Artists' Papers, 1636-2007

This collection consists of correspondence, sketches, photographs and ephemera from over six hundred artists, including Marie-Rosa Bonheur, Randolph Caldecott, Lewis Carroll, Marc Chagall, Kate Greenaway, Winslow Homer, Jozef Israëls, Georgia O'Keeffe, Sir Edwin Landseer, Frederic Leighton, John Singer Sargent, J.M.W. Turner, Max Weber, and James Whistler. The bulk of the collection is comprised of the letters of English and Scottish artists, spanning the nineteenth century. Ranging in subject matter from comments about dealers and patrons, to discussions about Royal Academy activities and Crystal Palace exhibitions from the 1850s through the 1870s, to social invitations, the main contents of the correspondence--including references to specific works of art--are noted wherever they can be ascertained. In addition to correspondence, some folders also contain photographic portraits, sketches, engravings, obituaries, and other ephemera.

Materials are arranged in one series alphabetically by the artist's last name. Life dates are noted, where known, for additional identification. For each artist, portrait photographs are noted first, followed by correspondence arranged in chronological order, and lastly by miscellaneous material in chronological order, with undated material noted at the end of each grouping. A book of reproduced autographs from Royal Academicians and one folder of unidentified portrait photographs are listed at the end of the series.

• Names
  • Ryerson and Burnham Libraries.
  • Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906--Correspondence.
  • Landseer, Edwin Henry, Sir, 1803-1873--Correspondence.
  • Bonheur, Rosa, 1822-1899--Correspondence.
  • Larsson, Carl, 1853-1919--Correspondence.
  • Chagall, Marc, 1887---Correspondence.
  • Nicholson, William, Sir 1872-1949--Correspondence.
  • Magrath, William--Correspondence.
  • De Longpre, Paul--Correspondence.
  • Munkacsy, Mihaly, 1844-1900--Correspondence.
  • Jan-Monchablon--Correspondence.
  • Leloir, Maurice, 1853-1940--Correspondence.
  • Earle, Lawrence Carmichael--Correspondence.
  • Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925--Correspondence.
  • Aoki, T.--Correspondence.
  • Tissot, James Jacques Joseph, 1836-1902--Correspondence.
  • Evans, de Scott, 1847-1898--Correspondence.
  • Vibert, Jehan Georges, 1840-1904--Correspondence.
  • Jacques, Charles-Emile--Correspondence.
  • Chevilliard, Vincent-Jean-Baptiste--Correspondence.
  • Klempke, Anna E.--Correspondence.
  • Delacroix, Eugene, 1798-1863--Correspondence.
  • Stuart, Gilbert, 1755-1828--Correspondence.
  • O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986--Correspondence.
  • Clark, Allan--Correspondence.
  • Roberts, David, 1796-1864--Correspondence.
  • Weber, Max, 1881-1961--Correspondence.
  • Caldecott, Randolph, 1846-1886--Correspondence.
  • Lorenc, Zdenek, 1919-1999--Correspondence.
  • Meštrović, Ivan, 1883-1962.
  • Monet, Claude, 1840-1926--Correspondence.
• SubjectArtists--Correspondence.

AC

ACS

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n.d.

Portf.

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TLS

Several curatorial departments in The Art Institute of Chicago hold works by the artists represented in this collection, including the Departments of Prints and Drawings, European Painting, and Modern and Contemporary Art.

This collection may be accessed by users in the Reading Room of the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries at The Art Institute of Chicago. Collections maintained on-site are available for patron use without prior arrangement or appointment. Collections maintained in off-site storage will be retrieved with advance notification; please consult the Archivist for the current retrieval schedule. For further information, consult https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/contact-usage-and-faq.

The Art Institute of Chicago is providing access to the materials in the Archives' collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of the Art Institute is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, Art Institute of Chicago Archives. In addition to permission from the Art Institute, permission of the copyright owner (if not the Art Institute) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distribution, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. The Art Institute makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.

Artists' Papers, Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.

This collection was compiled by the Art Institute from smaller collections, single letters, manuscripts, and groups of letters donated by various individuals, particularly William Frank Eugene Gurley (1854-1943). The collection was originally housed in the Department of Prints and Drawings and was transferred to the Ryerson and Burnham Archives in 1999. Additional materials were transferred from the Department of Prints and Drawings in 2004, as noted in the item listings. Some materials were purchased by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries. Additional materials were gifted by Etheldred Abbot, Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Best, Harshe estate, Cal Kowal, Brooks McCormick, Michele Vishny, Frances Hooper (1986), Friends of Ryerson and Burnham Libraries (1992), Stokely Webster (1997), Victor Cassidy (2014), Steve Heimerle (2014), Jack Brown (2015), Nashville Public Library (2015), Leopold B. Segedin (2015), Cynthia Winter and Nicholas Weingarten (2015), Jeremy Day (2017), the Wood-Prince Family (2017), and Eric J. Nordstrom (2018, 2019).

This collection was processed in November 2000 by Christina Aube and Natasha Derrickson. It was revised and expanded by Natasha Derrickson in October 2001, by Annemarie van Roessel in 2003 and 2004, by Nathaniel Parks in 2005, by Jennifer Kirmer in 2009, Kathy Zadrozny in 2012, Aaron Rutt in 2014, Amara Andrews and Fallon Pfeiffer in 2017, Nathaniel Parks in 2018 and Jorie Braunold in 2019.

The collection was originally housed in the Department of Prints and Drawings and was transferred to the Ryerson and Burnham Archives in 1999. Additional items were received in 2003 and 2004 on long-term loan from the Department of Prints and Drawings, as noted in the collection inventory.

New materials may be added to this collection on an irregular basis.