The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
The earliest documentation from 1895 to 1909 concerns the organization's history and founding and is located in Series 1: Board of Trustees. Also found in this series are meeting minutes, 1909-1963 and 1968. Interfiled with the board meeting minutes are minutes of the executive committee and other special and ad hoc committees, reports to the board, financial statements and reports, and lists of committee appointments and board membership. This series also contains the scattered correspondence and subject files of various officers. Although not a complete set of officers' files, Presidents' Frederick Allen. Whiting (1931-1936), Lawrence M.C. Smith (1948-1952), Thomas Brown Rudd (1952-1954), Daniel Longwell (1954-1956), James S. Schramm (1956-1958), and Roy R. Neuberger (1958-1961) are represented. Leila Mechlin served on AFA's board as secretary from its founding to 1929, and her files are a particularly rich resource for AFA's activities during its early years. Lawrence M.C. Smith's files documenting his years as board treasurer are also arranged in this series. Additional officers' correspondence is interspersed throughout the Alphabetical Files and other series.
General information about the scope of AFA's programs, affiliations, founding, functions, and proceedings are arranged in Series 2: Administrative Records. The first subseries, Alphabetical Files, houses a wide variety of subject files that contain memoranda, correspondence, printed materials, lists, reports, and other papers. These files document the AFA's general history and founding, organizational affiliations, buildings and moves, grants, federal and state government art programs, auctions and other fund-raising efforts, publicity and public relations, publications, and fiftieth anniversary celebration. The subject headings by which these files are arranged are, for the most part, the ones designated by the AFA. The second subseries, Staff Records, houses the scattered files of AFA's director, assistant director, registrar, and special state representative, Robert Luck.
During its most active period, the AFA sponsored or participated in several special programs and Series 3: Special Programs houses the files that document many of them. The first subseries consists of the files for the Artists in Residence program that was funded by the Ford Foundation. Awarded in 1963, the grant sponsored short-term teaching residencies for artists in museums throughout the United States. The host museums were encouraged to hold exhibitions of the artists' works. This subseries contains both the general files of the program, as well as individual files on the participating artists. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the AFA and the Ford Foundation also sponsored additional programs for artists, including Grants in Aid, Purchase Awards, and the Retrospective Exhibitions Program. The files documenting these three programs are also arranged in Series 3, under the subseries Ford Foundation Program for Visual Artists. In the late 1950s, the AFA implemented the Museum Donor Program with benefactors and philanthropists Audrey Bruce Currier and Stephen Richard Currier. Through the administration of the AFA, the Curriers donated funds to selected institutions specifically for the purchase of contemporary American art. The Curriers preferred to remain anonymous throughout the program. Files documenting this program include correspondence, applications from the accepted institutions, rejections, a summary report, and clippings about the untimely deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Currier in 1967.
Also found in Series 3 are the files documenting AFAs working relationship with the first state arts council, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). In 1961, AFA and NYSCA implemented a traveling exhibition program in New York State. Found here are files for possible itineraries, proposals, publicity, loans, budgets, and the actual exhibition files. Additional AFA special programs documented in Series 3 include the Picture of the Month program of the mid-1950s and the Jean Tennyson Foundation Color Slide Lecture Program.
AFA Annual Convention files constitute Series 4. Beginning with the Third Annual Convention in 1912 and continuing through the 1963 Annual Convention, the files contain official proceedings, speeches, programs, clippings, correspondence, and press releases. Files are missing for 1913, 1915, 1918, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1931, 1936-1949, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1960, and 1962. There are also audio recordings in the form of reel-to-reel tapes for the 1951 Annual Convention.
Series 5: Exhibition Files forms the bulk of the collection at circa 62 linear feet and is arranged into twenty subseries. The first subseries, Exhibitions, General, houses primarily the records of the Board of Trustees Exhibition Committee and documents the AFA's earliest involvement with traveling exhibitions. These files contain reports, budgets, correspondence, memoranda, scattered exhibition catalogs, and photographs. They are primarily the files of the chair of the Exhibition Committee and include the files of Juliana R. Force, Eloise Spaeth, and Mrs. John Pope. Also found in this series is a subseries of Mrs. John Pope's records documenting circulating exhibitions from 1934 to 1955, arranged by state.
The remaining nineteen subseries of the Exhibition Files reflect either specific exhibition programs, many of which have unique numbers assigned by AFA to individual exhibitions, or other exhibition-related files, such rejected, canceled, and suggested exhibitions and miscellaneous installation photographs. The Annual Exhibitions files constitute the largest of the subseries and are numbered according to the system assigned by AFA, following a typical chronological order. Although the documentation for each exhibition varies widely by both type and amount, most of the files contain contracts and legal agreements, correspondence, memoranda, itinerary information, condition reports, publicity materials, catalogs, announcements, price lists, and other such information arranged into one or more files. The files were labeled "documentation files," "dispersal files," "report form files," "loan agreement files," and "publicity files" according to the filing system devised by AFA. Many of the files also house a significant amount of correspondence with museum officials, lenders, and artists.
Additional subseries document AFA's exhibition venues and partnerships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the New York State Council on the [UNK] Life magazine, and Addison Gallery. A complete list of all of the subseries, including specific exhibition programs, follows in the Series Outline.
The final three series of the collection are small: Printed Material, Miscellaneous Files, and Oversized Material. The printed material was donated much later to the Archives and dates from 1990 to 1993. Found here are scattered press releases, annual reports, and an exhibition program. Miscellaneous Files contain scattered records, 1926-1962, of the Architectural League of New York relating to national award programs. It is not clear why this small group of Architectural League records was found mixed with the AFA records but perhaps the collaboration between the two organizations on several special projects provides an explanation. Also found in Miscellaneous Files is a group of black and white lantern slides from a lecture series, "New Horizons in America." Oversized Material includes a portfolio, a work of art, and posters.
See Appendix for a list of artists exhibiting with the American Federation of Arts
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight primary series based primarily on administrative units or program areas. Several of the series are further subdivided into subseries. While processing, it became clear that the two filing systems were redundant and overlapped in both subject area and type of material. Most of these files were subsequently merged into the now broader Alphabetical Files or into separate series. Oversized material may be found at the end of the collection arranged in a separate series.
In most cases, files related to one another by subseries or subject areas (in the case of the Alphabetical Files) or by individual name (in the case of officers and staff files) are arranged in chronological order. The entire subseries of Alphabetical Files in Series 2 is arranged by subject heading, as assigned by the AFA, or individual name. The Alphabetical Files originally formed two broad filing systems as established by the AFA: one for general correspondence arranged by subject; and one for director's and other staff correspondence, also arranged by subject.
Series 1: Board of Trustees, circa 1895-1968 (Boxes 1-3)
Series 2: Administrative Records, 1910-1966 (Boxes 4-8)
Series 3: Special Programs, 1950-1967 (Boxes 9-13)
Series 4: Annual Conventions, 1912-1963 (Boxes 14-16)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1934-1969 (Boxes 17-78)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1990-1993 (Box 78)
Series 7: Miscellaneous Files, 1926-1962, undated (Box 79)
Series 8: Oversized Materials, 1890, undated (Boxes 80-85)
Historical Note:
Founded in 1909 by Elihu Root, the American Federation of Arts (AFA) exists today as a national nonprofit museum service organization striving to unite American art institutions, collectors, artists, and museums. Elihu Root, then secretary of state in the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, spoke of his idea at the first meeting of the AFA held in New York at the National Academy of Arts. He envisioned an organization that would promote American art most often seen only by the elite in the major cities of the East and upper Midwest by sending "exhibitions of original works of art on tour through the hinterlands across the United States."
The American Academy in Rome, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Metropolitan Museum of Art were influential organizing member institutions. Individual members included such notables as William Merritt Chase, Charles L. Freer, Daniel C. French, Charles L. Hutchinson, Henry Cabot Lodge, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Walters. The founding of the AFA provided the American art world with a forum for communication and participation among artists, cultural institutions, patrons of the arts, and the public.
To accomplish its mission, the AFA established volunteer committees for membership, exhibitions, and publications. During its first year, the AFA began publishing Art and Progress (later changed to Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual (now the American Art Directory). In 1909, the AFA also organized its first traveling exhibition, Paintings by Prominent American Artists, which was shown at museums in Fort Worth, New Orleans, Minneapolis, and New Ulm, Minnesota.
By the end of the first year, the headquarters of the organization moved to Washington, D.C., to facilitate lobbying the federal government for favorable art legislation. In 1913, the AFA lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on foreign art entering the United States. In 1916, the Federation met with the Interstate Commerce Commission to protest prohibitively high interstate taxes on traveling art exhibitions.
Throughout the next fifteen years, the AFA continued to grow in membership and influence. By 1919, membership included 438 institutions and 2,900 individuals. The AFA's annual conventions were held in major national art centers and were attended by members, chapter delegates, and the public. At the conventions, scholars, patrons, and curators lectured on and discussed subjects of national interest, thereby fostering an exchange of ideas. The AFA also sponsored periodic regional conferences to promote institutional cooperation and to discuss mutual problems and needs. To facilitate exhibition venues west of the Mississippi River, in 1921 the AFA opened regional offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University. The AFA produced and circulated slide programs and lecture series to museums and educational institutions that fostered art education. By 1929, the Federation had developed forty-six slide-lecture programs that covered American mural painting, European and American contemporary art, and textiles.
During the 1930s, the Federation expanded its services by providing schools with teaching guides, student workbooks, slides, and films about art. In 1935, the AFA began publishing Who's Who in American Art, later publishing The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists and Films on Art reference guides. To reach an even larger audience, the AFA began collaborating with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to organize national circulating exhibitions to "bring the museum to the people."
One of AFA's priorities was to make American art more visible abroad. The Federation focused on encouraging the representation of American artists in foreign exhibitions, and in 1924 it lobbied successfully for additional American participation in the Venice Biennale. The AFA's focus on exhibiting American art abroad continued to expand, particularly following World War II. In 1950, recognizing that the AFA could assist in promoting American culture, the State Department awarded the AFA a grant for a German "re-orientation program" consisting of educational exhibitions shown in German museums. Additional government funding further enabled the AFA to organize American participation in exhibitions in India, Japan, Paris, Switzerland, and Rotterdam between 1950 and 1970. Later, the AFA collaborated with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program which permitted donations of American art to foreign institutions on a restriction-free, tax-deductible basis. During the 1950s, the AFA was a very active member of the Committee on Government and Art, a national committee with members from across the art and museum world concerned with government sponsorship of and legislation affecting art sales, commissions, and trade.
In 1952, the headquarters of the AFA returned to New York, sparking a period of innovation and expanded of programs. Throughout the 1950s, the AFA distributed films about art and co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York. The AFA also introduced its Picture of the Month Program in 1954, renting original works of art to small American art and educational institutions. In 1956, the AFA organized the Art Collectors Club of America to provide fellowship for art collectors through meetings and activities. The club disbanded in the 1970s.
The Federation's exhibition programs continued to flourish during the 1950s and 1960s. Private and public financial support allowed the AFA to achieve many of its goals. In 1958, the Ford Foundation awarded an important grant to organize a series of traveling one-person shows and a series of monographs devoted to contemporary American artists. Milton Avery, Andrew Dasburg, José DeCreeft, Lee Gatch, Walter Quirt, Abraham Rattner, and others were among the artists who participated. Private foundation support for the AFA's Museum Donor Program provided an annual allowance that was distributed to regional museums for the pourchase of contemporary American art. Cooperative programs and joint venues also became popular during this period. For example, public support from the New York State Council on the Arts allowed the AFA to circulate exhibitions to small New York State communities, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts provided the AFA with five exhibitions for national tours.
Throughout its history, the American Federation of Arts has concentrated on its founding principle of broadening the audience for contemporary American art. Through its numerous exhibition and film programs, the AFA has succeeded in "breaking down barriers of distance and language to broaden the knowledge and appreciation of art." Annual exhibitions such as New Talent in the USA and Art Schools USA, organized by the AFA, brought before the public the most contemporary American artists and craftspeople, genres, and artistic forms of experimentation, exposing viewers to new ways of thinking and expression. In 1965, AFA produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films created to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
A vital part of American art history, the AFA was one of the first organizations to develop successfully the concept of traveling art exhibitions on a national and international level. The AFA was instrumental in assisting museums with circulating important juried exhibitions of contemporary art, such as the Whitney Annual and Corcoran Biennial. The AFA also recognized the importance of the exchange of cultural ideas, and it brought exhibitions of the European masters to the American public as well as exhibitions focusing on foreign contempoorary art, photography, and architecture. Many organizations and museums have followed the AFA's precedent, and traveling national and international venues are now commonplace.
Since 1909, women have served as officers and members of the Board of Trustees. Leila Mechlin was a founding participant and served as secretary from 1909 to 1933. Juliana R. Force and Eloise Spaeth both chaired the Exhibition Committee in the late 1940s. Women and artists of diverse backgrounds and nationalities were widely represented in the AFA's exhibition programs, most notably during the 1960s. In 1960, the AFA organized, with financial support from the Ford Foundation, a major Jacob Lawrence retrospective. Additional culturally diverse exhibitions included Contemporary Jewish Ceremonial Art (1961), The Heart of India (1962), 1,000 Years of American Indian Art (1963), and Ten Negro Artists from the United States (1966).
The AFA also had an impact on patronage in the arts. AFA exhibitions of contemporary art provided collectors with knowledge of new artists and avant-garde art forms, creating a broader demand and market for this type of work. Museums and collectors began purchasing work by new or obscure American artists whom they learned about through AFA exhibitions and programs.
The historical records of the American Federation of Arts offer the researcher a unique opportunity to study the development of American art and artists in the twentieth century as well as providing insight into trends in American culture.
Missing Title
1909 -- Founded in New York City. Began publishing Art and Progress (later retitled Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual.
1910 -- Moved headquarters to Washington, D.C.
1913 -- Lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on art entering the United States.
1915-1916 -- Lobbied successfully against the Cummins Amendment and the Interstate Commerce Commission's prohibitively high interstate tax on traveling art.
1920 -- Organized a lobbying campaign for the development of a national gallery of art at its national convention.
1921 -- Opened two new offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University.
1924 -- Arranged American participation in the Venice Biennale exhibition.
1927 -- Closed office at Stanford University.
1929 -- Organized American participation in exhibitions in France and Germany.
1933 -- Closed office at the University of Nebraska.
1935 -- Began publishing Who's Who in American Art.
1948 -- Published The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists.
1949 -- Collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to circulate exhibitions from its collections.
1950 -- Participated in the U.S. government's German re-orientation program.
1951 -- Joined forces with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program. Published the reference guide Films on Art. Co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York, through 1957.
1952 -- Moved headquarters to New York City.
1953 -- Magazine of Art liquidated.
1954 -- Introduced the Picture of the Month Program.
1956 -- Founded the Art Collectors Club of America.
1958 -- Received a Ford Foundation grant to finance a series of one-person shows of contemporary American artists.
1960 -- Created the Museum Donor Program.
1961 -- Received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to circulate exhibitions to small New York state communities.
1963 -- Received a grant from the Ford Foundation for the Artists in Residence program.
1964 -- Introduced the List Art Poster Program.
1965 -- Produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films that attempted to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
Appendix: List of Artists Exhibiting with American Federation of Arts:
The following is an alphabetical list of artists who exhibited with the American Federation of Arts; many are obscure. The alpha-numeric codes and numbers appearing with the artist's name represent specific AFA exhibition programs and, most often, AFA's exhibition numbering system. In cases where the AFA did not assign an exhibition number, Archives' staff have done so.
The primary reference source for the names and name variants is the American Federation of Arts Records. The names are documented in handwritten notes and lists, typed lists, and exhibition catalogs and announcements. The Archives of American Art name authority file was also consulted in questionable cases. The majority of names, however, were not found in either the AAA name authority file or standard bibliographic resources, and only in the AFA records.
Examples:
55-1: AFA annual exhibitions program
AD-1: Addison Gallery exhibitions
L-1: Life Magazine Exhibitions
ME-1: Misceallaneous exhibitions (numbers assigned by AAA staff)
NMA-1: Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibitions
NE-96: Contemporary Color Lithography
NY-1: New York State Council on the Arts exhibitions
VA-1: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibitions
Missing Title
A. Quincy Jones, Frederick E. Emmons & Assoc: 62-34
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) were donated to the Archives of American Art (AAA) over a thirteen-year period, with the bulk of the material arriving between 1964 and 1966. In 1979, Preston Bolton donated his letters and those from John de Menil, Ann Drevet, Lee Malone, and others regarding planning for the 1957 AFA annual convention held in Houston, Texas; convention committee minutes from 1956; and AFA newsletters. This material, as well as a 1979 gift from Louise Ferrari of transcripts from a panel discussion from the 1957 AFA convention in Houston, was microfilmed on AAA Reel 1780. All material previously microfilmed on Reel 1780 has been fully integrated into the collection and arranged within proper series and subseries. The provenance of the 1990-1993 printed material is unknown.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
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.
The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, and photographs.
Scope Content:
The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, financial material, architectural drawings, and photographs.
Correspondence, circa 1860-1921, includes Freer's correspondence, 1876-1920, with artists, dealers, collectors, museums, and public figures; letterpress books contain copies of Freer's outgoing letters, 1892-1910; correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler, and his wife Beatrix, 186?-1909, with Lady Colin Campbell, Thomas R. Way, Alexander Reid, Whistler's mother, Mrs. George W. Whistler, and others; correspondence of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, 1904-1913, regarding works in Canfield's collection; and correspondence of Freer's assistant, Katharine Nash Rhoades, 1920-1921, soliciting Freer's letters from his associates, and regarding the settlement of his estate.
Also included are twenty-nine pocket diaries, 1889-1890, 1892-1898, 1900-1919, recording daily activities, people and places visited, observations, and comments; a diary kept by Freer's caretaker, Joseph Stephens Warring, recording daily activities at Freer's Detroit home, 1907-1910. Inventories, n.d. and 1901-1921, of American, European, and Asian art in Freer's collection, often including provenance information; vouchers, 1884-1919, documenting his purchases; five volumes of scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeill Whistler, 1888-1931, labeled "Various," "Peacock Room," "Death, etc.," "Paris, etc.," and "Boston...London" ; three volumes of newsclippings, 1900-1930, concerning Freer and the opening of the Freer Gallery of Art.
Correspondence regarding Freer's gift and bequest to the Smithsonian Institution, 1902-1916; and photographs, ca. 1880-1930, of Freer, including portraits by Alvin Langdon Coburn and Edward Steichen, Freer with others, Freer in Cairo, China and Japan, Freer's death mask, and his memorial service, Kyoto, 1930; photographs of artists and others, including Thomas Dewing, Ernest Fenollosa, Katharine Rhoades taken by Alfred Stieglitz, Rosalind B. Philip, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Abbott H. Thayer, Dwight Tryon, and Whistler; and photographs relating to Whistler, including art works depicting him, grave and memorial monuments, works of art, the Peacock Room, and Whistler's memorial exhibition at the Copley Society.
Organization of the Papers:
This collection is organized into twelve series.
Series 1: Genealogical and Biographical Data
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Diaries
Series 4: Freer Colleague Materials
Series 5: Art Inventories
Series 6: Financial Materials
Series 7: Exhibition Loan Files
Series 8: Biblical Manuscripts and Gold Treasure Files
Series 9: American School of Archaeology in China
Series 10: Printed Material
Series 11: Outsize Material
Series 12: Photographs
Biographical Note:
1854 February 25 -- Born in Kingston, New York
1873 -- Appointed accountant and paymaster of New York, Kingston and Syracuse Railroad by Frank J. Hecker (1846-1927)
1876 -- Moves to Indiana to work, with Hecker, for the Detroit and Eel River and Illinois Railroad
1880 -- Moves to Detroit, participates in organization of the Peninsular Car Works with Hecker
1883 -- Becomes vice president and secretary of Peninsular Car Company when it succeeds Peninsular Car Works
1883 -- Begins collecting European prints
1884 -- Peninsular Car Company constructs plant on Ferry Avenue
1887 -- Meets Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)
1887 -- Acquires proofs of 26 etchings, Venice, Second Series(1886), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
1887 -- Purchases a small Japanese fan attributed to Ogata Korin(1658-1715)
1887 -- Buys land on Ferry Avenue
1889 -- Meets Frederick Stuart Church (1826-1900) and Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925) in New York
1890 -- Commissions Wilson Eyre (1858-1944) to design house on Ferry Avenue, Detroit, Michigan
1890 -- On first trip to London, meets James McNeill Whistler(1834-1903)
1892 -- Moves to Ferry Avenue house
1892 -- Tryon and Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) undertake decoration of reception rooms
1893 -- Lends American paintings to World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
1893 -- Purchases first piece of Chinese art, a small painting of white herons by an anonymous Ming dynasty (1368-1644) artist
1894 -- Begins yearlong trip around the world, which includes visit to the Whistlers in Paris and first trip to Asia, stopping in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, China, and Japan
1896 -- Meets Matsuki Bunkyo (1867-1940) in Boston
1899 -- Takes part in consolidation of railroad-car building companies then retires from active business
1900 -- Attends Exposition International Universelle in Paris
1900 -- Buys villa in Capri with Thomas S. Jerome
1901 -- Meets Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) in Paris and Ernest Fenollosa(1853-1908), who visits Freer in Detroit
1902 -- Meets Dikran Kelekian (1868-1951)
1902 -- Spends summer in Britain building Whistler collection
1902 -- Views Whistler's, Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room
1904 -- Purchases Whistler's Peacock Room
1904 -- Offers his art collections and funds to build a museum in which to house them to the Smithsonian Institution
1905 -- Smithsonian committee visits Freer in Detroit
1906 -- United States government formally accepts Freer's gift on January 24
1906 -- Freer signs Deed of Gift to Smithsonian Institution on May 5
1907 -- On second tour of Asia, meets Hara Tomitaro 1868-1939) in Yokohama, Japan
1908 -- Takes third trip to Asia, specifically to West Asia to study Rakka ware
1909 -- Tours Europe to study art museums
1909 -- On fourth trip to Asia, attends memorial ceremony for Fenollosa (d.1908 September) at Miidera, Japan, and meets Duanfang (1861-1911) in China
1910 -- On last trip to Asia, visits Longmen Buddhist caves in China
1911 -- Suffers stroke
1912 -- Lends selection of objects for exhibition at Smithsonian Institution
1913 -- Meets Eugene (1875-1957) and Agnes E. (1887-1970) Meyer
1913 -- Commissions Charles Adams Platt (1861-1933) to design museum building in Washington
1914 -- Meets Katharine Nash Rhoades (1885-1965) in Detroit
1915 -- Settles in New York City
1915 -- Site of future Freer Gallery of Art is determined
1916 -- Platt's plans for Freer Gallery are approved by Smithsonian Regents and Commission of Fine Arts and ground is broken in September
1918 -- After falling ill in Detroit, Freer travels to New York for treatment
1918 -- Work on the museum building is delayed by the war
1919 -- Freer appends codicil to will permitting acquisitions of Asian, Egyptian, and Near Eastern (West Asian) art
1919 -- Dies in New York City on 25 September and is buried in Kingston, New York
1919 -- Construction of Freer Gallery completed
1920 -- John Ellerton Lodge (1876-1942) is appointed director of the Freer Gallery
1923 -- Freer Gallery opens to the public on May 9
1930 -- Memorial ceremony for Freer is held at Koetsuji, Kyoto
Charles Lang Freer was an American industrialist who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. He was a well-known collector of Asian art, and strongly supported the synthesis of Eastern art and Western art. One of his most famous acquisitions was James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room.
Index:
Index to cross-referenced correspondents in the series Charles Lang Freer correspondence
Beal, Junius E. -- See: -- Warring, Joseph Stephens
Black, George M. -- See: -- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Board of Education (Kingston, New York) See: Michael, M. J.
Bonner, Campbell See: University of Michigan
Boughton, George H. See: Yardley, F. C.
British Museum See: Binyon, Laurence; Hobson, R. L.
Brown, Harold H. See: Art Association of Indianapolis
Buchner, Evelyn B. See: Knoedler, M., and Company
Buckholder, C. H. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Butler, S. B. See: Unidentified correspondents
Carnegie Institute See: Balken, Edward Duff; Harshe, Robert B.
Carpenter, Newton H. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Caulkins, Horace James See: Pewabic Pottery
Chao, Shih-chin See: Gunn, Chu Su
Chicago & North Western Railway Co. See: Hughett, Marvin
Clark, Charles Upson See: Clark, Arthur B.
Cleveland Museum of Art See: Whiting, Frederic Allen
Columbia University See: Braun, W. A.; Gottheil, Richard; Hirth, Friederich
Commission of Fine Arts See: Moore, Charles
Corcoran Gallery of Art See: Minnigerode, C. Powell
Crocker, Anna B. See: Portland Art Association
Dannenberg, D. E. See: Karlbeck, Orvar
De Menoncal, Beatrice See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection
De Ricci, Seymour See: Ricci, Seymour de
Defnet, William A., Mrs., See: Franke, Ida M.
DeMotte See: Vigouroux, J.
Detroit Institute of Arts See: Detroit Museum of Art
Detroit Publishing Company See: Livingstone, W. A.
Detroit School of Design See: George Hamilton; Stevens, Henry
DeVinne Press See: Peters, Samuel T.; Witherspoon, A. S.
Dyrenforth, P. C. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Eddy, Arthur J. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Eggers, George Williams See: Art Institute of Chicago
Farr, Daniel H. See: Robinson and Farr
Farrand School (Detroit) See: Yendall, Edith
Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) See: Laufer, Berthold
Flagg, Frederick J. See: Allen, Horace N.
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University See: Forbes, Edward; Pope, Arthur Upham; Sachs, Paul J.
French, M. R. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Fu, Lan-ya See: Pang, Lai-ch'en
Fujii, Yoshio See: Yoshio, Fujii
Gerrity, Thomas See: Knoedler, M., and Company
Goupil Gallery See: Marchant, William
Gray, William J. See: Barr, Eva
Great Lakes Engineering Works See: Hoyt, H. W.
Grolier Club See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Heinemann, W. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Holden, Edward S. See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy
Hudson, J. L. See: Weber, William C.
Hutchins, Harry B. See: University of Michigan
Hutchins, Charles L. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Kelekian, H. G. See: Kelekian, Dikran G.
Kent, H. W. See: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Lee, Kee Son See: Li, Chi-ch'un
Levy, John See: Schneider, A. K.
Library of Congress See: Rice, Richard A.; Wright, Helen
Louvre (Paris, France) See: Midgeon, Gaston
Matsuki, Z. See: Matsuki, Kihachiro
McKim, Mead and White See: White, Stanford
Mills, A. L., Colonel See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Miner, Luella See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection
Minneapolis Institute of Arts See: Breck, Joseph; Van Derlip, John R.
Monif, R. Khan See: Rathbun, Richard
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston See: Lodge, John Ellerton
Naser, Katen & Nahass See: Katen, K.
Nordlinger, Marie, Miss See: Meyer-Riefstahl, Marie
Panama Pacific International Exposition See: Moore, Charles C.; Trask, John E. D.
Peabody Museum See: Morse, Edward Sylvester
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Trask, John E. D.
Saint-Gaudens, Augusta H. See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Saint-Gaudens, Homer See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Samurai Shokai See: Nomura, Yozo
San Francisco Art Association See: Laurvik, J. Nilsen
Scribner's, Charles, Sons See: Van Dyke, John C.
Shaw, Wilfred B. See: University of Michigan
Shirae, S. Z. See: Yamanaka and Company
Smith College See: Clark, Arthur B.
Smithsonian Institution See: Holmes, William Henry; Rathbun, Richard; Ravenel, Walcott, Charles D.
Society of Arts and Crafts (Detroit) See: Plumb, Helen
Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander
Stevens, George W. See: Toledo Museum of Art
Stratton, Mary Chase Perry See: Pewabic Pottery
Tanaka, Kichijiro See: Yamanaka and Company
Tuttle, William F. See: Art Institute of Chicago
Union Trust Company (Detroit) See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
United States Military Academy See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy
University of Chicago See: Zug, George Breed
University of Pennsylvania, Univ. Mus. See: Gordon, George Bryon
Ushikubo, D. J. R. See: Yamanaka and Company
Wallis & Son See: Barr, Eva; Thompson, C. Croal Ward, Clarence See: Oberlin College
Warren, Edward K. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Warring, Stephen See: Warring, Joseph Stephens
Watkin, Williams R. T. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie
Watson, Margaret, Miss See: Parker, Margaret Watson
Whistler, Anna See: Stanton, Anna Whistler
Whiting, Almon C. See: Toledo Museum of Art
Williams College See: Rice, Richard A
Wright, F. G. See: Orbach and Company
Yatsuhashi, H. See: Yamanaka and Company
Index to cross-referenced correspondence in the series Whistler correspondence
Bell, William See: Unidentified correspondents
Brown, Ernest See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee
Cowen, John T. See subseries: Charles Lang Freer Correspondence
Ford, Sheridan See: Reid, Alexander
Haden, Francis Seymour See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee
Haden, Francis Seymour, Lady See: Haden, Deborah Whistler
Leighton, Frederick, Baron See: Campbell, Lady Colin
Moore, Albert See: Reid, Alexander
Morley, Charles See: Pall Mall Gazette
Morris, Harrison S. See: Reid, Alexander
Pennell, Joseph See: Miscellaneous typescripts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Reid, Alexander
Prange, F. G. See: Reid, Alexander
Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander
Society of Portrait Painters See: Reid, Alexander
Stevens Fine Art See: Reid, Alexander
Studd, Arthur See: Miscellaneous typescripts
[Vanderbilt?], George, Mrs. See: George, Mrs.
Whistler, William McNeill, Mrs. See: Whistler, Nellie
Whistler Memorial Committee See: Miscellaneous typescripts
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art microfilmed portions of the Freer papers in 1992. The microfilm is available at the Archives of American Art's Washington D.C. office, the Freer Gallery of Art Library, and through interlibrary loan.
Provenance:
Gift of the Estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Art, American -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Search this
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Patterson, Frederick D. (Frederick Douglass), 1901-1988 Search this
Patterson, Wilhelmina Bessie, 1888-1962 Search this
Extent:
6 Linear feet (9 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Programs
Clippings
Correspondence
Ephemera
Postcards
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1866 - 1990.
Summary:
The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 2010 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892.
Scope and Contents note:
The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 1990 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892. The collection is comprised of correspondence, photographs, clippings, and ephemera.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in four series:
Series 1: Dale-Patterson Family papers
Series 2: Charles Qualls papers
Series 3: Community Organizations
Series 4: Subject Files
Biographical/Historical note:
The Dale family came to Washington, DC in 1886 when John Henry Dale, Sr., a gifted self-taught man, obtained a position as clerk in the newly contracted Pension Bureau building at 5th and G Streets, NW. First they lived near 13th Street and Florida Avenue, NW, then moved to Howard Road in Anacostia. Dale built a house at 2619 Nichols Avenue, now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, drawing the plans and supervising the construction. The Dales and only one other family lived in this solidly built house for 100 years before it was sold to a church group and demolished.
General Note:
Finding Aid Note: This finding aid is associated with a MARC collection-level record.361883
Provenance:
The Dale-Patterson Family collection was donated to the Anacostia Community Museum on April 07, 2013.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
The Dale-Patterson Family collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
Democratic Republic of the Congo -- Équateur Province -- Upoto -- (Upoto mission, outside Lisala)
Date:
ca. 1910
Scope and Contents:
Printed text on recto reads: "Souvenir du Congo; Steamer Peace à Upoto
Translated postcard caption reads: "Souvenir of the Congo; Peace Steamer at Upoto."
Additional printed text on recto reads: "Ed. Nels, Bruxelles. Serie 14 No. 25."
Additional information provided by EEPA staff: Baptist Missionary Society Steamer, "Peace," its crew, and cargo, photographed circa early 1900's. Initially built for B.M.S. pioneer Rev. W. Holman Bentley, "Peace's" Congo voyages included upriver expeditions with Mr. George Grenfell, reaching Upoto (also known as Bopoto) by 1890. First B.M.S. converts were made in 1896. The Upoto station was located approximately 240 miles north of Stanleyville [located outside of Lisala].
Local Numbers:
EEPA CG-47-56
General:
Title source: Postcard caption.
Citation source: Archives staff.
Additional Physical Form available Note:
4 x 5 color transparency in cold vault.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The records document the work of consulting engineers and bridge builders, Ralph Modjeski (1861-1940) and Frank Masters (1883-1974) of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the civil engineering career of Ralph Modjeski (1861-1940) and Frank masters (1883-1974). The materials include bound volumes and loose photographs of bridge work-in-progress; printed reports; articles, pamphlets; drawings, blue prints and tracings of bridges; letterpress books of correspondence; contracts; reports; studies of bridge materials; and glass plate negatives and lantern slides depicting bridges.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1915-1986
Series 2: Letter Press Books, 1898-1906
Series 3: Photographs, 1878-1979
Series 4: Contracts, 1895-1960
Series 5: Printed Materials, 1862-1969
Series 6: Newspaper Clippings, 1924-1941
Series 7: Lantern Slides, undated
Series 8: Glass Plate Negatives, 1906-1926
Series 9: Film Negatives, 1924, undated
Series 10: Drawings, 1901-1952
Biographical / Historical:
Rudolphe Modrzejewski was born to Helena Jadwiga Opid (d.1909) and Gustav Sinnmayer Modrzejewski (d. 1901) on January 27, 1861, in Cracow, Poland. His mother was an internationally known stage actress who went by the name Helena Modrzejewska. In 1868, Helena married Count Karol Bożenta Chłapowski. In July 1876, Helena and Rudolphe emigrated to America, where, for purposes of American citizenship, the Polish form of their surname was later changed to Modjeski (feminine form Modjeska). Modjeski became a naturalized citizen in 1883 in San Francisco, California.
In 1882, Modjeski returned to Europe to study at the Ecole Des Ponts et Chaussees and graduated in 1885 with a degree in civil engineering. Modjeski worked with prominent civil engineer and "Father of American Bridge Building," George S. Morison, on the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge over the Missouri River at Omaha as an assistant engineer. He remained with Morison from 1885 to 1892. Some of his assignments included working in the shops which produced steel sections; the design office where he advanced to chief draftsman; and as an inspector of quality control in shops that fabricated steel elements. Modjeski worked with Morison on his Willamette, Nebraska City, Sioux City, Winona, Cairo, and Memphis bridges across the Mississippi River. The Memphis bridge was the longest span cantilever in the country at the time.
In 1893, Modjeski opened a civil engineering practice in Chicago with S. Nicholson. After some financial difficulties, Nicholson and Modjeski dissolved their partnership. Modjeski's first individual large commission was the bridge at Rock Island, Illinois (1895) across the Mississippi River where he designed and supervised the construction of the bridge for the federal government and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company.
In 1902, Modjeski went into partnership with fellow civil engineer, Alfred Noble (1844-1914) forming the firm of Noble and Modjeski. He went into partnership with Walter Angier, under the name Modjeski and Angier, civil and inspecting engineers, between 1912 and 1924 with several offices around the United States. Angiers had worked with him beginning in 1902 on the bridge across the Mississippi at Thebes, Illinois. Modjeski partnered, in 1924, with Frank Masters (1883-1974), who had worked with him and Angiers between 1904 and 1914 on the Memphis and Louisville Bridges, forming Modjeski and Masters. Clement E. Chase and Montgomery B. Case later joined the firm as partners. In 1937, Masters assumed full control and ownership of the firm which specialized in the design and construction supervision of large bridges and other structures, rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing bridges, the design of highways and expressways, subways and wharves, the design of large and complex foundations, inspection of construction materials, and the creation of surveys, investigations and reports.
Modjeski built and/or consulted on over forty bridges in his lifetime. He built truss, steel arch, and suspension bridges. He introduced steel tower pylons in place of masonry towers and he used better grades of steel, such as new steel alloys with improved strength and durability. He also introduced advancements in the design of cable configurations and deck-stiffening beams. Some of his major projects included: the Columbia River and Willamette bridges, McKinley Bridge at St. Louis; the Celilo Railroad Bridge at Celilo, Ohio; the Thebes Bridge over the Mississippi; the Quebec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River; the Delaware River Bridge; the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge.
On December 28, 1885, Modjeski married Felicie Benda (d. 1936) in New York and the couple had three children: Felix Bozenta Modjeski (1887); Marylka Stuart Modjeski (1894) and Charles Emmanuel John Modjeski (1896-1944). Ralph and Felicie divorced in 1931. He later married Virginia Giblyn on July 7, 1931. Modjeski died in Los Angles on June 26, 1940.
Raymond E. Wilson Covered Bridge Collection, 1958-1974 (AC0999)
Materials at Other Organizations
Southern Illinois University, Morris Library Special Collections
Walter E. Angier photograph collection, 1901-1915
Walter E. Angier Vertical File Manuscript, 1924
Michigan Historical Collections, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
Alfred Noble Papers, 1862-1922
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Modejeski and Masters Consulting Engineers, through Joseph J. Scherrer, October 2, 1990.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
Records of the Superintendent of Education include a series of letters and telegrams received, March 28, 1864-August 30, 1868, with most of the correspondence dated before 1866. Arranged chronologically, the series includes receipts for school supplies, requests for school accommodations, general statements of school conditions or public opinion concerning schools, and reports of damage done to schools by vandals or anti-Bureau groups. A name index to this correspondence, prepared by NARA staff is arranged alphabetically by correspondent's surname.
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers, 1906-2016, bulk 1920-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by Stephen Diamond, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and 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.
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:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and 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.
Records of the Field Offices for the State of Virginia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
Extent:
197,148 Digital files
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Digital files
Date:
1865–1872
Summary:
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 203 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1913. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Virginia field offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872, including previously unfilmed records of the Virginia staff offices of the quartermaster and disbursing officer, and the subordinate field offices. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, including letters and endorsements sent and received, orders and circulars, monthly reports, and other records relating to freedmen's complaints and claims.
Historical Note:
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1913.]
HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self–sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their family or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.
The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, a chief medical officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts.
The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. Based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers, he prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction. The Assistant Commissioner also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non–Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, it was often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner.
In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "General Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education.
An act of Congress approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states.
For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. However, the records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN VIRGINIA
ORGANIZATION
In Virginia, the Bureau's operations began in June 1865 when Assistant Commissioner Orlando Brown established his headquarters in Richmond. Brown served until May 1866, when he was succeeded by Maj. Gen. Alfred H. Terry, who remained in office until August 1866. Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield served from August 1866 to March 1867, when Orlando Brown again assumed office and served as both Assistant Commissioner and superintendent of education until May 1869.
From June 1866 to March 1867, Assistant Commissioners Terry and Schofield also served as military commanders of the Department of Virginia and its successor, the Department of the Potomac. Although the two generals created and received records in both capacities, they maintained separate sets of records for this period. Records created by Terry and Schofield while serving in their military capacities are found among the Records of United States Army Commands, 1821–1920, RG 393.
Beginning in September 1865, the Assistant Commissioner for the District of Columbia was responsible for Bureau operations in the Virginia counties of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Loudoun, and the Freedmen's Village near Arlington, VA. Bureau officers were assigned to supervise the activities of these districts. In August 1866, supervision of Loudoun County was transferred to the Assistant Commissioner for Virginia, and Alexandria and Fairfax Counties were similarly transferred in March 1867. Because officers in the above counties reported to the Assistant Commissioner of the District of Columbia, some records for Virginia are among his files.
From July 4, 1865 to April 14, 1867, the Virginia Bureau was divided into 10 districts, with an agent or superintendent in charge of each. Districts were further divided into subdistricts, each headed by an assistant superintendent. On April 15, 1867, the state was reorganized into 10 subdistricts, with a subassistant commissioner in charge of each. The subdistricts were divided further into divisions headed by assistant subassistant commissioners. Subdistrict headquarters were established at Alexandria, Fort Monroe, Fredericksburg, Gordonsville, Lynchburg, Norfolk, Petersburg, Richmond, Winchester, and Wytheville. On January 1, 1869, the 10 subdistricts were reorganized into 8 educational subdistricts, with an assistant superintendent of schools in charge of each. The heads of the various subdivisions supervised all Bureau activities, including education, in their respective areas and reported on educational matters to both the superintendent of education and the Assistant Commissioner.
ACTIVITIES
The major activities of the Freedmen's Bureau in Virginia generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau issued rations and provided medical relief to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, and worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools.
The Freedmen's Bureau's efforts to provide relief to both blacks and whites in Virginia began almost as soon as Orlando Brown assumed office as Assistant Commissioner for the state in June 1865. From late summer to early fall 1865, the Bureau issued more than 350,000 rations at a cost of nearly $33,000. By mid October 1865, however, the number of rations issued had declined from a previous 275,000 to less than 236,000. During the same period, the number of people receiving rations decreased from 16,298 to 11,622. In September 1866, with Commissioner Howard's limitation of government assistance to those persons in orphanages and hospitals, and the plan to relinquish relief efforts for the destitute to state and local government officials, the Bureau in Virginia issued rations to fewer than 5,000 individuals statewide. Because the Virginia Bureau in 1866 and 1867 was committed to reducing expenditures and providing limited relief for those in dire need, by late September 1868 a large number of freedmen in the state still remained impoverished.1
The Virginia Bureau also opened several hospitals for the sick and infirm. At various times, hospitals were established at Eastville, Drummondtown, Norfolk, Hampton, Yorktown, Petersburg, Farmville, Lynchburg, Danville, Richmond, and City Point. Under the direction of surgeon J. J. De Lamaster, 13 contract and 2 noncontract physicians provided treatment for more than 650 patients during 1865 and 1866. Two dispensaries administered more than 18,000 prescriptions for medicine. At Howard Grove Hospital near Richmond, Virginia, the Bureau opened a ward for the insane and a home for the aged and infirm. In the northern part of the state, homes were located for 139 inmates housed at an orphan asylum. By late October 1866, over 30,000 freedmen received medical aid from the Bureau in Virginia. By October 1867, that number increased to 50,000.2
The Bureau worked to make freedmen self–sufficient and to incorporate them into the new free–labor system in Virginia. Thousands of freedmen who crossed Union lines during the Civil War continued to seek support from the Freedmen's Bureau at war's end. With great demand for labor in some areas (especially in large cities) and not in others, and the Federal Government's determination to reduce dependency on government aid, the Virginia Bureau provided transportation for persons who were unable to find work in areas where they resided to locations where work was readily available. Those able–bodied freedmen who refused or did not apply for transportation would no longer receive rations. Under labor agreements approved by the Virginia Bureau, freedmen received rations (but no clothing) and wages that averaged about $9 per month. In some districts freedmen worked for a share of the crop. Often, however, with limited employment (especially during the winter months), low wages, inadequate shares of crops, and the failure of local officials to provide for the destitute, freedmen were constantly dependent upon the Bureau for subsistence.3
Safeguarding rights and securing justice for freedmen were major concerns of the Virginia Bureau. Following the Civil War, several Southern states, including Virginia, enacted a series of laws commonly known as "Black Codes" that restricted the rights and legal status of freedmen. Freedmen were often given harsh sentences for petty crimes and in some instances were unable to get their cases heard or to testify in state courts. In September 1865, Assistant Commissioner Orlando Brown established Freedmen's Bureau courts to adjudicate cases involving freedmen where the penalties did not exceed a $100 fine or three months in prison. The three–member court was composed, for the most part, of a Bureau agent, a planters' representative, and an individual selected by freedmen. In February 1866, the Virginia legislature amended laws that adversely affected the rights of freedmen, and thus by early May 1866, Bureau courts were discontinued, and both civil and criminal cases were turned over to state authorities. However, because of the failure of many local court officials to administer equal justice (especially in areas outside of large cities and towns), the Bureau in Virginia found it necessary to re–establish Bureau courts in certain areas of the state. In late May 1867, Maj. Gen. Schofield, who served as both Commander of the 1st Military District and Assistant Commissioner for Virginia, issued orders appointing military commissioners to oversee the administration of justice in Bureau subdistricts throughout Virginia, giving them exclusive jurisdiction and power to decide whether a case would be tried by a civil court or a military commission. Despite the establishment of military commissioners however, protecting the rights and securing justice for freedpeople still remained an enormous problem for the Bureau as late as the fall of 1868.4
The Freedmen's Bureau's educational activities in Virginia began with Assistant Commissioner Brown's appointment of Prof. W. H. Woodbury as Virginia's superintendent of schools for freedmen on June 20, 1865. By November, he had been replaced by Ralza Morse Manly, the assistant superintendent of schools (later education), who served until August 15, 1870, when all Bureau educational activities ceased.
Within six months of assuming office, Manly had more than 136 teachers instructing some 8,000 pupils. The number of teachers soon increased to more than 200, with nearly 18,000 students under instruction. During the years 1866 and 1867, freedmen schools continued to improve and expand. By the fall of 1868, there were nearly 270 schools in operation, with more than 350 teachers providing instruction for some 20,000 pupils.5 Schools assisted or maintained by the Bureau in Virginia included day schools for children, night schools for adults, and Sabbath schools. Students received instruction in such subjects as reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography. Many teachers were recruited from the North by freedmen's aid societies that included the American Missionary Association, the New York National Freedmen's Relief Association, the New England Freedmen's Aid Society, the American Baptist Home Mission Society, the Friends Freedmen's Relief Association, and the American Freedmen's Union Commission. Teachers were also recruited from among the local white and black populations.
The Bureau's educational support for freedmen schools generally involved assistance in the establishment and maintenance of schools and the examination and appointment of teachers. Bureau funds were used to pay for construction and repair of school buildings, for rental of properties used for educational purposes, and for providing teachers with transportation. Teachers' salaries were usually paid by freedmen's aid societies; however, in some situations, salaries were partially subsidized by contributions from freedmen. Whenever possible, the Bureau solicited subscriptions from freedmen for the establishment of schools, and in some cases tuition was charged.
ENDNOTES
1 Mary J. Farmer, "Because They Are Women: Gender and the Virginia Freedmen's Bureau's War on Dependency," in The Freedmen's Bureau and Reconstruction: Reconsiderations, eds. Paul A. Cimbala and Randall M. Miller, (New York: Fordham University Press, 1999), 165 – 169; Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, Virginia, October 8, 1867 [pp. 4 – 7], and October 19, 1868 [pp. 12 – 14], Records of the Office of the Commissioner, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building (NAB), Washington, DC.
2 Senate Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, 163 – 164; For further details on the medical activities of the Freedmen's Bureau in Virginia, see Annual Reports of J. J. De Lamater, Surgeon and Chief, Virginia, October 25, 1866 [pp. 1 – 34], and October 1, 1867 [pp. 1 – 23], Annual Reports, Virginia, RG 105, NAB.
3 Senate Ex. Doc. 6, Serial Vol. 1276, 161 – 162; see also Annual Reports, Virginia, October 8, 1867, [pp. 4 – 8], and October 19, 1868, [pp. 12 – 14].
4 George R. Bentley, A History of the Freedmen's Bureau (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1944), 152 – 153; Senate Ex. Doc. 6, Serial Vol. 1276, 165 – 167; Annual Reports, Virginia, October 8, 1867, [p. 3], and October 19, 1868, [pp. 2 – 8].
5 Senate Ex. Doc. 6, Serial Vol. 1276, 164 – 165; Annual Reports, Virginia, October 8, 1867, [pp. 9 – 14], and October 19, 1868, [pp. 16 – 18].
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Virginia:
This list provides the names and dates of service of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices for Virginia. Additional information regarding persons assigned to various field offices might be found among the Bureau's Washington headquarters station books and rosters of military officers and civilians on duty in the states and in other appointment–related records.
ALEXANDRIA
Oct. 1863–June 1865 -- Superintendent of Contrabands A. Gladwin
July–Nov. 1865 -- Superintendent James Ferree (5th District)
Nov. 1865–Jan. 1866 -- Superintendent Henry Alvord
Jan. 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner S. R. Lee
Mar. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Superintendent and Subassistant Commissioner S. R. Lee (10th Subdistrict)
Jan.–Apr. 1869 -- Superintendent S. R. Lee (6th Educational Subdistrict of VA)
AMELIA COURTHOUSE
Oct. 1865–Aug. 1866 -- Assistant Superintendent W. F. White
Aug. 1866–Jan. 1867 -- Assistant Superintendent James Drysdale
Jan. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner J. B. Clinton
APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE
1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner Louis Neswick
ASHLAND
1865–66 -- Ed Murphy
1867–68 -- Ira Ayers
BOWLING GREEN (Caroline County)
Jan. 1866–Nov. 1867 -- Assistant Superintendent John Dwyer
Nov.–Dec. 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner W. B. Pease
Mar. 1866–July 1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner J. H. Hall (3rd Division, 9th District)
July–Aug. 1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner W. Lyreel
Aug.–Dec. 1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner Watkins James
WYTHEVILLE
Oct. 1865–June 1866 -- Superintendent B. C. Carter (8th District)
June–Dec. 1866 -- Superintendent George P. Sherwood (8th District)
Dec. 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Superintendent J. H. Remington (8th District)
Mar.–Aug. 1867 -- Superintendent William P. Austin (8th District)
Mar.–Aug. 1867 -- Superintendent H. G. Thomas (8th District)
Jan.–Mar. 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Schools H. G. Thomas (at Salem)
YORKTOWN
Jan. 1866–May 1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner F. A. Massey (3rd Division, 5th District)
Aug.–Dec. 1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner Henry K. Ayers (3rd Division, 5th District)
Related Archival Materials note:
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Provenance:
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Inside Out program of the 2010 Festival celebrated the culture of Smithsonian workers. The program explored the daily tasks of the Institution's approximately six thousand employees, as well as its thousands of volunteers, interns, and research fellows. The range of jobs at the nineteen museums and nine research centers of the Smithsonian, not to mention its central support offices, truly boggles the mind. Staff members maintain buildings, care for collections, conduct field and laboratory research, organize archives, present public programs, create exhibitions, feed animals, tend gardens, update Web sites, arrange travel, manage funds, and much, much more. All of these were turned inside out to allow Festival visitors to discover a different Smithsonian than they could otherwise encounter.
Producing a Folklife Festival program on the wide scope of Smithsonian staffers' expertise in the twenty-first century was a daunting task. But in the end it had to be approached like any other Smithsonian project—through months of research and fieldwork, careful planning, and collaborative consultation. Research for the Smithsonian Inside Out program was challenging and rewarding - but always compellingly fascinating. As with many Folklife Festival programs, curators felt privileged to spend even a brief period of time exploring the skills and discovering the stories of Smithsonian staff and then transforming them into Festival presentations The Institution is a truly remarkable place, and bringing just a sampling of its work to the Folklife Festival was worth all the hours of research and planning.
Betty J. Belanus was Curator; Nicole Harper was Program Coordinator; and James Deutsch and Marjorie Hunt were Researchers. The program was produced and made possible by the Smithsonian Institution.
Presenters:
James Deutsch, James Counts Early, Marjorie Hunt, Diana Baird N'Diaye, Jeff Place
Participants:
Participants
Anacostia Community Museum -- Alcione Amos, Anthony Gualtieri, Sheila Montague Parker, Tony Thomas, Roderick Turner
Archives of American Art -- Liza Kirwin
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage -- Toby Dodds, David Horgan, Mary Monseur, Jeff Place, Stephanie Smith, Atesh Sonneborn
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum -- Andrea Lipps, Caroline Payson
Freer and Sackler Galleries -- Regina Belard, Eric Breitung, Louise Cort, Janet Douglas, Stephen Eckerd, Xiang-mei Gu, Andrew Hare, Hisashi Higuchi, Emily Jacobson, Paul Jett, Blythe McCarthy, Claire Orologas, Evelyn Peng, Courtney Shimoda, Yumi Shintani
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden -- Kerry Brougher, Ryan Hill, Deborah Horowitz, Kevin Hull, Milena Kalinovska, Susan Lake, Scott Larson, Jennifer Leehey, Kristy Maruca, Al Masino, Larissa Radell, Gabriel Riera, Jennifer Rossi, Gwynne Ryan, Sam Scharf, Rebecca Withers
National Air and Space Museum -- Rose Aiello, Sarah Andre, Maria Banks, Elizabeth Borja, Erin Braswell, Barbara Brennan, Bruce Campbell, Jennifer Carlton, Lynn Carter, Ann Caspari, Paul Ceruzzi, Martin Collins, Tom Crouch, Jim David, David DeVorkin, Sharleen Eusebio, Mychalene Giampaoli, John Grant, Marilyn Graskowiak, Hunter Hollins, Ashley Hornish, Andrew Johnston, Diane Kidd, Tom Lassman, Roger Launius, Cathy Lewis, Ted Maxwell, Katie Moore, Beatrice Mowry, Valerie Neal, Alan Needell, Michael Neufeld, Sharon Purdy, Kelly Shockey, Margaret Weitekamp, Shelley Witte, Jim Zimbelman, Lise Zinck
National Museum of African American History and Culture -- Reneé Anderson, Dorey Butter, Rex Ellis, Tuliza Fleming, John Franklin, Paul Gardullo, Cori Howard, Michèle Gates Moresi, Elaine Nichols, Dwandalyn Reece, Paul Rosenthal, Jackie Serwer, Bryan Sieling
National Museum of African Art -- Curtis Beeler, Johnnetta B. Cole, Richard Collins, Keith Conway, Clarissa Fostel, Bryna Freyer, Julie Haifley, Christine Mullen Kreamer, Katherine McKee, Steve Mellor, Nailah Penic, Pier Penic, Nora Severson, Nicole Shivers, Amy Staples, Deborah Stokes, Laura Strombotne, Kevin Tervala
National Museum of American History -- Larry Bird, Joan Boudreau, Dwight Bowers, Michelle Delaney, Richard Doty, Tricia Edwards, Robyn Einhorn, John Fleckner, Petrina Foti, Tanya Garner, Lisa Kathleen Graddy, Rayna Green, David Haberstich, Wallace Harold, John Hasse, Cynthia Hoover, Paul Johnson, Paula Johnson, Cathy Keen, Peggy Kidwell, Karen Lee, Bonnie Campbell Lilienfeld, Melinda Machado, Steve Madewell, Amanda Murray, Craig Orr, Sue Ostroff, Alison Oswald, Shannon Perich, Kay Peterson, Deborra Richardson, Franklin Robinson, Harry Rubenstein, Fath Davis Ruffins, Noriko Sanefuji, Wendy Shay, Roger Sherman, Vanessa Broussard Simmons, Barbara Clark Smith, Megan Smith, Steve Velasquez, Deborah Warner, Jennifer Wei, Chris Wilson, Bill Yeingst
National Museum of Natural History -- Mary Jo Arnoldi, Elizabeth Ban, Debbie Bell, Bill Billeck, Dave Bohaska, Amy Bolton, Noel Broadbent, Lisa Burkoski, Cari Corrigan, Elizabeth Cottrell, Elio Cruz, Christine Deloff, Carla Dove, Richard Efthim, Nate Erwin, Bill Fitzhugh, Vicki Funk, Margery Gordon, Leslie Hale, Gary Hevel, Jake Homiak, Helen James, Igor Krupnik, Rob Leopold, Lauren Marr, Elizabeth Neville, John Ososky, Stefan Ososky, Sarah Perry, Colleen Popson, Jeff Post, Gale Robertson, Ruth Selig, Kristen Simmons, Barbara Stauffer, Catherine Sutera, Jackie Swift, Catherine Urban, Lorain Wang, Pam Wintle, Mike Wise, Rick Wunderman
National Museum of the American Indian -- José Barreiro, Howard Bass, Erin Beasley, Sharla Blanche, Sarah Block, Megan Byrnes, Suzanne Davis, Luba Dovgan-Nurse, Ann Drumheller, Cara Fama, Heather Farley, Carrie Feldman, Elizabeth Kennedy Gische, Angela Gonzales, Linda Greatorex, Susan Heald, Doug Herman, Mark Hirsch, Helen James, Marian Kaminitz, Emily Kaplan, Laura Krafsur, Beverly Lamberson, Hayes Lavis, Mary Jane Lenz, Leonda Levchuck, Ramero Matos, Kelly McHugh, Ann McMullen, Barb Mogel, Pat Nietfeld, Jennifer O'Neal, Vilma Ortiz-Sanchez, Carolyn Rapkievian, Jane Sledge, Wayne Smith, Terry Snowball, Rajshree Solanki, Lou Stancari, Kathy Suter, Jackie Swift, Gabrielle Tayac, Tanya Thrasher, Jennifer Tozer, Rebecca Head Trautmann, Shelly Uhlir, Amy Van Allen, Nancy Kenet Vickery, Erin Weinman
National Portrait Gallery -- Andrea Baer, Debbie Bartels, Amy Baskette, Bethany Bentley, Kiah Berkeley, Anne Goodyear, Amy Henderson, Dottie Herzer, Alli Jessing, Erica Joyce, Rebecca Kasemeyer, Milly Katchpole, Shirlee Lampkin, Andrea Lupton, Geri Lyons, Meradythe Moore, Warren Perry, Geri Provost, Patricia Raynor, Wendy Wick Reaves, Ann Shumard, Kristin Smith, Briana Zavadil White, Tameka Williams
National Postal Museum -- Debbie Bartels, Kiah Berkeley, Lynn Heidelbaugh, Dottie Herzer, Patricia Raynor, Allison Wickens, Tanika Williams
National Zoological Park -- Mark Albaugh, Alfonso Alonso, Tony Barthel, Elise Bernardoni, Jeanette Boyd, Dottie Gwen Brannock, Ann Bratthauer, Meagan Brown, Lily Cheng, Frank Clements, Bob Cmarik, Dan Davies, Sara Eisler, Carolyn Emerick, Matt Evans, Jilian Fazio, Rob Fleischer, Mike Frick, David Frye, Ryan Garvin, Sue Garvin, Jennifer Graves-Herring, Mary Hagedorn, Frank Hailer, Matt Hancock, Travis Harper, Dean Harting, Heidi Hellmuth, Mike Henley, Larry Holloway, Willie Jackson, Mark Jordan, Kenton Kerns, Bob King, Laura Klopfer, Esther Langan, Erin Latimer, Matt Laudadio, Karen Lee, Rosalie Lewis, Justin Lock, Chuck Lydeard, Aprell Makle, Ellen Martinsen, Mike Maslanka, Bill McShea, Steve Miccione, Gary Miller, Tony Mills, Cathi Morrison, Richard Mowbray, Suzan Murray, Jennifer Nagashima, Stephanie Otto, Jeff Perry, Alan Peters, Budhan Pukazhenthi, Sarah Putman, Jerry Ramsey, Lauren Reiter, Bob Rice, Laura Richman, Pat Rizer, Nancy Rotzel, Jenny Shinn, Melissa Songer, Nucharin Songsasen, Donna Stockton, Erin Stromberg, Brian Swanson, Marcia Swanson, Kimberly Terrell, Tabitha Viner, Tim Walsh, Billy Ward, Amy Wilson, Darryl Wormley
Office of Exhibits Central -- Harry Adams, Mary Bird, Howard Clemenko, David Clements, Lora Collins, Leah Cooperson, Ricardo Deleon, Lori Dempsey, Ellen Dorn, Daniel Fielding, Natalie Gallelli, Richard Gould, Kate Hardy, Michael Headley, Peggy Hernandez, Chris Hollshwander, Alicia Jager, Paula Kaufman, Theresa Keefe, Evan Keeling, Michael Kelton, Chris Landingin, Tina Lynch, Rolando Mayen, Robert Perantoni, Janette Pitts, Stoyan Popovich, George Quist, Rosemary Regan, Betsy Burstein Robinson, Vince Rossi, Gregory Schaal, Scott Schmidt, Walter Skinner, Timothy Smith, Carolyn Thome, Kathleen Varnell, Seth Waite, Robert Wilcox, Jonathan Zastrow
Office of Facilities Engineering and Operations -- Wayne Aytch, George Baker, Amy Ballard, Jason Banister, Tony Barrett, James Bates, Thomas Batzer, Jim Belt, Tommy Benjamin, John Bixler, Diana Bramble, John Brenchley, Maria Bush, Lawrence Chatman, Erin Clark, Richard Clarke, Pedro Colon, Leroy Coward, Kelly Crawford, Joseph Cusick, Dan Davies, Carlos Davis, Graham Davis, Richard Day, Dennis DeBoy, Paul Decker, Maria DeIsasi, Bill Donnelly, Janet Draper, Rick A. Dulski, Mark Edney, Walt Ennaco, Willie Etheridge, Barbara Faust, Bob Fennimore, Kathleen Fleming, Rick Forman, Shelley Gaskins, Charles Gates, Jill Gonzalez, Christian Goodlander, Bill Griffiths, David Grimes, Steve Groh, David Hall, Robert Hardy, Michael Harris, Herman Hawkins, Paula Healy, Charles Herndon, Kimberly Holliday, Gary Johannsen, Fredrick Jones, Regie Jones, Jonathan Kavalier, Sylvia Kendra, Daren Kennedy, Frank Kerns, Melinda Kincaid, Curtis Kirkland, Sheryl Kolasinski, Dan Krowpman, John Lagundo, Veronica Lee, Joel Lemp, Christopher Lethbridge, Paul Lindell, Keith Lindsey, Scott Lipscomb, Wes Long, Nick Ludtke, Scott Lyons, Alonzo Mackall, Tyrone Marbley, Jud McIntyre, Wayne McMasters, Brett McNish, Richard Miller, Tom Mirenda, Thomas Morris, Tiffany Myers, Steven Netcott, Mitchell Norman, Sharon Park, Maverick Parker, Jane Passman, Johnny Peterson, Mark Proctor, Tarlisaer Randolph, Melvin Rhodes, Jeff Ridgeway, Mike Ronayne, Edgardo Rosario, Brenda Sanchez, Jason Sawyer, Jeffrey Schneider, Danny Schultz, Rick Shilling, Joe Smith, R.C. Smith, Michelle Spofford, Rick Stamm, Arthur Stribling, Derrick Tate, Charles Thomspon, Roland Tolliver, Nhan Truong, Nelson Turner, Lorraine Tyler, Ed Tyson, Denise Upson, Mark Verdi, Sheri Vucci, James Wenk, Paul Westerberg, William Whittington, Andy Wilson, Cathye Young, Ronald Young
Office of Protection Services -- Andre Bell, Tommy Benjamin, Larry Carpenter, Betty Gordon, Michael Harris, Stephen Hoska, David Jackson, William Johnson, Melinda Kincaid, Charles Smaw, Arthur Stribling, Lorraine Tyler
Office of the Chief Information Officer -- Adam Metallo
Smithsonian Affiliations -- Jennifer Brundage, Harold Closter, Alma Douglas
Smithsonian American Art Museum -- Katie Crooks, Laurel Fehrenbach, Christine Hennessey, Tom Irion, Martin Kotler, Jina Lee, Nona Martin, Jane Milosch, Hayley Plack, Scott Rosenfeld, Tierney Sneeringer
Smithsonian Archives -- Ellen Alers, Courtney Esposito, Pam Henson
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program -- Krista Aniel, Gina Inocencio
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory -- Jon Chappell, Chris Eagan, Heidi Gneiser, Aaron Watry, Marc Whitman
Smithsonian Enterprises -- Jeanny Kim, Amy Kotkin, MaryBeth Mullen, Beth Py-Lieberman, Ryan Reed, Brian Wolly
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center -- Bert Drake, Mark Haddon, Tuck Hines, Paige Roberts
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service -- Katherine Krile, Ed Liskey, Laurie Trippett
Smithsonian Latino Center -- Alex Benítez, Eduardo Diaz, Emily Key, Andy Rebatta, Ranald Woodaman
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute -- Edwin Cadena, Jackie Giacalone, Allen Herre, David Roubik, Sunshine Van Bael
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
Migration to Metropolitan Washington: Making a New Place Home
Collection Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The second in a multi-year series, the Migration to Metropolitan Washington program offered a deeper look into the history and culture of the city that revealed more than just "official" Washington. Beyond the monuments to which millions pilgrimage each year exists a little recognized residential city undergoing a process of tremendous change and redefinition due to the impact of the migration of populations from all over the world. Washington in 1988 was the home of immigrants from more than sixty countries. Approximately twelve percent of the more than 3.5 million people in the metropolitan area were foreign born. Since the 1970s their number in the metropolitan area had tripled and since 1980 doubled. Traditional culture played an important role in making Washington home for people who have migrated to the city. Despite traumatic circumstances, if people bring little else with them, at least they carry their culture. They select, modify, adapt, reinterpret, revitalize, and drop aspects of their cultural traditions as they adjust to their new environment. In addition they adopt new traditions, synthesize and blend old with newer ones, and create new mechanisms for supporting and expressing who they see themselves to be.
As an urban setting Washington provides opportunities for people to interact with others with whom they might never have mingled and to behave in ways that they never could have in the home setting. This creates stimulae for the development of new forms of expression and distinctive local traditions arising out of the blends. The 1988 Festival program addressed these issues and many more. In telling their stories and demonstrating their traditions, immigrants to Washington allowed Festival visitors to understand the cultural aspects of migration and how they have attempted and in some cases succeeded in making a new place in the metropolitan area.
Phyllis M. May-Machunda was Curator of the program, with Camila Bryce-Laporte as Program Coordinator and Ann Dancy as Assistant Program Coordinator.
Migration to Metropolitan Washington: Making a New Place Home was made possible in part by the generous support of the Music Performance Trust Funds, a non-profit organization created by U.S. recording companies to fund live and free performances (Martin A. Paulson, Trustee), and by the D.C. Community Humanities Council.
Fieldworkers, consultants, and advisors:
Fieldworkers
Enrique Avilés, Camila Bryce-Laporte, Kathy Bullock, Olivia Cadaval, Charles Camp, Mau Thai Chen, Vennie Deas-Moore, Belay Embaye, Von Martin, Phyllis May-Machunda, Horacio Quintanilla, Daniel Sheehy, Addisu Tolesa
Consultants
Richard Kennedy, Marjorie Hunt
Advisory Board
Roy Bryce-Laporte, Olivia Cadaval, Laura Chin, Elizabeth Clark-Lewis, Belay Embaye, Von Martin, Lissan Negusie, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Sylvia Rosales, Joe Wilson
Ad Hoc Committee
Lucy Cohen, Esther Ho, Brett Williams
Presenters:
Enrique Avilés, Barry Bergey, Kathy Bullock, Olivia Cadaval, Charlie Camp, Lee Ellen Friedland, Richard Kennedy, Susan Levitas, Von Martin, Jackie Peters, Leslie Prosterman, Daniel Sheehy, Addisu Tolesa, Carolyn Wang
Participants:
Crafts
Viola Canady, 1922-, Daughters of Dorcas, quilt-makers, Washington, D.C.
Al Carter, urban muralist, Washington, D.C.
David Chung, 1959-, urban muralist, Washington, D.C.
George B. Liu, calligrapher, Washington, D.C.
Z.P. Lu, embroiderer, migration storyteller, Arlington, Virginia
Helen Sze McCarthy, brush painter, Silver Spring, Maryland
Ex tempo -- Ex tempoHollis Patrick "Flash" Lashley, vocalist, percussionist, Silver Spring, MarylandEmlyn "John" Roseman, 1945-, guitar player, Rockville, MarylandKendrick "Blackbird" Sheen, 1949-, vocalist, Washington, D.C.
Four Echoes, Gospel -- Four Echoes, GospelEdward David, bass singerDeacon William Evans, vocalist, guitar playerWillie Green, vocalistCharles Johnson, bass guitar playerJames Nelson, lead and tenor vocalistJames Stein, lead and baritone vocalistGlen Taylor, bass and lead guitar player
Fusion, Calypso, Silver Spring, Maryland -- Fusion, Calypso, Silver Spring, MarylandPatrick T. Belle, steel drum playerJune A. Charles, bass playerLennard Jack, steel drummerKenneth C. Joseph, drummerChris A. Toussaint, percussionist
Hobbs and Partners, Bluegrass, Fairfax, Virginia -- Hobbs and Partners, Bluegrass, Fairfax, VirginiaArnold Hobbs, 1931-1996, guitar player
Kings of Harmony Quartet, Gospel -- Kings of Harmony Quartet, GospelDean CavanaughRichard JonesCharles "Bobby" McElven, second tenorLouis Simpkins, bass playerRobert "Bobby" Terry, first tenorRobert "Bobby" Terry Jr., lead guitar playerAlvin L. TuckerClement H. Tucker, lead vocalistJohnnie "Manager" Tucker, guitar player, lead vocalistLouis A Tucker, bass playerMarvin G. Tucker, drummer
Las Estrellitas Paranderos -- Las Estrellitas ParanderosLinton Corbie, 1963-, vocalist, Washington, D.C.Patrice Frances "Patti" Gouveia, 1960-, vocalist, Washington, D.C.
McCullough's Kings of Harmony, Brass band -- McCullough's Kings of Harmony, Brass bandAlexander Bryant, third trombone playerJoe L. Chambers, tenor trombone playerHenry Cleveland, third trombone playerSamuel "Sam" Cole, run horn playerJames E. Freeman, bass drummerJosh Hampton, bass horn playerJoseph Heyward, snare drummerIvan Jackson, bass playerNorvus "Little Butch" Miller, 1948-1994, trombone playerMelvin Reid, baritone horn playerHannibal Russell, run leader playerHezekiah Shepherd, run horn playerPerry Smith, third trombone playerVirgil Smith, second trombone playerMyrick or Ivan Steward, bass horn playerHerbert Whitner, 1940-, lead vocalist
Ross School Kids -- Ross School KidsLenwood "Gato" Bentley, 1954-, director, Washington, D.C.
Singing Angels, Gospel -- Singing Angels, GospelSally Allen, soprano vocalistVincent Belfield, synthesizer playerDean Cary, organ playerMason Gaines, bass playerLisa Hillary, drummerBeverly Miller, lead vocalistMargaret "Tony" Ross, alto vocalistTerch Siegler, second alto vocalistRobert "Manager" WalkerRobin Walker, lead vocalistVincent Walker, lead guitar player
Sons of Grace, gospel, Washington, D.C. -- Sons of Grace, gospel, Washington, D.C.Gerald Cummins, bass guitar playerLee C. "Flint" HalseyErnest J. Mitchell, guitar playerJames E. PinkneyDavid WadeHerbert "Herb" Whitner, 1940-, manager, vocalist
Trinidad and Tobago Steel Band -- Trinidad and Tobago Steel BandMichael Carrera, steel drummerVernon A. "Jay" Cross, 1971-, drummerHubert "Mumbles" Griffith, 1958-, piano playerFranklin Martin "Ticky manager" Harding, 1941-, steel drummerLloyd Arnim "Hawkady" Haynes, 1939-, steel drummerPatricia Holloway, steel drummerStetson King, steel drummerMichael "Mikey" King, Sr., 1948-, steel drummerLinda Myers-Phifer, 1953-, steel drummerNick O'Reilly, steel drummerPatricia Phillips, steel drummerKeith "Captain" Preddie, 1938-, steel drummerRobert Roy "Bullet or Junior" Thwaites, 1950-, steel drummerRudolph Worren Walker, 1943-, steel drummer
United Indian Merrymakers -- United Indian MerrymakersAnirudh Boodram, 1957-, manager, musician, Beltsville, MarylandShariff Juman, percussionist, Alexandria, VirginiaGocool "Carl Gocool" Monaysar, 1925-, harmonium player, Arlington, Virginia
Washington Singing Convention, Gospel, Washington, D.C. -- Washington Singing Convention, Gospel, Washington, D.C.Airstine BarbourOla Mae LeachEva Gaston Rearden Redding, 1913-2001William Redding, 1912-1997
Wong Boxing Association, -- -- kung fu, tai chi, lion dance, Washington, D.C. -- Wong Boxing Association,kung fu, tai chi, lion dance, Washington, D.C.Terheran James "Tie" BrighthauptCheng-Wu HuangLi-Ling LiChikk Yin Tam Wanyi TanRaymond Wong, 1959-
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1988 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The Regional America program at the 1974 Festival continued the tradition of featuring the folklife of one State - in this case, Mississippi. In the six months leading up to the Festival, Smithsonian field researchers travelled 15,000 miles through 82 counties in the State. Their mission was to locate and identify traditional music, dance, craft skills, culinary arts and story-telling. They sought individuals whose skills were transmitted by families and friends in their home communities, people who were not formally trained, but who assimilated the culture of their families and neighbors since infancy. In addition to a Fiddlers' Convention and a diversity of musical performances from African American and white Mississippians, including a group of Lebanese descent, activities were organized around three themes: cotton, cattle and timber. Some 65 musicians and more than 50 craftspeople took part in the Mississippi program between July 3 and July 7, 1974.
A quarter-acre of cotton, under cultivation since mid-April 1974 by the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, grew on the Festival grounds. Visitors were invited to the related exhibits of classing, grading, ginning, carding, and spinning from plant to finished product. Several breeds of cattle were stabled on the Mall, representing an industry of increasing cultural significance. A calf-cutting demonstration with quarter horses, cattle shows and related crafts was part of the presentation. The timber exhibit demonstrated precision felling of trees, team-work on a hand-powered cross-cut saw, and workshops on timberlore and tall tales.
The Regional America program was coordinated by Peggy Martin. Mississippi's participation was coordinated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History under the direction of Elbert R. Hilliard and Byrle A. Kynerd. The Mississippi Agriculture and Industrial Board, Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, the State Department of Agriculture and Commerce, and the Mississippi Arts Commission assisted in the presentation, which was endorsed by the Mississippi American Revolutionary Bicentennial Commission. Regional America continued to be a major program through the Bicentennial Festival in 1976.
Fieldworkers:
Richard Hulan, Worth Long, Tom Harvey, Howard Marshall, Charlotte Gutierrez, Annelen Archbold, Mack McCormick, and Andy Wallace; photographer Roland Freeman.
Participants:
Musicians
John W. Arnold, singer, Grenada, Mississippi
Brenda Ashker, dancer, Mississippi
Joseph Ashker, 1914-1994, dancer, Clinton, Mississippi
Josephine Ashker, 1921-1997, dancer, Mississippi
Joseph Ashker, Jr., dancer, Mississippi
Tommy Ashker, dancer, Mississippi
Marion "Chunk" Bentley, 1910-, caller, Rose Hill, Mississippi
Derrick Bunch, 1957-, cane flute player, Yazoo City, Mississippi
John White, 1910-, oak basket maker, Camden, Mississippi
Joe H. Wilson, leather worker, Bellefontaine, Mississippi
Mrs. Joe H. Wilson, leather worker, Bellefontaine, Mississippi
Frankie Lee Wright, 1948-2005, oak basket maker, Philadelphia, Mississippi
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1974 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
