Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Arthur B. Carles papers, 1912-1983, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.carlarth
Creators:
Carles, Arthur B., 1882-1952
Dates:
1912-1983
Languages:
The collection is in English
Physical Description:
0.92 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Philadelphia painter Arthur B. Carles measure 0.92 linear feet and date from 1912 to 1983. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, personal business records, printed materials, and photographs.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Philadelphia painter Arthur B. Carles measure 0.92 linear feet and date from 1912 to 1983. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, personal business records, printed materials, and photographs.
Correspondence is found for Carles and his wife Caroline Robinson Carles and includes letters from Sarah Baker, R. Sturgis Ingersoll, Henry McCarter, John Marin, Leopold Seyffert, Maurice Speiser, Carroll and Henry Tyson, and Franklin Watkins, among others. One diary contains brief entries. Additional writings are by Carles and Perry Ottenberg. Photographs are of Carles, his studio, family and friends, exhibitions, and works of art.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged as 1 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Arthur B. Carles papers, 1912-1983 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1-2, MGP 3)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Arthur B. Carles (1882-1952) was a painter and art instructor active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Born in 1882 in Philadelphia, Arthur B. Carles studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1900-1907. There he studied with Thomas Pollock Anshutz, Hugh Breckenridge, Henry McCarter, Cecilia Beaux, and William Merritt Chase. Carles traveled to France in 1907 and stayed until 1910, becoming close friends with John Marin and Eduard Steichen. He displayed his work in the Salon d'Automne of 1908.
Upon Carles' return to Philadelphia, he accepted a position at the Pennsylvania Academy as an instructor of French and American modernism. In 1910 his work was included in the "Younger American Painters" show held at Alfred Stieglitz's New York gallery, 291. Also, Stieglitz gave Carles his first one-man show in 1912. Carles exhibited at the Armory Show of 1913.
Arthur Carles had one daughter, painter Mercedes Matter. He married Carolina Robinson as his second wife in 1972. Later in life, he suffered from alcoholism and had a stroke in 1941 that left him unable to paint. Carles died in 1952.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation of American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection and material lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels 1052, 3667, 4076, and 4207-4273 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
A portion of the Arthur B. Carles collection was loaned for microfilming by Steven Casamassima in 1976. Sara F. Swanson and Perry Ottenberg, Philadelphia collectors, donated papers in 1985 and Ottenberg lent additional material for microfilming in 1989.
Processing Information
The Arthur B. Carles papers were microfilmed upon receipt on two sets of microfilm. In 2013, the papers were processed and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. An additonal "finding aid" was prepared Barbara Wolanin, a Carles scholar. Glass plate negatives were re-housed in 2015 with a grant provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 1052 and 4270-4273) including correspondence, writings and notes, business material, artwork, photographs, and business records. Loaned materials were returned to the lenders and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Arthur B. Carles papers, 1912-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

More Information

Other Finding Aids

Other Finding Aids
An inventory of the papers was prepared by art historian Barbara Wolanin and is available by request at the Archives' Washington, DC office. The inventory does not follow the order of the papers as currently arranged, but provides detailed information about items.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Diaries Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists' studios -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Abstract -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Watkins, Franklin Chenault, 1894-1972 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tyson, Henry Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tyson, Carol Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Speiser, Maurice J. (Maurice Joseph), 1880- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seyffert, Leopold Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ottenberg, Perry, 1924- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baker, Sarah, 1899- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ingersoll, R. Sturgis (Robert Sturgis), b. 1891 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marin, John, 1870-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McCarter, Henry, 1866-1942 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carles, Caroline Robinson Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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