James Carroll Beckwith papers, 1871-circa 1991, bulk 1875-1917

Collection Information

Size: 3.2 Linear feet

Summary: The papers of New York painter James Carroll Beckwith measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1871 to circa 1991, bulk 1875-1917. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, numerous diaries, writings, printed material, photograph albums, and photographs.

Biographical/Historical Note

James Carroll Beckwith (1852-1917) was a portrait and landscape painter in New York, New York and a member of the National Academy of Design.

Provenance

The collection, except for the estate related material, was initially lent for microfilming by the National Academy of Design in 1993. The National Academy of Design received Beckwith's papers as a gift in 1926 from the Bertha H. Beckwith estate. Beckwith related National Academy of Design correspondence and photographs were combined with the papers by the Academy. In 2018, the James Carroll Beckwith papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by the National Academy of Design via Maura Reilly, Executive Director. Papers on reels 1418, 1454 were lent for microfilming in 1978 by J. Carter Courtney, Beckwith's great-neice.

Related Materials

The Archives of American Art also has microfilm (reel 800) of a 1895 James Carroll Beckwith diary. The original is located at the New York Historical Society. The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 1418 and 1454) including letters from John Singer Sargent, Clyde Fitch, Edwin Howland Blashfield, Jacob Schiff, Richard Mansfield, and others, 4 cartoon sketches; a sketchbook which also includes a list of works, 1878-1892, and a few writings; 5 photograph albums and photographs, 1902-1917, of European travels, studios, homes, paintings, family, and friends, among them Samuel Clemens, Worthington Whittredge, and Robert Reid; Bertha Beckwith's diary, 1904; and printed material. Other material available only on microfilm includes a sketchbook, "Amsterdam August 10, 1887" (reel 4802) containing sketches for portraits, notes of Monet's composition at Giverny, a watercolor, and studies of hands; and photographs of portraits of Beckwith, Beckwith in his studio, and Beckwith with his Art Students League classes, 1888-1892 (reel 4803). The sketchbook and photographs were returned to the National Academy of Design after microfilming.

Language Note

English .

Digitization Note

The J. Carroll (James Carroll) Beckwith papers were digitized in 2019, and total 7,853 images.

Funding Note

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.