 -- Lends American paintings to World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago

1893 -- Purchases first piece of Chinese art, a small painting of white herons by an anonymous Ming dynasty (1368-1644) artist

1894 -- Begins yearlong trip around the world, which includes visit to the Whistlers in Paris and first trip to Asia, stopping in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, China, and Japan

1896 -- Meets Matsuki Bunkyo (1867-1940) in Boston

1899 -- Takes part in consolidation of railroad-car building companies then retires from active business

1900 -- Attends Exposition International Universelle in Paris

1900 -- Buys villa in Capri with Thomas S. Jerome

1901 -- Meets Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) in Paris and Ernest Fenollosa(1853-1908), who visits Freer in Detroit

1902 -- Meets Dikran Kelekian (1868-1951)

1902 -- Spends summer in Britain building Whistler collection

1902 -- Views Whistler's, Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room

1904 -- Purchases Whistler's Peacock Room

1904 -- Offers his art collections and funds to build a museum in which to house them to the Smithsonian Institution

1905 -- Smithsonian committee visits Freer in Detroit

1906 -- United States government formally accepts Freer's gift on January 24

1906 -- Freer signs Deed of Gift to Smithsonian Institution on May 5

1907 -- On second tour of Asia, meets Hara Tomitaro 1868-1939) in Yokohama, Japan

1908 -- Takes third trip to Asia, specifically to West Asia to study Rakka ware

1909 -- Tours Europe to study art museums

1909 -- On fourth trip to Asia, attends memorial ceremony for Fenollosa (d.1908 September) at Miidera, Japan, and meets Duanfang (1861-1911) in China

1910 -- On last trip to Asia, visits Longmen Buddhist caves in China

1911 -- Suffers stroke

1912 -- Lends selection of objects for exhibition at Smithsonian Institution

1913 -- Meets Eugene (1875-1957) and Agnes E. (1887-1970) Meyer

1913 -- Commissions Charles Adams Platt (1861-1933) to design museum building in Washington

1914 -- Meets Katharine Nash Rhoades (1885-1965) in Detroit

1915 -- Settles in New York City

1915 -- Site of future Freer Gallery of Art is determined

1916 -- Platt's plans for Freer Gallery are approved by Smithsonian Regents and Commission of Fine Arts and ground is broken in September

1918 -- After falling ill in Detroit, Freer travels to New York for treatment

1918 -- Work on the museum building is delayed by the war

1919 -- Freer appends codicil to will permitting acquisitions of Asian, Egyptian, and Near Eastern (West Asian) art

1919 -- Dies in New York City on 25 September and is buried in Kingston, New York

1919 -- Construction of Freer Gallery completed

1920 -- John Ellerton Lodge (1876-1942) is appointed director of the Freer Gallery

1923 -- Freer Gallery opens to the public on May 9

1930 -- Memorial ceremony for Freer is held at Koetsuji, Kyoto

Charles Lang Freer was an American industrialist who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. He was a well-known collector of Asian art, and strongly supported the synthesis of Eastern art and Western art. One of his most famous acquisitions was James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room.

Index:

Index to cross-referenced correspondents in the series Charles Lang Freer correspondence

Beal, Junius E. -- See: -- Warring, Joseph Stephens

Black, George M. -- See: -- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Board of Education (Kingston, New York) See: Michael, M. J.

Bonner, Campbell See: University of Michigan

Boughton, George H. See: Yardley, F. C.

British Museum See: Binyon, Laurence; Hobson, R. L.

Brown, Harold H. See: Art Association of Indianapolis

Buchner, Evelyn B. See: Knoedler, M., and Company

Buckholder, C. H. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Butler, S. B. See: Unidentified correspondents

Carnegie Institute See: Balken, Edward Duff; Harshe, Robert B.

Carpenter, Newton H. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Caulkins, Horace James See: Pewabic Pottery

Chao, Shih-chin See: Gunn, Chu Su

Chicago & North Western Railway Co. See: Hughett, Marvin

Clark, Charles Upson See: Clark, Arthur B.

Cleveland Museum of Art See: Whiting, Frederic Allen

Columbia University See: Braun, W. A.; Gottheil, Richard; Hirth, Friederich

Commission of Fine Arts See: Moore, Charles

Corcoran Gallery of Art See: Minnigerode, C. Powell

Crocker, Anna B. See: Portland Art Association

Dannenberg, D. E. See: Karlbeck, Orvar

De Menoncal, Beatrice See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection

De Ricci, Seymour See: Ricci, Seymour de

Defnet, William A., Mrs., See: Franke, Ida M.

DeMotte See: Vigouroux, J.

Detroit Institute of Arts See: Detroit Museum of Art

Detroit Publishing Company See: Livingstone, W. A.

Detroit School of Design See: George Hamilton; Stevens, Henry

DeVinne Press See: Peters, Samuel T.; Witherspoon, A. S.

Dyrenforth, P. C. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Eddy, Arthur J. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Eggers, George Williams See: Art Institute of Chicago

Farr, Daniel H. See: Robinson and Farr

Farrand School (Detroit) See: Yendall, Edith

Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) See: Laufer, Berthold

Flagg, Frederick J. See: Allen, Horace N.

Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University See: Forbes, Edward; Pope, Arthur Upham; Sachs, Paul J.

French, M. R. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Fu, Lan-ya See: Pang, Lai-ch'en

Fujii, Yoshio See: Yoshio, Fujii

Gerrity, Thomas See: Knoedler, M., and Company

Goupil Gallery See: Marchant, William

Gray, William J. See: Barr, Eva

Great Lakes Engineering Works See: Hoyt, H. W.

Grolier Club See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Heinemann, W. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Holden, Edward S. See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy

Hudson, J. L. See: Weber, William C.

Hutchins, Harry B. See: University of Michigan

Hutchins, Charles L. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Kelekian, H. G. See: Kelekian, Dikran G.

Kent, H. W. See: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lee, Kee Son See: Li, Chi-ch'un

Levy, John See: Schneider, A. K.

Library of Congress See: Rice, Richard A.; Wright, Helen

Louvre (Paris, France) See: Midgeon, Gaston

Matsuki, Z. See: Matsuki, Kihachiro

McKim, Mead and White See: White, Stanford

Mills, A. L., Colonel See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Miner, Luella See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection

Minneapolis Institute of Arts See: Breck, Joseph; Van Derlip, John R.

Monif, R. Khan See: Rathbun, Richard

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston See: Lodge, John Ellerton

Naser, Katen & Nahass See: Katen, K.

Nordlinger, Marie, Miss See: Meyer-Riefstahl, Marie

Panama Pacific International Exposition See: Moore, Charles C.; Trask, John E. D.

Peabody Museum See: Morse, Edward Sylvester

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Trask, John E. D.

Perry, Mary Chase, Miss., See: Pewabic Pottery

Philip, Ronald M. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Pope, G. D. See: Barr, Eva

Reinhart, A. G. See: Gottschalk, E.

Reitz, Sigisbert Chrétien Bosch See: Bosch-Reitz, Sigisbert Chrétien

Rutgers College See: Van Dyke, John C.

Saint-Gaudens, Augusta H. See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Saint-Gaudens, Homer See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Samurai Shokai See: Nomura, Yozo

San Francisco Art Association See: Laurvik, J. Nilsen

Scribner's, Charles, Sons See: Van Dyke, John C.

Shaw, Wilfred B. See: University of Michigan

Shirae, S. Z. See: Yamanaka and Company

Smith College See: Clark, Arthur B.

Smithsonian Institution See: Holmes, William Henry; Rathbun, Richard; Ravenel, Walcott, Charles D.

Society of Arts and Crafts (Detroit) See: Plumb, Helen

Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Stevens, George W. See: Toledo Museum of Art

Stratton, Mary Chase Perry See: Pewabic Pottery

Tanaka, Kichijiro See: Yamanaka and Company

Tuttle, William F. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Union Trust Company (Detroit) See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

United States Military Academy See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy

University of Chicago See: Zug, George Breed

University of Pennsylvania, Univ. Mus. See: Gordon, George Bryon

Ushikubo, D. J. R. See: Yamanaka and Company

Wallis & Son See: Barr, Eva; Thompson, C. Croal Ward, Clarence See: Oberlin College

Warren, Edward K. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Warring, Stephen See: Warring, Joseph Stephens

Watkin, Williams R. T. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Watson, Margaret, Miss See: Parker, Margaret Watson

Whistler, Anna See: Stanton, Anna Whistler

Whiting, Almon C. See: Toledo Museum of Art

Williams College See: Rice, Richard A

Wright, F. G. See: Orbach and Company

Yatsuhashi, H. See: Yamanaka and Company

Index to cross-referenced correspondence in the series Whistler correspondence

Bell, William See: Unidentified correspondents

Brown, Ernest See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee

Cowen, John T. See subseries: Charles Lang Freer Correspondence

Ford, Sheridan See: Reid, Alexander

Haden, Francis Seymour See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee

Haden, Francis Seymour, Lady See: Haden, Deborah Whistler

Leighton, Frederick, Baron See: Campbell, Lady Colin

Moore, Albert See: Reid, Alexander

Morley, Charles See: Pall Mall Gazette

Morris, Harrison S. See: Reid, Alexander

Pennell, Joseph See: Miscellaneous typescripts

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Prange, F. G. See: Reid, Alexander

Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Society of Portrait Painters See: Reid, Alexander

Stevens Fine Art See: Reid, Alexander

Studd, Arthur See: Miscellaneous typescripts

[Vanderbilt?], George, Mrs. See: George, Mrs.

Whistler, William McNeill, Mrs. See: Whistler, Nellie

Whistler Memorial Committee See: Miscellaneous typescripts

Related Material:

The Archives of American Art microfilmed portions of the Freer papers in 1992. The microfilm is available at the Archives of American Art's Washington D.C. office, the Freer Gallery of Art Library, and through interlibrary loan.

Provenance:

Gift of the Estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Topic:

Art, American -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Architecture -- Asia  Search this

Genre/Form:

Diaries

Financial records

Correspondence

Photographs

Citation:

Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA.A.01. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Identifier:

FSA.A.01

See more items in:

Charles Lang Freer Papers

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc3f1a0e3e0-630c-48d4-ba28-485946b1d615

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-fsa-a-01

Collection Creator:

Junkin, Hattie Meyers, 1896-1985  Search this

Container:

Box 5, Folder 3

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

See more items in:

Hattie Meyers Junkin Papers

Hattie Meyers Junkin Papers / Series 3: General materials of Hattie Meyers Junkin

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg286c383c8-f28a-4af6-b59e-5e952f5fae8b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0171-ref139

Creator:

Chalfant, Jefferson David, 1856-1931  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

Subject:

Ainslie, George H.  Search this

Folsom, George C.  Search this

Morris, Lawrence Johnson  Search this

Robbins, Richard  Search this

Sullivan, H. Wood  Search this

Craig and Evans (Firm)  Search this

National Academy of Design (U.S.)  Search this

Society of American Artists  Search this

American Art Association (Society)  Search this

Type:

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Citation:

Jefferson David Chalfant papers, 1885-1976. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7364

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209519

AAA_collcode_chaljeff

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209519

Creator:

Thomas, Alma  Search this

Names:

Art in Embassies Program (U.S.)  Search this

Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this

Bader, Franz, 1903-1994  Search this

Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this

Johnson, Nathalie J. Cole  Search this

Sarg, Tony, 1882-1942  Search this

Tarbary, Celine  Search this

Taylor, Joshua Charles, 1917-  Search this

Thomas, J. Maurice (John Maurice), 1900 or 1901-  Search this

Extent:

5.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Audiocassettes

Video recordings

Photographs

Date:

circa 1894-2001

Summary:

The papers of Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas, date from circa 1894-2001 and measure 5.5 linear feet. The papers document Thomas's work as a teacher, and her development and success as a painter of the Washington Color School, through biographical material, letters, notes and writings, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, an audio recording, and two video recordings.

Scope and Contents note:

The papers of Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas, date from circa 1894-2001 and measure 5.5 linear feet. The papers document Thomas's work as a teacher, and her development and success as a painter of the Washington Color School, through biographical material, letters, notes and writings, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, an audio recording, and two video recordings.

Biographical material includes identity cards, chronologies, an audio recording including a biographical account, and scattered documentation of Thomas's education and teaching careers with D.C. Public Schools, Howard University, and Thomas Garrett Settlement in Wilmington, Delaware. Also found are records relating to Thomas's participation in a summer marionette class taught by Tony Sarg in 1934, and a tour of European art centers which Thomas took in 1958.

Letters relate primarily to the exhibition of Thomas's work and related events and are from galleries, museums, other art institutions, colleagues, and friends including Franz Bader, Adelyn Breeskin, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Howard University Gallery of Art, Martha Jackson Gallery, Nathalie J. Cole Johnson, Vincent Melzac, Celine Tabary, and Joshua Taylor.

Notes and writings include four notebooks and autobiographical writings by Thomas, a "Birthday Book," and an annotated engagement calendar. J. Maurice Thomas's writings about Alma Thomas, her research for a bibliography on James Weldon Johnson, and writings by others, including Jacob Kainen, about Alma Thomas, are also found here.

Exhibition files contain a wide variety of documentation for many group and solo exhibitions of Thomas's work from the early 1950s through a 1998-2000 traveling retrospective exhibition, including solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1972. The records include letters from Franz Bader Gallery, David Driskell at Fisk University, and Vincent Melzac. Photographs include Thomas with individuals including William Buckner, Jeff Donaldson, David Driskell, James W. Herring, and Vincent Melzac. Also found is a photograph of the 1951 Little Paris Studio Group picturing Lois Mailou Jones, Celine Tabary, Alma Thomas, and others. Two video recordings are of events related to the 1998-2000 retrospective at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. Records documenting a 1981-1982 exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, A Life in Art: Alma Thomas, includes the script of a video written by Adolphus Ealey.

Personal business records include price lists, gift and loan receipts, and files concerning the Art in Embassies Program, the Martha Jackson Gallery, a benefit auction for the Corcoran School of Art, and the designation of the Thomas family home in Washington, D.C. as a historic property.

Eleven scrapbooks document Thomas's teaching career through the activities of the art classes she taught at Shaw Junior High School.

Printed materials include announcements and catalogs for exhibitions and other events; clippings which document Thomas's career and subjects of interest to her; Christmas cards featuring block prints designed by Thomas; and other programs and publications featuring Thomas.

Photographs are of Alma Thomas, family, and friends and colleagues including Sam Gilliam, James V. Herring, and Nathalie V. Cole Johnson; art classes taught by Thomas; Thomas's homes in Columbus, Georgia and Washington, D.C.; and exhibitions not documented in Series 4: Exhibition Files, including photographs of Alma Thomas at an opening at Barnett Aden Gallery with Alonzo Aden and others.

Arrangement note:

The papers have been arranged into 8 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1911-2001 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Letters, circa 1930-2001 (Boxes 1-2; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 3: Notes and Writings, circa 1920s-circa 1998 (Box 2; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1951-2000 (Boxes 2-3, OV 7; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1950s-1994 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1908-2000 (Boxes 3-5, OV 7; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1930-1946 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1894-2001 (Boxes 5-6; 0.6 linear feet)

Biographical/Historical note:

Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was known for her abstract paintings filled with dense patterns of color, and was considered a major artist of the Washington Color School.

Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1894, and was the eldest of the four daughters of John Harris Thomas and Amelia Cantey Thomas. The family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1906 and Thomas was first introduced to art classes at Armstrong Technical High School. Following her graduation in 1911 she took a course in kindergarten teaching at the Miner Normal School, and subsequently worked as a substitute teacher in the Washington, D.C. public school system until 1914, when she took a teaching position on the Eastern shore of Maryland. From 1916 to 1923 she taught kindergarten at Thomas Garrett Settlement House in Wilmington, Delaware.

Thomas originally enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. as a home economics major in 1921, but after studying under Lois Mailou Jones amd James V. Herring in Herring's newly established art department, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art in 1924, and became the first person to graduate from the program. Thomas then began her teaching career at Shaw Junior High School in Washington, D.C. that lasted from 1924, until her retirement in 1960. During this time she established community arts programs that would encourage her students to develop an appreciation of fine arts. Activities included marionette programs, distribution of student-designed holiday menu cards for dinners given for soldiers at the Tuskegee Veterans' Hospital, art clubs, lectures, and student exhibitions. In 1943 she became the founding vice president of Barnett Aden Gallery, which was established by James V. Herring and Alonzo Aden and was the first integrated gallery in Washington, D.C.

In 1934 Thomas earned an M.A. degree in Art Education from Columbia University. At American University in Washington, D.C., she studied creative painting under Joe Summerford, Robert Gates, and Jacob Kainen from 1950 to 1960, and began to break away from representational painting and experiment more seriously with Abstract Expressionism. In 1958 she participated in a tour of the art centers of Western Europe under the auspices of the Tyler School of Fine Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Following her retirement from teaching in 1960, Thomas devoted herself full-time to painting, and continued to develop her signature style. She was inspired by nature and the desire to express beauty through composition and color, and refused to be constrained by societal expectations related to her race, gender, and age, achieving her greatest success in the last decade of her life. Her work was exhibited at the Dupont Theatre Art Gallery, Franz Bader Gallery, and the Howard University Gallery of Art, before she was honored in 1972 with exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Thomas's work has been exhibited at the White House and can be found in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Separated Materials note:

In 1979, J. Maurice Thomas loaned papers for microfilming. Most, but not all, of the loaned material was later donated and is described in this finding aid. Loaned materials not donated at a later date are available on reels 1541-1543 and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.

Provenance:

J. Maurice Thomas, the artist's sister, loaned portions of the collection for microfilming in 1979. Most, but not all of this material was then later donated in several accretions by J. Maurice Thomas, between 1979 and 2004. Charles Thomas Lewis, Thomas' nephew, gave additional papers in 2010.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.

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:

Painters -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Educators -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Topic:

Painting, American  Search this

African American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Washington Color School (Group of artists)  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Women painters  Search this

African American educators  Search this

African American painters  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Audiocassettes

Video recordings

Photographs

Citation:

Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alma Thomas paper is provided by The Walton Family Foundation and The Friends of Alma Thomas

Identifier:

AAA.thomalma

See more items in:

Alma Thomas papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98cd54656-ee02-4a0d-81ad-6db24f1be010

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-thomalma

Collection Creator:

Thomas, Alma  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1972

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alma Thomas paper is provided by The Walton Family Foundation and The Friends of Alma Thomas

See more items in:

Alma Thomas papers

Alma Thomas papers / Series 4: Exhibition Files

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96e955016-3fd5-4ba0-a399-d49ebda11106

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-thomalma-ref812

Creator:

Harris, John T. (John Taylor), 1908-1972  Search this

Names:

State Teachers College at Cheyney  Search this

Hardy, Lavinia Harris  Search this

Extent:

1 Microfilm reel

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilm reels

Scrapbooks

Date:

1943-1988

Scope and Contents:

This microfilm collection of the papers of African American painter, printmaker, and instructor John T. Harris date from 1943 to 1988. The collection contains biographical information; correspondence (1965-1979) regarding paintings, as well as a draft of a letter detailing Harris' family history; and financial information (1960-1977). Also included are teaching records (1958-1979) from State Teachers College at Cheyney, including class notes, exhibition checklists, an annual report, and a scrapbook containing photographs of Harris' students in class; lists of paintings; exhibition guest lists; printed material (1943-1988), including exhibition catalogs and announcements; and 13 works of art, including prints and drawings. Photographs of Harris, works of art, and works by Lavinia Harris Hardy, Harris' sister, are also included in the collection.

Biographical / Historical:

John T. Harris (1908-1972) was an African American painter, printmaker, and instructor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming 1991 by Earl Harris, John Harris' nephew. Microfilmed in 1991 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project.

Restrictions:

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

Occupation:

Printmakers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Portrait painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Educators  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania  Search this

African American artists  Search this

HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)  Search this

African American educators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Identifier:

AAA.harrjohn

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99f58a74d-b8e9-4265-927e-edb4dbdef633

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-harrjohn

Creator:

Beaux, Cecilia, 1855-1942  Search this

Subject:

Andrew, A. Piatt (Abram Piatt)  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Poems

Diaries

Citation:

Cecilia Beaux papers, 1863-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Theme:

Diaries  Search this

Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this

Women  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5882

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208722

AAA_collcode_beauceci

Theme:

Diaries

Sketches & Sketchbooks

Women

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208722

Creator:

Sykes, Maltby, 1911-1992  Search this

Subject:

Rivera, Diego  Search this

Christ-Janer, Albert  Search this

Eichenberg, Fritz  Search this

Miller, George Charles  Search this

Type:

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Citation:

Maltby Sykes papers, 1936-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Mural painting and decoration -- Mexico -- Mexico City  Search this

Prints -- Technique  Search this

Lithography  Search this

Latino and Latin American artists  Search this

Theme:

Latino and Latin American  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)13473

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208803

AAA_collcode_sykewill

Theme:

Latino and Latin American

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208803

Creator:

Bohnen, Carl A., 1872-1951  Search this

Subject:

Bryan, William Jennings  Search this

Caruso, Enrico  Search this

Bernhardt, Sarah  Search this

Feld, Fritz  Search this

Collier, Constance  Search this

DuBois, Paul  Search this

Kellogg, Frank B. (Frank Billings)  Search this

Ferber, Edna  Search this

Garden, Mary  Search this

Erskine, John  Search this

Hayes, Helen  Search this

Marr, Carl von  Search this

Neal, Grace  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Etchings

Sketches

Writings

Sketchbooks

Citation:

Carl Bohnen papers, 1888-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Works of art  Search this

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6751

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208876

AAA_collcode_bohncarl

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208876

Creator:

Bewley, Murray Percival, 1884-1964  Search this

Type:

Sketchbooks

Citation:

Murray Percival Bewley papers, 1896-1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Painting, American  Search this

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6815

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208942

AAA_collcode_bewlmurr

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208942

Creator:

Eichholtz, Jacob, 1776-1842  Search this

Citation:

Jacob Eichholtz daybook, 1804-1817. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Artists' writings  Search this

Portrait painting -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7000

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209133

AAA_collcode_eichjaco

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209133

Creator:

Beal, Rebecca J.  Search this

Subject:

Burchfield, Charles Ephraim  Search this

Eichholtz, Jacob  Search this

Poor, Henry Varnum  Search this

Citation:

Rebecca Beal papers, 1949-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women art historians  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Research and writing about art  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7149

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209283

AAA_collcode_bealrebe

Theme:

Women

Research and writing about art

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209283

Creator:

Catlin, George, 1796-1872  Search this

Type:

Drawings

Citation:

George Catlin manuscripts and drawings, [ca. 1893]. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art and race  Search this

Indians of North America -- Portraits  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7357

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209511

AAA_collcode_catlgemd

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209511

Creator:

Catlin, George, 1796-1872  Search this

Subject:

Sully, Thomas  Search this

Clay, Henry  Search this

Seward, William Henry  Search this

Type:

Photogravures

Citation:

George Catlin papers, undated. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Miniature painters  Search this

Indians of North America -- Portraits  Search this

Illustrators  Search this

Ethnological illustrators  Search this

Art and race  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5435

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209512

AAA_collcode_catlgeor

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209512

Creator:

Clark, Frederick H. (Frederick Hatfield), 1861-1948  Search this

Subject:

Chase, William Merritt  Search this

American Society of Miniature Painters  Search this

National Academy of Design (U.S.)  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

School of Industrial Design (Trenton, N.J.)  Search this

Society of American Artists  Search this

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)  Search this

Citation:

Frederick H. Clark papers, 1875-1934. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7461

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209619

AAA_collcode_clarfred

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209619

Creator:

Heade, Martin Johnson, 1819-1904  Search this

Subject:

Church, Frederic Edwin  Search this

Type:

Sketchbooks

Citation:

Martin Johnson Heade papers, 1853-1904. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Hummingbirds  Search this

Painting -- United States  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7699

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209863

AAA_collcode_headmart

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209863

Creator:

Ramsey, Milne, 1846-1915  Search this

Citation:

Milne Ramsey papers, 1882-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)8381

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210555

AAA_collcode_ramsmiln

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210555

Creator:

Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this

Subject:

Abbey, Edwin Austin  Search this

Alexander, Elizabeth A.  Search this

Carnegie, Andrew  Search this

Chase, William Merritt  Search this

La Farge, John  Search this

James, Henry  Search this

Levy, Florence N. (Florence Nightingale)  Search this

Remington, Frederic  Search this

Millet, Francis Davis  Search this

Stevenson, Robert Louis  Search this

Whistler, James McNeill  Search this

Gibson, Charles Dana  Search this

MacDowell Club of New York  Search this

Type:

Awards

Interviews

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Medals

Citation:

John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Portrait painting -- 20th century  Search this

Portrait painting -- 19th century  Search this

Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Portrait painting, American  Search this

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)8637

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210817

AAA_collcode_alexjohn

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210817

Creator:

Bolton, Theodore, 1889-  Search this

Subject:

Brown, Henry Kirke  Search this

Durand, Asher Brown  Search this

Gray, Henry Peters  Search this

Rogers, Bruce  Search this

Tolman, Ruel P. (Ruel Pardee)  Search this

Oakley, Thornton  Search this

Citation:

Theodore Bolton papers, 1917-1958. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Illustration of books  Search this

Portrait painting -- United States  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9021

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211210

AAA_collcode_bolttheo

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211210

Creator:

Longacre fam, Longacre family  Search this

Subject:

Bolton, Theodore  Search this

Catlin, George  Search this

Durand, Asher Brown  Search this

Herring, James  Search this

Neagle, John  Search this

Sully, Thomas  Search this

Longacre, Andrew  Search this

Longacre, Augusta M.  Search this

Longacre, James Barton  Search this

Longacre, Lydia E. (Lydia Eastwick)  Search this

Type:

Sketchbooks

Place:

Egypt -- description and travel

Citation:

Longacre family papers, [ca. 1810]-1952. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Coin design -- United States  Search this

Engraving, American -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Portrait painting, American  Search this

Portrait prints, American  Search this

Theme:

Diaries  Search this

Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9192

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211387

AAA_collcode_longlong

Theme:

Diaries

Sketches & Sketchbooks

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211387