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Creator:

Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964  Search this

Names:

Archipenko Art School (Woodstock, N.Y.)  Search this

Archipenko, Angelica  Search this

Archipenko, Frances  Search this

Spies, Walter  Search this

Extent:

19.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Date:

1904-1986

bulk 1930-1964

Summary:

The Alexander Archipenko papers measure 19.5 linear feet and date from 1904 to 1986, with the bulk of materials dating from 1930 to 1964. The sculptor's personal and professional life is documented by correspondence, financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, and photographs documenting his art, exhibitions, travel, teaching activities, and the Archipenko Art School. Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophies of art and the relationship between art and nature. The papers include drafts, notes, and final manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, and notes, outlines, transcripts, and audio recordings of some of his lectures.

Scope and Content Note:

The Alexander Archipenko papers measure 19.5 linear feet and date from 1904 to 1986, with the bulk of materials dating from 1930 to 1964. The sculptor's personal and professional life is documented by correspondence, financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, and photographs documenting his art, exhibitions, travel, teaching activities, and the Archipenko Art School. Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophies of art and the relationship between art and nature. The papers include drafts, notes, and final manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, and notes, outlines, transcripts, and audio recordings of some of his lectures.

Correspondence concerns both personal and professional matters. Among Archipenko's personal correspondents are relatives and friends in the Ukraine, his wife Angelica during her extended stays in Mexico and California, and other women. Professional correspondence is with dealers, curators, scholars, collectors, colleges and universities concerning exhibitions, sales and commissions, loans, and teaching and lecture engagements.

Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophy of art, art in nature, and theories concerning creativity and the universe. His papers include manuscripts, drafts, notes and supporting materials for his book published in 1960, Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958. Similar documentation of unpublished writings, as well as notes, outlines, and some transcripts of lectures and talks are also in the series.

Records concerning the Archipenko Art School are sparse, with only one photograph of students in Berlin, 1921. Surviving records include printed matter, a cashbook, student roster, and scrapbook containing photographs, printed matter, and a typescript copy of a statement by Archipenko, "How I Teach." Most of this material focuses on the New York and Woodstock schools, with only a few items concerning Chicago. In addition, files regarding Archipenko's teaching activities at schools other than his own include course descriptions, student rosters, grades, and printed matter.

Financial records consist of banking records, paid bills, and miscellaneous items. Paid bills include invoices and receipts for art supplies, shipping, and storage. Among the miscellaneous items are price lists, royalties paid by the Museum of Modern Art for Woman Combing Her Hair, and sales records.

Nine scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, lecture notices, advertisements and brochures of the Archipenko Art School, and a small number of photographs. Printed matter consists primarily of clippings about Archipenko and exhibition catalogs with related announcements and invitations. Miscellaneous items include books about Archipenko, catalogs of museum collections containing works by Archipenko, and reproductions. Of special interest is a brochure about the Multiplex Advertising Machine that bears a similarity to the Archipentura, an "apparatus for displaying Changeable Pictures" Archipenko invented circa 1924 and patented in 1927.

Photographs are of people, Archipenko's travels and miscellaneous places, exhibitions, works of art, events, and miscellaneous subjects. Five photograph albums mainly document travels. Slides and transparencies include black and white lantern slides probably used to illustrate lectures.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 10 series. Lantern slides and glass plates are housed separately and closed to researchers, but listed where they fall intellectually within the collection.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1908-1964 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, OV 28)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1970 (4.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-5)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1940-1958 (6 folders; Box 5)

Series 4: Writings, 1923-1971 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 5-8, Film can FC 30)

Series 5: Teaching, 1921-1952 (0.8 linear feet; Box 9, Film cans FC 31-33)

Series 6: Financial Records, 1923-1971 (1.5 linear feet; Box 9-10)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1910-1961 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 22-25)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1913-1987 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 11-14, 26, OV 29)

Series 9: Miscellaneous, 1916-1966 (0.5 linear feet; Box 14, 16, Film can FC 34)

Series 10: Photographic Material, 1904-1964 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 14-15, 17-21, 26-27)

Biographical Note:

Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964) was the son of an engineer/inventor and grandson of an icon painter. Among the first modern sculptors of the 20th century to be associated with the Cubist movement, Archipenko was known for his innovative use of concave space. His major contribution was the realization of negative form through use of a hole to create a contrast of solid and void. His sculpto-paintings united form and color; begun in 1912, these polychromed constructions are among the earliest mixed-media works known, and sometimes incorporated objects. Eventually, his Cubist-inspired work evolved into the simplified, abstract shapes for which he is best known. Although known primarily as a sculptor, Archipenko produced paintings, drawings, and prints as well.

At age 15, Archipenko began studying art at the University of Kiev in his native city; he was expelled three years later for criticizing the teachers. He then went to Moscow where he worked on his own and exhibited in several group shows; his first solo exhibition was held in the Ukraine in 1906.

Archipenko made Paris his home from 1908 until the outbreak of World War I. Soon after his arrival, he enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts; this association lasted but two weeks, and marked the end of Archipenko's formal training. He continued to study art by spending large amounts of time visiting art museums and painting on his own. During this period, he began exhibiting in the Salon des Independents with the Cubists, and as a member of the "Section d'Or" participated in that group's exhibitions. His first one-man exhibition in Germany was held at the Folkwant Museum (1912) and his work was featured in the Armory Show (1913).

In 1912, at the age of 25, Archipenko established his first art school in Paris. He spent the war years working quietly outside of Nice, and soon afterwards circulated an extensive exhibition of his works throughout Europe. In 1921, Archipenko settled in Berlin, opened an art school there, and married sculptor Angelica Bruno-Schmitz, who was known professionally as Gela Forster.

Archipenko's reputation was solidly established and the majority of his ground-breaking work - adaptation of Cubist ideas to sculpture, sculpto-paintings and incorporation of negative space in sculpture - was accomplished prior to his 1923 arrival in the United States. One of his most innovative works executed in America was the Archipentura, invented circa 1924 and patented in 1927, a machine with rolling cylinders that displayed "animated paintings" using motion and light. Other creations of note are carved Lucite sculptures, illuminated from within, that were executed in the mid-1940s.

Upon settling in the United States in 1923, Archipenko opened his art school in New York City; a summer school was established in Woodstock, New York the following year. Within a few years, Archipenko purchased land near Woodstock and began construction of a home, personal studio, and buildings for the school. At various times during the 1930s, Archipenko resided in Chicago and Los Angeles, and operated schools while living in those cities. For many years during the 1940s, Angelica served on the sculpture faculty at the Escuela de Belles Artes in San Miguel Allende, Mexico.

In addition to running his own schools, Archipenko taught at a number of colleges and universities, where he ran workshops, and served as a visiting professor. He wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophy of art and theories of creativity, publishing several articles and a book, Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958 (1960).

Angelica Archipenko died in 1957. Three years later Archipenko married sculptor Frances Gray, a former student. During the early 1960s, the couple traveled extensively on a lecture tour that accompanied a solo exhibition to several German cities. Archipenko died in New York City, February 25, 1964.

The following chronology is excerpted from Alexander Archipenko: A Centennial Tribute by Katherine Janszky Michaelsen and Nehama Guralnik (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1986) and Archipenko: The Sculpture and Graphic art, Including a Print Catalogue Raisonne by Donald Karshan, Ernst Wasmuth Verlag (Tubingen, Germany, 1974).

1887 -- Born to Porfiry Antonovich and Poroskovia Wassilievna Machova Archipenko in Kiev, Ukraine, Russia. Father a mechanical engineer, professor of engineering, and inventor; grandfather an icon painter.

1900 -- Studied and copied Michelangelo drawings from a book given him by his grandfather during a long confinement following a leg injury.

1902-1905 -- Painting and sculpture student in Kiev art school; expelled for criticizing his teachers.

1906 -- First one-man show in the Ukraine. Worked in Moscow and exhibited in several group shows.

1908 -- Moved to Paris and enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Quit formal art instruction after two weeks, continued to study art on his own by visiting museums.

1910 -- Exhibited in the Salon des Independants with the cubists (also in 1911-1914 and 1919).

1912 -- Opened art school in Paris. "Section d'Or" formed in Paris with Archipenko among its members. The group exhibited until 1914, and briefly after World War I. First solo exhibition in Germany, Folkwant Museum, Hagen.

1913 -- Represented in the Armory Show. Executed first prints (lithographs).

1914 -- Began making sculpto-paintings.

1914-1918 -- Spent the war years working near Nice.

1919-1920 -- Began extensive tour exhibiting his works in various European cities (Geneva, Zurich, Paris, London, Brussels, Athens, Berlin, Munich, etc.).

1920 -- One-man exhibition in the Venice Biennale.

1921 -- First solo exhibition in the United States at the Societe Anonyme, Inc., New York; a symposium, Psychology of Modern Art and Archipenko, was held during the course of the show. Moved to Berlin and opened art school. Married sculptor Angelica Bruno-Schmitz [known professionally as Gela Forster]. First print commission.

1923 -- Moved to the United States and opened art school in New York City.

1924 -- Established a summer school at Woodstock, New York.

1927 -- "Archipentura" patented ("Apparatus for displaying Changeable Pictures and methods for Decorating Changeable Display Apparatus," nos. 1,626, 946 and 1,626,497).

1928 -- Became an American citizen.

1929 -- Bought land near Woodstock, New York, and began construction of school and studio buildings.

1932 -- Lectured on his theories of creativeness at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

1933 -- Taught summer session at Mills College, Oakland, California, and Chouinard School, Los Angeles.

1935 -- Moved to Los Angeles and opened art school.

1935-1936 -- Taught summer sessions at the University of Washington, Seattle.

1936 -- Moved to Chicago and opened art school. Associate instructor at New Bauhaus School, Chicago.

1938 -- Returned to New York; reopened art school and Woodstock summer school.

1944 -- Taught at the Dalton School, New York City.

1946-1947 -- Returned to Chicago; taught at the Institute of Design.

1947 -- Began making carved plastic sculptures with internal illumination.

1950 -- Taught at University of Kansas City, Missouri.

1950-1951 -- Lecture tour of the southern cities of the United States.

1951 -- Taught at Carmel Institute of Art, California, University of Oregon, and University of Washington, Seattle.

1952 -- Taught at University of Delaware, Newark.

1953 -- Elected Associate Member of International Institute of Arts and Letters.

1955-1956 -- One-man exhibition tours in Germany (Dusseldorf, Darmstadt, Mannheim, and Recklinghausen).

1956 -- Taught at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

1957 -- Death of Angelica.

1959 -- Awarded gold medal, XIII Biennale de'Arte Triveneta, III Concorso Internationale del Bronzetto, Padua, Italy.

1960 -- Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958 by Alexander Archipenko and Fifty Art Historians published by Tekhne (a company established by Archipenko for the purpose). Married Frances Gray, a sculptor and former student. Recovered plasters of early work stored by French friends since the end of World War I. Traveling exhibition in Germany (Hagen, Münster, and Dusseldorf).

1962 -- Elected to the Department of Art, National Institute of Arts and Letters.

1964 -- Dies in New York City.

Related Material:

Among the holdings of the Archives are the Donald H. Karshan papers relating to Alexander Archipenko, originally accessioned as part of the Alexander Archipenko papers, but later separated to form a distinct collection.

The Archives also has the National Collection of Fine Arts records relating to Alexander Archipenko.

Separated Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels NA11-NA12, NA16-NA18, and NA 20-NA22) including biographical material, correspondence, exhibition records, writings, printed material and photographs. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

In 1967, the Alexander Archipenko papers, previously on deposit at Syracuse University, were loaned to the Archives of American Art for microfilming by his widow Frances Archipenko Gray. In 1982, Ms. Gray donated most of the material previously loaned and microfilmed to the Archives of American Art, along with additional items.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. research facility. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Lantern slides and glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Rights:

The Alexander Archipenko papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Sculpture -- Technique  Search this

Sculptors  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Cubism  Search this

Genre/Form:

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Citation:

Alexander Archipenko papers, 1904-1986, bulk 1930-1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.archalex

See more items in:

Alexander Archipenko papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-archalex

Creator:

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

Names:

American Federation of Arts  Search this

Abbey, Edwin Austin, 1852-1911  Search this

Durand, Asher Brown, 1796-1886  Search this

Lanyon, Ellen  Search this

Ranger, Henry Ward, 1858-1916  Search this

Extent:

92.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Interviews

Date:

1817-2012

Summary:

The records of New York City's National Academy of Design measure 92.7 linear feet and date from 1817-2012. The records pertain to all three constituents of the tripartite organization consisting of the Academy, a membership body of artists founded in 1825; the school, founded at the same time to promote arts education; and the exhibition program, inaugurated in 1826. Extensive administrative records include minutes, committee files, director files, annual reports, constitutions, and correspondence and subject files of council officers. Exhibition records, also substantive, date to the Academy's first annual exhibition and include gallery and special exhibitions, as well as exhibitions at the Academy's museum, established in 1979. The collection also includes gifts and funding files, especially relating to endowments and prizes; membership records; National Academy Association records; Ranger Fund assignments; extensive files pertaining to the school's administration, courses of instruction, registrations, and attendance; twenty scrapbooks containing clippings and ephemera; Society of American Artists records; correspondence and ephemera from other organizations; transcripts from oral histories with Academy members; extensive photographic material documenting artists, members, the school, exhibitions, buildings, and artwork created by Academy members; artist files containing correspondence, writings, and sketches from those associated with the Academy; and assorted printed material and ephemera.

Scope and Contents:

The records of New York City's National Academy of Design measure 92.7 linear feet and date from 1817-2012. The records pertain to all three constituents of the tripartite organization consisting of the Academy, a membership body of artists founded in 1825; the school, founded at the same time to promote arts education; and the exhibition program, inaugurated in 1826. Extensive administrative records include minutes, committee files, director files, annual reports, constitutions, and correspondence and subject files of council officers. Exhibition records, also substantive, date to the Academy's first annual exhibition and include gallery and special exhibitions, as well as exhibitions at the Academy's museum, established in 1979. The collection also includes gifts and funding files, especially relating to endowments and prizes; membership records; National Academy Association records; Ranger Fund assignments; extensive files pertaining to the school's administration, courses of instruction, registrations, and attendance; twenty scrapbooks containing clippings and ephemera; Society of American Artists records; correspondence and ephemera from other organizations; transcripts from oral histories with Academy members; extensive photographic material documenting artists, members, the school, exhibitions, buildings, and artwork created by Academy members; artist files containing correspondence, writings, and sketches from those associated with the Academy; and assorted printed material and ephemera.

The Academy minutes and committee files consist of official, original, and transcribed proceedings for the council, annual, business, and some committee meetings, as well as related correspondence, reports, financial documents, notes, drafts, and ballots pertaining to the Academy's administration and activities from its 1825 founding until 2006. As an organization actively engaged in the development of art and art education in the United States, the Academy minutes and committee files are a valuable resource on subjects and topics in the Academy's history; in particular, its founding, administration, school, and exhibition program.

Director files date from 1942-1990 and document the activities of four of the Academy's chief administrators, including Vernon Porter (1950-1966), Earl Tyler (1966-1967), Alice Melrose (1967-1977), and John H. Dobkin (1978-1990). Items include correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and printed material.

Annual reports, dating from 1828-2003, summarize the activities of the Academy over the course of a year, and may include presidents' reports, treasurers' reports, audits of financial operations by public accountants, and printed annual reports containing summaries from multiple council officers. Information pertains to the year's activities including finances, exhibitions, membership, the school, committee activities, awards, and other business.

Academy constitutions date from 1826-2012 and include the printed constitutions and by-laws as well as constitutional proposals. Constitutions and by-laws name the current council officials, professors, academicians, associates, and honorary members, and state the mission and guidelines for operation in regards to membership, officers, annual meetings, elections, school, exhibitions, and how the constitution can be amended or altered. Constitutional proposals contain amendment drafts, alterations, and related correspondence.

Council officer files, dating from 1848-1980, contain the correspondence and subjects files of Academy officers—presidents, vice presidents, corresponding secretaries, and treasurers—concerning all matters of Academy business and operations including membership, gifts and funds, the federal charter, exhibitions, juries, the school, scholarships, committee affairs, anniversaries, publicity, administrative matters, resignations, and relationships with other organizations.

General administrative files date from 1825-1982 and include ledgers, certificates, correspondence, and legal documents pertaining to the Academy's founding, building, financial accounts, art collection, and other administrative matters.

Exhibition files, dating from 1826-2003, document the Academy's long exhibition history and includes annual, gallery, special, and museum exhibitions. Files may include exhibition catalogs, photographs, press clippings, sales records, and correspondence related to jury selection, awards and prizes, and logistical planning. Files pertaining to the Academy's annual exhibitions comprise a bulk of the series. Held since 1826, the Annuals were organized and curated by Academy members, and considered to be an important and sweeping survey of contemporary American art.

Gifts and funding files date from 1860-2009 and include financial documents, ledgers, legal material, and correspondence concerning the bequests, endowments, donations, and other gifts that financed the operations of the Academy and school. A significant number of records pertain to the Abbey Trust Fund and the Archer M. Hunting Fund.

Membership files, 1826-2012, document Academy members, honorary members, fellows, and the nominations and elections whereby members were voted into the Academy. Materials include registers, certificates, nomination ledgers and proposals, candidate biographies, and ballots.

The National Academy Association files date from 1911-1959 and contain a constitution, plan, and agreement, as well as correspondence, meeting minutes, and reports for the Association, incorporated in 1912 with the aim to erect a building shared by several New York art societies. At the time of incorporation, the Association consisted of members from the National Academy of Design, American Water Color Society, American Institute of Architects, Architectural League of New York, New York Water Color Club, National Sculpture Society, Municipal Art Society, Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, Mural Painters, Society of Illustrators, and a number of city representatives and citizens.

The Ranger Fund assignment files, 1919-2008, document the distribution of artworks by living American artists to institutions throughout the United States, in accordance with the will of Henry Ward Ranger. The Ranger Fund was initiated to stimulate public interest in the work of contemporary American painters in 1919, when the Academy received a bequest from Henry Ward Ranger, totaling $400,000. Ranger stated in his will that the capital should be invested and the income used as a purchase fund to facilitate gifts of paintings by living American artists to arts institutions throughout the United States. Files document the assignment of particular works of art to institutions through the official agreement, related correspondence, and in some instances, photographs of the artwork.

Extensive school records, dating from 1826-2008, contain administrative files, enrollment records, course files, student affairs files, and printed material documenting all aspects of the school's activities aligned with the Academy's mission to educate aspiring professional artists. A bulk of this series consists of student course registrations, documented in registers, then on index cards beginning in the 1930s. While information collected varied over the decades, registrations document student names and the year, and may additionally include course name, instructor, and cost.

Twenty Academy scrapbooks document the organization's activities from 1828-1939 and include clippings and ephemera. Three of the scrapbooks are devoted to specific topics, including one for the Society of American Artists, one for both the Society of American Artists and the Society of American Fakirs, and one for the Academy's centennial exhibition.

The Society of American Artists files, 1878-1906, document the formation of the Society as a departure from the Academy in 1877, its independent operations and activities, and its eventual consolidation with the Academy in 1906. The Society's members have included Edwin Abbey, James Carroll Beckwith, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Thomas Eakins, George Inness Jr., John La Farge, Albert Pinkham Ryder, among many others.

Files from other organizations date from 1817-1997 and may include correspondence, ledgers, and printed material. Many of these organizations had business with the Academy, and records pertain to events, meetings, and exhibitions. Notable organizations include the American Academy of Fine Arts, American Federation of Arts, American Watercolor Society, Art Students League, Fine Arts Federation of New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Etching Club, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and Salmagundi Club.

Oral history transcripts date from 2002-2007. Eight comprehensive interviews, conducted by Avis Berman for the Academy, are with Academy members and cover all aspects of the artists' lives, including family, early life, beginning career, mentors, contemporaries, influences, patrons, awards, residencies, as well as the artists' relationship with the Academy. The interview transcripts provide first-hand accounts of the organization, particularly from circa 1940 up to the time of the interview. Artists interviewed include Will Barnet, Hyman Bloom, Richard Haas, Ellen Lanyon, Jules Olitski, Bernard Olshan, Paul Resika, and Dorothea Rockburne.

Photographic material, dating from 1845-2010, includes a wide variety of formats and processes including 19th and 20th photographic prints, glass plate negatives, copy prints, contact sheets, slides, and 35mm negatives. Subjects include artists and others associated with the Academy, the school, exhibitions and events, Academy buildings, artwork, and reference photographs. Many 19th century photographs contain descriptive annotations. Supplementary inventories and guides prepared by Academy archivists are scattered throughout the series.

Artist files date from 1826-2004 and include the correspondence, writings, manuscripts, diaries, exhibition catalogs, and clippings of many notable artists involved with the Academy, including Asher B. Durand and Rembrandt Peale. Of particular note are two notebooks Durand gifted to the Academy, both containing notes and sketches from anatomy lectures.

While printed material is scattered throughout, the final series collects a small number of additional announcements, brochures, clippings, illustrations, and other ephemera not filed in other series.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as nineteen series.

Series 1: Minutes and Committee Files, 1825-2006 (11.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-11, BV 100-106)

Series 2: Director Files, 1942-1990 (0.5 linear feet; Box 11)

Series 3: Annual Reports, 1828-2003, circa 2010 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 11-13, OV 139-142)

Series 4: Constitutions, 1826-2012 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 13-14)

Series 5: Council Officers, 1848-1980 (4 linear feet; Boxes 14-18)

Series 6: General Administration, 1825-1982 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 18, 126)

Series 7: Exhibitions, 1826-2003, 2008 (14.4 linear feet; Boxes 18-33)

Series 8: Gifts and Funding, 1860-2009 (4.1 linear feet; Boxes 33-37)

Series 9: Membership, 1826-2012 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 37-39, 127-131)

Series 10: National Academy Association, 1911-1959 (0.4 linear feet; Box 39)

Series 11: Ranger Fund Assignments, 1919-2008 (4.3 linear feet; Boxes 39-44)

Series 12: School, 1826-2008 (28.5 linear feet; Boxes 44-56, 68-99)

Series 13: Scrapbooks, 1828-1939 (4 linear feet; Box 56, BV 107-125)

Series 14: Society of American Artists, 1878-1906 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 56-57)

Series 15: Other Organizations, 1817-1997 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 57-59, 131)

Series 16: Oral History Transcripts, 2002-2007 (0.7 linear feet; Box 59)

Series 17: Photographic Material, 1845-2010 (6.1 linear feet; Boxes 60-63, 131-138, OV 143-144)

Series 18: Artist Files, 1826-2004 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 63-66)

Series 19: Printed Material, 1839-1954 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 67, 131, OV 145)

Biographical / Historical:

The National Academy of Design (1825- ) based in New York City, is a tripartite organization consisting of a membership body of artists, a school, and an exhibition program. The Academy was founded in 1825 by a group of professional artists with the mission to promote the fine arts in America through exhibition and education. Originally named the New York Drawing Association, the Academy was the first organization in the United States established and managed by professional artists. Samuel F.B. Morse, the Academy's first president, was influenced by the organization of the Royal Academy in London, which was comprised of professional artist members and elected government council, an art school, and a venue for exhibitions. After unsuccessful negotiations to unite with the American Academy of Fine Arts, the New York Drawing Association reformed as the National Academy of The Arts of Design on January 19, 1826. Among the founders were mostly young artists who became prominent figures in American art, including Frederick S. Agate, Thomas Cole, Thomas S. Cummings, Asher B. Durand, John Frazee, Charles C. Ingham, Henry Inman, Gerlando Marsiglia, Samuel F. B. Morse, Samuel L. Waldo, and Charles Cushing Wright.

The first Academy members were elected in January 1826, and levels of membership were established shortly thereafter. Originally there were four levels of Academy membership: associates, academicians, artists, and honorary corresponding members. The category of artists was eliminated in 1829, and the honorary member category, established to recognize American artists living outside New York, distinguished foreign artists, and patrons and friends of the Academy, was eliminated in 1862 (the constitution was not amended with this change until 1896). Since 1869, the residency requirement for election to active membership was eliminated and membership was opened to all American artists. In 1920, the classification of honorary corresponding member was re-introduced to recognize representatives of other national academies. With the 1997 constitution, the honorary corresponding member classification was again eliminated, and in 1994 the associate category was eliminated.

Artists are proposed for membership by academicians through the membership committee and are elected for life by a sixty percent majority, based on recognized excellence and significant contributions to the field. Procedures and rules for nominating and choosing new academicians changed over the years, as detailed in the constitutions. Associates were at one time required to present a portrait of themselves upon election and academicians were required to provide an additional representative work upon election. With the elimination of the category of associate in 1994, only one representative work is currently required. These works of art become part of the Academy's permanent collection.

The original classes of professional artists were painting, sculpture, architecture, and engraving. These professional classes were modified over the years. In 1936 the engraving class was made more comprehensive, including all of the graphic arts. Watercolor was added as a class in 1943 and was codified in the 1945 constitution. However, the division into five distinct classes started to create difficulties in how specific works of art were to be categorized. In 1981 the council eased the rules regarding separate media classification so that members could submit a work in any medium to the annual exhibitions regardless of the class to which they had been elected. The constitution of 1994 restated four professional classes—painting, sculpture, graphics, and architecture—which were further reduced in the 2011 constitution to two: visual arts and architecture.

Until 2009, the governing body of the Academy was the council. The seven officers of the council were president, vice-president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, corresponding secretary, assistant corresponding secretary and recording secretary, all of whom were required to be academicians. In 2009, a new constitution provided for a board of governors, replacing the council. The five officers of the board of governors are chair, vice-chair, president, vice-president, and treasurer. Only the offices of president and vice-president are required to be held by academicians.

Central to the Academy's mission, the school began with an anatomy lecture for the New York Drawing Association, delivered by Dr. Frederick G. King in November 1825. The first drawing session took place in November 1826 in the Old Alms House at City Hall Park with two academicians and twenty students. In the school's early years, professional artists met with students to draw from plaster casts of antique sculpture in the academic tradition. Both lectures and studio training were central the school's early curricula. Life classes, the practice of drawing from live models, were introduced in 1837, but only to advanced male students. A life class for women was not instituted until 1857, even though women were allowed membership to the Academy since its beginning. Due to financial difficulties at the Academy, the school was forced to move locations and shut down its operations for extended periods. Mounting dissatisfaction and frustration led several students and Lemuel E. Wilmarth, one of the school's leaders and first full-time professional instructor, to leave the Academy in 1875 and form a new school, the Art Students League. While charging tuition was unpopular, the Academy realized that it was necessary to ensure the school's sustainability, and implemented fee structures with varying success over the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th. Eventually, tuition was established by 1951, when the school was reopened at a new location, 5th Avenue and 89th Street.

Exhibitions have always been an important activity for the Academy, even prior to the opening of the National Academy Museum in 1979. Since 1826, the Academy has held annual exhibitions intended to reflect contemporary art currents in America. Any American artist was eligible to submit work to be reviewed by a jury of selection, comprised of academicians. Throughout the 19th century, the annual exhibitions at the Academy were one of the most significant and influential in the country. The selection process for these exhibitions was a critical topic, at times actively discussed in the press, and continually undergoing modification and change. In addition to the Annuals, the galleries of the Academy were often rented or loaned to outside organizations such as the American Watercolor Society, Audubon Artists, and the National Association of Women Artists. The galleries also mounted special exhibitions curated by its members and hosted a certain number of travelling exhibitions organized by other museums or art organizations. The museum, opened in 1979, hosted and presented major exhibitions, many focusing on historic European subjects.

Official Names of the Academy 1825-2017

1825 -- The New York Drawing Association

1826 -- The National Academy of The Arts of Design

1828 -- The National Academy of Design

1997 -- The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Art

2017 -- The National Academy of Design

National Academy of Design Meeting, Exhibition, and School Locations

1826 -- Old Alms House at City Hall Park in lower Manhattan

1827-1830 -- Chambers Street over the Arcade Baths

1831-1840 -- Corner of Nassau and Beckman Streets, the Mercantile Library on the third floor of Clinton Hall

1841 to 1849 -- 346 Broadway (at Leonard Street), the third and fourth floors of the New York Society Library

1850-1854 -- 663 Broadway, where the Academy erected a suite of six galleries

1855-1856 -- 548 Broadway (over Dr. Chapin's Church)

1857 -- 663 Broadway

1858-1861 -- 10th Street and 4th Avenue, the upper floor of a building

1861-1863 -- 625 Broadway, the Institute of Art

1865-1899 -- 23rd Street and Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South)

1899-1940 -- 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue; exhibition galleries at 215 West 57th Street

1940-2017 -- 1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street

Provenance:

The bulk of the collection was donated by the National Academy of Design in 2018. The trustees' ledger book in series 6 was donated in 1979 by Warder Cadbury of the Adirondack Museum; it is unclear how Cadbury acquired the ledger. Microfilm reels 798-799 containing transcriptions of minutes were given to the Archives by Lois Fink in 1974.

Restrictions:

This bulk of this collection is open for research. Boxes 63-66 are temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing and digitization. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

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.

Function:

Art Schools -- New York (State) -- New York

Arts organizations -- New York (State) -- New York

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Interviews

Citation:

National Academy of Design records, 1817-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.natiacad

See more items in:

National Academy of Design records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-natiacad

Collection Creator:

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

Extent:

14.4 Linear feet (Boxes 18-33)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1826-2003

2008

Scope and Contents:

Exhibition files document the National Academy of Design's commitment to exhibiting American art, achieved through its long history mounting annual, gallery, special, and museum exhibitions. Files may include exhibition catalogs, photographs, press clippings, sales records, and correspondence related to jury selection, awards and prizes, and logistical planning.

Annual exhibition files (subseries 7.1) document the Academy's member-curated annual exhibitions, which since 1826, have presented a survey of contemporary art in America. Up until 1900, the documentation of the annual exhibitions consists primarily of the exhibition catalogs, press clippings, and other printed material such as invitations and tickets. Catalogs provide details on participants, and many from the late 19th century contain illustrations by the artists and notes by prominent art critics such as Charles M. Kurtz. Documentation for 20th century exhibitions may additionally contain correspondence; financial material including price lists and receipts; exhibition and jury committee records; photographs of artwork, installations, and juries; guest books; entry forms and submission guidelines; and voting ballots. Annual exhibitions have typically been held in the spring, and certain years include winter or autumn annual exhibitions as well.

Gallery exhibition files (subseries 7.2) pertain to those exhibitions organized by outside organizations or groups who rented or borrowed the space from the Academy, including the American Society of Painters in Watercolor, Audubon Artists, and the National Association of Women Artists. These exhibitions provided a source of revenue for the Academy or were organized as a benefit for the outside organization. Items may include exhibition catalogs, clippings, correspondence, lists, and rental agreements.

Special exhibition files (subseries 7.3) pertain to exhibitions organized by the Academy and featuring works by Academy members. This includes exhibitions organized to correspond with America's centennial in 1876, the Academy's own centennial in 1925, and exhibitions of Academy artists organized in other locations including New Zealand and Fort Worth, Texas. Items found in this subseries may include catalogs, lectures and essays, correspondence, and other records pertaining to sales, curatorial, advertising, fundraising, and lenders.

Museum exhibition files (subseries 7.4) relate to exhibitions mounted by the Academy museum, opened in 1979, independent of the Annuals and member generated shows. Museum exhibitions included many travelling exhibitions that originated elsewhere and visited the Academy museum.

The final subseries (7.5) contains general exhibition files that overlap between exhibition types.

Arrangement:

The series is arranged as five subseries. Files are arranged chronologically within each subseries.

7.1: Annual Exhibitions, 1826-2003

7.2: Gallery Exhibitions, 1836-1988

7.3: Special, 1846-1981, 2008

7.4: Museum, 1979-1984

7.5: General, 1917-1996

Collection Restrictions:

This bulk of this collection is open for research. Boxes 63-66 are temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing and digitization. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

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:

National Academy of Design records, 1817-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.natiacad, Series 7

See more items in:

National Academy of Design records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-natiacad-ref7

Creator:

National Portrait Gallery  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2009-07-13T16:18:30.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Portraits  Search this

See more by:

NatlPortraitGallery

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

YouTube Channel:

NatlPortraitGallery

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_EkNgvewZFzM

Creator:

National Portrait Gallery  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2009-07-13T15:08:28.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Portraits  Search this

See more by:

NatlPortraitGallery

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

YouTube Channel:

NatlPortraitGallery

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_vHCrX8sSfYI

Creator:

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2009-11-02T17:08:27.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Museum administration  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianCastle

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianCastle

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_5WT1OviFYqM

Creator:

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-03-31T00:33:46.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianVideos

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianVideos

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_a7hizlLWZrY

Creator:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-06-08T16:43:30.000Z

YouTube Category:

Music  Search this

Topic:

Cultural property  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianfolkways

Data Source:

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianfolkways

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_UFUyjFTzi2U

Creator:

Hemphill, Herbert Waide  Search this

Names:

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center  Search this

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Exposition Universelle de Paris (1878 : Paris, France)  Search this

Folk Art Society of America  Search this

Museum of International Folk Art (N.M.)  Search this

National Museum of American Art (U.S.)  Search this

Aiken, Gayleen  Search this

Bogun, Maceptaw, Rev.  Search this

Borkowski, Mary  Search this

Brice, Bruce  Search this

Carpenter, Miles B. (Miles Burkholder), 1889-  Search this

Coins, Raymond  Search this

Crittenden, Varick A.  Search this

Dinsmoor, Samuel Perry, 1843-1932  Search this

Donovan, Carrie  Search this

Fancher, John W.  Search this

Finster, Howard, 1916-2001  Search this

Flanagan, Thos. J. (Thomas Jefferson), b. 1890  Search this

Fowler, Tim  Search this

Gatto, Victor Joseph, 1893-1965  Search this

Ghostley, Alice, 1926-2007  Search this

Goins, Vernon  Search this

Hall, Michael D., 1941-  Search this

Hamblett, Theora, 1895-1977  Search this

Hartigan, Lynda Roscoe  Search this

Harvey, Bessie, 1929-  Search this

Hawkins, William Lawrence, 1895-1990  Search this

Hicks, Tiny  Search this

Holley, Lonnie  Search this

Hunter, Clementine  Search this

James, A. Everette (Alton Everette), 1938-  Search this

Jennings, James Harold  Search this

Jones, S. L. (Shields Landon), 1901-  Search this

Jordan, John  Search this

Josephson, Nancy, 1955-  Search this

Klumpp, Gustave, 1902-1974  Search this

Lisk, Charles  Search this

Little, Roy  Search this

Lopez, George  Search this

Maldonado, Alexander Aramburo, 1901-1989  Search this

McCarthy, Justin, 1891-1977  Search this

Merrill, James Ingram  Search this

Morgan, Gertrude  Search this

Mr. Imagination, 1948-  Search this

Nathaniel, Inez  Search this

O'Kelley, Mattie Lou  Search this

Orth, Kevin, 1961-  Search this

Patterson, Clayton  Search this

Prince, Daniel C.  Search this

Prince, Neal A.  Search this

Robertson, Royal  Search this

Rowe, Nellie Mae, 1900-1982  Search this

Smith, Fred, 1886-1975  Search this

Smith, Robert E., 1926-  Search this

Smither, John  Search this

Smither, Stephanie  Search this

Spies, Jim  Search this

St. EOM, 1908-1986  Search this

Terrillion, Veronica  Search this

Tolliver, Mose, 1920-  Search this

Tolson, Edgar, 1904-1984  Search this

Walters, Hubert  Search this

Weissman, Julia  Search this

Young, Purvis, 1943-  Search this

Zeldis, Malcah  Search this

Extent:

26.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Video recordings

Watercolors

Sketchbooks

Sound recordings

Photographs

Drawings

Poems

Reports

Prints

Interviews

Date:

1776-1998

bulk 1876-1998

Summary:

The papers of folk art collector and museum curator Herbert Waide Hemphill date from 1776-1998, bulk 1876-1998, and measure 26.7 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, personal business records, files documenting his collecting, writings, art work, minutes of meetings, a scrapbook, printed material including exhibition and auction announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous artifacts. The collection also contains numerous photographs of Hemphill, family members, his residences, friends and colleagues, exhibitions, travel, and art work. Sound and video recordings include interviews of Hemphill.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of folk art collector and museum curator Herbert Waide Hemphill date from 1776-1998, bulk 1876-1998, and measure 26.7 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, personal business records, files documenting his collecting, writings, art work, minutes of meetings, a scrapbook, printed material including exhibition and auction announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous artifacts. The collection also contains numerous photographs of Hemphill, family members, his residences, friends and colleagues, exhibitions, travel, and art work. Sound and video recordings include interviews of Hemphill.

Biographical material includes photocopies of Hemphill's birth certificate and passport, social security cards, and international health card, genealogical notes, an evaluation of his school work, membership cards, award certificates, address books, and an engagement calendar containing very brief annotations of his activities.

Correspondence documents Hemphill's affairs with miscellaneous museums and art institutions, discussing his presentation of lectures, exhibitions, and loans from his collection to organizations including the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, the Folk Art Society of America, the Museum of International Folk Art, and the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum.

Hemphill's correspondence with friends and colleagues discuss collecting activities and pursuit of newly discovered folk art and artists. Many of the letters are from artists. Correspondents include Varick A. Crittenden, Michael D. Hall, A. Everette James, Daniel C. Prince, Neal A. Prince, and artists Rev. Maceptaw Bogun, Mary Borkowski, Tim Fowler, Joseph Victor Gatto, S. L. Jones, Gustav Klumpp, Roy Little, George Lopez, Kevin Orth, and Malcah Zeldis. There are also scattered letters from artists Miles Burkholder Carpenter, John W. Fancher, Rev. Howard Finster, William Hawkins, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Mr. Imagination, Mattie Lou O'Kelley, Clayton Patterson, St. EOM, and Mose Tolliver. One letter from Stephanie and John Smither is etched on a bone.

Personal business records include both legal and financial documents. There are wills for Hemphill, his mother, and for his friend Neal A. Prince. The records also include leases, insurance records, contracts, grant proposals, loan agreements, deeds of gift, price lists, consignment records, tax records, and miscellaneous receipts. Cancelled checks relate to Hemphill's collecting interests and activities, and include payments to artists for their work. There are court papers documenting a lawsuit by Hemphill's landlord who was attempting to evict him.

Art work consists of a sketchbook by Roy Little, a set of hand-cut Japanese mask designs, a collage of Polaroid photographs taped to glass created by Rev. Howard Finster, a hand-made book by Nancy Josephson, and miscellaneous drawings, watercolors, and prints by various artists including Justin McCarthy, Inez Nathaniel, and Nellie Mae Rowe.

Notes and writings include card files of artists, extensive bibliographic card files, and scattered notes on artists including Miles Carpenter, Raymond Coins, Rev. Howard Finster, Mattie Lou O'Kelley, Royal Robertson, Veronica Terrillion, Mose Tolliver, and Bill Traylor. Also found are lists of artists, patrons, and art work, miscellaneous notes, and minutes of meetings. Writings by Hemphill and others including Michael D. Hall, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, A. Everett James, and Julia Weissman, consist of reports, typescripts, and poems concerning a wide range of art-related topics and travel.

A scrapbook consists of unbound pages of clippings and newsletters about Hemphill, his collection, and exhibitions of folk art.

There is extensive additional printed material illustrating Hemphill's many interests. This series primarily consists of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs for mainstream artists as well as folk artists. Also included are auction announcements and catalogs, announcements for festivals, press releases, and calendars of events. Numerous booklets, brochures, programs, menus, business cards, and novelty postcards concern a variety of topics including worldwide travel, the sale of art work, miscellaneous galleries, museums, organizations, conferences, schools, lectures, antiques and craft shops, films, publications, restaurants, household items, historical topics, and miscellaneous artists including Miles Carpenter, S. P. Dinsmoor, Lonnie Holley, Clementine Hunter, and Veronica Terrillion. There are also autographed copies of booklets The Black Swan and Other Poems by James Merrill, and The Blood of Jesus by Thomas Jefferson Flanagan. Novelty postcards range from photographs of Elvis Presley to cards with amusing captions or cartoon jokes. There is also sheet music by Charles Trenet. Miscellaneous printed material includes several eighteenth-century newspapers and a 1776 thirty shilling note from New Jersey.

Photographs are of Hemphill, family members, his residences, friends and colleagues including style editor Carrie Donovan, artist Rev. Howard Finster dancing at an exhibition opening, actress Alice Ghostley, Michael D. Hall, circus performers Vernon Goins and Tiny Hicks, Smithsonian curator Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Neal A. Prince, and Jim Spies. Photographs of exhibitions include stereographic views of the International Exhibition in Philadelphia and the Exposition Universelle in Paris, and photographs of Hemphill's donation of his collection and its subsequent exhibition at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. Travel photographs include views of South Dakota, Texas, the American West, Japan, Mexico, and The Netherlands.

Numerous photographs of art work sometimes include images of the artists with their work including Bruce Brice, Raymond Coins, John W. Fancher, Rev. Howard Finster, Theora Hamblett, Bessie Harvey, William Hawkins, James Harold Jennings, John Jordan, Charles Lisk, Alexander Maldonado, St. EOM, Fred Smith, Edgar Tolson, Hubert Walters, and Purvis Young. Some photographs of unattributed art work has been arranged by the state in which it is located and includes a Mardi Gras parade in Louisiana, a Mummer's parade in Pennsylvania, Lucy the Elephant-shaped building in New Jersey, and Holy Ghost Park in Wisconsin. Other photographs of unattributed art work include works on paper, paintings, sculpture, signs, collages, needlework, glass, ceramics, and architecture.

Sound and video recordings include a cassette from Hemphill's phone answering machine that contains only Hemphill's message to callers, cassette recordings of interviews with and concerning Hemphill, artist St. EOM, painter Robert E. Smith discussing his work, and the tour narration for a Smithsonian exhibition Made With Passion. There are videotapes about Hemphill and about artists Gayleen Aiken, Miller and Bryant, and Malcah Zeldis, and miscellaneous African American artists. There is also a videotape of an American Museum of Natural History tour group arriving in a succession of villages in Melanesia and Papua New Guinea where they are greeted by the native people and given the opportunity to purchase their art work.

Artifacts consist of a scattered assemblage of three-dimensional objects including three wooden "fringe" pieces from cigar store figures, ceramic fragments from a sword handle, a lock of horse hair, and a hand-painted View Master viewer souvenir from the opening of the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. The View Master contains a disc of photographs of artists with their work including Vollis Simpson and Mary Frances Whitfield. Also included is a teacher's kit Little Adventures in Art containing four phonograph albums and four short film strips of slides showing art work in animal and bird forms.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 10 series; all series are arranged chronologically:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1916-1997 (Box 1, 28; 12 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1901-1998 (Boxes 1-5, 27- 28, OV 31; 4.0 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1817-1997 (Box 5-7, 28; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 4: Art Work, 1911-1997 (Box 7, 32; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1938-1996 (Box 7-10, 28; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Scrapbook, 1965-1976 (Box 10; 1 folder)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1776-1998 (Box 10-19, 28-29, OV 31; 9.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, 1876-1997 (Box 19-24, 29; 5.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Sound and Video Recordings, 1986-1991 (Box 25-26; 13 folders)

Series 10: Artifacts, 1968-1995 (Box 26, 30; 0.7 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., (1929-1998) lived in New York city and was a prominent curator, historian, and collector of American folk art. Hemphill was one of the founding members of the Museum of American Folk Art, organized several large exhibitions of folk art, and co-authored Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artist.

Hemphill was born on January 21, 1929 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the son of businessman Herbert Waide Hemphill, Sr., and Emma Bryan Bradley Hemphill whose uncle, William Clark Bradley, was one of the owners of the Coca-Cola Company.

Hemphill was reared in his mother's home town of Columbus, Georgia, and attended Wynnton School. At the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and the Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Hemphill's principle interests were in art and theater. In 1948, he spent a year studying fine arts at Bard College under Stefan Hirsch, a painter and folk art collector.

Hemphill developed his interest in collecting while accompanying his mother on her shopping forays searching for Dresden china. His first acquisition was a wooden duck decoy purchased when he was seven years old. His early collections were of glass bottles, marbles, stamps, and puzzle jugs. In 1949, Hemphill moved to Manhattan and began to focus on modern European and American art and African sculpture, but after 1956 he concentrated exclusively on 19th and early 20th century American folk art. He often discovered artists during his extensive travels, especially in the American South.

In 1961, Hemphill became one of the six founding trustees of the Museum of Early American Folk Art, later named the Museum of American Folk Art, in New York City. Between 1964 and 1973, he was the museum's first curator and curated many exhibitions, helping to promote awareness of work created by self-taught or visionary artists. He later served as Trustee Emeritus for many years.

Between 1974 and 1988, Hemphill loaned portions of his extensive personal collection to 24 museums nationwide and in 1976, the American Bicentennial Commission selected works from his collection for a goodwill tour of Japan. He was named guest curator at the Brooklyn Museum in 1976 and at the Abby Aldrich Folk Art Collection in 1980, and often appeared as guest lecturer at various universities, the Smithsonian Institution, and at the Library of Congress. In 1986, Hemphill donated more than 400 folk art works to the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum, resulting in a landmark exhibition Made with Passion: The Hemphill Folk Art Collection of the National Museum of American Art.

Hemphill's publications include books Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists, co-authored with Julia Weissman in 1974, Folk Sculpture USA for the Brooklyn Museum in 1976, and Found in New York's North Country: The Folk Art of a Region, co-authored with Varick A. Chittenden in 1982 for the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute.

Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. died on May 8, 1998 in New York City.

Provenance:

Herbert Waide Hemphill donated his papers in 5 installments between 1988 and 1996.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual materials with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

The Herbert Waide Hemphill papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Folk art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

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

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Genre/Form:

Video recordings

Watercolors

Sketchbooks

Sound recordings

Photographs

Drawings

Poems

Reports

Prints

Interviews

Citation:

Herbert Waide Hemphill papers, 1776-1998, bulk 1876-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.hempherb

See more items in:

Herbert Waide Hemphill papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hempherb

Creator:

Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this

Names:

MacDowell Club of New York  Search this

Abbey, Edwin Austin, 1852-1911  Search this

Alexander, Elizabeth A., d. 1947  Search this

Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919  Search this

Chase, William Merritt, 1849-1916  Search this

Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944  Search this

James McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903  Search this

James, Henry, 1843-1916  Search this

La Farge, John, 1835-1910  Search this

Levy, Florence N. (Florence Nightingale), 1870-1947  Search this

Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912  Search this

Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909  Search this

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894  Search this

Extent:

11.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Awards

Interviews

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Medals

Date:

1775-1968

bulk 1870-1915

Summary:

The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.

Biographical Information includes multiple essays related to Alexander, his family, and others in his circle. Also found is an extensive oral history of Alexander's wife Elizabeth conducted in 1928. Correspondence includes letters written by Alexander to his family from New York and Europe at the start of his career, and later letters from fellow artists, art world leaders, and portrait sitters of Alexander's. Significant correspondents include Charles Dana Gibson, Florence Levy, Frederick Remington, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, John La Farge, Francis Davis Millet, and Andrew Carnegie. Correspondence includes some small sketches as enclosures and illustrated letters.

Certificates and records related to Alexander's career are found in Associations and Memberships, Legal and Financial Records, and Notes and Writings, which contain documentation of Alexander's paintings and exhibitions. Scattered documentation of Alexander's memberships in various arts association exists for the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy in Rome, the National Academy of Design, the Onteora Club in New York, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, the Ministère de L'Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts, the Union Internationale des Beaux Arts et des Lettres, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notes and Writings include speeches written by Alexander, short stories and essays written by his wife, and articles by various authors about Alexander. Extensive documentation of the planning and construction of the Alexander Memorial Studio by the MacDowell Club is found, along with other awards, medals, and memorial resolutions adopted by arts organizations after Alexander's death.

Artwork includes fourteen sketchbooks with sketches related to Alexander's commercial illustration and cartooning, murals, paintings, and travels. Dozens of loose drawings and sketches are also found, along with two volumes and several dozen loose reproductions of artwork, among which are found fine prints by named printmakers. Many sketches are also interspersed throughout the correspondence. Eight Scrapbooks contain mostly clippings, but also scattered letters, exhbition catalogs, announcements, invitations, and photographs related to Alexander's career between 1877 and 1915. Additional Exhibition Catalogs and later clippings, as well as clippings related to the career of his wife and other subjects, are found in Printed Materials.

Photographs include many portraits of Alexander taken by accomplished photographers such as Zaida Ben-Yusuf, Aimé Dupont, Curtis Bell, Elizabeth Buehrmann, and several signed Miss Huggins, who may have been Estelle Huntington Huggins, a New York painter and photographer. Portraits of others include Alexander's friends William Merritt Chase and Edward Austin Abbey. Also found are photographs of groups, juries, family, friends, and studios in New York, Paris, and New Jersey, and a handful of scenic photographs of Polling, Bavaria, where Alexander had an early studio. A large number of photographs of works of art are found, many with annotations. Among the photographs of murals are a small collection of snapshots of the Carnegie Institute murals in progress. Miscellaneous artifacts include a palette, several printing plates, and an inscribed souvenir engraving of a self-portrait caricature of Mark Twain.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 11 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Series 1: Biographical Information, circa 1887-1968 (Box 1, OV 23; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1870-1942 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Associations and Memberships, circa 1897-1918 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 4: Legal and Financial Records, 1775, 1896-1923 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1875-1943 (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Awards and Memorials, circa 1870-1944 (Box 2, OV 24; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1875-1915 (Boxes 2-3, 6, 14-16, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, circa 1877-1915 (Boxes 17-22; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 9: Printed Materials, circa 1891-1945 (Boxes 3-4, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1870-1915 (Boxes 4-8, MGP 1-2, OV 25-43, RD 44-45; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 11: Artifacts, circa 1899-1915 (Box 6, artifact cabinet; 0.4 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

John White Alexander was born in 1856 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He was orphaned at age five and taken in by relatives of limited means. When Alexander left school and began working at a telegraph company, the company's vice-president, former civil war Colonel Edward Jay Allen, took an interest in his welfare. Allen became his legal guardian, brought him into the Allen household, and saw that he finished Pittsburgh High School. At eighteen, he moved to New York City and was hired by Harper and Brothers as an office boy in the art department. He was soon promoted to apprentice illustrator under staff artists such as Edwin A. Abbey and Charles Reinhart. During his time at Harpers, Alexander was sent out on assignment to illustrate events such as the Philadelphia Centennial celebration in 1876 and the Pittsburgh Railroad Strike in 1877, which erupted in violence.

Alexander carefully saved money from his illustration work and traveled to Europe in 1877 for further art training. He first enrolled in the Royal Art Academy of Munich, Germany, but soon moved to the village of Polling, where a colony of American artists was at its peak in the late 1870s. Alexander established a painting studio there and stayed for about a year. Despite his absence from the Munich Academy, he won the medal of the drawing class for 1878, the first of many honors. While in Polling, he became acquainted with J. Frank Currier, Frank Duveneck, William Merritt Chase, and other regular visitors to the colony. He later shared a studio and taught a painting class in Florence with Duveneck and traveled to Venice, where he met James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Alexander returned to New York in 1881 and resumed his commercial artwork for Harpers and Century. Harpers sent him down the Mississippi river to complete a series of sketches. He also began to receive commissions for portraits, and in the 1880s painted Charles Dewitt Bridgman, a daughter of one of the Harper brothers, Parke Godwin, Thurlow Weed, Walt Whitman, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Alexander met his wife Elizabeth, whose maiden name was also Alexander, through her father, James W. Alexander, who was sometimes mistaken for the artist. Elizabeth and John White Alexander married in 1887 and had a son, James, in 1888.

Alexander and his family sailed for France in 1890, where they became a part of the lively literary and artistic scene in Paris at the time. Among their many contacts there were Puvis de Chavannes, Auguste Rodin, and Whistler, who arrived in Paris shortly thereafter. Alexander absorbed the new aesthetic ideas around him such as those of the symbolists and the decorative style of art nouveau. Critics often note how such ideas are reflected in his boldly composed paintings of women from this period, who titles drew attention to the sensual and natural elements of the paintings. His first exhibition in Paris was three paintings at the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1893, and by 1895 he has become a full member of the Société.

Independent and secession artist societies emerged throughout Europe during this period, and Alexander exhibited with several of them, including the Société Nouvelle in Paris, the Munich Secession, and the Vienna Secession. He was also elected an honorary member of the Royal Society of Belgian Artists and the Royal Society of British Painters in London. His exhibited works sold well, and his influence began to be felt back in the United States. Andrew Carnegie and John Beatty of the Carnegie Institute consulted closely with Alexander in the planning and execution of the first Carnegie International Exhibitions. Alexander also became active in supporting younger American artists who wanted to exhibit in Europe, a stance which resulted in his resignation from the Society of American Artists in Paris, which he felt had become a barrier to younger artists. His promotion of American art became an central aspect of his career for the remainder of his life, most visibly through his presidency of the National Academy of Design from 1909 until shortly before his death in 1915. He also served frequently on juries for high-profile exhibitions, and was a trustee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the national Institute of Arts and Letters. Around 1912, he helped to form the School Art League in New York, which provided art instruction to high school students.

Alexander returned to the United States nearly every summer while based in Paris, and among his commissioned paintings were murals for the newly-constructed Library of Congress, completed around 1896. In 1901, the Alexanders returned to New York permanently. The demand for portraits continued, and he had his first solo exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1902. Around 1905 he received a commission for murals at the new Carnegie Institute building in Pittsburgh for the astounding sum of $175,000. He created 48 panels there through 1908. During this period, the Alexanders spent summers in Onteora, New York, where Alexander painted his well-known "Sunlight" paintings. There they became friends and collaborators with the actress Maude Adams, with Alexander designing lighting and stage sets, and Elizabeth Alexander designing costumes for Adams' productions such as Peter Pan, the Maid of Orleans, and Chanticleer. The couple became known for their "theatricals" or tableaux, staged at the MacDowell Club and elsewhere, and Elizabeth Alexander continued her design career when her husband died in 1915.

Alexander left several commissions unfinished upon his death at age 59, including murals in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Alexander held a memorial exhibition at Arden Galleries a few months after his death, and a larger memorial exhibition was held by the Carnegie Institute in 1916. Alexander won dozens of awards for artwork in his lifetime, including the Lippincott Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1899, the Gold Medal of Honor at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, the Gold Medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1901, and the Medal of the First Class at the Carnegie Institute International Exhibition in 1911. In 1923, the Alexander Memorial Studio was built at the MacDowell colony in New Hampshire to honor his memory.

Provenance:

Papers were donated in 1978 and 1981 by Irina Reed, Alexander's granddaughter and in 2017 by Elizabeth Reed, Alexander's great grandaughter.

Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Rights:

The John White Alexander papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

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

Genre/Form:

Awards

Interviews

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Medals

Citation:

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

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.alexjohn

See more items in:

John White Alexander papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-alexjohn

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

9.09 Cubic feet (consisting of 17.5 boxes, 1 folder, 19 oversize folders, 12 map case folders, 3 flat boxes (1 full, 2 partial), plus digital images of some collection material.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Business ephemera

Ephemera

Date:

1851-1965

Summary:

A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: World Expositions forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Scope and Contents:

This material consists primarily of guide books, souvenir books, catalogs, brochures, maps, general images, lithographs, advertising cards, postcards, commemorative stamps, tickets and correspondence created for the World's Fairs. A few trade catalogs (Chicago, 1893), magazines, bubble gum cards (Chicago, 1933-1934) and photographs are also included in the materials. One remarkable item in the world exposition's material is a "peephole" paper toy viewer from the New York 1939-1940 fair.

The amount of material for each fair varies widely. Most of the fairs including Paris 1855, Lausanne 1857, Boston 1883-1884, Bordeaux 1895, Philadelphia 1899, Milan 1906, Albuquerque 1908 and Seattle 1962 have very little information. The Philadelphia 1876 and Chicago 1893 expositions, however, contain a substantial amount of material. A number of expositions are not included among the materials. The container list indicates which fairs the Archives Center has information on in this collection.

A number of the expositions were given a nickname, mostly as a result of the architecture dominating the fair. Examples of those nicknames include the White City (Chicago 1893), the Magic City (Omaha 1898), the Rainbow City (Buffalo 1901), the Ivory City (St. Louis 1904), the Jewel City (San Francisco 1915), and Treasure Island San Francisco 1939-1940).

The World Expositions tend to have a theme or celebrate a special event. "The Age of Steam" was the theme for the first world exposition, held in London in 1851. In 1876, the Philadelphia exposition celebrated a century of American independence. The common name was the "Philadelphia Centennial." The Chicago 1893 fair celebrated the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America and was referred to as the "World's Columbian Exposition." The Omaha exposition in 1898 is known as the "Invitation to Renewed Expansion of the West." Buffalo's theme in 1901 was "All Americas Exposition", demonstrating the cultural, commercial and technical progress of the Western Hemisphere. Expanding the West was the theme for the St. Louis fair in 1904 to celebrate the lOOth anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France. In 1915, San Francisco celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal. American independence was celebrated again in Philadelphia in 1926 marking 150 years. Chicago's fair in 1933-1934 was called "A Century of Progress" it was incorporated as a city in 1833. The exposition in New York in 1939-1940 had two themes: "Building a World for Tomorrow" in 1939 and "For Peace and Freedom" in 1940. San Francisco's world's fair in 1939-1940 also had two themes: "Dawn of a New Day" in 1939 and "Fun in the Fourties" in 1940. The theme for New York's exposition in 1964-1965, "Peace Through Understanding", celebrated the 300th anniversary of the naming of New York by the British and the 15th anniversary of the United Nations in New York City.

Researchers interested in women's history will find little information on that subject. Most of the expositions had a Women's building, however, there are only a few items referring to them in this collection. Such materials include a book from the Philadelphia 1876 fair which discusses women's work. Another book from the Chicago 1893 fair examines the art and handicraft in the Women's building. A pamphlet also from the Chicago fair contains the official minutes of the Board of Lady Managers.

The materials in boxes one through seventeen are organized in chronological order by the name of the location of the fair. A number of manufacturers and distributors of various products created advertising for the expositions. Such materials remain with those created about the fair. A photocopy of product advertising has been filed in the appropriate subject category in the Warshaw Collection. Box eighteen contains miscellaneous items that could not be identified with a particular exposition. Such materials include photographs, advertising cards and souvenir books.

Other collections in the Archives that relate to world expositions are the Orth and Zimm collections. The Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the New York World's Fair 1939-1940 primarily documents the general organization of the New York fair and specific national or corporate pavilions. Holdings include advertising and promotional literature, press kits, maps and official guides, photographs and brochures. Additional material includes scrapbooks, photo album, diaries, postcards and posters. Among the personal papers of Mr. Orth are correspondence and copies of the newsletter, Exposition Collectors and Historians Organization (ECHO). ECHO was organized by Mr. Orth in 1976 for collectors and historians of world's fairs and disbanded upon his death. This collection is stored off site. Researchers are requested to make an appointment to use the materials. The Zimm Collection contains materials from a number of the world's fairs. These materials are also stored off site and researchers will need to make an appointment.

Materials in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History that relate to the world's fairs can also be found in its Library. The Library has both primary and secondary sources. All of the primary materials have been microfilmed. The library also contains a comprehensive collection of secondary sources on the expositions. Among the secondary sources is a publication The Book Fairs, Materials about World's Fairs, 1834-1916, in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries (1992).

Special collections (Dibner Library) contains about thirty very rare items from various world expositions mostly dating from the 1851 fair and those occurring in the 1880s. Such items are mostly coffee table books created about the fairs. All items can be searched in SIRIS (Smithsonian Institution Research Information Service.) located in the library or the Archives Center's reference room. Researchers will need to contact the Dibner library to make an appointment to see original materials.

The Museum's curatorial divisions hold a number of three dimensional objects relating to the fairs. For information on the objects researchers should contact the divisions.

Materials in the Archives Center:

Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

World Expositions is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Genre/Form:

Business ephemera

Ephemera

Citation:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: World Expositions, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.World

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: World Expositions

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-world

Collector:

Rock Island Arsenal (Ill.)  Search this

Photographer:

Northwestern Photographic Company  Search this

Names:

United States. Army  Search this

Extent:

11 Copy prints

Culture:

Sauk Indians  Search this

Fox Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this

Teton Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Copy prints

Photographs

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents note:

Images include gathering of the dead after the Massacre at Wounded Knee, January 1, 1891; a portrait of the wife of Chief Montana and captured Sioux warriors and United States Army soldiers after the Battle of Little Big Horn. A large portion of the collection represents Rock Island County history and includes images of Keokuk, chief of the Sacs Indians; Black Hawk, a war chief of the Sacs Indians; Logan Ka-ka-que, grandson of Black Hawk; Se-us-kuk, son of Black Hawk; Mary Ka-ka-que, great-great-granddaughter of Black Hawk; Jesse Ka-ka-que, great-grandson of Black Hawk; part of a Fox Indian memorial post placed at the grave of Colonel George Davenport; and summer and winter homes for Sac and Fox Indians.

Biographical/Historical note:

Rock Island Arsenal is located on an island in the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. With the construction of Fort Armstrong in 1816, it was established as a government site. Fort Armstrong, located just a few miles from the principal Sac and Fox village, was one of a series of western frontier defenses built by the army. The treaty ending the Black Hawk war was signed at Fort Armstrong in 1832, and the fort was garrisoned until 1836.

Local Call Number(s):

NAA Photo Lot R82-57

Location of Other Archival Materials:

Additional photographs by the Northwestern Photographic Company can be found in the national Anthropological Archives in MS 4464, 4598, and 4574, and Photo Lots 24 and 90-1.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

This copy collection has been obtained for reference purposes only. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.

Topic:

Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876  Search this

Wounded Knee Massacre, S.D., 1890  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Photo lot R82-57, Rock Island Arsenal photograph collection related to the Wounded Knee Massacre, Battle of Little Big Horn, Sauk and Fox Indians, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.R82-57

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-r82-57

Creator:

Powers, Stephen, 1840-1904  Search this

Extent:

33 Pages

Culture:

American Indian -- California  Search this

American Indian -- Nevada  Search this

Paiute Indians  Search this

American Indian -- California  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Basin  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents:

Mostly Paiute.

Local Numbers:

NAA MS 820

General:

Previously titled "Mission of Stephen Powers to the Indians of California and Western Nevada, (Itinerary of)."

Citation:

Manuscript 820, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.MS820

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-ms820

Creator:

United States National Museum Photographic Laboratory  Search this

Subject:

Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

United States National Museum  Search this

Physical description:

Gelatin silver prints; 8 x 10;

Type:

Black-and-white photographs

Date:

1879

Between 1879 and 1885

Topic:

Exhibitions  Search this

Museum exhibits  Search this

Archaeology  Search this

Anthropology  Search this

Local number:

SIA RU000095 [SIA_000095_B31A_F34_001]

Restrictions & Rights:

No access restrictions. Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu

No Copyright - United States

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_403225

Collector:

Gritzner, Bertha  Search this

Names:

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company  Search this

Extent:

6 Gelatin silver prints

Culture:

Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan)  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gelatin silver prints

Place:

Maryland -- Baltimore County

Date:

September 24 - October 8, 1927

Summary:

This collection contains 6 snapshot photographs depicting Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan) Chiefs participating in the Fair of the Iron Horse held at Halethorpe, Baltimore County, Maryland in 1927.The photographs in this collection were owned by Bertha Gritzner, who attended the fair and may depicted in the images.

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains 6 snapshot gelatin silver prints depicting scenes at the Fair of the Iron Horse held at Halethorpe, Baltimore County, Maryland. The Fair was held from September 24 to October 8, 1927 in honor of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's centennial. The photographs depict Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan) Chiefs posing at the fair along with unidentified individuals. The photographs were originally owned by Bertha Gritzner, who may be depicted in the photographs.

Chief Two Guns White Calf is featured in two photographs.

Arrangement:

Photographs arranged in a folder by image number.

Biographical / Historical:

The Fair of the Iron Horse celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Held in Halethorpe, Baltimore County, Maryland from September 24 to October 8, 1927, the Fair was advertised as a miniature World's Fair and featured a fairground, pageant, and exhibits. Members of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana traveled to Maryland for the Fair and marched in the pageant highlighting the history of inland transportation.

The photographs in this collection were owned by Bertha Gritzner, who attended the fair and may depicted in the images. The photographs were donated by her granddaughter Jean Stitzel in 2001.

Related Materials:

The Maryland Historical Society and the Library of Congress also hold materials related to the Fair of the Iron Horse.

Provenance:

Gift of Jean Stitzel, 2001.

Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Rights:

Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Topic:

Fair of the Iron Horse (1927 : Halethorpe, Md.)  Search this

Photograph  Search this

Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Bertha Gritzner collection of Fair of the Iron Horse photographs, image #, NMAI.AC.349; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAI.AC.349

See more items in:

Bertha Gritzner collection of Fair of the Iron Horse photographs

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-349

Collector:

Allen, George V.  Search this

Names:

Albuquerque Indian School  Search this

Castillo de San Marcos (Saint Augustine, Fla.)  Search this

Chilocco Indian School  Search this

Geological Survey (U.S.)  Search this

Haskell Indian Nations University  Search this

United States Indian School (Carlisle, Pa.)  Search this

Yankton Mission (Yankton Indian Reservation, S.D.)  Search this

American Horse, 1840-1908  Search this

Big Bow Chief  Search this

Bogy, Lewis V. (Lewis Vital), 1813-1877  Search this

Cushing, Frank Hamilton, 1857-1900  Search this

Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923  Search this

Hough, Walter, 1859-1935  Search this

Iron Bull (Crow Indian chief)  Search this

Kelly, Luther S. (Luther Sage), 1849-1928  Search this

Mató-Tópe, Mandan chief, d. 1837  Search this

Mix, Charles E.  Search this

Monroe, Mark, 1930-  Search this

Moran, John, 1831-1903  Search this

Ouray  Search this

Red Cloud, 1822-1909  Search this

Red Dog (Oglala chief)  Search this

Red Shirt, 1845?-1925  Search this

Reilly, John James, 1838-1894  Search this

Reynolds, Joseph Jones, 1822-1899  Search this

Sitting Bull, 1831-1890  Search this

Spotted Tail, 1823-1881  Search this

Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1850-1915  Search this

Two Guns White Calf Blackfoot  Search this

Photographer:

Alvord, Kellogg, & Campbell  Search this

Bailey & Whitesides  Search this

Bailey, Dix, & Mead  Search this

Bennett & Brown  Search this

Black Hills View Company  Search this

Brooks Photo  Search this

Brubaker and Whitesides  Search this

C. Duhem & Bro.  Search this

Calfee & Catlin  Search this

Caswell & Davy  Search this

Copelin & Son  Search this

Cosand & Mosser  Search this

Cunningham & Co. (1880-1889)  Search this

D.D. Merrill, Randall & Co.  Search this

E. & H.T. Anthony (Firm)  Search this

Eaton, of Ralston, Oklahoma  Search this

Griffith & Griffith  Search this

Gurnsey & Illingworth  Search this

Hamilton and Hoyt  Search this

Hamilton and Kodylek  Search this

Hansard & Carden  Search this

Henry L. Shepard & Co.  Search this

Ingersoll View Company  Search this

J.J. Reilly & Co.  Search this

Judd and McLeish  Search this

Keystone View Company  Search this

Kilburn Brothers  Search this

Lawrence & Houseworth  Search this

M.S. Mepham & Bro.  Search this

Martin's Gallery  Search this

Montgomery Ward.  Search this

Ramsour & Pennel  Search this

Reed & McKenney  Search this

Rodocker & Blanchard  Search this

Savage & Ottinger  Search this

Thomas Houseworth & Co.  Search this

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Universal Photo Art Co.  Search this

Whitney & Zimmerman  Search this

Wittick & Bliss  Search this

Wittick & Russell  Search this

Young & Chase  Search this

Barker, George, 1844-1894  Search this

Barry, D. F. (David Francis), 1854-1934  Search this

Batchelder, B. P. (Benjamin Pierce), 1826-1891  Search this

Bates, Edw. (Edward)  Search this

Beaman, Edward O.  Search this

Bell, C. M. (Charles Milton), approximately 1849-1893  Search this

Bell, William, 1830-1910  Search this

Benecke, Robert  Search this

Bennett, H. H. (Henry Hamilton), 1843-1908  Search this

Bierstadt, Charles, 1819-1903  Search this

Blessing, S. T.  Search this

Blosser, J. A.  Search this

Bonine, Elias A., 1843-1916  Search this

Brockham, William (of Morris, Minnesota)  Search this

Brown, William Henry, 1844-1886  Search this

Brubaker, C. B.  Search this

Buehman, Henry, 1851-1912  Search this

Calfee, H. B. (Henry Bird), 1848-1912  Search this

Carbutt, John, 1832-1905  Search this

Carter, C. W., 1832-1918  Search this

Chamberlain, W. G. (William Gunnison)  Search this

Chase, D. B. (Dana B.)  Search this

Childs, B. F. (Brainard F.), ca. 1841-1921  Search this

Choate, J. N. (John N.), 1848-1902  Search this

Clark, George A. (George Alfred), 1936-  Search this

Climo, John Saunders  Search this

Cobb, William Henry, 1859-1909  Search this

Conklin, E (Enoch)  Search this

Cozzens, Samuel Woodworth, 1834-1878  Search this

Croft, Thomas  Search this

Cross, W. R. (William R.)  Search this

Currier, Frank, fl. 1890-1909  Search this

Curtis, Edward S., 1868-1952  Search this

Curtis, George E., 1830-1910  Search this

Cushing, W. H., fl. 1870-1889  Search this

Davis, S., fl. 1860-1880  Search this

Doremus, John P., 1827-1890  Search this

Eaton, E. L. (Edric L.), b. ca. 1836  Search this

Ebell, Adrian J. (Adrian John), 1840-1877  Search this

Eisenmann, Charles, b. 1850  Search this

Flanders, Dudley P.  Search this

Forsyth, N. A. (Norman A.), 1869-1949  Search this

Fouch, John H., 1849-1933  Search this

Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882  Search this

Godkin, William R.  Search this

Goodell, Abner Cheney, 1831-1914  Search this

Graves, C. H. (Carleton H.), d. 1943  Search this

Gurnsey, B. H. (Byron H.), 1833-1880  Search this

Hamilton, J. H. (James H.)  Search this

Hart, Alfred A., 1816-1908  Search this

Hawkins, B.A.  Search this

Haynes, F. Jay (Frank Jay), 1853-1921  Search this

Hazeltine, M. M. (Martin Mason), 1827-1903  Search this

Heister, H. T., (Henry T.), -1895  Search this

Heller, Louis Herman, ca. 1839-1929  Search this

Heston, Wat  Search this

Hillers, John K., 1843-1925  Search this

Hook, W. E. (William Edward), 1833-1908  Search this

Huffman, L. A. (Laton Alton), 1854-1931  Search this

Illingworth, W. H. (William H.), 1842-1893  Search this

Immke, Henry W.  Search this

Ingalls, George W., 1838-1920  Search this

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942  Search this

Jacoby, W. H. (William H.), 1841-1905  Search this

Jarvis, J. F. (John F.), b. 1850  Search this

Johnson, W.S.  Search this

Kirkland, Geo. W. (George W.)  Search this

Knight, J. Lee  Search this

Landon, S. C. (Seth C.), b. 1825  Search this

Leonard & Martin  Search this

Line, A. A.  Search this

Little, H.N.  Search this

Marshall, William I. (William Isaac), 1840-1906  Search this

Martin, Alex (Alexander), 1841-1929  Search this

Maude, F. H. (Frederic Hamer)  Search this

Maynard, Hannah, 1834-1918  Search this

Maynard, Richard, 1832-1907  Search this

McIntyre, A. C. (Alexander Carson)  Search this

Meddaugh, J. E.  Search this

Mellen, Geo. E. (George Egbert), b. 1854  Search this

Mepham, Michael S.  Search this

Mitchell, Daniel S.  Search this

Morrow, Stanley J.  Search this

Muybridge, Eadweard, 1830-1904  Search this

Newcomb, C. H.  Search this

Nims, F.A.  Search this

O'Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882  Search this

Palmer, A. A.  Search this

Parker, Joseph C.  Search this

Pierron, Geo. (George), b. 1816  Search this

Pollock, Charles, 1832-1910  Search this

Powers, F. F.  Search this

Raitt, T.G.  Search this

Randall, A. F. (A. Frank)  Search this

Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920  Search this

Rinehart, F. A. (Frank A.)  Search this

Rodocker, D. (David)  Search this

Rothrock, George H.  Search this

Rudy, W. Ira  Search this

Russell, Andrew J.  Search this

Rutter, Thomas H., 1837-1925  Search this

Savage, C. R. (Charles Roscoe), 1832-1909  Search this

Seaver, C. (Charles)  Search this

Sedgwick, S. J. (Stephen James)  Search this

Shipler, James William, 1849-1937  Search this

Soule, John P.  Search this

Stoddard, Seneca Ray, 1844-1917  Search this

Taber, I. W. (Isaiah West), 1830-1912  Search this

Thorne, G.W.  Search this

Thurlow, J., 1831-1878  Search this

Towne, Bertram C.  Search this

Trager, George E.  Search this

Upton, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)  Search this

Watkins, Carleton E., 1829-1916  Search this

Weitfle, Charles, 1836-1921  Search this

Wendt, Julius M.  Search this

Whitney, Joel E. (Joel Emmons), 1822-1886  Search this

Williscraft, W.H.  Search this

Wittick, Ben, 1845-1903  Search this

Woodburn, J. R.  Search this

Zimmerman, Charles A., 1844-1909  Search this

Publisher:

Beal's Gallery  Search this

Continent Stereoscopic Company  Search this

Florida Club (Cooperative)  Search this

Union View Company  Search this

Webster & Albee  Search this

Smith, O. C.  Search this

Extent:

67 Lantern slides

26 Negatives (glass)

10 Negatives (nitrate)

6 Autochromes (photographs)

50 Stereographs (circa 50 printed stereographs, halftone and color halftone)

1,000 Stereographs (circa, albumen and silver gelatin (some tinted))

239 Prints (circa 239 mounted and unmounted prints, albumen (including cartes de visite, imperial cards, cabinet cards, and one tinted print) and silver gelatin (some modern copies))

96 Prints (Album :, silver gelatin)

21 Postcards (silver gelatin, collotype, color halftone, and halftone)

Culture:

Puyallup Indians  Search this

Diegueño Indians  Search this

Ojibwa Indians  Search this

Tohono O'Odham Indians  Search this

Kalispel Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- California  Search this

Taos Indians  Search this

Nootka Indians  Search this

Kickapoo Indians  Search this

Laguna Indians  Search this

Pueblo Indians  Search this

Winnebago Indians  Search this

Havasupai Indians  Search this

Assiniboine (Stoney)  Search this

Isleta Indians  Search this

Mohave Indians  Search this

Miwok Indians  Search this

Kwakiutl Indians  Search this

Arctic peoples  Search this

Akimel O'odham (Pima)  Search this

Piipaash (Maricopa)  Search this

Iroquois Indians  Search this

Hopi Indians  Search this

Modoc Indians  Search this

A:shiwi (Zuni)  Search this

Nez Percé Indians  Search this

Washo Indians  Search this

A'aninin (Gros Ventre)  Search this

Tonkawa Indians  Search this

Navajo Indians  Search this

Yavapai Indians  Search this

Ute Indians  Search this

Sauk Indians  Search this

Pawnee Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this

Bannock  Search this

Shoshoni Indians  Search this

Cochiti Pueblo  Search this

Omaha Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Southwest, New  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Basin  Search this

Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America  Search this

Choctaw Indians  Search this

Dakota Indians  Search this

Eskimos  Search this

Salish Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Plateau  Search this

Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)  Search this

Mandan Indians  Search this

Sahnish (Arikara)  Search this

Tlingit Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this

Haida Indians  Search this

Cree  Search this

Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this

Acoma Pueblo  Search this

Quapaw Indians  Search this

Osage Indians  Search this

Apache Indians  Search this

Kansa Indians  Search this

Umatilla Indians  Search this

Shawnee  Search this

Fox Indians  Search this

Pomo Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Southern States  Search this

Indians of North America -- Subarctic  Search this

Paiute Indians  Search this

Seminole Indians  Search this

Micmac Indians  Search this

Niuam (Comanche)  Search this

Potawatomi Indians  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Lantern slides

Negatives

Autochromes (photographs)

Stereographs

Prints

Postcards

Place:

Custer Battlefield (Montana)

Date:

circa 1860-1935

Scope and Contents note:

Photographs relating to American Indian or frontier themes, including portraits, expedition photographs, landscapes, and other images of dwellings, transportation, totem poles, ceremonies, infants and children in cradleboards, camps and towns, hunting and fishing, wild west shows, food preparation, funeral customs, the US Army and army posts, cliff dwellings, and grave mounds and excavations. The collection also includes images of prisoners at Fort Marion in 1875, Sioux Indians involved in the Great Sioux Uprising in Minnesota, the Fort Laramie Peace Commission of 1868, Sitting Bull and his followers after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and the aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.

There are studio portraits of well-known Indians, including American Horse, Big Bow, Four Bears, Iron Bull, Ouray, Red Cloud, Red Dog, Red Shirt, Sitting Bull, Spotted Tail, Three Bears, and Two Guns White Calf. Depicted delegations include a Sauk and Fox meeting in Washington, DC, with Lewis V. Bogy and Charles E. Mix in 1867; Kiowas and Cheyennes at the White House in 1863; and Dakotas and Crows who visited President Warren G. Harding in 1921. Images of schools show Worcester Academy in Vinita, Oklahoma; Chilocco Indian School; Carlisle Indian Industrial School; Haskell Instittue, and Albuquerque Indian School.

Some photographs relate to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, 1876; World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893; Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, 1903; and Centennial Exposition of the Baltimore and Ohio Railraod, 1876. Expedition photographs show the Crook expedition of 1876, the Sanderson expedition to the Custer Battlefield in 1877, the Wheeler Survey of the 1870s, Powell's surveys of the Rocky Mountain region during the 1860s and 1870s, and the Hayden Surveys.

Outstanding single views include the party of Zuni Indians led to the sea by Frank Hamilton Cushing; Episcopal Church Rectory and School Building, Yankton Agency; Matilda Coxe Stevenson and a companion taking a photographs of a Zuni ceremony; John Moran sketching at Acoma; Ben H. Gurnsey's studio with Indian patrons; Quapaw Mission; baptism of a group of Paiutes at Coeur d'Alene Mission; court-martial commission involved in the trial of Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds, 1877; President Harding at Sitka, Alaska; Walter Hough at Hopi in 1902; and Mrs. Jesse Walter Fewkes at Hopi in 1897.

Biographical/Historical note:

George V. Allen was an attorney in Lawrence, Kansas and an early member of the National Stereoscope Association. Between the 1950s and 1980s, Allen collected an extensive collection of photographs of the American West, mostly in stereographs, but also including cartes-de-visite and other styles of mounted prints, photogravures, lantern slides, autochromes, and glass negatives.

Local Call Number(s):

NAA Photo Lot 90-1

See others in:

George V. Allen photograph collection of American Indians and the American frontier, circa 1860-1935

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Camps  Search this

Child care  Search this

Rites and ceremonies  Search this

Totem poles  Search this

Cookery  Search this

Wild west shows  Search this

Fishing  Search this

Hunting  Search this

Transportation  Search this

Dwellings  Search this

Funeral rites and ceremonies  Search this

Wounded Knee Massacre, S.D., 1890  Search this

Citation:

Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen photograph collection of American Indians and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.90-1

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-90-1

Creator:

National Portrait Gallery  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2009-07-13T15:18:38.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Portraits  Search this

See more by:

NatlPortraitGallery

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

YouTube Channel:

NatlPortraitGallery

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_De8fIffFcCY

Creator:

National Portrait Gallery  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2009-07-10T19:05:27.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Portraits  Search this

See more by:

NatlPortraitGallery

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

YouTube Channel:

NatlPortraitGallery

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_P-KY3x15Mr0

Creator:

National Portrait Gallery  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2009-07-13T15:22:19.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Portraits  Search this

See more by:

NatlPortraitGallery

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

YouTube Channel:

NatlPortraitGallery

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Wdjj37HsTA8

Creator:

National Portrait Gallery  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2009-07-10T20:31:57.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Portraits  Search this

See more by:

NatlPortraitGallery

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

YouTube Channel:

NatlPortraitGallery

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_X-0wlaQ3TN0