Archives of American Art

R. H. Ives Gammell papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.gammr
Creators:
Gammell, R. H. Ives (Robert Hale Ives), 1893-1981
Dates:
1883-1981
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
29 Volumes
(on 3 microfilm reels)
0.4 Linear feet
Addition
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
REELS 4675-4677: Twenty-six diaries (1919-1981) and 3 notebooks with sketches, relating to European travel (1928-l930). There are no diaries for 1921-1928. The diaries were begun in Paris to record ideas and concepts relating to painting. They were later expanded to include reflections and thoughts about people, and they also reflect Gammell's strong interest in Jungian psychology and opera. He often used code names for people chosen from Biblical, mythological, or foreign language sources.
Scope and Contents
ADDITION: Papers, 1883-1956, comprised mainly of writings, the bulk relating to French academic painting, including 2 annotated typescripts of his Twilight of Painting (published 1946), with photo transparencies of Henri Regnault's "Automedon" for its cover. Other writings relate to Francis Thompson' poem "The Hound of Heaven" with illustrations based on a mural series by Gammell, ca. 1955-56; and to his colleague and teacher William MacGregor Paxton, "William Paxton and the End of an Epoch," (unpublished), ca. 1941-45. Also found are photographs of the Jean Léon Gérome atelier, Paris, 1883 (mounted) and of Dennis Miller Bunker.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Painter, writer; Boston, Mass. Studied with Boston School painter William MacGregor Paxton. In 1946, Gammell's Twilight of Painting: an Analysis of Recent Trends to Serve in a Period of Reconstruction, was published. In addition to being a prolific writer, he was an allegorical painter; his major works incorporated classical, religious, imaginative, and contemporary cultural elements. A series of paintings based on Francis Thompson's poem, "Hound of Heaven" are considered to be some of his most important works. His biography of painter Dennis Miller Bunker was published in 1953.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels 4675-4677 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Reels 4675-4577: Originals returned to the lender, Elizabeth Hunter, after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Diaries and notebooks on reels 4675-4677 were lent for microfilming 1991 by Elizabeth Hunter, goddaughter of R.H. Ives Gammell. She donated additional papers 1998. Additions from Hunter are expected.

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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painting -- Massachusetts -- Boston Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Modernism (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, French Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Impressionism (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bunker, Dennis Miller, 1861-1890 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paxton, William McGregor, 1869-1941 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gérôme, Jean Léon, 1824-1904 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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