Churchill, Alfred Vance, 1864-1949

Alfred Vance Churchill was born on August 14, 1864 in Oberlin, Ohio. He was the son of Charles Henry Churchill, a professor at Oberlin College and his second wife, Henrietta Vance Churchill. Alfred was the second child of Henrietta Vance Churchill, and was the sixth of Charles Henry Churchill's nine children. After studies at Oberlin, Alfred studied art in Berlin, Leipzig, and Paris from 1887-1890. He married Marie Marschall in 1890. Their son Louis Nelson Churchill was born in 1897. In 1892 Churchill directed the art department at Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa. From 1893-1897, he taught art in the High and Normal Schools of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1897, he was made professor of art and Director of the Department of Fine Arts at Teachers College, Columbia University. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Oberlin College in 1898. Columbia University dismissed Churchill in 1904, but gave him a grant to study and paint in Paris 1904-1906. Smith College hired him in 1905 as the first resident professor in the appreciation and history of art. During his years at Smith, he expanded the Smith College Art Museum into one of the outstanding collections in the United States. A noted art critic, lecturer as well as a teacher and painter (whose work appeared in the Armory Show in Chicago in 1913), he influenced the standards of art teaching, especially as vice-president of the College Art Association. After 27 years of service to Smith, Churchill retired in 1932, staying in Northampton, Massachusetts, and devoting himself to painting and writing. He died on December 29, 1949.

From the guide to the Alfred Vance Churchill Papers RG 42., 1828-1948, (Smith College Archives)

Church (born Aug. 14, 1864) was the son of Charles Henry Churchill, a professor at Oberlin College, and Henrietta Vance Churchill. After studies at Oberlin, he studied art in Europe, 1887-1890 and graduated from Oberlin (M.A., 1898). He married Marie Marschall in 1890. He directed the art department at Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa (1892), and then taught art in the High and Normal Schools, St. Louis, Mo. (1893-1897). In 1897 he was made professor of art and Director of the Department of Fine Arts at Teachers College, Columbia University. Columbia University dismissed him in 1904, but gave him a grant to study and paint in Paris, 1904-1906. Smith College hired him in 1905 as the first resident professor in the appreciation and history of art. During his years at Smith he expanded the Smith College Museum of Art. He was an art critic and lecturer and served as vice-president of the College Art Association. His paintings appeared in the Armoy Show in Chicago in 1913. He retired from Smith College in 1932 and died Dec. 29, 1949.

From the description of Alfred Vance Churchill papers, 1828-1948. (Smith College). WorldCat record id: 52253549

Alfred Vance Churchill (1864-1949), painter, art critic, and professor of art.

Carl F. Schreiber (1886-1960), professor of German literature at Yale University (1913-1954) and curator of the William A. Speck Collection of Goetheana at the Yale University Library (1928-1955).

From the description of Alfred Vance Churchill letters to Carl F. Schreiber, 1929-1949. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702199078

Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956) was a painter, printmaker, and cartoonist from New York, N.Y. and Berlin, Germany. Alfred Vance Churchill (1864-1949) was a painter from New York, N.Y. and Berlin, Germany.

Feininger was active in the movement known as German Expressionism. Born in the United States and moved to Germany. Known as one of the masters of the Bauhaus.

From the description of Alfred Vance Churchill papers regarding Lyonel Feininger, 1888-1944. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 756821028

Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956) was a painter, printmaker, and cartoonist from New York, N.Y. and Berlin, Germany. Alfred Vance Churchill (1864-1949) was a painter from New York, N.Y. and Berlin, Germany.

Feininger was active in the movement known as German Expressionism. Born in the United States and moved to Germany. Known as one of the masters of the Bauhaus.

From the description of Alfred Vance Churchill papers regarding Lyonel Feininger, 1888-1944. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220233489