Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Frank Harmon Myers Papers, 1891-1976, bulk 1908-1963, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.myerfran
Creators:
Myers, Frank Harmon, 1899-1956
Dates:
1891-1976
bulk 1908-1960
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2.2 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of painter Frank Harmon Myers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1976, with the bulk of the records dating from 1908 to 1963. The records shed light on the artist's career in Ohio and California through biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, artwork, printed materials, and photographic materials.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of painter Frank Harmon Myers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1976, with the bulk of the records dating from 1908 to 1963. The records shed light on the artist's career in Ohio and California through biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, artwork, printed materials, and photographic materials.
Biographical materials include Myers' resume, letters that confirm some of the courses he studied and taught, one membership list and meeting minutes of the Carmel Art Association, notes from a Myers art lecture on Sante Fe, one sales ledger, and drafts and notes of "And The Glory," a biography on Myers written by his wife, Ella Price Myers. Correspondence is a mixture of personal and professional letters, shedding light on Myers' freidnships, personal and professional relationship with his wife, and his travels. Correspondents include artists Sheldon Dixie and Albert Berne, poet and advertiser John Bunker, Myers' nephew Sheldon, and his son Frank. The series also includes a map that of the United States on which Myers traced his sketching trips, 1926 to 1950, a cartoon by Herman Wessel, and clippings related to John Weis. Printed materials include newspaper and magazine clippings concerning Myers' artwork, career, and exhibitions, a series of advertisements illustrated by Myers, two lithographs of his artwork, and some exhibition ephemera. Artwork consists of childhood drawings by Myers of Native Americans, holiday themes, and portraits; later sketches, mostly in charcoal and pencil, include figure and portrait studies, city scenes, and several still lifes; one 1916 landscape painting by Myers, cloth with a linoleum block design, paint samples from Myers' studio, and small sketches and doodles drawn on scraps of paper. Photographic materials depict Myers' artwork, portraits of the artist, his family and friends, and his home in Pacific Grove.
A fair amount of the collection's files include notes with contextual information written by Ella Price Myers.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as five series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1891-1976 (Box 1; .2 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1921-1973 (Box 1-2; 1 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Printed Materials, 1924-1963 (Box 2, OV 3; .5 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Artwork, circa 1908-1956 (Box 2, OV 4; .6 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Photographical Materials, 1910-1962 (Box 2; 4 folders)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Frank Harmon Myers (1899-1956) was an impressionist painter and art educator who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Pacific Grove, California. Myers was born in Cleves, Ohio, and moved to Cincinnati around 1907. His interest in art took off prior to his teenage years, illustrating a series of body-length portraits of Native Americans, several landscapes, and art with holiday themes. Myers studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati under Frank Duveneck, H. H. Wessel, and John Ellsworth Weiss; took a summer course at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Daniel Garber, Hugh Henry Breckenridge, and Joseph Thurman Pearson Jr.; and the School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau, France, under Jean Despujols and Gourguet. Myers began showing his art at the Closson Galleries circa 1920 and taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 1921 to circa 1941. In 1932, Myers spent a year on sabbatical in Sante Fe, New Mexico, painting animals, people, ranches and farms, villages, and landscapes. He and his wife, Ella Price Myers, moved to Pacific Grove, California, in 1940 so that Myers could pursue painting full-time. His work was frequently exhibited at the Carmel Art Association from this point onwards, with additional solo shows at Pebble Beach Galleries, San Jose State College, M. H. De Young Museum, Crocker Art Gallery, and others. Myers paintings were featured in group exhibitions at The Salon, Paris, Harlow Galleries, New York, St. Louis City Museum, Missouri, Alright Museum, New York, and more. Myers served as president of the Carmel Art Association in 1953.

Administration

Author
Christopher DeMairo
Sponsor
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by Ella Price Myers, Myers' widow, from 1960 to 1974. An addition was donated in 1994 by Myers' daughter-in-law Patricia Clarke Myers, ex-wife of Myers' only son Frank P. Myers.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2023.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels D26-27, 840-841, and 3161 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds one scrapbook of Frank Myers publicity, circa 1925-1945, lent for microfilming on reel D42. Loaned materials were returned to Ella Price Myers and are not described in the collection 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.
Preferred Citation
Frank Harmon Myers papers, 1891-1976. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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 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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painting, American Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- Ohio -- Cincinnati Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Landscape painters -- Ohio -- Cincinnati Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Ohio -- Cincinnati Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California -- Monterey Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Impressionism (Art) -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bunker, John Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Myers, Ella Price Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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