Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
Date:
1936-1937
Scope and Contents:
Twenty volumes of the publication, CALIFORNIA ART RESEARCH, containing monographs on artists whose principal residence was San Francisco.
REEL NDA/Cal 1: Artists include Robert Aitken, Arthur Atkins, Albert Bierstadt, Ray Boynton, Anne Bremer, Henry J. Breuer, Giuseppe Cadenasso, Emil Carlsen, M. Earl Cummings, Rinaldo Cuneo, Charles Dickman, Maynard Dixon, Charles Grant, Armin Hansen, H. W. Hansen, Thomas Hill, Christian Jorgensen, Amedee Joullin, William Keith, Constance Macky, Xavier Martinez, Arthur Mathews, Francis McComas, Arthur C. Nahl, Charles C. Nahl, Hugo W. A. Nahl, Perham W. Nahl, Virgil T. Nahl, Ernest Peixotto, Charles R. Peters, Gottardo Piazzoni, Horatio Nelson Poole, Arthur Putnam, Joseph Raphael, Mary C. Richardson, Julian Rix, Charles D. Robinson, Toby Rosenthal, Will Sparks,Jules Tavernier, Douglas Tilden, Domenico Tojetti, Frank Van Sloun, Thaddeus Welch, Virgil Williams, Evelyn A. Withrow, and Theodore Wores.
REEL NDA/Cal 2: Artists include Rowena M. Abdy, Gertrude Albright, Hermann O. Albright, Maxine Albro, Victor Arnautoff, Matthew R. Barne s, Frank Bergman, Jane Berlandina, Ray Bethers, Beniamino Bufano, Margaret Bruton, Chee Chin, Ruth Cravath, Helen Forbes, Euphemia C. Fortune, William Gaw, Edith Hamlin, William Hesthal, Clark Hobart, Charles Howard, John G. Howard, John L. Howard, Robert Boardman Howard, Adaline Kent, Dong Kingman, Lucien Labaudt, Spencer Mackey, Jo Mora, Jose Moya del Pino, Chiura Obata, Otis Oldfield, Julius Pommer, George B. Post, Dorothy W. Puccinelli, Raimondo Puccinelli, Lee F. Randolph, Andree Rexroth, Matteo Sandona, Geneve R. Sargeant, Sergey J. Scherbakoff,Jacques Schnier, Yoshida Sekido, Joseph M. Sheridan,Ralph Stackpole, and Bernard Zakheim.
Biographical / Historical:
Publication of the Works Progress Administration; San Francisco, Calif. Sponsored by Dr. Walter Heil of the M.H. de Young Museum. Was originally a joint project of the WPA-Statistical projects division and the WPA-Federal Art Project in order to disseminate information about artists and art in the San Francisco region.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
San Francisco, WPA Project 2874, 1936-1937.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art and state -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Murray, Henry -- Art of painting and drawing in coloured crayons Search this
Extent:
0.54 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Drawings
Works of art
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Date:
1875-circa 1973
bulk circa 1890-circa 1910
Summary:
The papers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire painter and printmaker Charles Henry Turner, measure 0.54 linear feet and date from 1875-circa 1973, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1890-circa 1910. The collection includes an auction catalog and a price list of Turner's paintings, biographical material, five letters, artwork, miscellaneous printed material, photographs of Turner, his studio, European travel, and artwork, and two glass plate negatives.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire painter and printmaker Charles Henry Turner, measure 0.54 linear feet and date from 1875-circa 1973, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1890-circa 1910. The collection includes an auction catalog and a price list of Turner's paintings, biographical material, five letters, artwork, miscellaneous printed material, photographs of Turner, his studio, European travel, and artwork, and two glass plate negatives.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: Charles Henry Turner Papers, 1875-circa 1973 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, OV 2, MGP 1-2)
Biographical / Historical:
Massachusetts and New Hampshire painter and printmaker Charles Henry Turner (1848-1908) was known for his landscapes, portraits, illustrations, and genre scenes. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Turner studied under Otto Grundmann at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School in the late 1870s. He studied in Europe in the 1880s, before returning to Boston, where he had a studio above his home on Mount Vernon Street.
Turner established a summer home in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and built a studio resembling a Swiss chalet on a hillside in Jackson, where he and his family spent many summers.
Turner was a member of the Unity Art Club and served as president of the Boston Art Club, where his work was exhibited many times. His work was also exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
Separated Materials:
Also in the Archives of American Art is material lent for microfilming (reel 4781) including drawings, a watercolor by Turner, and two charcoal landscapes by Edmund H. Garrett and [Emil?] Carlsen. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by G. Frances Souther, granddaughter of Turner, in 1973 and 1979. The artworks on reel 4781 were lent for microfilming in 1993 by Robert and Connie Rosen, antiques dealers, who purchased the material at auction. The drawings may have come from Miss Souther's estate.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
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.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Keep, Helen E. (Helen Elizabeth), 1868- Search this
Extent:
12 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1932-1957
Scope and Contents:
Two letters from Emil Carlsen replying to Miss [Helen Elizabeth] Keep, which critique four of her paintings; and ten letters from Dines Carlsen to Keep, touching primarily on art and health related subjects. Accompanying some of the letters are photographic enlargements.
Biographical / Historical:
Painters. Emil Carlsen (1853-1932) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He came to the U.S. in 1872, and worked in New York City. He trained his son, Dines (1901-1966). Helen Elizabeth Keep was a painter in Detroit, Mich., who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She greatly admired the still life painting of Emil Carlsen and sought his advice regarding her own.
Provenance:
Two letters from Helen Keep to Constance Coleman (Mrs. E. P.) Richardson originally microfilmed with the Carlsen letters (frames 398-399 & 430-431) have been placed in the collection file.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Correspondence with dealers, artists, museums, publishers, photography studios, and others regarding art purchases, loans, and Shaw's collection; and 16 v. of scrapbooks containing photographs, letters, and biographical information on artists. Much of the correspondence with artists relates to Shaw's requests for the information which was then used in the scrapbooks. Also included is one volume compiled in 1947 outlining the contents of the scrapbooks.
REELS 1124-1125: 16 vol. of scrapbooks, 1864-1930, relating to artists represented in Shaw's collection, containing letters, many from artists, photographs of artists and their work, biographical data, clippings and articles, and comments on their work; and 1 v., "Notes: Edwin C. Shaw Collection of Paintings," compiled in 1947, and annotated "Used at Women's Art League Meeting at Miss Shaw's in 1947 by Mrs. [Jane S.] Barnhardt, who compiled it, and then given to the Art Institute Library," containing an outline of the contents of the 16 v. of scrapbooks.
Artists represented in the scrapbooks include J. Carroll Beckwith, Frank W. Benson, Ralph Blakelock, Emil Carlsen, William Merritt Chase, Timothy Cole, Elliott Daingerfield, Cyrus B. Dallin, Charles Davis, Warren Davis, Gleb Derujinsky, Charles M. Dewey, Thomas W. Dewing, Paul Dougherty, Frank Duveneck, Charles Eaton, Frederick Frieseke, George Fuller, Lillian Genth, Childe Hassam, Charles Hawthorne, William Morris Hunt, George Inness, John Johansen, Isidore Konti, John La Farge, William Lathrop, Frederick MacMonnies, Hermon A. MacNeil, Willard Metcalf, Herman Dudley Murphy, J. Francis Murphy, A. Phimister Proctor, Henry Ward Ranger, William Ritschel, Felix Russmann, Albert P. Ryder, Eugenie F. Shonnard, Lars Gustaf Sellstedt, Elliot Torrey, Dwight Tryon, Helen M. Turner, John Twachtman, Elihu Vedder, Bessie P. Vonnoh, Robert Vonnoh, Horatio Walker, J. Alden Weir, Frederick Ballard Williams, Henry Wolf and "The Ten."
REEL 4597: Correspondence, ca. 1916-1941, concerning art acquisitions with dealers Erwin S. Barrie of Grand Central Art Galleries; Thomas Whipple Dunbar; Frederic Newlin Price and T.H. Russell of Ferargil Galleries; W. Frank Purdy of the Gorham Co. Dept. of Sculpture and later the School of American Sculpture; D.H. Hatfield of Hatfield & Clark; Thomas Gerrity of M. Knoedler & Co.; Robert Macbeth, Robert McIntyre and Henry Miller of the Macbeth Gallery; Albert Milch of E.& A. Milch, Inc.; Newman Montross of Montross Gallery; J.E. Batts of the Thurber Art Galleries; Robert C. Vose of R.C. & N.M. Vose and Vose Galleries, and their frame shop, Carrig-Rohane; Howard Young of Howard Young Galleries; and J.W. Young; correspondence with artists and/or their families requesting the artist's portrait, biographical information and background, including letters from Elliot Daingerfield, Charles Dewey, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, John C. Johansen, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Hervey W. Minns, Hermann Dudley Murphy, A.P. Proctor, Eugenie Shonnard, Elliot Torrey, Dwight W. Tryon, Helen M. Turner, and Horatio Walker, and the families of J. Carroll Beckwith, George Inness, Lars Gustaf Sellstedt, John Henry Twachtman and J. Alden Weir; correspondence with the Dayton Art Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art regarding works lent for exhibition; with publisher Frederic Fairchild Sherman; with photography studios; and other miscellaneous correspondence.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector; Akron, Ohio. Shaw, a BF Goodrich executive and avid collector of post-Civil War American art, was one of the founders of the Akron Art Institute, now the Akron Art Museum.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1976 and 1992 by the Akron Art Museum. Shaw bequethed his art collection and papers to the Museum, then named the Akron Art Institute.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Murphy, John Francis, 1853-1921 -- Catalogues raisonnés Search this
Extent:
16.7 Linear feet ((on 21 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Place:
Arkville (N.Y.) -- Pictorial works
Date:
1761-1973
Scope and Contents:
Biography and catalogue raisonné of J. Francis Murphy by Emerson Crosby Kelly, M.D., and correspondence relating to Dr. Kelly's interest in Murphy. Personal papers of J. Francis Murphy and Adah Clifford Smith Murphy include diaries and notebooks, correspondence, Smith and Murphy family documents, financial records, printed matter, artifacts, photographs, and works of art.
Research notes, drafts, and manuscript of an unpublished biography, "J. Francis Murphy, N.A., (1853-1921): Tints of a Vanished Past," and illustrated catalogue raisonne of the works of J. Francis Murphy by Emerson Crosby Kelly (1953). Kelly corresponded with friends and relatives of the Murphys, with owners of Murphy paintings, publishers, printers, and possible financial backers for his book. Also documented is Dr. and Mrs. Kelly's involvement in the sale of "Weedwild," the Murphy's Arkville, N.Y. home, to the Pestalozzi Foundation of America.
Diaries of J. Francis Murphy (25 vols.) contain very brief entries that faithfully record weather conditions, garden progress, and other nature notes, with occasional mention of social engagements or service on art juries; entries recorded during trips to Europe mainly list places visited with little elaboration. Notebooks (16 vols.) include painting registers, daily listings of mail sent and received, address books, and jottings relating to Indian relics, his farmland, and paintings sent to dealers. Mrs. Murphy's diaries (46 vols.) also contain very brief entries mentioning friends, social engagements, travels, and an "Account of the pictures I painted and gave away. Portraits of them. + landscapes + old houses." Her notebooks (4 vols.) contain "Notes for a book. J.F.'s".
Correspondence concerns family matters, exhibitions, sales, professional memberships, involvement with the Salmagundi Club and National Academy of Design, and the couple's finances. Whenever separated, the Murphys exchanged lengthy letters with one another; the majority of these are from husband to wife.
Receipts and invoices are mainly for art supplies, framing, and shipping costs; expense records for personal purchases and farm upkeep and improvements; taxes; and legal papers concerning a property boundary dispute and lawsuit against the Murphys.
Photographs are of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, their families and ancestors, friends, studios, "Weedwild" (country home) and surrounding Arkville, N.Y. area, landscape subjects, works of art by the Murphys, medals and certificates of award. Six tintypes are included. Photographers include: Hollinger, Moffett, Napoleon Sarony, and C. Vandyk. Commercially produced stereographs mainly depict U.S. scenes.
Art works consist of sketchbooks, oil sketches, and works of art on paper by both Murphys, Emil Carlsen, and other artists (ca. 500 items).
Other materials include exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, scrapbooks (probably compiled by Mrs. Murphy ca. 1885), medals awarded to J. Francis Murphy, copper plate etched by Adah C. Murphy, and artifacts.
Arrangement:
I. Writings and Research Notes. II. Kelly Correspondence and Miscellaneous Files. III. J. Francis and Adah Clifford Smith Murphy Papers.
Biographical / Historical:
Emerson Crosby Kelly, M.D., art collector, surgeon, and medical bibliographer; d. 1977. J. Francis Murphy, landscape painter and one of the leading tonalists of the American Barbizon school, lived and worked in New York City and Arkville, N.Y. Studied very briefly at the Chicago Academy of Design, 1875. Member of the National Academy of Design and active in the Salmagundi Club. His wife, Adah Clifford Smith Murphy, a painter and illustrator, studied at the Female Art School of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
Provenance:
The donor, Sydney Kelly, is the widow of Dr. Emerson Crosby Kelly. Dr. Kelly acquired the Murphy papers in 1949 from Hulda Gregerson, Mrs. Murphy's long-time companion, for the purpose of writing a biography and catalogue raisonne of J. Francis Murphy.
3 Copy prints (Prints taken from nitrate negatives)
Container:
Box 1, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs [31027000570503]
Copy prints
Date:
circa 1920s
Scope and Contents:
Missing Title
Sitting on tree
Painting at seaside
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
1 Negatives (photographic) (Safety negative taken from nitrate negatives)
Container:
Box 1, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives [31027000570503]
Negatives (photographic)
Date:
circa 1920s
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
The photographs of Emil Carlsen and the Carlsen family measure 1.6 linear feet and date from circa 1885 to circa 1930, with the bulk from circa 1910 to circa 1920s. Included in this collection are 169 glass plate negatives, black and white copy prints of all glass plate negatives, and four plastic safety negatives. Some descriptive annotations by Emil Carlsen are included.
Scope and Contents:
The photographs of Emil Carlsen and the Carlsen family measure 1.6 linear feet and date from circa 1885 to circa 1930, with the bulk from circa 1910 to circa 1920s. Included in this collection are 169 glass plate negatives, black and white copy prints of all glass plate negatives, and four plastic safety negatives. Some descriptive annotations by Emil Carlsen are included.
Also included are approximately 54 original glass plate negative sleeves containing contextual and descriptive information about the images penned by Emil Carlsen, which have been kept with their respective copy prints. Within the collection, 29 black and white copy prints and four plastic safety negatives were produced by the Smithsonian Archives of American Art from nitrate negatives no longer with the collection. Photographs include Emil Carlsen and his family, landscapes and animals, buildings and industrial exteriors, and artwork.
One third of the collection is made up of photographs of the artist and his family. Images of Emil Carlsen show the artist at work in his studio, painting outdoors, and enjoying time with his wife, Luella May Carlsen, and his son, Dines Carlsen. Also included are many photographs of Luella May and Dines over the years, alone and together. Additionally, Windham is listed as the town where several photographs of a very young Dines and Luella May were taken. The location of the rest of the photographs, when provided, is Port Washington.
Over half of the glass plate negatives depict landscapes, mostly of trees and various interiors and exteriors of the woods of Port Washington, New York. Landscape photographs also depict cornfields, a meadow, fences and roads, hills and mountains, boats and a marina, horses, and cattle.
Buildings and industrial exteriors contain multiple views of the exteriors of several houses and barns; cityscapes; a sand pit and quarry containing wooden building structures, equipment, and wagons.
Photographs of artwork include images of Emil Carlsen's painted landscapes, still-lifes, a single self-portrait, and two seascapes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series. Photographs are arranged by subject. Cross reference numbers have been provided to match copy prints with with their respective glass plate negative originals housed separately in Series 6.
Missing Title
Series 1: Photographs of People, circa 1890s-circa 1920s (31 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Photographs of Buildings and Industrial Exteriors, circa 1885-circa 1930 (7 folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Photographs of Landscapes and Animals, circa 1885-circa 1930 (20 folders; Boxes 1-2)
Series 4: Photographs of Artwork, circa 1885-circa 1930 (18 folders linear feet; Box 2)
Series 5: Miscellaneous Notes, circa 1920s (1 folder; Box 2)
Series 6: Glass Plate Negatives, circa 1885-circa 1930 (1 linear foot; Boxes 3-4)
Biographical / Historical:
Painter Emil Carlsen (1853-1932) was born Soren Emil Carlsen in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1853. He studied architecture at the Danish Royal Academy for four years, and also painted alongside cousin and painter Viggo Johansen, one of Denmark's most notable painters. In 1872, he immigrated to the United States where he worked as an architectural assistant and as an assistant for Danish marine painter Laurits Bernhard Holst (1848-1934) in Chicago, Illinois. After studying in Paris for several years, he set up a painting studio in New York and then Boston, then spending two years (1887-1889) as the Director of the San Francisco Arts Association School. In 1891, he moved back to New York and taught at the National Academy of Design until 1918. He spent most of his time with his family at their vacation home in Falls Village, Connecticut when he didn't have teaching commitments in New York, where they also kept an apartment. In 1904, after struggling to become known for his work for many years, he was elected as an associate of the New York National Academy; he won the Shaw Prize from the Society of American Artists; and was awarded the Gold Medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis for his still-life "Blackfish and Clams". Carlsen is best known for his still-life paintings and has been called "The American Chardin." Before purchasing his own property in Falls Village, Carlsen stayed often with friend and painter J. Alden Weir (1852-1919) at his farm, painting landscapes.
After deciding to make a career in painting rather than architectural design, Carlsen spent many years experimenting and finding his style. His paintings during 1872-1874 reflected his time spent assisting Laurits Bernhard Holst, and were in the style of traditional Danish marine paintings. Struggling financially, Holst arranged for Carlsen to receive his studio when Holst moved back to Denmark in 1874. At the recommendation of Chicago sculptor Leonard Wells Volk, Carlsen became an art instructor at the now Chicago Arts Institute, though he left for an opportunity to study classical painting for 6 months in Paris, where he spent time studying the painting of Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin.
After Paris, he moved to a boarding house in New York, and then spent several years in Boston where he had his first exhibit at the Boston Art Club. In 1879 he moved back to New York and set up a studio, supplementing his painting with work as an engraver. During the 1880s Carlsen began becoming known for his still-life paintings, and commission work sent him to Paris again, this time for two years. He was commissioned by T. J. Blakeslee to produce bright flower paintings which were popular at the time, creating about one per month. Other American dealers began wanting his flower paintings as well, but Carlsen soon grew bored and returned to New York, refusing to paint any more flowers for Blakeslee, in 1887. It was during this time that Carlsen developed an interest in still-lifes with Chinese porcelain. His time in Paris also saw a brightening of his landscapes, as was the European style of the time. In the late 1800s he also became interested in painting white objects, such as porcelain, ceramics, garlic cloves, clothing, etc.
He married Luella May Ruby, a young model, in 1896, and his son Dines Carlsen was born in 1901. From 1900-1932, Carlsen favored a subdued color palette in his work. As still-life paintings fell out of vogue, he also painted more landscapes and marines, favoring Falls Village, Connecticut; Windham, Maine; and Port Washington, New York.
He died in New York at the age of 78, in 1932.
Provenance:
The Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs were donated to the Archives of American Art on June 28, 1995, by Elizabeth M. Campanile of Campanile Galleries, Inc., which were purchased from the Dines Carlsen Estate.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
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.
Emil Carlsen and Carlsen family photographs, circa 1885-circa 1930, bulk 1910-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
