Archives of American Art

Irving F. Burton papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.burtirvi
Creators:
Burton, Irving F. (Irving Frederick), 1918-
Dates:
1816-1967
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.6 Linear feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Files on artists in Burton's collection; and letters, documents and printed material collected by him.
Scope and Contents
Files: 58 files on artists in Burton's collection primarily containing a few photographs of works of art. Also found in the files are photocopies of notes, letters from curators and dealers, and printed material. Artists include Thomas Anshutz, Claude Bentley, Albert Bierstadt, Albert Blakelock, Warren Brandy, Charles Burchfield, Rosalba Carriera, William M. Chase, Thomas Cole, Jasper F. Cropsey, Charles Culver, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Roelof De Vries, Thomas W. Dewing, Asher B. Durand, George H. Durrie, Thomas Eakins, Lyonel Feininger, Morris Graves, William Harnett, Childe Hassam, Marsden Hartley, Martin Johnson Heade, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Thomas Hovenden, George Inness, Eastman Johnson, James Kearns, John F. Kensett, Earl Krentzin, Le Gendre, John Marin, Reginald Marsh, Gari Melchers, Jerome Myers, George L. K. Morris, Guy Pène du Bois, John F. Peto, Maurice Prendergast, Constance Richardson, Theodore Robinson, John Singer Sargent, Sarkis Sarkisian, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Everett Shinn, Adam Silo, John Sloan, Tintoretto, Mark Tobey, John Vanderlyn, Elihu Vedder, Robert Vickery, Franklin Watkins, Max Weber, and James McNeill Whistler. These files are unmicrofilmed.
Scope and Contents
Letters and other manuscript materials include: a letter from William Gropper to Burton (1964) discussing a museum's purchase of Yasuo Kuniyoshi's portrait of Gropper, and mentioning Gropper's spatter technique; a letter from Eastman Johnson, dated June 8, 1985 to an unknown recipient; a document certifying an artist's shipment, signed by Benjamin West, July 20, 1819; and 3 letters written by John Singer Sargent to: S.H. Church, July 3, 1906, to Mr. Lull, June 15, 1922, and to Mrs. Winthrop Chandler, June 12, 1924. The letter to Church declines an invitation to the dedication of the new Carnegie Institute in spring 1907.
Scope and Contents
Printed materials include: a book REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE U.S. COAST SURVEY FOR 1854 (published in 1855) with an engraving "View of the Eastern Extremity of Anacapa Island - From the Southward" by James McNeill Whistler in the margin of a map in the appendix; a book GIST OF ART by John Sloan (1944) inscribed "To an old friend J. K. Hulliung / John Sloan, Hotel Chelsea, April 1951," decoratively bound by Hulliung and held in a fur-covered box and containing 3 clippings about Sloan (1949-1951); a book AN ISLAND GARDEN by Celia Thaxter with illustrations by Childe Hassam (1894); a calendar, AMERICAN BLOCK PRINT CALENDAR with a print by a different artist for every week of the year (1937).

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Art collector; Detroit, Mich. Dr. Burton's collection consisted of mainly 19th and 20th century American paintings. He started his collection in 1957. The first purchases were two paintings by Edward Hopper and Morris Graves, through a show sponsored by the Friends of Modern Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts. By 1966, the collection consisted of over 60 paintings, drawings and etchings, and over 100 objects such as pottery, bronzes, glass, etc.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
Benjamin West document, John Singer Sargent letters copied on 35mm microfilm reel 2935 (frames 1068-1081) available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. [Microfilm label: John Singer Sargent papers and the Benjamin West papers].
Existence and Location of Copies
American block print calendar copied on 35mm microfilm roll 2786 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Reel 2935: Originals returned to Irving Burton, after microfilming, and subsequently donated as a gift in 1997.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Irving Burton, 1962-1997. Three books were placed in AAA's library.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

More Information

Other Title

Other Title
John Singer Sargent papers (microfilm title)
Other Title
Benjamin West papers (microfilm title)


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, American Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sloan, John, 1871-1951 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
West, Benjamin, 1738-1820 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gropper, William, 1897-1977 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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