The collection is arranged as 9 series: Series 1: Biographical Information, 1909-1965 (Box 1; 7 folders) Series 2: Personal Business and Financial Records, 1908-1974 (Box 1; 3 folders) Series 3: Correspondence, 1895-1979 (Boxes 1-3; 2.0 linear feet) Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1900-1975 (Boxes 3-4; 1.0 linear feet) Series 5: Artwork, 1898-1950 (Boxes 4, 9-10; 4 folders) Series 6: Printed Material, 1889-1974 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet) Series 7: Brush Family Home Building Files, 1910-1971 (Boxes 4, 8, 10; 0.7 linear feet) Series 8: Scrapbooks, circa 1907-circa 1985 (Boxes 5, 8; 0.7 linear feet) Series 9: Photographs, circa 1860-1979 (Boxes 5-7, 11; 1.0 linear feet)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of originals requires an appointment.
Summary:
The papers of painter, author, and designer Nancy Douglas Bowditch and the George de Forest Brush family measure 6.2 linear feet and date from circa 1860 to 1985. The majority of the collection consists of Bowditch's correspondence with family and friends and her notes and writings, particularly concerning her biography of her father George de Forest Brush The Joyous Painter , and her unpublished biography of her husband painter William Robert Pearmain. Brush family material includes scattered correspondence of George de Forest Brush and other family members, notes, sketches, clippings, and the family home building files, five scrapbooks, including two on William Robert Pearmain, and numerous photographs of the Brush family, Bowditch, and William Robert Pearmain. There is also correspondence between William Robert Pearmain and his family and artwork by Pearmin.
Citation:
Nancy Douglas Bowditch and Brush family papers, circa 1860-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
This site provides access to the papers of Nancy Douglas Bowditch in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2011, and total 9056 images.
Generally, materials not scanned include duplicates, blank pages and versos, and drafts and edits of Nancy Douglas Bowditch's biography The Joyous Painter .
Funding:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Use Note:
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.
Related Materials:
Also among the collections at the Archives of American Art are the William Robert Pearmain and Pearmain family papers, 1888-1955, and an oral history with Nancy Douglas Bowditch conducted on January 30, 1974 by Robert F. Brown.
Biography Note:
Nancy Douglas Bowditch (1890-1979) worked primarily in the New Hampshire area as a painter, author, and costume and set designer. Bowditch's father was painter George de Forest Brush and she was first married to painter William Robert Pearmain, who died at an early age.
Language Note:
The papers are in English.
Provenance:
The Nancy Douglas Bowditch papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in several installments by Nancy Douglas Bowditch between 1968 and 1979. Bowditch's daughter, Mary A. Marlowe donated additional materials in 1982. In 2008, Joan Morgan, biographer of George de Forest Brush, donated additional papers she had acquired during her research.
Digitization Note:
This site provides access to the papers of Nancy Douglas Bowditch in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2013. The papers have been scanned in their entirety, and total 9,056 images.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001