Copley Society records, 1864-1981

Scope and Contents

The papers of the Copley Society of Boston measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1864-1981. The collection includes administrative files, correspondence, exhibition files, financial records, printed material, and photographs.

Administrative files include the Copley Society constitution and by-laws, meeting minutes, various reports, and loan forms. There are also files on art classes, lectures, and events.

This collection includes general correspondence and business correspondence. Business correspondence mostly relates to notifications of appointments to positions within the Copley Society, as well as letters regarding expenses, taxes, and legal matters. General correspondence includes letters from notable artists such as Cecilia Beaux, Frank W. Benson, John Singer Sargent, Karl Bitter, John W. Alexander, and many others.

Exhibition files consist of correspondence, exhibition lists, and printed material for various Copley Society exhibitions.

Financial records mostly consists of ledgers and cash books for various funds and operating expenses.

Printed material has a broad range of meeting and event announcements, news clippings, and miscellaneous publications. There is one scrapbook which is a Copley Society of Boston Annual Report with a few clippings pasted onto the last pages.

There are photographs of exhibitions, artwork, Copley Society members and events. There is also one photograph album appears to be of various rooms inside the Copley Society building at 296 Commonwealth Avenue. Most of the photographs are of exhibitions, but there are some photographs of artwork, events, festivals, and people in costumes.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Copley Society records were microfilmed as a loan in 1984 and subsequently donated to the Archives of American Art by the Copley Society in 1986.

Processing Information

The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Rihoko Ueno in 2022.