Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Freer, Charles Lang, 1854-1919
| title | Charles Lang Freer Papers 1876-1931 | repository | Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives |
| description | 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, ca. 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' 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 letters 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 Fenellosa, 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. |
| extent | 145 linear feet |
| formats | Personal Papers Correspondence Photographs Diaries Financial Papers |
| access | Access is by appointment only, Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please contact the Archives to make an appointment. |
| record link | http://www.asia.si.edu/archives/finding_aids/freer.html |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Online and in repository. |
| acquisition information | Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Charles Lang Freer selected papers, 1876-1931. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Papers concerning Freer's art collecting activities, including correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, and photographs. In addition to Freer's own correspondence, the papers include correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler and of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, correspondence of Freer's assistant Katharine Nash Rhoades, and correspondence regarding Freer's bequest to the Smithsonian Institution. Correspondence, ca. 1860-1921, includes Freer's correspondence, 1876-1920, with artists, dealers, collectors, museums, and public figures; 30 v. of letterpress books containing copies of letters sent, 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' 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 letters 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 Fenellosa, 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. Among Freer's correspondents are: Otto Bacher, Bernard Berenson, Siegfried Bing, Laurence Binyon, W.K. Bixby, Sigisbert Chretien Bosch-Reitz, Charles H. Caffin, Colin Campbell, Richard Canfield, William Merritt Chase, Frederick Stuart Church, Alfred Vance Churchill, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Arthur Wesley Dow, Ernest Fenollosa, Albert Gallatin, John Gellatly, Frederick W. Gookin, Sadakichi Hartmann, Frank J. Hecker, Dikran Kelekian, M. Knoedler & Co., Berthold Laufer, Lien Hui Ching Collection, W.A. Livingstone, Frederick McCormick, Bunkio Matsuki, Gari Melchers, Agnes Meyer, Eugene Meyer, Charles Moore, Yozo Nomura, Rosalind Birnie Philip, Charles A. Platt, Theodore Roosevelt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Stephens Warring, Thomas Way, Abbott Handerson Thayer, Dwight W. Tryon, Charles Walcott of the Smithsonian Institution, Beatrix Whistler, James McNeill Whistler, K.T. Wong, Yamanaka & Co., and Seaouke Yue. |
| extent | 34 microfilm reels. reels 4720-4753 |
| formats | Correspondence Diaries Inventories Scrapbooks Clippings |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Electronic finding aid available. |
| acquisition information | Selected for microfilming from the Charles Lang Freer papers at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Microfilmed 1992 by the Archives of American Art with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Fellowships and Grants Research Resources Program. Portions of the correspondence and the letterpress books were previously filmed by the Freer in the 1970 (AAA reels 77, 453-456, and 1217-1232); those reels have been replaced by this microfilming project. See Finding Aid for information on papers not selected for microfilming. Originals in: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Aline and Eero Saarinen papers, 1906-1977 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Personal papers of Aline and Eero Saarinen, and Aline Saarinen papers relating to her unpublished biography of architect Stanford White, her published book The Proud Possessors, and her work as an NBC Television correspondent. Papers relating to Stanford White and to Proud Possessors contain primary source material gathered by Saarinen during her research on White and collectors Edward Wales Root and John Quinn. REELS 2074-76, and 2064 (photos): Biographical material; Eero Saarinen's sketches, notes and letters; correspondence between Aline and Eero; Aline Saarinen's correspondence, including letters from John McAndrews, Clifford Odets, Robert Osborne, Frank Lloyd Wright, Joseph Louchheim, and her children; awards; files on her involvement with the Fine Arts Commission, Yale University, and the Design Advisory Committee of the Federal Aviation Agency; speeches, articles on art and architecture; television scripts; clippings and printed material; notes; and photographs and slides of the Saarinens (2 copyprints are also microfilmed on reel 1817 fr. 1054-1058), Charles Alan, and other family members, friends, works of art, and architecture. REELS 2069-2072 and 2084 (photos): Research material, 1903-1960, relating to Saarinen's book The Proud Possessors (1958). Included are notes, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and printed material on art collectors Dr. Albert C. Barnes, Dr. Claribel and Etta Cone, Katherine Sophie Dreier, Charles Lang Freer, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Thomas Gilcrease, Peggy Guggenheim, Mr. and Mrs. Henry O. Havemeyer, Joseph Hirshhorn, R. Sturgis Ingersoll, John G. Johnson, J. Pierpont Morgan, Mrs. Potter Palmer, John Quinn, the Rockefeller family, Edward Wales Root, Gertrude, Leo, Michael and Sarah Stein, and Electra Havemeyer Webb. Among the correspondents is Bernard Berenson. The material on Edward Root contains letters to Saarinen from Grace Cogswell Root; correspondence between Root and his father Elihu, 1903-1936; one or more letters to Root, 1909-1936, from Charles Culver, Robert De Forest, Frederick James Gregg, Ernest Lawson, George Luks, Duncan Phillips, and Grace Root; copies of 2 letters to Edward Christiana, 1949; a catalog for a Root memorial exhibition, 1957; Saarinen's notes; and a photograph of Root, one of his home, and photographs of works of art in his collection. Copyrpints also available. Material on John Quinn includes correspondence between Saarinen and Jeanne Robert Foster; letters to Foster from Quinn and his sister, Julia Anderson; a copy of a letter to Foster from William B. Yeats and a drawing of Quinn possibly by Yeats; material relating to Roger Casement; and photographs of Quinn and Foster, and Quinn with Constantin Brancusi, Picasso and Mme. Picasso, Henri Pierre Roche, and Erik Satie. REELS 2072-2073 and 2064 (photos): Research material for Saarinen's unpublished biography of Stanford White. Included are: notes, drafts; correspondence with her publisher, scholars, friends and relatives of White, architects, and others; printed material, 1896-1968; McKim, Mead and White memoranda and correspondence, 1887-1906, much of it with Whitelaw Reid; a letter from Charles Lang Freer, 1900; contracts; architectural descriptions and copies of blueprints; a record book; and miscellaneous letters and documents. Letters from White's father, Richard Grant White, to his daughter-in-law Bessie, Bessie White's reminiscenses of Stanford, and her scrapbook on the Washington Centennial and White's Washington Arch are also included. Photographs include over 300, 1878-ca. 1970, of White, his wife; his father and mother; Evelyn Nesbit; his clients, Anne, Louise and Robert Cheney; and 280 photographs of buildings and residences designed by White or McKim, Mead and White, many photographed by Wayne Andrews. UNMICROFILMED: Primarily papers kept by Aline Saarinen while a NBC television correspondent reporting on mainly art related topics. Included are correspondence, printed material, notes, scripts, clippings, kinescope motion picture film, including "Eyes Opening", transferred to VHS, and photographs. Also included are printed material on Eero Saarinen, and photographs of his work. ADDITION: Notebooks containing Aline Saarinen's notes on architecture, art collectors and Stanford White; printed material; Saarinen's journal, 1928-1932; a guest book; photographs; scripts for Venus in Venice (1964), The American Image and other writings. Three phonograph recordings (33 1/3) of a discussion on opera between Eero Saarinen, Professor H. Ingham Ashworth and Professor Leslie Martin on the Australian Braodcasting Commission, January 29, 1957 are not available for research use. |
| extent | 13.5 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 10 reels) |
| formats | Correspondence Notes Sketches Photographs Clippings |
| access | Collection is being processed and digitized, and is closed to researchers. Access is to microfilmed material only. NBC TV material: Authorization to quote from scripts or film prepared for television must be cleared for rights with: NBC Studios, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/aline-and-eero-saarinen-papers-5589 |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Donated in 1973 by the Aline Saarinen estate via Charles Alan, art dealer and brother of Saarinen. The NBC TV material was donated 1974 by NBC Studios. Additional material donated 1991 by the Parrish Art Museum, who had received it from Aline Saarinen. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Mary Chase Stratton papers | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence; photographs; an autobiography; and miscellaneous items. REEL 593: An unpublished autobiography, written in the late 1930's, 144 p. REELS 1010 (photos) & 1021: Correspondence, 1846-1866 & 1924, mostly family letters to and from Stratton's father Dr. William Walbridge Perry; clippings; photographs of Stratton, her family, home and scenes in Europe, and one of Charles Lang Freer by Edward Steichen; miscellaneous 19th & 20th century ephemera, including an 1864 map of the United States, notes, compositions, handbills, an early plan of Detroit, a gold license; and a mosaic rubbing. Bio / His Notes: Ceramist, educator; Detroit, Mich. Founder of Pewabic Pottery. |
| extent | 0.2 linear ft. (on 3 microfilm reels) reels 593, 1010 & 1021 |
| formats | Correspondence Photographs Writings Ephemera |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Material on reel 593 lent for microfilming 1973 by Mrs. Ella Peters, secretary to Mary Chase Stratton; material on reels 1010 & 1021 donated 1961 by Stratton. Original returned to Mrs. Ella Peters after microfilming. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Roswell Morse Shurtleff papers, 1862-1871 and [undated]. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Art works, letter, and photographs. REEL 3472: A letter from Shurtleff to Charles Lang Freer, March 2, [n.y.], thanking him "for the check and the kind words of commendation of my work. I shall hope to be represented in your future exhibitions...." Also included is a snapshot of a painting by Shurtleff owned by George Russel, Detroit, Michigan. REEL 1872: Six sketchbooks; three watercolors; two pencil sketches; and a photograph of a painting by Shurtleff. Bio / His Notes: Landscape painter; New York City and Adirondacks, N.Y. |
| extent | 14 items (on 2 partial microfilm reels) reels 1872 and 3472 |
| formats | Works of Art Correspondence Photographs |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Material on reel 3472 donated 1978 by George Russel, an American ar collector. Material on reel 1872 donated 1980 by George R. Teale, who inherited the material from his family. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Nelson and Henry C. White research material, 1898-1978 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Letters, notes and writings, transcripts of diaries, printed material, photographs, and subject files are composed primarily of research materials for Nelson White's books, THE LIFE AND ART OF J. FRANK CURRIER (1936) and ABBOTT H. THAYER: PAINTER AND NATURALIST (1951), and article, "The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing" (1929), and for Henry C. White's book, THE LIFE AND ART OF DWIGHT WILLIAM TRYON (1930). REELS D199-D202: Sixteen letters to Nelson White concerning family and research (1937-1951); typescripts about Currier and Dewing by White; a typescript on Tryon's pastels by George Alfred Williams; subject files on Thayer containing genealogical information, typescripts, and Thayer's letters to his first wife Kate, second wife Emma, various family members, Samuel Clemens, Royal Cortissoz, Dewing, Theodore Roosevelt (regarding wildlife preservation), and Franklin Roosevelt (concerning camouflage for war vehicles). Other correspondents include George Grey Barnard (1916-1917), Frank Benson (1915-1917), George de Forest Brush (1909-1917), Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1903-1905), John Singer Sargent (1915-1923), Charles Freer, George Alfred Williams, and J. Alex Donald. Writings concerning Thayer include a 5-page autobiography dictated by Thayer (1907); transcripts from his father's diary; reminiscences by his father and daughter, Glady Thayer (1849-1921); lists of Thayer's works; his writings on wildlife preservation, camouflage, and other topics; and a typescript of White's biography. Printed material consists of clippings and an exhibition catalog (1922). Photographs show Thayer, his family, his house, and works of art. REEL 864: Henry White's research material on Tryon includes a copy of a 1916 letter to Beulah Strong from Tryon and 3 letters concerning Congressman Vestal's bill (1930-1931). The 20 clippings are primarily book reviews (1930-1931). Thirty-seven photographs show Tryon, his boyhood home, his works of art (1919-1923), and the Tryon Art Gallery at Smith College. Writings consist of an autobiographical account by Tryon (1924-1925) and a typescript of an article about Tryon by White. Notes concern publication of the book. REEL 1330: A letter to White from Tryon briefly mentions his activities (1925). Autobiographical notes were written by Tryon and annotated by White (1925). REEL 2807: Letters to Henry White, Nelson White, and Ida Rovetti White are from Edward Bell, Maria Oakey Dewing, Susan Eakins (concerning Franklin Schenck), Louisa and Wilson Eyre, Will Howe Foote, R. H. Ives Gammell, Harry L. Hoffman, Elizabeth Dewing Bender Kaup, Luigi Lucioni, Edwin and Henry Prellwitz, Franklin L. Schenck, Stow and Edith Wengenroth, Irving Wiles, and others (1911-1978). Eleven photographs show works of art by Currier. An article concerns "Daylight in Picture Galleries." UNMICROFILMED: Research material compiled by Nelson White on Dewing (1929) and Currier (1936) includes letters concerning Currier (1921-1967) and 8 letters from Dewing's daughter, Elizabeth Dewing Kaup (1928-1951). Subject files on Currier include a transcript of his 1870 diary, notes, clippings (1898-1936), exhibition catalogs (1931-1958), copy photographs of Currier and his family from 1860-1890, his works of art, and an exhibition installation (1958). Designs by White are on cardboard. There are also notes and drafts of the Dewing article, "Cremona", and "Laura Standish Brown Beaton. " Research material on Thayer includes typescripts of letters, written between 1884 and 1919, from Thayer to Francis H. Allen (1910-1915), Royal Cortissoz (1910-1917), Dewing (1903-1910), and Theodore Roosevelt (1910-1912). A subject file contains notes, drafts of the Thayer book, a 1913 essay on "Edward Martin Taber's Drawings", and a draft of an appreciation of Thayer by Sidney Allen. Printed material about Thayer includes clippings (1903-1951), an exhibition catalog (1961), and reproductions of Thayer's work. Photographs show Thayer, his family, house, and art works. Henry White's research material on Tryon consists of transcripts of letters from Tryon to George Alfred Williams (1906-1925), from Charles Freer to Tryon (1907), and from James McNeill Whistler to Henri Fantin-Latour. Other correspondence (1927-1936) includes 2 letters from Alfred Vance Churchill (1927-1928). Various drafts of the book contain revisions by Mrs. Bender, Alfred Vance Churchill, and Mr. Rossiter. Printed material consists of galley proofs, a clipping by Cortissoz, a brochure about the book, and an exhibition catalog for Henry White's work (1954). Photographs show a work by Tryon and the Tryon Gallery at Smith College. Bio / His Notes: Painter, art historian, and collector; Hartford, Connecticut. White was a pupil of his father, Henry C. White, and later studied at the National Academy of Design. He was a trustee of the Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, Connecticut, and the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut. Henry Cooke Nelson was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He had private art lessons with Dwight Tryon in 1875. From 1884-1886, he also studied at the Art Students League with Kenyon Cox and George DeForest Brush. He taught drawing at the Hartford Public School from 1889-1897 and co-founded the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts in 1910. |
| extent | 4.2 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 7 reels) reels D199-D202, 864, 1330, and 2807 |
| formats | Correspondence Notes Writings Diaries Printed Materials |
| access | Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment and is limited to Washington, D.C. storage facility. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Material on reels D199-D202 purchased by the Archives of American Art from Nelson C. White 1956; material on reel 864 and unmicrofilmed donated 1978-1983; and material on reels 1330 and 2807 lent for microfilming 1978-1983 all by Nelson C. White. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Willard Leroy Metcalf papers, 1876-1925. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | 23 letters between Metcalf and Charles L. Freer, l917-1919, discussing prospective purchases of Metcalf's work for the Freer Collection, and 2 personal letters to Florence Griswold, 1905-06. Also included are a diary for 1876, recording the progress of some of his paintings, detailing sketching trips around Boston and Vermont, and noting daily expenses; sketchbooks, 1885, 1905, 1913-14; photographs of his murals and paintings; snapshots of his friends and himself; and a scrapbook of clippings, 1905-1925. Bio / His Notes: Landscape painter, illustrator; New York City. One of The Ten American Painters. Worked in Southwest U.S. painting Zuni Indians 1881-1883; associated with artists' colonies in Old Lyme, Conn., and Cornish, N.H. |
| extent | 150 items (on partial microfilm reel) reel N70-13 |
| formats | Correspondence Diaries Sketchbooks |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Lent for microfilming by Addison Metcalf, 1969. Originals returned to the lender, Addison Metcalf, after microfilming. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Joseph Pennell papers, 1908-1935. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Material relating to THE LIFE OF JAMES MCNEILL WHISTLER by Elizabeth and Joseph Pennell; letters regarding the book from Howard Mansfield, Richard Canfield, Royal Cortissoz, Charles Freer, and Ernest Haskell; two photographs of a portrait of Whistler as a boy with his brother, John; and a photographic copy of the "first Daguerreotype of the human face... taken by J. W. Draper...in 1839." Bio / His Notes: Illustrator, etcher, and writer; New York, N.Y. Wrote and/or illustrated over 100 books. |
| extent | 22 items (on partial microfilm reel) reel D32 |
| formats | Research Files Correspondence |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | The letter from Howard Mansfield to Mr. Carrington and the clipping of Bulliet's review were found by the donor, Orme Lewis, in a copy of the book A WHISTLER CENTENARY. The other materials were found in copies of the Pennells' volumes. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Correspondence associated with: Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919 | repository | Online Edition of Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler |
| description | Charles Freer Lang was the recipient, sender or subject of 263 documents, dated between 1876-1905, associated with Whistler and his work. They are available online in either digital form or by transcript, and in some cases both. The individual documents are located in the following repositories: Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Glasgow University Library Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow Library of Congress Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ New York Public Library The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York |
| extent | 263 documents |
| formats | Correspondence Electronic Resource |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/correspondence/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:54 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Agency history, 1906- . | repository | Smithsonian Institution Archives |
| description | Bio / His Notes: The Freer Gallery of Art was conceived by its founder, Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), as a museum and a research institution. A Detroit industrialist, Freer collected more than 9,420 art objects and manuscripts before his death, including one of the largest collections of works by James McNeill Whistler; works by contemporary American artists including Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Abbott Handerson Thayer, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Dwight William Tryon, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens; and major collections of Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian, Near Eastern, and Indian objects. In 1904, Freer informally proposed to President Theodore Roosevelt that he give to the nation his art collection, funds to construct a building and for an endowment to provide for the study and acquisition of "very fine examples of oriental, Egyptian, and near eastern fine arts." The deed of gift was executed in 1906 after the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents accepted Freer's offer on behalf of the government. Construction on the building to house the collection began in 1916 and was completed in 1921. On May 9, 1923, the gallery was opened to the public. The gallery, designed by American architect and landscape planner Charles A. Platt, is an Italian Renaissance-style building of Massachusetts granite and Tennessee marble. In 1920, John Ellerton Lodge, Curator of the Asiatic Department of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was appointed the Freer's first Director. Lodge was the personal choice of Freer and continued to maintain his staff position at the Museum of Fine Arts until 1931. Lodge was Director of the Freer Gallery of Art until 1942. For a complete listing of Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery directors, see the Office of the Director history. In 1982 Arthur M. Sackler gave the Smithsonian his collection of Chinese and Middle Eastern Art, valued at more than fifty million dollars, as well as a gift of four million dollars to help defray construction of a gallery in the Quadrangle Building on the Mall. This donation, known as the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, is administered jointly with the collections of the Freer Gallery of Art. While each gallery had its own sub-director for a time (these do not exist at the present), they have always shared a Director. General Note: This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records. Local Number: SIA AH00011 Components: (SIA 4010003) Freer Gallery of Art. Building Construction Records, 1916- (SIA 4010004) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Photographs, 1920s-1980s (SIA AH00303) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Office of the Director. Agency history, 1920- . (SIA RS01054) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Diaries, 1920-1972, 1976-1983. (SIA RS01060) Freer Gallery of Art. Field Expedition Records, 1914, 1923-1942. (SIA RS01068) Freer Gallery of Art. Financial Records, 1916-1921. (SIA RS01069) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Photographs, 1916-1992 (SIA RS01070) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Construction Slides, 1983-1989. (SIA RS00074) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Visitor Records, 1923-1987, 1995-2004. (SIA RS00075) Freer Gallery of Art. Art Inventories, 1906-1920. (SIA RS00756) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Central Files, 1919-1987. (SIA RS01162) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Personnel Records, c. 1947-1993. (SIA RS01258) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Website Records, 2004. (SIA RS01326) Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Publications, 1999, 2002-2003. |
| extent | see repository |
| formats | Administrative Records Legal Papers Financial Records Clippings Photographs |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| bibliography | Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, 1996 |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:07 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | M. Knoedler & Co. records, approximately 1848-1971 | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | The records of M. Knoedler & Co. document the business of the prominent American art dealer from the mid-19th century to 1971, when the Knoedler Gallery was acquired by Armand Hammer. The archive traces the development of the once provincial American art market into one of the world's leading art centers and the formation of the private art collections that would ultimately establish many of the nation's leading art museums, such as the Frick Collection and the National Gallery of Art. It brings to the foreground the business side of dealing as artworks shuttled back and forth among Knoedler, fellow dealers, and collectors, documenting developments in art connoisseurship, shifting tastes, the changing role of art in American society, and the essential role of private collectors in the formation of public American art collections. The records provide insight into broader economic, social and cultural histories and the nation's evolving sense of place in the world. The Knoedler Gallery became one of the main suppliers of old master and post-Impressionist paintings in the United States. Financial records of the firm provide crucial provenance information on the large number of artworks in American museums that were sold by the gallery. The archive includes stock books, sales books and commission books; correspondence with collectors, artists, art dealers and other associates; photographs of the artworks sold by the gallery; records from the firm's offices in London, Paris and other cities; exhibition files; framing and restoration records, and records of the firm's Print Department. Selected portions of the archive have been digitized and made available online. Connect to selected digitized portions of the archive. Arranged in 14 series: Series I. Stock books; Series II. Sales books; Series III. Commission books; Series IV. Inventory cards; Series V. Receiving and shipping records; Series VI. Correspondence; Series VII. Photographs; Series VIII. Exhibition files; Series IX. American Department records; Series X. Framing and restoration records; Series XI. Print Department records; Series XII. Other financial records; Series XIII. Library cards, scrapbooks, and research materials; Series XIV. Knoedler family papers Biographical/Historical Note: M. Knoedler & Co. was a successor to the New York branch of Goupil & Co., an extremely dynamic print-publishing house founded in Paris in 1827. Goupil's branches in London, Berlin, Brussels, and The Hague, as well as New York, expanded the firm's market in the sale of reproductive prints. The firm's office in New York was established in 1848. In 1857, Michael Knoedler, an employee of Goupil and a manager for the firm, bought out the interests in the firm's New York branch, conducted the business under his own name, and diversified its activities to include the sale of paintings. Roland Knoedler, Michael's son, took over the firm in 1878 and with Charles Carstairs opened galleries in Paris and London. In 1928, the management of the firm passed to Roland's nephew Charles Henschel, Carman Messmore, Charles Carstairs and Carstairs' son Carroll. In 1956 Henschel died, and E. Coe Kerr and Roland Balaÿ, Michael Knoedler's grandson, took over. In 1971 the firm was sold to businessman and collector Armand Hammer. The gallery closed in November 2011. |
| extent | 3042.6 linear feet (5550 boxes, 17 flat file folders). |
| formats | Auction Catalogs Business Records Correspondence Financial Records Ephemera |
| access | Open for use by qualified researchers, with the following exceptions. Boxes 77, 262-264, 1308-1512, 1969-1974, 3592-3723 are restricted due to fragility. Box 4468 is restricted until 2075. |
| record link | http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2012m54 |
| record source | http://primo.getty.edu/GRI:GETTY_ALMA21129976460001551 |
| contact information | Contact gallery's archivist |
| finding aid | At the Getty Research Institute and over their website. |
| acquisition information | Acquired in 2012. |
| updated | 05/29/2018 14:44:15 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Records of the Director's Office: Frederic Allen Whiting, 1913-1930 | repository | The Cleveland Museum of Art |
| description | The records of the Director's Office are the primary source for understanding the decisions made and actions taken at the highest level of the museum's administration. In addition, the records constitute one of the most valuable, unified resources for researching the early history of the museum and its art collection; initial construction and expansion of the museum building; changes in the museum's administrative hierarchy; personalities and activities of individual staff members; artistic and social movements of the first half of the twentieth century; and the museum's relationship with civic, cultural, and educational institutions throughout the country and the world. The records from Frederic Allen Whiting's tenure as director are divided into four main series: I. Numbered Administrative Correspondence, II. Unnumbered Administrative Correspondence, III. Biographical Materials, and IV. Index to Numbered Administrative Correspondence. Citation: The Cleveland Museum of Art Archives, Records of the Director's Office: Frederic Allen Whiting, date and short description of document [e.g., letter from Whiting to Kent, 6 June 1916]. |
| extent | 22.6 cubic feet, 72 boxes |
| formats | Administrative Records Writings Correspondence Notes |
| access | At the end of the restricted period, the records will still be subject to the review of the archivist before access is granted. |
| record link | http://library.clevelandart.org/museum_archives/finding_aids/whiting/index.php |
| record source | http://library.clevelandart.org/museum_archives/finding_aids/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:11 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Biblical Manuscripts and Gold Treasure collection 1907-1920 | repository | Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives |
| description | This collection includes correspondence regarding the Biblical manuscripts purchased by C.L. Freer in Egypt and the scholarly study and publication of these manuscripts. |
| extent | 2 linear feet |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Access is by appointment only, Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please contact the Archives to make an appointment: AVRreference@si.edu. |
| record link | http://www.asia.si.edu/archives/finding_aids/biblicalmanuscriptsandgoldtreasure.htm |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Electronic finding aid available. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:11 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Alfred Vance Churchill papers, 1828-1948. | repository | Smith College |
| description | Includes Churchill’s correspondence with art collectors and Smith College and Columbia University faculty and administrators. There are histories of the Churchill family and of Oberlin College and social history of the Midwestern United States. Also included are Churchill’s writings and lectures on the teaching of art and of his role in developing an American taste for French Romantic painters. Correspondents include Laurence Binyon, Marion LeRoy Burton, Charles Henry Churchill, John Dewey, Charles Lang Freer, Laurenus Clark Seelye, Dwight William Tryon, Hugh Walpole, Henry C. White and other Churchill family members. Biog./Hist. Note Church (born Aug. 14, 1864) was the son of Charles Henry Churchill, a professor at Oberlin College, and Henrietta Vance Churchill. After studies at Oberlin, he studied art in Europe, 1887-1890 and graduated from Oberlin (M.A., 1898). He married Marie Marschall in 1890. He directed the art department at Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa (1892), and then taught art in the High and Normal Schools, St. Louis, Mo. (1893-1897). In 1897 he was made professor of art and Director of the Department of Fine Arts at Teachers College, Columbia University. Columbia University dismissed him in 1904, but gave him a grant to study and paint in Paris, 1904-1906. Smith College hired him in 1905 as the first resident professor in the appreciation and history of art. During his years at Smith he expanded the Smith College Museum of Art. He was an art critic and lecturer and served as vice-president of the College Art Association. His paintings appeared in the Armoy Show in Chicago in 1913. He retired from Smith College in 1932 and died Dec. 29, 1949. Location(s) SC Special Collections / SC College Archives / RG 42 Churchill |
| extent | 2 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Writings Subject Files |
| access | The papers are open for research according to the regulations of the Smith College Archives without any additional restrictions. |
| record link | http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/smitharchives/manosca79%5Fmain.html |
| record source | http://fcaw.library.umass.edu:8991/F/?func=direct&doc_number=002167029&doc_library=FCL01 |
| finding aid | Finding aid is available in the Smith College Archives and online. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:12 |
| .................................................................... | |