Bertha Fanning Taylor papers, 1926-1971

Collection Information

Size: 0.8 Linear feet

Summary: The papers of painter, art critic, and educator Bertha Fanning Taylor measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1926 to 1971. The papers document the period of time between the two World Wars when Taylor worked in France and her later activities as a teacher at the Norfolk Division of William and Mary College. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, printed material, and typescripts of two autobiographies. Two scrapbooks contain articles Taylor wrote as assistant art critic for the Paris edition of the New York Herald and scattered additional printed material.

Biographical/Historical Note

Bertha Fanning Taylor (1883-1980) was a painter, educator, and art critic active in Paris, France, and Norfolk, Virginia. She competed for the United States of America in the painting event for the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Provenance

The collection was donated in 1971 by Fanning and in 1992 by her granddaughter, Claire M. Taylor.

Related Materials

Papers of Bertha Fanning Taylor, 1915-1979, are also located at Old Dominion University's Special Collections and University Archives.

Language Note

Material is in English and French.

Funding Note

Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.