Freer, Charles Lang, 1854-1919

Epithet: American collector

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000301.0x000033

Manufacturer and art collector.

From the description of Charles Lang Freer letter, 1928. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79450299

Art collector; Detroit, Michigan.

Collected Asian, American, and European art, including a large collection of works by James McNeill Whistler. Founded the Freer Gallery of Art, which is now part of the Smithsonian Institution.

From the description of Charles Lang Freer selected papers, 1876-1931. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220204262

• 1854 February 25: Born in Kingston, New York
• 1873: Appointed accountant and paymaster of New York, Kingston and Syracuse Railroad by Frank J. Hecker (1846-1927)
• 1876: Moves to Indiana to work, with Hecker, for the Detroit and Eel River and Illinois Railroad
• 1880: Moves to Detroit, participates in organization of the Peninsular Car Works with Hecker
• 1883: Becomes vice president and secretary of Peninsular Car Company when it succeeds Peninsular Car Works
• 1883: Begins collecting European prints
• 1884: Peninsular Car Company constructs plant on Ferry Avenue
• 1887: Meets Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)
• 1887: Acquires proofs of 26 etchings, Venice, Second Series(1886), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
• 1887: Purchases a small Japanese fan attributed to Ogata Karin(1658-1715)
• 1887: Buys land on Ferry Avenue
• 1889: Meets Frederick Stuart Church (1826-1900) and Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925) in New York
• 1890: Commissions Wilson Eyre (1858-1944) to design house on Ferry Avenue, Detroit, Michigan
• 1890: On first trip to London, meets James McNeill Whistler(1834-1903)
• 1892: Moves to Ferry Avenue house
• 1892: Tryon and Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) undertake decoration of reception rooms
• 1893: Lends American paintings to World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
• 1893: Purchases first piece of Chinese art, a small painting of white herons by an anonymous Ming dynasty (1368-1644) artist
• 1894: Begins yearlong trip around the world, which includes visit to the Whistlers in Paris and first trip to Asia, stopping in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, China, and Japan
• 1896: Meets Matsuki Bunkya (1867-1940) in Boston
• 1899: Takes part in consolidation of railroad-car building companies then retires from active business
• 1900: Attends Exposition International Universelle in Paris
• 1900: Buys villa in Capri with Thomas S. Jerome
• 1901: Meets Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) in Paris and Ernest Fenollosa(1853-1908), who visits Freer in Detroit
• 1902: Meets Dikran Kelekian (1868-1951)
• 1902: Spends summer in Britain building Whistler collection
• 1902: Views Whistler's, Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room
• 1904: Purchases Whistler's Peacock Room
• 1904: Offers his art collections and funds to build a museum in which to house them to the Smithsonian Institution
• 1905: Smithsonian committee visits Freer in Detroit
• 1906: United States government formally accepts Freer's gift on January 24
• 1906: Freer signs Deed of Gift to Smithsonian Institution on May 5
• 1907: On second tour of Asia, meets Hara Tomitaro 1868-1939) in Yokohama, Japan
• 1908: Takes third trip to Asia, specifically to West Asia to study Rakka ware
• 1909: Tours Europe to study art museums
• 1909: On fourth trip to Asia, attends memorial ceremony for Fenollosa (d.1908 September) at Miidera, Japan, and meets Duanfang (1861-1911) in China
• 1910: On last trip to Asia, visits Longmen Buddhist caves in China
• 1911: Suffers stroke
• 1912: Lends selection of objects for exhibition at Smithsonian Institution
• 1913: Meets Eugene (1875-1957) and Agnes E. (1887-1970)Meyer
• 1913: Commissions Charles Adams Platt (1861-1933) to design museum building in Washington
• 1914: Meets Katharine Nash Rhoades (1885-1965) in Detroit
• 1915: Settles in New York City
• 1915: Site of future Freer Gallery of Art is determined
• 1916: Platt's plans for Freer Gallery are approved by Smithsonian Regents and Commission of Fine Arts and ground is broken in September
• 1918: After falling ill in Detroit, Freer travels to New York for treatment
• 1918: Work on the museum building is delayed by the war
• 1919: Freer appends codicil to will permitting acquisitions of Asian, Egyptian, and Near Eastern (West Asian) art
• 1919: Dies in New York City on 25 September and is buried in Kingston, New York
• 1919: Construction of Freer Gallery completed
• 1920: John Ellerton Lodge (1876-1942) is appointed director of the Freer Gallery
• 1923: Freer Gallery opens to the public on May 9
• 1930: Memorial ceremony for Freer is held at Koetsuji, Kyoto

Charles Lang Freer was a wealthy industrialist who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. He was a well-known collector of Asian art, and strongly supported the synthesis of Eastern art and Western art. One of his most famous acquisitions was James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room.

From the guide to the Charles Lang Freer Papers, 1876-1931, (The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives)

Charles Lang Freer: Art collector; Detroit, Michigan. Collected Asian, American, and European art, including a large collection of works by James McNeill Whistler. Founded the Freer Gallery of Art, which is now part of the Smithsonian Institution.

• 1854, February 25th: Born in Kingston, New York
• 1906, December 19th: Purchases 4 manuscripts from Ali Arabi in Cairo: I Deuteronomy/Joshua, II Psalms, III Four Gospels, IV Fragments of the Epistles of Paul
• 1910: Publication of "The Washington Manuscript of Deuteronomy and Joshua" by Henry A. Sanders (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. VIII, Part I)
• 1912: Publication of "The Washington Manuscript of the Four Gospels" by Henry A. Sanders (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. IX, Part 1)
• 1914: Publication of "East Christian Paintings in the Freer Collection" by Charles R. Morey (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. XII, Part I)
• 1915: Publication of "The Washington Manuscript of the Psalms" by Henry A. Sanders (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. VIII, Part II)
• 1916: Purchase of manuscripts of the Minor Prophets and other manuscripts, mostly Coptic, by Dr. David L. Askren for C.L. Freer and J. Pierpont Morgan, from Maurice Nahman in Cairo
• 1916: Publication of "The Coptic Psalter" by William H. Worrell (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. X, Part I - this is Part I of "The Coptic Manuscripts in the Freer Collection")
• 1918: Publication of "The Washington Manuscript of the Epistles of Paul" by Henry A. Sanders (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. IX, Part II)
• 1918: Publication of "A Gold Treasure of the Late Roman Period" by Walter Dennison (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. XII, Part II)
• 1919, September 25th: Dies in New York City is buried in Kingston, New York
• 1923: Publication of "Two Homilies and a Magical Text" by William H. Worrell (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. X, Part II - this is Part II of "The Coptic Manuscripts in the Freer Collection")
• 1927: Publication of "Fragments from the Cairo Genizah in the Freer Collection" by Richard Gottheil and William H. Worrell (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. XIII
• 1927: Publication of "The Minor Prophets in the Freer Collection and the Berlin Fragment of Genesis" by Henry A. Sanders and Carl Schmidt (University of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series, Vol. XXI

From the guide to the Biblical Manuscripts and Gold Treasure Collection, 1907-1920, (The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives)