Archives of American Art

Samuel Putnam Avery papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.aversamu
Creators:
Avery, Samuel Putnam, 1822-1904
Dates:
1857-1902
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3 Microfilm reels
800 items on 3 microfilm reels
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The microfilmed Samuel Putnam Avery papers contain correspondence, including letters, calling cards, and sketches from American and European artists, among them Albert F. Bellows, Eugene Benson, Edwin H. Blashfield, Rosa Bonheur, Adolph W. Bouguereau, Samuel Colman, Clarence Cook, Jasper F. Cropsey, F. O. C. Darley, Charles F. Daubigny, John Durand, Sanford R. Gifford, E. D. E. Greene, Augustus Hoppin, Victor Hugo, John La Farge, Jules Lefebvre, Jervis McEntee, Charles H. Moore, William S. Mount, Thomas A. Richards, Launt Thompson, Henry T. Tuckerman, and James McNeill Whistler; five diaries (1871-1882) detailing annual buying trips to Europe; catalogs; clippings; and miscellaneous publications pertaining to the Avery Art Gallery.
The travel diaries were written exclusively during the summers of 1871-1882 while in Europe (circa780 pages). Avery visited England, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Italy, visiting galleries and studios, and attending sales in the major cities. In his entries, Avery lists the works that he sees and art he purchases, detailing prices, sizes, and frame requirements. Avery spent most of his time visiting dealers, making shipping arrangements, and commissioning work from a variety of artists. He visited auction houses such as Christie's in London, and "bric a brac shops" where he purchased paintings, as well as furniture, tapestries, and jewelry. He mentions several dealers throughout Europe, especially the P.L. Everard Company and Mr. Boughton in London, and Mr. Van Hinsberg in Belgium. His social engagements included gallery exhibitions, concerts, trips to the opera, and dinners. He describes the French city of Écouen and the Italian countryside vividly. Avery also records his meeting with the Spanish artist Cutazzi, and describes in detail the finery of the Makart studio in Vienna. Throughout the diaries, he corresponds and meets with Mr. Everard, Mr. Boughton, James McNeill Whistler, Vincent Van Gogh, and people he refers to only as Sam and Mary. Avery writes often of his occasional traveling companion, Mr. Lucas. Beginning in 1873, he mentions his wife, letters to her, and gifts that he buys her. At the end of the diary, he lists his accounts during these years.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) was a wood engraver, art dealer, and collector in New York, New York. He was a founder and trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Avery took annual trips to Europe in the 1870s during which he commissioned art for clients. Avery also founded the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University and donated his collection of etchings and lithographs to the New York Public Library.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels NMM26, NMM26a, NMM27 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Originals in Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lent for microfilming 1964 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Related Materials
The New York Public Library Manuscripts and Archives Division holds the Samuel Putnam Avery papers, 1822-1904. The New York Historical Society holds the Samuel Putnam Avery letters to William D. Murphy, 1902-1903. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Thomas J. Watson Library holds the Samuel Putnam Avery Papers, ca. 1850-1905.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Engravers -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bellows, A. F. (Albert Fitch), 1829-1883 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Benson, Eugene, 1837-1908 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blashfield, Edwin Howland, 1848-1936 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bonheur, Rosa, 1822-1899 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bouguereau, William Adolphe, 1825-1905 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Colman, Samuel, 1832-1920 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cook, Clarence, 1828-1900 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cropsey, Jasper Francis, 1823-1900 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Darley, Felix Octavius Carr, 1822-1888 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Daubigny, Charles François, 1817-1878 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Durand, John, 1822-1908 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gifford, Sanford Robinson, 1823-1880 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Greene, Edward D. E., 1823-1879 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hoppin, Augustus, 1828-1896 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
La Farge, John, 1835-1910 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lefebvre, Jules, 1836-1911 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McEntee, Jervis, 1828-1891 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moore, Charles Herbert, 1840-1930 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mount, William Sidney, 1807-1868 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Richards, T. Addison (Thomas Addison), 1820-1900 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Thompson, Launt, 1833-1894 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tuckerman, Henry T. (Henry Theodore), 1813-1871 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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