Bertha Honoré Palmer (1849-1918) Correspondence Collection, 1883-1899

Bertha Honoré Palmer (1849-1918) was one of the most important art patrons in Chicago. A prominent socialite and ardent collector of works by the French Impressionists, she served as the President of the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition. Palmer was instrumental in organizing the exhibits in the Woman's Building which also served as the administrative building for the Lady Managers. While touring Europe between 1891 and 1892 as part of her duties as President of the Board of Lady Managers, Mrs. Palmer purchased numerous canvases guided by the advice of her friend, the artist Mary Cassatt. A longtime friend, Sara Tyson Hallowell, and the Parisian art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, assisted Mrs. Palmer and her husband in building a respectable and progressive collection of art. Mrs. Palmer's faith in contemporary art was reinforced at the World's Fair, where the collection was enthusiastically received; she had in effect contributed a great deal to the acceptance of modern art in the United States. Her friendship with Cassatt eventually led to the Art Institute's acquisition of an important altarpiece by El Greco in 1906. Mrs. Palmer's bequest of paintings to the Art Institute forms the core of the museum's holdings of Impressionist works. Beginning in 1902, after the death of her husband Potter Palmer, a Chicago real estate magnate and one of the most powerful men in the city, she managed the family's business affairs. By her death in 1918 she had doubled her late husband's fortune.

This collection includes letters to Bertha Palmer from Mary Cassatt, Camille Claudel, Arthur Jerome Eddy, William French, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Harriet Hosmer, Sara Hallowell, Gari Melchers, Mary Fairchild Macmonnies and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent name, the letters date from 1883 to 1899 and deal primarily with the World's Columbian Exposition.

SERIES I: BERTHA PALMER CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence to and from Bertha Palmer, arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

SERIES II: POTTER PALMER CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence to and from Potter Palmer, arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

SERIES III: MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

• Names
  • Palmer, Bertha Honoré, 1849-1918.
  • World's Columbian Exposition (1893: Chicago, Ill.)
  • Hallowell, Sara Tyson.
  • Elliott, John.
  • French, William M. R. (William Merchant Richardson), 1843-1914.
  • Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926.
  • Macmonnies, Mary Fairchild, 1858-1946.
• SubjectCorrespondence.

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Bertha H. Palmer and family photo collection, [ca. 1960s-1980's] (Chicago History Museum).

Bertha Palmer and Palmer family research collection (Chicago History Museum).

Potter Palmer and Palmer estate papers, 1849-1920 (Chicago History Museum).

Bertha H. Palmer and family photo collection, [ca. 1960s-1980's] (Chicago History Museum).

Bertha Palmer and Palmer family research collection (Chicago History Museum).

Potter Palmer and Palmer estate papers, 1849-1920 (Chicago History Museum).

Bertha H. Palmer and family photo collection, [ca. 1960s-1980's] (Chicago History Museum).

Bertha Palmer and Palmer family research collection (Chicago History Museum).

Potter Palmer and Palmer estate papers, 1849-1920 (Chicago History Museum).

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.

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Bertha Honoré Palmer Correspondence Collection, Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.

The provenance of this collection is undetermined.

Preliminary processing into the three current series was completed by the Ryerson and Burnham Archives in the 1980s; this finding aid was revised and expanded by Annemarie van Roessel in 2002. Carolyn Kinder Carr, a scholar on Sara Tyson Hallowell, provided assistance in dating several of the undated letters between Hallowell and Palmer. Her full comments are filed in the Archives' administrative files. Please contact the Archivist for more information.