Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Corcoran, W. W. (William Wilson), 1798-1888
| title | Corcoran Gallery of Art records, 1860-1947. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence; letterpress books; journals; and an account book. REELS 246-264: Letterpress books, 1869-1945, containing copies of letters sent and each containing an alphabetical index, 1869-1908; a letterpress book of treasurer's reports; a journal of official proceedings of the trustees, continued as minutes; and a curator's journal. REELS 702-721: ca. 20,000 letters received, 1870-January 1908. REELS 830-832: Letters to William Wilson Corcoran and members of the board of trustees, regarding the formation of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1860-1874. The letters concern the design and construction of the building, the acquisition of works of art, appointment of staff, and shipment of works. Also included are correspondence and minutes of meetings, 1906-1907, regarding the 1907 painting exhibition. REEL 1473: Register of letters received, 1869-1908, listing the name and place of the correspondent, the date the letter was written, received, and answered, and the subject of the letter. REEL 2679 (fr. 1068-1109): An account book with records of American paintings sold in Corcoran's biennial exhibitions, 1907-1947, including titles of the works, the artist's name, catalog numbers for the paintings, the entry price, the purchase price and buyer's name. |
| extent | 44 linear ft. (microfilmed on 19 reels) reels 246-264, 2679, 702-721, 1473, and 830-832 |
| formats | Correspondence Financial Records |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. Reel 2679: Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce must be obtained from Archivist, Corcoran Gallery of Art, New York Ave. & 17th St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | An index to letters on reels 702-721 appears on reel 1473. A finding aid for reels 246-264 is available at AAA offices. |
| acquisition information | Lent for microfilming 1971-1982 by the Corcoran Gallery of Art. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:46 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Papers of W. W. Corcoran, 1791-1896 (bulk 1849-1888). | repository | Library of Congress |
| description | Correspondence, letterpress books, financial papers, newspaper clippings, printed material, and other papers relating primarily to Corcoran's business interests, especially real estate and railroad investments; brokerage and banking business, Corcoran & Riggs, Washington, D.C.; philanthropic efforts; and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Includes material relating to his father, Thomas Corcoran, and to social life in Washington, D.C. Correspondents include William Aiken, George Bancroft, August Belmont, John C. Breckinridge, Arthur Brice, Jesse D. Bright, James Buchanan, Thomas Green Clemson, Leslie Combs, Jefferson Davis, John Wesley Davis, Daniel S. Dickinson, Stephen Arnold Douglas, Alexander Doyle, Edward Everett, Moses Jacob Ezekiel, Millard Fillmore, John W. Forney, Edward Miner Gallaudet, John Lane Gardner, Friedrich Karl Joseph von Gerolt, Ransom H. Gillet, Gabriel Harrison, Joseph Henry, Alexander von Humboldt, R. M. T. Hunter, Anthony Hyde, Robert Ward Johnson, George Wallace Jones, J. William Jones, Amos Kendall, Charles Lanman, Robert E. Lee, J. M. Mason, Junius Spencer Morgan, George Peabody, James Renwick, Elisha Riggs, Lawrason Riggs, David Rorer, Philip Slaughter, William Wetmore Story, Aaron Vail, Charles S. Venable, Robert J. Walker, Daniel Webster, James Grant Wilson, and Robert C. Winthrop. |
| extent | 54,000 items. 105 containers. 5 microfilm reels. |
| formats | Microfilm Clippings Correspondence Financial Papers Printed Materials |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://catalog.loc.gov |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room |
| acquisition information | Gift, William Corcoran Eustis, 1920. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:52 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Donald McClelland papers, 1857-1968. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Papers collected by McClelland concerning the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Renwick Gallery including: letters from Moses Ezekiel to Dr. William McLeod, George Riggs, and William W. Corcoran, 1877-1883; a letter from James Renwick to Dr. William MacLeod [sic], and one to Corcoran, 1881; clippings and printed material concerning Ezekiel, Corcoran, Renwick, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art; correspondence regarding the John Howard Payne Monument at Tunis, l885; and photos of the Corcoran Mansion and grounds. Bio / His Notes: Art historian, Washington, D.C. On staff of Registrar's Office the National Collection of Fine Arts, renamed the National Museum of American Art. |
| extent | 0.2 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Clippings Printed Materials Photographs |
| access | Unmicrofilmed: use requires an appointment |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Donated by Donald McClelland, who had the items copied from the Corcoran Gallery, D.C. Historical Society, and possibly other sources. Reproduction: All photocopies except photographs. Location of Original: Originals in the possession of the Corcoran Gallery, D.C. Historical Society, and possibly other repositories. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:55 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Rossiter family papers, 1840-1957 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Letters, many from artists, to painter Thomas P. Rossiter, to his son, architect Ehrick Kensett Rossiter, and to other family members; and research material on Thomas Rossiter compiled by his granddaughter, Mrs. Edith Rossiter Bevan. In addition, there are several artists' letters unrelated to the Rossiter family. Letters to Thomas, undated and 1840-1870, are from Adam Badeau, John Britton, William Corcoran, Frederick Cozzens, Christopher Cranch, George W. Curtis, Timothy Dwight, Edward Everett, George P.A. Healy, Richard Morris Hunt, William Morris Hunt, John Jay, John F. Kensett, A. Gracie King, Benson J. Lossing, Louis Remy Mignot, George P. Morris, William H. Morris, George Peabody, Dwight W. Tryon, Henry T. Tuckerman, Nathaniel P. Willis, Richard Willis, and others. Also included are 4 letters of introduction for him from James Fenimore Cooper, John A. Dix, Benson Lossing, and Samuel F.B. Morse. Letters to Rossiter's son, Ehrick Kensett Rossiter, undated and 1891-1930, are from Samuel P. Avery, Cecilia Beaux, Frank V. DuMond, William B. Faxon, Daniel C. French, Robert S. Gifford, Birge Harrison, Will H. Low, Harry S. Mowbray, Robert L. Newman, Dwight W. Tryon, Bernhardt Wall, Henry C. White, and Rufus F. Zogbaum. There are also a letter of introduction for Ehrick from Gari Melchers and a letter from John Sartain to Ehrick's wife. Letters to Edith Rossiter Bevan (Mrs. W. T. Bevan), granddaughter of Thomas, undated and 1912-1940, are from William A. Coffin, John F. Folinsbee, Dorothy S. Harding, Will H. Low, Arthur N. MacDonald, R. McGill Mackall, Louis Rhead, and Sidney L. Smith. Also included are a biography of T.P. Rossiter and a checklist of his paintings compiled by Bevan, and a photograph of William A. Coffin signed to Kensett, 1905. The collection also includes miscellaneous artists' letters, some unrelated to the Rossiters, including 5 to Gretta Smith of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 1936-1951, from Alexander Archipenko, Rockwell Kent, Ralph M. Pearson, David Scott-Moncrieff, Otto Soglow, and Elizabeth Whitmore; 2 letters to Elizabeth Jordan, 1905, from Jay Hambidge, and Peter S.H. Newell; and 6 letters to various individuals from James C. Beckwith, Emma M. Cadwalader-Guild, William Coffin, Fanny Young Cory, Charles Dana Gibson, and Frederic Remington. ADDITION: A scrapbook concerning Thomas Prichard Rossiter compiled by Edith R. Bevan, Rossiter’s granddaughter, containing biographical information; sketches by Rossiter of his family and other subjects; a sketch of Rossiter by Felix Octavius Carr Darley [1852]; Bevan’s preliminary provenance research on Rossiter’s paintings as well as her notes on Rossiter’s life and work, including a list of Rossiter's paintings in public collections; photographs and reproductions of paintings; printed material and miscellany. Also included are an oil sketch of the portrait of the Rossiter family, now in the possession of Patti Ravenscroft; various ink and pencil sketches by Rossiter; a small sketchbook owned by Rossiter, which he took with him on a trip to Italy in 1943; and a dossier entitled "Checklist of Paintings by Thomas Prichard Rossiter 1818-1871," compiled by Bevan. Bio / His Notes: Thomas P. Rossiter, portrait painter; Ehrick Kensett, architect; Edith Rossiter Bevan, daughter of Ehrick and granddaughter of Thomas. Ehrick Kensett was named after Thomas's close friend, John Kensett, the painter. |
| extent | 0.2 linear ft. (on partial microfilm reel) ADDITION: 0.3 linear ft., D33 |
| formats | Correspondence Ephemera Writings |
| access | COLLECTION IS BEING PROCESSED AND DIGITIZED AND IS CLOSED TO RESEARCHERS; PATRONS MUST USE MICROFILM COPY. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Donated 1957 by Mrs. W.T. Bevan, Rossiter's granddaughter and in 2007 by Patti Rossiter Ravenscroft, Rossiter's great great granddaughter. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:55 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Riggs family papers, 1763-1945. | repository | Library of Congress |
| description | Family and business correspondence, diaries, account books, writings, financial records, biographical and genealogical papers, printed materials, and other papers of Riggs family members. Includes papers (1813-1896) of Elisha Riggs (1779-1853) relating to family affairs, travel in Europe, sales of land in Illinois, and the development of his New York mercantile business; papers (1844-90 of Elisha Riggs, Jr. (1826-1881) relating to travel in Great Britain, the firm of Corcoran & Riggs, and the Averill Coal and Oil Company of West Virginia; papers (1860-1910) of Elisha Francis Riggs (1851-1910); papers (1887-1935) of Elisha Francis Riggs, Jr. (1887-1936) relating to family matters, military service at Fort Riley, Kan., and in the Philippines, and diplomatic service in Russia during the Russian Revolution; papers (1836-1881) of George W. Riggs (1813-1881) relating, in part, to Corcoran & Riggs; and papers (1821-1882) of Romulus Riggs (1782-1846). Also includes the papers (1887-1945) of Thomas Riggs, Jr. (1873-1945) relating to gold mining in Alaska, the Alaskan Engineering Commission, his governorship of Alaska, the Alaska Boundary Survey, and to family matters; papers (1790-1943) of Thomas Lawrason Riggs (1888-1943) relating to personal and family matters, World War I service with the U.S. Army American Expeditionary Forces in France, experiences as a Catholic priest, and writings; and papers (1850-1912) of William Henry Riggs (1837-1924) relating to his travels in Egypt, Palestine, Spain, and Syria, and to his interests in the art world, including his donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Includes papers of other family members and records of the firm of Corcoran & Riggs relating, in part, to the financing of the Mexican War and the settlement (1843) of Choctaw and Chickasaw land claims. Correspondents include George Bancroft, Clara Barton, Thomas Hart Benton, Albert Bierstadt, Dion Boucicault, James Buchanan, Ole Bull, John C. Calhoun, George Earle Chamberlain, Walter Eli Clark, Grover Cleveland, W.W. Corcoran, Frederic R. Coudert, Frederick S. Cozzens, J.L.M. Curry, Jefferson Davis, John W. Davis, John Elliott, Ernest Gruening, Joseph F. Guffey, Nathan Hale, Franklin K. Lane, Francis Napier, George Newbold, Noel J. Ogilvie, John Howard Payne, George Peabody, James K. Polk, William Henry Seward, John Slidell, Buckingham Smith, Julian Street, Booth Tarkington, Daniel Webster, Levi Woodbury, and Brigham Young. Biographical/Historical Data: Merchant and banking family of New York, N.Y., Philadelphia, Pa., and Washington, D.C. |
| extent | 100,000 items; 359 containers; 3 microfilm reels. |
| formats | Correspondence Diaries Financial Papers Personal Personal Papers Ephemera |
| access | Restrictions apply. |
| record source | http://catalog.loc.gov |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room. |
| acquisition information | Gift, various family members and the Riggs National Bank, 1907-1975. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:06 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | John Adams Elder Papers, 1837-1910 | repository | Duke University Library |
| description | Correspondence and other material relating to Elder's life and work, chiefly 1852-1889. Letters for 1855-1868, some from Confederate soldiers, are addressed to Elder's sister, Maggie. Includes copies of official reports on the Battle of Little Big Horn Creek, 1876, and letters relative to Elder's painting "Custer's Last Charge," 1876-1877; and many letters from William W. Corcoran regarding portraits of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson, 1876-1877. Bio/History: Artist, of Fredericksburg, Va. |
| extent | 127 items. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://library.duke.edu/catalog/search/recordid/DUKE000853485 |
| acquisition information | Source of Acquisition: ms61-2017 |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:06 |
| .................................................................... | |