Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Additional Online Media

Catalog Data

Creator:
Murphy, Hermann Dudley, 1867-1945  Search this
Names:
Vose Galleries of Boston  Search this
Abbott, Mary Ogden, 1894-1981  Search this
Barrie, Erwin S., 1886-1983  Search this
Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1858-1924  Search this
Ryder, Chauncey F., 1868-1949  Search this
Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967  Search this
Tarbell, Edmund Charles, 1862-1938  Search this
Trowbridge, Alexander Buell, 1868-1950  Search this
Extent:
2.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Prints
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Place:
Mexico -- description and travel
Date:
circa 1878-1982
Summary:
The papers of painter and frame maker Hermann Dudley Murphy measure 2.8 linear feet and date from circa 1878-1982. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed materials, a scrapbook, photographs, and original artworks, including sketchbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and frame maker Hermann Dudley Murphy measure 2.8 linear feet and date from circa 1878-1982. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed materials, a scrapbook, photographs, and original artworks, including sketchbooks. The bulk of the papers focus on the later part of Herman Dudley Murphy's career. Specifically, correspondence focuses on the sale of still-life paintings and sketches and sketchbooks are mostly from Murphy's travels through Europe and Mexico from the 1920s to the 1930s. Correspondents include Mary Ogden Abbott, Edwin S. Barrie, Maurice Prendergast, Chauncey Ryder, Theodore Sizer, Edmund Tarbell, Alexander Trowbridge, and Vose Gallery among others. Personal business records comment on the sale of works of art from 1897 until 1944. Printed materials include clippings and exhibition catalogs spanning Murphy's career. One scrapbook contains photos and printed materials. Photographs and snapshots are of Hermann Dudley Murphey and family, family travels, and works of art and frames. Artwork consists of loose sketches, prints, and sketchbooks.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 8 series. Missing Title Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1887-circa 1940 (Box 1; 7 folders) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1890-1962 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet) Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1900-1942 (Box 1; 7 folders) Series 4: Personal Business and Financial Records, 1897-1944 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet) Series 5: Printed Material, 1889-1982 (Box 1-2; 0.9 linear feet) Series 6: Scrapbook, circa 1910 (Box 2; 1 folder) Series 7: Photographs, circa 1878-circa 1950 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet) Series 8: Artwork, 1892-circa 1940 (Box 2-4; 0.8 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Hermann Dudley Murphy (1867-1945) was a painter and frame maker active in Boston, Massachusetts. Hermann Dudley Murphy was born in Massachusetts in 1867. He studied art under Edmund Tarbell at the Boston Museum School and later in Paris at the Académie Julian. His early career focused on portraiture and landscape painting. While in Paris, Murphy learned to make frames for artworks. After exhibiting at the 1913 Armory Show, Murphy rejected Modernism and painted still-life. He was known for his Tonalist style and his floral still-life paintings which included objects d'art such as Chinese ceramics, bronze statues, and textiles. Additionally, Murphy taught art classes at the Harvard School of Architecture and the Worcester Art Museum School. Murphy married Caroline Bowles Murphy with whom he had two children, Carlene and Dudley Murphy. After Caroline died, he married artist Nellie Littlehale. With Nellie, he shared an interest in deck-seat canoeing. Murphy died in 1945.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1985 by Alexander B. and Dudley D. B. Samoiloff, grandsons of Hermann Dudley Murphy.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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.
Occupation:
Painters  Search this
Topic:
Picture frames and framing -- Massachusetts  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Prints
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Hermann Dudley Murphy papers, circa 1878-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.murpherm
See more items in:
Hermann Dudley Murphy papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92334041b-1080-46f6-bac1-2ce4b9c143bb
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-murpherm