Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Desmond Fitzgerald papers, 1868-1927, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.fitzdesm
Creators:
Fitzgerald, Desmond, 1846-1926
Dates:
1868-1927
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Linear foot
Repository:
The papers of Massachusetts art patron, art collector and engineer Desmond Fitzgerald measure 1 linear foot and date from 1868 to 1927. The papers consist of 28 diaries, one account book, one exhibition catalog, and a photograph of Desmond Fitzgerald.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Massachusetts art patron, art collector and engineer Desmond Fitzgerald measure 1 linear foot and date from 1868 to 1927. The papers consist of 28 diaries, one account book, one exhibition catalog, and a photograph of Desmond Fitzgerald.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Desmond Fitzgerald (1846-1926) was an art patron, art collector, and engineer based in Brookline, Massachusetts. He served on the boards of the Boston Public Library and the Copley Society. In 1913, Fitzgerald arranged to have the Armory Show come to Boston. His collection of mainly French and American impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, Dodge Macknight, and others became a kind of semi-public museum. Upon his death, the collection was sold at auction.

Administration

Author
Rihoko Ueno
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels D177 and 2774-2775 at 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
Material on reel D177 was lent for microfilming in 1965 by Andrew Oliver, then returned to him. Material on reels 2774-2775 (the diaries, auction book, and exhibition catalog) was purchased in 1979 from an auction in New Hampshire by the dealers R. & D. Emerson of Falls Village, Connecticut. The Archives of American Art arranged to purchase them through a grant from the Hope Foundation of Providence, Rhode Island, a philanthropic organization founded by the Brown family. Fitzgerald was a cousin of John Nicholas Brown.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Rihoko Ueno in 2021.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reel D177, including letters from Macknight to Desmond Fitzgerald, Boston critic, collector, dealer, and biographer of Dodge Macknight; press clippings concerning Macknight exhibitions; and letters to Fitzgerald from Isabella Gardner, Claude Monet, and John Henry Twachtman, mostly relating to Macknight. The original loaned materials on reel D177 were returned to the donor Andrew Oliver after microfilming and are not described in the container inventory.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Conditions Governing 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 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
Desmond Fitzgerald papers, 1868-1927. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Diaries Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Collectors -- Massachusetts -- Brookline Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art patrons -- Massachusetts -- Brookline Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
MacKnight, Dodge, 1860-1950 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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