Selected material from the Prendergast Archive, Williams College, Williamstown, Mass. Included are: a descriptive list of contents on the microfilm; letters from Maurice to his brother Charles during trips to Paris, 1907, and Venice, 1911-1912, and a draft of a letter to William Glackens about Marsden Hartley, ca. 1908, with transcriptions by the Prendergast Archive; letters to Charles and his wife, Eugenie, 1900-1956, from John Singer Sargent, Van Wyck Brooks, Walter Pach, Ira Glackens, Edith Glackens, and others. Also included are Maurice's address book, ca. 1914-1923?; Charles' diaries of trips to France, 1927 and 1929, containing 3 pencil sketches;
Maurice's and Charles' diary and addresses, 1918-1925; and a partial record of the Prendergast/Germaine family history recorded in a Bible and birth and death documents of family members. Miscellany pertaining to Maurice includes a sketch on his Macbeth Gallery exhibition catalog, 1900; an informal translation of an article on Paul Cezanne, ca. 1908; a notebook p. inscribed with his name and address; and a bronze medal awarded for third prize in an American oil painting exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Miscellany of Charles includes his driver's license, a sketch; notes; and signatures. Also included are a photograph of their painting "The Spirit of the Hunt," inscribed by them to a friend, 1918; printed material collected by them; a list of their books; photographs of Maurice, Charles, family, friends, and of works of art by other artists.
Biographical / Historical:
Maurice: painter, watercolorist, illustrator and graphic artist; Boston, Mass. and New York, N.Y. Charles: painter, sculptor, craftsman, and framemaker; Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y. and Westport, Conn. Maurice was an Impressionist and early modernist. He painted scenes along the Massachusetts and Maine coasts as well as in Paris, Venice, Rome, and French coastal towns; exhibited with "The Eight" (1908), and was a contributor to the Armory show (1913). Charles achieved prominence as a craftsman and framemaker (1891-1912), and later specialized in painted, gilded, and incised panels of exotic and folk subjects (1912-1948).
Provenance:
Loaned for microfilming in 1992 by the Prendergast Archive and Study Center. Located in the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Mass., it contains archival materials pertaining to the Prendergasts, donated by Mrs. Charles Prendergast, as well as research materials and files amassed for the publication of MAURICE BRAZIL PRENDERGAST, CHARLES PRENDERGAST: A CATALOG RAISONNE (1990).
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- United States Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Biographical information, including a resume, clippings, notes by Levine, awards, certificates, and professional memberships, 1960-1984; 14 files of correspondence containing mainly business letters, including caricature assignments from THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, commission and purchase inquiries, loan requests, and letters of appreciation including letters from Raphael Soyer, Norman Mailer, and Jack Rosen; three undated interviews and a transcript of a taped interview about Maurice Prendergast, including a book A SKETCHBOOK OF MAURICE PRENDERGAST with the appreciation written by Levine; miscellaneous writings; business, legal and financial records, 1956-1981; a scrapbook, 1954-1970; printed material, 1952-1984; photographs, undated and 1960-1981.
Biographical / Historical:
Cartoonist and painter; Brooklyn, New York. Studied at Tyler School of Fine Arts and the Hans Hofmann School. He is noted for his satires of political, literary, and art figures. Work is mainly in pen and ink and watercolors.
Provenance:
Donated 1984 by David Levine.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Ledgers detailing the art purchases of John Quinn. Entries include the Association of American Painters and Sculptors listing purchases from the Armory Show, February to June 1913, of works by Cezanne, Renoir, Raymond Villon-Duchamp, Andre Derain, Jules Pascin, Odilon Redon, Walt Kuhn, Jacques Villon and others. Also entered are purchases from Alfred Stieglitz's Photo-Secession Gallery for paintings by Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Severini and Stanton Macdonald-Wright. Purchases from art dealers include M. Knoedler & Co. (for works by Morton Schamberg), Montross Gallery (for works by Arthur B. Davies, Maurice Pendergast, Walt Kuhn, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber), William Macbeth Gallery, Durand Ruel & Sons, and Ambroise Vollard.
Other entries of note include those for Jacob Epstein, one for Tiffany Studios detailing extensive refurbishing and refinishing of numerous items of furniture, and one for the Penguin Club enumerating the cost incurred for the installation of the VORTICIST EXHIBITION.
Biographical / Historical:
Art patron and lawyer; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1986 by Thomas F. Conroy, Quinn's nephew by marriage. Mr. Conroy intends to donate these papers to the New York Public Library where the John Quinn Memorial Collection is housed.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1858-1924 Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1938-1988
Scope and Contents:
Rhys' resume; letters, 1975-1988, regarding attribution or sale of Maurice Prendergast art works; Rhys' unpublished manuscript on Prendergast, "The Legend," ca. 1960, and his dissertation "Maurice Prendergast: Sources and Development of His Style" (Harvard, 1953); and printed material on Maurice and Charles Prendergast, 1938-1989, including exhibition catalogs and announcments, clippings, a brochure, an invitation to a sale, and reproductions. Also included is a booklet, JAMES WILSON MORRICE (Ryerson Press: Toronto, 1947) by Donald W. Buchanan.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian; Swarthmore, Pa. Prendergast was a painter, watercolorist and graphic artist, New York, N.Y. and Boston, Mass., and the subject of Rhys' dissertation (1953) and book (1960).
Provenance:
Donated 1991 by Jean O. Rhys, widow of Hedley Rhys.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Pennsylvania -- Swarthmore Search this
The papers of Boston area painters Esther Baldwin Williams and daughter Esther Williams measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1887 to 1984. The scattered papers of both women include biographical information, personal business records, correspondence, writings and notes, two diaries, four sketchbooks, printed materials, photographs, and one photograph album.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Boston and New York area painters Esther Baldwin Williams and daughter Esther Williams measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1887 to 1984. The scattered papers of both women include biographical information, personal business records, correspondence, writings and notes, two diaries, four sketchbooks, printed materials, photographs, and one photograph album.
For clarity, Esther Baldwin Williams and Esther Williams are referred to by their proper names throughout this finding aid.
Biographical information includes a membership card to the Rockport Art Association for Esther Williams and a biographical sketch of Esther Baldwin Williams
Personal business records include receipts for purchases of artwork by Esther Baldwin Williams, banking documents, exhibition entry forms and sales receipts for Esther William's works.
Correspondence includes incoming letters and drafts of outgoing letters. The majority of the correspondence is that of Esther Williams, including a considerable amount of letters to her parents. There are letters to Esther Williams from her friends Louis Eilshemius, Furman J. Finck, and Leon Kroll, and both Grace Horne Galleries and Kraushaar Galleries. Esther Baldwin Williams' correspondence includes personal letters from Maurice Prendergast.
Writings and notes include two diaries kept by Esther Baldwin Williams that date from 1892 until 1902 and cover her life in Paris and later in Boston. Some of the diary pages are illustrated with sketches. The series also includes scattered notes, including Charles Prendergast's Notes on Formula of Ebonizing Technique.
There are four sketchbooks, likely by Esther Baldwin Williams, of pencil and watercolor sketches of cats, babies and children, orchestral scenes, portraits, and architecture.
Scattered printed materials include a copy of Cezanne's Studio given to Esther Baldwin Williams by Maurice Prendergast, a copy of a family history by Nadia Williams, exhibition announcements and catalogs, clippings, and miscellany.
There is one photograph of an unidentified work of art and a circa 1900 family photo album with mostly unidentified photos of babies, children, and family members.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1942-1979 (2 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Personal Business Records, 1893-1966 (9 folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Correspondence, 1887-1961 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1892-1947 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 5: Sketchbooks and Sketches, circa 1900 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1883-1984 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 7: Photographs, circa 1900-circa 1920 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Biographical Note:
Esther Baldwin Williams (1867-1964) and her daughter Esther Williams (1907-1969) were painters active in Boston, Paris, and New York City.
Esther Baldwin Williams was born Esther Mabel Baldwin on December 11, 1867 to a prominent Boston family of artists. She began her art education under her uncle Joseph Foxcroft Cole and worked with her cousin Adelaide Chase Cole. Adelaide and Esther shared a studio in Greenwich Village in 1888. The two cousins also traveled to Paris in 1877 and 1891 to paint. Esther Baldwin concentrated on portraiture and often painted the women in her social circle.
Esther Baldwin became engaged to Oliver Williams in 1898. They married and moved to 96 Beacon Street in Boston where they raised their children, Oliver, Thomas, and Esther. Around 1900, the Williams met Maurice and Charles Prendergast. Esther became a friend and patron of Maurice and the two shared a studio for some time and exchanged letters. Esther Baldwin continued to work in portraiture, focusing her work on her children and relatives and did not pursue a professional career. In addition to painting, Esther Baldwin and Oliver Williams inspired a passion for music in their children.
Born in 1907, Esther Williams inherited her mother's interest in the arts. Unlike her mother, she desired a professional career as a painter. She first studied at the Museum of Fine Arts School, Boston in 1925 and later went to Paris to study under Andre Lhote. Upon returning to the United States, she moved to New York City and enrolled with the Art Students League. She married Roland Joseph McKinney, director of the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum.
Esther Williams is known for her portraits, paintings of flowers, circus and orchestra scenes, and for her impressionistic style. She was represented by Grace Horne Gallery in the 1930s and switched to Kraushaar Galleries in 1940.
Esther Baldwin Williams died in 1964. Her daughter, Esther Williams died shortly thereafter in 1969.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are the papers of Esther William's husband Roland Joseph McKinney.
Provenance:
The Esther Baldwin Williams and Esther Williams papers were donated in two installments by Peter McKinney, step-son of Esther Williams in 1974 and by Nadia Williams, Esther Baldwin William's daughter-in-law in 1985.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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 -- New York (State) -- New York Search this