Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Dewing family papers, 1876-1963, bulk 1890-1930, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.dewithom
Creators:
Dewing, Thomas Wilmer, 1851-1938
Dates:
1876-1963
bulk 1890-1930
Languages:
The collection is in English.
Physical Description:
0.3 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Thomas Wilmer Dewing and the Dewing family measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1876-1963. Found within the papers are biographical materials on Thomas Dewing; personal correspondence from Dewing, his wife Maria Oakey, and other family members; writings; printed materials; and photographs of Dewing, his family, and his work.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Thomas Wilmer Dewing and the Dewing family measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1876-1963. Found within the papers are biographical materials on Thomas Dewing; personal correspondence from Dewing, his wife Maria Oakey, and other family members; writings; printed materials; and photographs of Dewing, his family, and his work.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 1 series:
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Dewing Family Papers, 1876-1963 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 2)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Painters Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) and Maria Oakey Dewing (1855-1927) lived and worked in New York, N.Y. and Cornish, New Hampshire. A native of Boston, Thomas Dewing began his art studies at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and traveled to Paris in 1876 to study at the Académie Julian under Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefebvre. He returned to Boston in 1877 and moved to New York City in 1880 where he met and married his wife, Maria Oakey, in 1881. Known for his tonalist style, Dewing taught at the Art Students League from 1881 to 1888, and was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1888. Dewing was also a member of the Ten American Painters, an exhibiting group that included Childe Hassam and William Merritt Chase. Prominent patrons of his work include the architect Stanford White and the art collectors Charles Lang Freer and John Gellatly.
An artist in her own right, Maria Oakey Dewing began her studies at Cooper Union in 1866 and continued at the National Academy of Fine Arts in 1881. She was also a founding member of the Art Students League and a member of the Society of American Artists. Maria Dewing exhibited works at the National Academy of Design and continued to exhibit still life paintings after her marriage to Dewing, receiving awards at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the 1901 Pan American Exposition. From 1885 to 1905, the Dewings summered at the artist colony in Cornish, New Hampshire and had one child, Elizabeth Dewing Kaup. Maria died at her home in New York in 1927 and Thomas died in New York in 1938.

Administration

Author
Judy Ng
Sponsor
Funding for the processing and digitzation of this colleciton was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Thomas and Maria Dewing's daughter, Elizabeth Dewing Kaup, donated the papers in separate accessions beginning in 1959. In 1979-1980, ten additional letters were given by Mary Morain, the Dewings' granddaughter, through Susan Hobbs. Material was lent for microfilming by Mrs. Pete A. Gunther in 1980 and by Hugh Franklin in 1981. In 2009, an additional handful of correspondence and photographs were anonymously donated to the Archives.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 1818, 2077, and 2083) including correspondence, writings and diaries, sketchbooks, and photograph albums. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Existence and Location of Copies
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2016 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Materials which have not been scanned include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates. In some cases, publications have had their covers and relevant pages scanned.
Materials lent for microfilming are available on microfilm reels 1818, 2077, and 2083 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Processing Information
Materials received a preliminary level of arrangement after donation and the collection was microfilmed onto reels D22 and 2803. All previously filmed and unfilmed accessions were merged and the collection was described and prepared for digitization by Judy Ng in 2016, with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Dewing family papers, 1876-1963, bulk 1890-1930. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- New Hampshire Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, American -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dewing, M. O. (Maria Oakey), 1855-1927 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions