Ryan Evans
Scope and Contents
The papers of painter, printmaker, photographer, and educator Beverly Hallam measure 24.2 linear feet and 2.73 Gigabytes, and date from 1899-2013. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, writings, journals, teaching materials, printed material, photographs, film, video, and sound recordings, guest books, and artwork.
Biographical material includes family histories for both Hallam and Mary-Leigh Smart, as well as Hallam's family estate management, in addition to résumés and travel documents. Correspondence is both professional and personal, including extensive letters with the writer May Sarton. Personal business records include gallery and exhibition records, including some consignments, loans and price lists, as well as donation records. Writings include a master's thesis, artist statements, articles and lectures by Beverly Hallam, as well as student assignments and writings by others. Hallam's journals include travel and artwork journals, as well as heavily annotated and interleaved yearly planners. Teaching materials date back to Hallam's earliest lessons delivered while obtaining her bachelor's degree of education Massachusetts College of Art, and include her work at Lassell Junior College and her tenure teaching at Massachusetts College of Art.
The printed material series includes extensive clippings regarding Hallam's career as well as family history and the careers of notable friends and colleagues, in addition to those regarding regional artists and the art scene in Maine. Also included are invitations and catalogs for Beverly Hallam's exhibitions, and early research into polyvinyl acetate. Photographs include those of Beverly and her friends and family, as well as artwork and albums documenting installations for exhibitions throughout Hallam's career. Some albums more closely document the homes and estates of Surf Point belonging to Hallam and Smart, as well as Wild Knoll belonging to May Sarton. Also included are photographs Hallam created as illustrations for writing projects by Sarton.
The film, video, and audio recording series includes numerous home movies documenting Hallam's family life and her home at Surf Point, as well as some reels documenting her artwork and exhibitions and a few audio recordings most likely of artist talks. Guest books document attendance for select exhibitions in Hallam's career, as well as of her various homes. The artwork series is comprised of sketchbooks including those detailing Hallam's airbrush works, holiday cards drawn and designed by Hallam, and prints of later computer-generated works.
Language
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material on reel 1428 was lent for microfilming in 1978. The majority of the collection was donated in 1992 and 1996 by Beverly Hallam, and in 2014 by the Beverly Hallam estate via executor Mary-Leigh Smart.
Related Materials
The originals of some letters from May Sarton, 1954, and 1966-1994, included in this collection as photocopies, appear in the May Sarton papers held at New York Public Library's Archives and Manuscripts.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Ryan Evans in 2020.