Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Charles Henry Hart Autograph Collection, 1731-1918, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.hartchar
Creators:
Hart, Charles Henry, 1847-1918
Dates:
1731-1918
Languages:
The collection is in English
Physical Description:
1.71 Linear feet
Repository:
The Charles Henry Hart autograph collection dates from 1731-1917 and measures 1.71 linear feet comprised of 232 letters, portrait prints, and other documents signed by American artists. There is a .01 linear foot (6 items) unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a letter from Winslow Homer to Mr. Clarke, November 28, 1892; typed and annotated lists of autographs of artists in the collections of Charles Henry Hart; handwritten note about English painter and engraver, John Keyse Sherwin, undated; handwritten note regarding Gennearino Persico, miniature artist, July 18, 1826.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Charles Henry Hart autograph collection dates from 1731-1917 and measures 1.71 linear feet comprised of 232 letters, portrait prints, and other documents signed by American artists. There is a .01 linear foot (6 items) unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a letter from Winslow Homer to Mr. Clarke, November 28, 1892; typed and annotated lists of autographs of artists in the collections of Charles Henry Hart; handwritten note about English painter and engraver, John Keyse Sherwin, undated; handwritten note regarding Gennearino Persico, miniature artist, July 18, 1826.
Originally titled by Hart as "The History of Art in America as Told in a Remarkable Collection of Autograph Letters and Documents of Celebrated American Artists of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Century," the collection includes letters and other items signed by Thomas Anshutz, John J. Audubon, William Merritt Chase, Frederic Edwin Church, John Singleton Copley, Kenyon Cox, Thomas Eakins, Jervis McEntee, Samuel F.B. Morse, Charles Willson Peale, Raphaelle Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale, Titian Peale, James Daivd Smillie, Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Abbott Handerson Thayer, John Vanderlyn, Elihu Vedder, John Quincy Adams Ward, Benjamin West, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and many others.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged in 2 series.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Charles Henry Hart autograph collection, 1731-1917 (226 items; Box 1-5)
  • Series 2: Unprocessed Addition, 1826-1892 and undated (6 items; MMS folder 6)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Charles Henry Hart (1847-1918) was a historian, lawyer, writer, and director, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1882-1904. Widely, he published on the subject of 18th and 19th century portraiture in the United States.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Existence and Location of Copies
The collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reel D5 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
The Charles Henry Hart autograph collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 1954 as an anonymous gift. It is assumed that Hart assembled the letters. Original collation was two letterbooks entitled "The History of Art in America as Told in a Remarkable Collection of Autograph Letters and Documents of Celebrated American Artists of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Century." Additional six items donated in 2021 by Ty West, who found the compiled material among his grandfather-in-law's belongings.
Processing Information
The original letterbooks were microfilmed onto reel D5. In 2014, Jayna Josefson prepared a finding aid for the collection with support from the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Using the Collection

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.
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.
Preferred Citation
Charles Henry Hart autograph collection, 1731-1918. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds the personal papers of Charles Henry Hart, dating from 1774-1930, bulk 1888-1918.
Papers of Charles Henry Hart, 1888-1894, are also located at The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Autographs -- Collections Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- United States -- Portraits Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Autographs -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- United States -- Autographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
West, Benjamin, 1738-1820 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peale, Rembrandt, 1778-1860 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vanderlyn, John, 1775-1852 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vedder, Elihu, 1836-1923 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ward, John Quincy Adams, 1830-1910 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Copley, John Singleton, 1738-1815 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chase, William Merritt, 1849-1916 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Church, Frederic Edwin, 1826-1900 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peale, Titian Ramsay, 1799-1885 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McEntee, Jervis, 1828-1891 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smillie, James David, 1833-1909 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peale, Rubens, 1784-1865 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sully, Thomas, 1783-1872 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stuart, Gilbert, 1755-1828 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anshutz, Thomas Pollock, 1851-1912 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audubon, John James, 1785-1851 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peale, Raphaelle, 1774-1825 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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