Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Francis Patrick Garvan Papers, 1867, 1912-1953, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.garvfran
Creators:
Garvan, Mabel Brady
Garvan, Francis P. (Francis Patrick), 1875-1937
Dates:
1912-1953
1867
Languages:
The collection is in English.
Physical Description:
44.9 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of art collector Francis Patrick Garvan measure 44.9 linear feet and date from 1912 to 1953, with one document from 1867. The papers provide extensive documentation on the Garvan collection which included rare books, ceramics, glass, paintings, prints, and furniture. The majority of the collection consists of inventory records that give descriptive information regarding each piece in the collection; in many cases the files also include a photograph of the object. Also found are correspondence and subject files; auction records for sales at the American Art Association, Parke-Bernet Galleries, and Plaza Art Galleries; loan records; estate records; and a small amount of printed material, writings, and photographs. Approximately half of the Garvan papers were created posthumously by Mabel Brady Garvan and the managers of Garvan's estate.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of art collector Francis Patrick Garvan measure 44.9 linear feet and date from 1912 to 1953, with one document from 1867. The papers provide extensive documentation on the Garvan collection which included rare books, ceramics, glass, paintings, prints, and furniture. The majority of the collection consists of inventory records that give descriptive information regarding each piece in the collection; in many cases the files also include a photograph of the object. Also found are correspondence and subject files; auction records for sales at the American Art Association, Parke-Bernet Galleries, and Plaza Art Galleries; loan records; estate records; and a small amount of printed material, writings, and photographs. Approximately half of the Garvan papers were created posthumously by Mabel Brady Garvan and the managers of Garvan's estate.
Notable correspondence is with antique, art and rare book dealers, museums, curators, conservators, Garvan's employees, George Parmly Day, Andrew Keough, and John Marshall Phillips of Yale University regarding the 1930 gift of the [Mabel Brady] Garvan Collection to Yale, as well as the American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Inc., Francis Bigelow, Robert Ensko, Richard T. Haines Halsey, E. Alfred Jones, Fiske Kimball, William Macbeth, Inc., Wallace Nutting, Richard W. Symonds, and others.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Correspondence and Subject Files, 1912-1942, 1953 (11.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-12, 46)
  • Series 2: Auction Records, circa 1930s-1949 (1.75 linear feet; Boxes 12-13)
  • Series 3: Loan Records, 1919-1948 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 14-16, 46)
  • Series 4: Estate Records, 1929-1951 (0.75 linear feet; Box 17, 45)
  • Series 5: Inventory, 1928-1949 (26.0 linear feet; Boxes 17-43)
  • Series 6: Printed Materials, 1867, 1926-1949 (1.0 linear foot; Boxes 43-44, 46)
  • Series 7: Writings, 1930s (0.3 linear feet; Box 44)
  • Series 8: Photographic Materials, 1930s-1940s (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 44-45, 47)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Francis Patrick Garvan (1875-1937) and his wife Mabel Brady Garvan were art collectors in the 1920s and 1930s, specializing in decorative arts and furniture. Professionally, Garvan was a lawyer who spent the majority of his career serving as President of the Chemical Foundation, to which he was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson. He maintained relationships with many prominent museums and galleries including the American Art Association, the Anderson Galleries, the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Over the course of his life, Garvan had amassed a collection of thousands of decorative and fine art objects. During his final years, Garvan arranged for the majority of his art collection to be donated to Yale University, his alma mater.

Administration

Author
Dominique Luster
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 1981 by Anthony N. B. Garvan and Phil Hoyt for the estate of Mabel Brady Garvan.
Processing Information
This collection processed to a minimal level and a finding aid created by Dominique Luster in 2014.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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
Francis Patrick Garvan papers, 1867, 1912-1953. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Decorative arts -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Collectors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Macbeth Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Garvan Collection (Yale University) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yale University -- Art collections Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nutting, Wallace, 1861-1941 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kimball, Fiske, 1888-1955 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Art Association Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Phillips, John Marshall, 1905-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Halsey, R. T. Haines (Richard Townley Haines), 1865-1942 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ensko, Robert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Keough, Andrew, 1869-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jones, E. Alfred (Edward Alfred), 1872-1943 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parke-Bernet Galleries Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
O'Reilly's Plaza Art Galleries Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Day, George Parmly, 1876-1959 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bigelow, Francis Hill, 1859-1933 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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