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historical notes
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Born in 1897, Robert B. Honeyman, Jr. was a passionate and eclectic collector throughout his life. His interests spanned various fields including art, science, American and English literature, stamps, British orders, decorations, medals, and more. Notably, Honeyman's collection included a significant assembly of books and manuscripts related to the history of science, a collection that would later be auctioned at Sotheby's. He maintained residences in Rye, NY, and Southern California, near Mission San Juan Capistrano, where he established his private museum at Rancho Los Cerritos.
One of Honeyman's most distinguished collections, the Robert B. Honeyman Jr. Collection of Early Californian and Western American Pictorial Material, consists of over 2,300 items of diverse formats and media. This collection showcases pictorial interpretations of the Old West, with a particular emphasis on early California and the Gold Rush era. It includes works by renowned artists such as Charles Christian Nahl, Charles Russell, Alexander Edouart, A. D. O. Browere, E. E. Narjot de Francheville, Albert Bierstadt, Augusto Ferran, Alfred Jacob Miller, Jules Tavernier, William B. McMurtrie, Charles Wimar, Joseph Lee, Thomas Hill, William Keith, and Edward Jump. The collection also features prints, lithographs, engravings, etchings, and more by various firms and artists like Britton & Rey, Currier & Ives, Louis Nagel, Charles B. Gifford, Sarony & Major, along with contributions from lesser-known artists and individuals from different nationalities, including French, British, Italian, Spanish, and Russian artists who were drawn to the California Gold Rush and the Pacific Coast.
Honeyman also collected Impressionist works by Edgar Degas, Raoul Dufy, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Signac. |
