Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Lilly Martin Spencer Papers, 1828-1966, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.spenlill
Creators:
Spencer, Lilly Martin, 1822-1902
Dates:
1828-1966
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.9 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of portrait and genre painter Lilly Martin Spencer, measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1828-1966. The collection includes biographical material, scattered lists, notes, receipts, and legal documents relating to Spencer's life and work, Spencer's business and family correspondence, printed material, a lithograph, photographs of Spencer and others, and photographs of Spencer's artwork.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of portrait and genre painter Lilly Martin Spencer, measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1828-1966. The collection includes biographical material, scattered lists, notes, receipts, and legal documents relating to Spencer's life and work, Spencer's business and family correspondence, printed material, a lithograph, photographs of Spencer and others, and photos of Spencer's artwork.
The collection documents Spencer's popularity and success as a painter, her involvement with art associations and civic organizations such as Sorosis, and her personal life as a wife, mother, and breadwinner through correspondence with family, artists including John Sartain and Benjamin John Lossing, dealers including Samuel Putnam Avery, writers and editors such as Robert Green Ingersoll and Fannie Raymond Bitter, and social activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as four series:
  • Series 1: Biographical Material and Other Papers, 1853-1959 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 3)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1828-1966 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
  • Series 3: Printed Material, 1857-1961 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2, OV 3)
  • Series 4: Photographs, circa 1890-circa 1950 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
New York and Ohio painter Lilly Martin Spencer (1822-1902) was known for her popular portrait paintings and humorous domestic genre scenes.
Spencer was born Angelique Marie Martin in England to French parents, Giles and Angelique Martin, who were followers of the French social critic Charles Fournier. The family came to New York in 1830, moved to Marietta, Ohio, in 1833 and, in 1845, co-founded the communal settlement, Trumbull Phalanx, near Braceville, Ohio. In 1848, after her marriage to Benjamin Spencer at the age of 22, Spencer returned to New York. She achieved much success as a painter and was the main breadwinner for her family while giving birth to thirteen children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. The family moved several times, to Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Newark, New Jersey; and Highlands and Poughkeepsie, New York.

Administration

Author
Stephanie Ashley
Sponsor
The collection was digitized in 2022 with funding provided by the Lichtenstein Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art
Existence and Location of Copies
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2022 and is available on the Archives of American Art website. Items not digitized include the full text of some catalogs and other publications, for which only the title pages and relevant pages have been digitized.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 1971 by Lillian Spencer Gates, Spencer's granddaughter.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reel 131 including family history; biographical material; circa 50 photographs of Spencer and her paintings; M.A. thesis, "Lilly Martin Spencer: American Painter of the Nineteenth Century," by Ann Byrd Schumer; articles about Spencer's life and work, 1959; and a list of paintings owned by her granddaughter, Lillian Spencer Gates. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Processing Information
The collection received a preliminary level of arrangement after donation and was microfilmed on reel 131. The collection was processed and described in a finding aid by Stephanie Ashley in 2019. The collection was prepared for digitization by Stephanie Ashley and was digitized in 2022 with funding provided by the Lichtenstein Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

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.
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
Lilly Martin Spencer papers, 1828-1966. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
The Archives of American Art also has microfilm (reel 132) of the Martin family papers and Campus Martius Museum records regarding Lilly Martin Spencer. Originals are located at the Campus Martius Museum, Ohio Historical Society.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Portrait painters -- New York (State) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Genre painters -- New York (State) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Genre painters -- Ohio Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Portrait painters -- Ohio Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 1815-1902 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sorosis (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ingersoll, Robert Green, 1833-1899 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sartain, John, 1808-1897 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Avery, Samuel Putnam, 1822-1904 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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