Archives of American Art

Lincoln Kirstein and Richard Sherman Nutt research material on William Rimmer

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.kirslinc
Creators:
Kirstein, Lincoln, 1907-
Nutt, Richard Sherman, 1914-
Dates:
1849-1971
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.6 Linear feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Research material on William Rimmer compiled by Lincoln Kirstein, 1944-1955, and added to from 1958 on by Richard Sherman Nutt. Included are correspondence, notes and writings, scrapbooks, photographs, and printed materials.
Scope and Contents
Included are Rimmer family documents and genealogy; Kirstein's (1944-1955) and Nutt's (1958-1971) correspondence regarding Rimmer, mainly responses to Kirstein's requests for information from libraries, museums, relatives, and owners of Rimmer's work; subject files containing correspondence, photographs, writings, notes and printed material on people, places and topics relating to Rimmer, among them the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Whitney Museum, Margaret French Cresson, Henry W. Kent, Cooper Union, Marion MacLean, and others;
Scope and Contents
writings and notes by Kirstein on Rimmer, including a typescript of his catalog essay for the 1946 exhibition at the Whitney and notes on other artists; a typescript of a poem by Rimmer "The Love Chant"; Rimmer's annotated diagram of a wheel in motion, 1860; a book by Rimmer's daughter, ANIMAL DRAWING: A SERIES OF THIRTEEN PLATES WITH DESCRIPTIVE TEXT DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS BY CAROLINE HUNT RIMMER (Houghton, Mifflin, 1895), and ART ANATOMY (Houghton, Mifflin, 1884, c1887?) by William Rimmer, containing eighty one plates from the original drawings; a scrapbook compiled by Kirstein containing reproductions of catalogs, clippings, printed material, and photographs; photographs of Rimmer's family, including 2 on glass and a tintype; cartes de visites of French royalty; and printed material, 1864-1945, including material kept by Rimmer, articles and booklets about him, 2 clippings, 1898 and 1900 on Rimmer's daughter Caroline, a booklet "Rapport sur une Mission dans l'Amerique du Nord by M. Armand Dumaresq" reporting
Scope and Contents
on American drawing instruction and including a section on Rimmer and his work at the Cooper Institute and inscribed by Rimmer to his daughter Caroline, 1972; and other printed material compiled by Kirstein.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Lincoln Kirstein: writer, art historian; Richard S. Nutt: art historian. Dr. William Rimmer: noted 19th century painter, sculptor, and anatomy instructor.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 1985 by Richard Nutt. The materials were mainly compiled by Lincoln Kirstein, who had hoped to write a book on Rimmer. In 1946 he wrote the catalog essay to the exhibit "William Rimmer, 1816-1979" at the Whitney, and in 1955 turned the materials over to Nutt for a catalog raisonne (never published). Both Kirstein and Nutt believe Mrs. Rimmer discarded her husband's papers.

Using the Collection

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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sculpture, American -- 19th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Modern -- 19th century -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anatomy, Artistic Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawing -- 19th century -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawing -- Study and teaching -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rimmer, William, 1816-1879 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rimmer, Caroline Hunt, 1851-1918 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kent, Henry Watson, 1866-1948 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cresson, Margaret French, 1889-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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