Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Houghton Cranford Smith Papers, 1890-1991, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.smithoug
Creators:
Smith, Houghton Cranford, 1887-1983
Dates:
1890-1991
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2.2 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of painter Houghton Cranford Smith measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1890-1991. They consist of eight scrapbooks compiled by his widow containing correspondence with family and friends, biographical materials, sketches, school work, extensive clippings, exhibition catalogs, travel documents and numerous photographs of family and friends.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The papers of painter Houghton Cranford Smith measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1890-1991. They consist of eight scrapbooks compiled by his widow containing correspondence with family and friends, biographical materials, sketches, school work, extensive clippings, exhibition catalogs, travel documents and numerous photographs of family and friends.
Biographical materials include photographs of Smith, of his artwork and of friends and family in Provincetown and New Mexico, school documents from the Foebel Academy, the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and the Art Students' League, autographed menus, correspondence, including postcards and letters to family and friends sent from Bermuda and Jamaica, customs declarations, exhibition catalogs, newspaper clippings, a passport to Chile, newsletters, and Smith's teaching contract from the University of Kansas. Additionally, there are significant photographs and letters documenting Smith's art studies with E. Ambrose Webster at the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
The collection also includes Smith's correspondence from France and South America. A significant portion of the collection includes papers from his time in France from 1913-1914, where he studied at the Parisian art school Academie Julian. These include a log from a tandem bicycle trip with classmate Harold P. Browne, an invitation to the Bal Randolphe, a Browne Art Class brochure and a narrative entitled "A Party of Fugitives from France," which describes Smith's forced fleeing from France after the French mobilization in 1914. There are also papers describing his South American travels which include notes and correspondence about Argentina, Uruguay and his time in Chile, which spans five years.
Materials documenting Smith's return to France and studies at the Academie Ozenfant from 1926 to 1933 include Smith's passport, ship passenger lists and other travel documents, correspondence with family, French identification letters, exhibition catalogs, newspaper clippings and his Academie Ozenfant list of classes and student card. Of particular note are correspondence from and a picture of Sir Walter Kitchener, governor of Bermuda, and letters from wife Elena Peralta to her parents-in-law. Topics covered in the correspondence of this scrapbook include sons Houghton Jr. and Gerrit and the birth of daughter Florence, financial difficulties, art teachers Amadee Ozenfant and Andree L'hote and the family's travels to Bermuda, New Mexico and New York City.
Materials from later in Smith's life include correspondence from Smith to second wife Laura Gilbert Williams, exhibition catalogs and registers, photographs of artwork, newspaper clippings of reviews received for Smith's exhibited paintings and congratulatory letters from family and friends on Smith's successful exhibits and feature article in The American Artist. Additionally, there is significant correspondence with the Passedoit Gallery, Homer Saint-Gaudens of the Carnegie Institute regarding the exhibition and purchase of Smith's artwork and Smith's gifted painting to the Butler Institute of American Art. Additionally, there are several biographical newspaper articles and a biographical sketch written by his wife Laura after his death.
Of note is the artist's original handwritten notes and final published version of his reminiscence "The Provincetown I Remember," notes about painting with various colors and color charts, related assignments from Smith's Color Theory Class, a signed copy of the book Color by E. Ambrose Webster, Smith's former art teacher, pencil sketches, a class notebook about lettering and an address book.

Arrangement

Arrangement
As requested by the donor, the original arrangement has been maintained, but the collection has been rehoused for preservation purposes. The collection is arranged as 4 series.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Scrapbooks, 1890-1991 (Boxes 1-2; 1.5 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Writings, 1963-1991 (Box 2; 2 folders)
  • Series 3: Printed Material, 1916-1991 (Box 2, OV 4; 6 folders)
  • Series 4: Miscellany, circa 1920s-1977 (Box 2, OV 3; 7 folders)

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Painter Houghton Cranford Smith (1887-1983) traveled extensively and painted throughout his life. He lived and studied art in France, South America, New York City and Provincetown. He had three children, Houghton Jr., Gerrit and Florence with his first wife, Elena Peralta. He held the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas department of Drawing and Painting from 1921-1925.
Smith became widely recognized for his artwork in the 1940s. He married his second wife, Laura Gilbert Williams, in 1941. He has exhibited at many venues including the Passedoit Gallery, Corcoran Gallery, Richmond Museum, Columbia Art Museum, Walker Memorial Gallery, Art Institute of Kansas City and the Provincetown Art Association. For six consecutive years he was represented at Carnegie Institute's annual invitation exhibition.

Administration

Author
Eden Orelove
Sponsor
Funding for a portion of the processing was provided by the Laura Cranford Smith Art Trust.
Provenance
Florence Cranford Smith Shepard donated her father's papers in 1993-1994.
Alternative Forms Available
The bulk of the collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 5029-5030 at 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.
Processing Information
The donor Florence Cranford Smith, assisted by AAA staff Arleen Pancza-Graham, organized and arranged most of the collection into eight scrapbooks. The donor also provided notations and detailed item lists for the contents of each scrapbook. The collection was microfilmed shortly after receipt on reels 5029-5030. The papers were further arranged and a finding aid created by Eden Orelove in September, 2011.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Houghton Cranford Smith papers, 1890-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions on 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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color in art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color guides Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chile -- description and travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Postcards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, American -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notebooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art teachers -- Kansas Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art students -- France -- Paris Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paris (France) -- description and travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Provincetown (Mass.) -- Description and Travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Kansas -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Académie Julian Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Butler Institute of American Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cape Cod School of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lhote, André, 1885-1962 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ozenfant, Amédée, 1886-1966 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Passedoit Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Saint-Gaudens, Homer, b. 1880 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pratt Institute. Art School -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Laura Gilbert Williams Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Webster, E. Ambrose (Edwin Ambrose), 1869-1935 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions