Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Canfield, Richard Albert

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role Collector
dates 1855-1914
city New York City
stateNY
other citiesNew Bedford, MA; Providence, RI; Saratoga Springs, NY; Newport, RI;
sex M
historical notes Richard “Dick” Albert Canfield was a businessman and art collector. Canfield owned a patented bottle stopper company in Brooklyn (Spring Stopper Company), and operated casinos out of New York City, Saratoga Springs, Boston, Newport and Providence, Rhode Island.

Canfield’s friend and business associate, Charles Freer Lang (1854-1919), introduced him to James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), and he soon became one of Whistler’s largest supporters and collectors of his work. Three Whistlers once owned by Canfield now reside in New York at The Frick Collection: Arrangement in Black and Gold: Comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac; Arrangement in Brown and Black: Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder; and Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean.

In addition to owning oil paintings, water colors, drawings, and prints by Whistler, Canfield collected early American and Chippendale furniture, tapestries, Chinese porcelain and Barye bronzes.

Canfield sold many of his the paintings he owned by Whistler to Knoedler & Co. shortly before he died. Other works of art from his collection were sold on January 27, 1916, at the Plaza Hotel, New York, via the American Art Association.
Canfield married Genevieve Wren Martin (1869-1957) in 1882. They had two children: a son, Howland Dartmouth Canfield, 1899-1922; and a daughter, Grace Martin Canfield Hanon, 1893-1982 (who had one child, Martin E. Hannon, jr. with her first husband, Martin Edward Hannon, (1885-, m. 1910), her second husband was Donald Gallaher).

decades
of activity
1880-1890
1890-1900
1900-1910
1910-1920
updated 03/22/2024 12:09:32
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Archives/Repository Collection Title Collection Details
Online Edition of Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler
University of Glasgow
Correspondence associated with: Canfield, Richard Albert see details...

see also:
Freer, Charles Lang, 1854-1919