182 Items (typed unbound pages with solid wood covers)
Container:
Box 1, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Diaries
Place:
China
Beijing (China)
China -- Description and Travel
Date:
1925-1926
Scope and Contents note:
Binding removed, 9 ½" x 6". 182 pages. First entry, 30 June 1925. Last entry, 13 March 1926. Inscribed, "The Memoirs of MA". Wood cover. In the introduction, March wrote, "Chronicles of Benjamin" had, for three years, served as a journal, notebook, and record for himself of places he visited. Said that since he's now not alone that it is fitting to rename his notes, "Memoirs of MA." (Chinese name of his family). ["Chronicles of Benjamin" may be found in Series V, subseries B, photo albums.]
Scope and Contents:
A diary typed by the young Chinese art scholar Benjamin March from June 1925 to March 1926 describing his life in China. Events include March's marriage to the author Dorothy Rowe (1898-1969) in Nanjing, their honeymoon in Hangzhou and Suzhou, and their subsequent life in Beijing. March describes hikes through scenic areas in Hangzhou and Beijing; his acquaintance with scholars such as John Calvin Ferguson and Alan Priest; attending performances by Ruth St. Denis and Mei Lanfang, and his work at Yenching University.
The Memoirs of Ma
Biographical / Historical:
East Asian art historian, curator and lecturer, Benjamin Franklin March Jr., was born in Chicago on July 4, 1899 to Benjamin and Isabel March. He studied, lectured, and wrote in the United States and China and through his works gained respect as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art during the 1920s and 1930s. March was East Asian art lecturer at the University of Michigan, and curator of Asian art at the Detroit Institute of Art. Although he lived only thirty-five years, Benjamin March was a respected and influential scholar of Asian art.
Benjamin March Papers, FSA.A.1995.10. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Judith March Davis, 1995
The papers of painter and embroiderer artist Eve Peri measure 0.6 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1996 with the bulk of materials dating from 1939 to 1966. The papers are scattered and include biographical materials, travel documents, correspondence, financial records, printed material, designs for embroidered clothing, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and embroiderer Eve Peri measure 0.6 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1996 with the bulk of materials dating from 1939 to 1966. The papers are scattered and include biographical materials, travel documents, correspondence, financial records, printed material, designs for embroidered clothing, and photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: Eve Peri papers, circa 1900-1996 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1, OV2-3)
Biographical / Historical:
Eve Peri (1897-1966) was a collagist, embroiderer, and painter active in New York City, New York.
Eve Peri was born in Bangor, Maine in 1897. From her mother and aunts, Peri learned traditional quilting and embroidery techniques. A largely self-trained artist, she used her skills to design clothing, tapestry, and collages and also painted. She collaborated with her husband Alfonso Umana Mendez, a designer for Fred Leighton, designing women's embroidered clothing. After divorcing in 1939, she traveled around Europe and began to exhibit her works.
Peri moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania late in life and opened a gallery in New Hope to show her works. She died in 1966.
Provenance:
The Eve Peri papers were donated by Elizabeth Bullock and Judith Stein, executor and curator of the estate in 2001.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Fiber artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Embroiderers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
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Collection Citation:
Janice Lowry papers, 1957-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.