Stillman, William James, 1828-1901

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William James Stillman (born June 1, 1828, Schenectady, New York – died July 6, 1901, Frimely Green, Surrey, England) was an American journalist, diplomat, author, historian, and photographer. Educated as an artist, Stillman subsequently converted to the profession of journalism, working primarily as a war correspondent in Crete and the Balkans, where he served as his own photographer. For a time, he also served as United States consul in Rome, and afterward in Crete during the Cretan insurrections. He helped to train the young Arthur Evans as a war correspondent in the Balkans, and remained a lifelong friend and confidant of Evans. Later in life, he seriously considered taking over the excavation at Knossos from Minos Kalokairinos, who had been stopped from further excavation by the Cretan Assembly; he was, however, prevented from pursuing that goal further by a failure to obtain a firman, or permission, to excavate. Stillman wrote several books, one of which, his Autobiography of a Journalist, suggests that he viewed himself primarily as a writer.

In 1871 he married artist Marie Spartali, a second generation Pre-Raphaelite painter, and a daughter of the Greek consul-general Michael Spartali, although without his permission.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Moore, Charles Herbert, 1840-1930. Papers, 1894-1910. Harvard University Art Museum
referencedIn William Roscoe Thayer papers, 1762-1927 (inclusive), 1872-1921 (bulk) Houghton Library
referencedIn Gleason, Herbert Wendell, 1855-1937. Herbert Wendell Gleason photographic negatives of Concord, Mass. taken in 1903, pt. a, 1903. Concord Free Public Library, Special Collection
referencedIn Norton family. Letters received by the Norton family, 1830-1920 Houghton Library
creatorOf William James Stillman, 1828-1901. William James Stillman, 1828-1901 papers, 1850-1978. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882. Autograph letter signed : Hawkhurst, Kent, to William Allingham, [1870 Mar. 15]. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. [William James Stillman : artist file] Detroit Institute of Arts Research Library & Archives, DIA Research Library & Archives
creatorOf Ruskin, John, 1819-1900. Autograph letter signed : Bonneville, Savoy, to William James Stillman, [ca. 1860 June 1]. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Century Company records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Choper, Carl Samuel. A transcendentalist window : the painting "Philosophers' camp in the Adirondacks" by William James Stillman : typescript, 1984 / Carl S. Choper. Concord Free Public Library, Special Collection
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
referencedIn James Russell Lowell additional papers, 1802-1898. Houghton Library
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Letter and print of William James Stillman [manuscript], n.d. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Letters to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1761-1904 (inclusive), 1820-1888 (bulk) Houghton Library
creatorOf CARNARVON PAPERS. Vol. XXIII (ff. 240). 1. ff. 1-76. Correspondence of Lord Carnarvon concerning The Press newspaper, including letters from Auberon Herbert (ff. 24, 29, 37, 41, 47, 55; 1861-1862), Sir Stafford Northcote (f. 53; 1862), and the Rev. G..., 1854-1890 British Library
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Autograph letters signed (6) : Florence, Rome and Palermo, to Dr. Baldwin, 1887 Jan. 23 and undated. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Fox, Gaby,. Papers of the Norton family [manuscript], 1797-1921 (bulk 1863-1909). University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Century Magazine. Correspondence of the editors of the Century Magazine [manuscript], 1883-1900. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Letters to William James Stillman and John Durand from artists, 1854-1861. Archives of American Art
referencedIn Samuel Gray Ward and Anna Hazard Barker Ward papers, 1823-1934 (inclusive) 1837-1900 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Letters from various correspondents, 1869-1942. Houghton Library
creatorOf Stillman, William James. Stillman, William James : [photography bio file]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf Norton, Charles Eliot, 1827-1908. Charles Eliot Norton papers, ca. 1845-1908. Houghton Library
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Letter : Rome, to William Michael Rossetti, 1893 June 14. Getty Research Institute
referencedIn Ralph Waldo Emerson letters from various correspondents, ca. 1814-1882. Houghton Library
referencedIn Horace Elisha Scudder correspondence Houghton Library
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Letter and print of William James Stillman, n.d. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Garrison family papers, 1801-1948 (inclusive), 1840-1907 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Durand, John, 1822-1908. John Durand papers, 1853-1893, bulk (1854-1859). New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn John Durand papers, 1853-1893, 1854-1859 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Correspondence with Henry Charles Lea, 1828-1901. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Feiss, Richard A., 1878-1954. Series 1. Professional papers, 1918-1942, bulk 1918-1927. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Isabella Stewart Gardner papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf William Conant Church letters Archives of American Art
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Autograph letter signed W. Stillman to "Jackson" November 29, 1862. Wellesley College
referencedIn Vol. CCCXC (ff. 357). Apr.-June 1882.includes:f. 1 Duleep Singh, Maharajah of Lahore; GCSI: Letters to W. E. Gladstone: 1881-1889.f. 3 George Arthur Hastings Forbes, 7th Earl of Granard: Correspondence with W. E. Gladstone: 1869-1885.f. 5 Matth... British Library
referencedIn Thomas Bailey Aldrich papers, 1837-1926. Houghton Library
creatorOf Stillman, William James, 1828-1901. Unidentified fragment of an essay, n.d. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Century Magazine letters Archives of American Art
referencedIn William James Stillman Collection University of Virginia. Library. Special Collections Dept.
referencedIn Houghton Mifflin Company contracts, 1831-1979 (inclusive) 1880-1940 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Charles Eliot Norton papers Houghton Library
referencedIn Agassiz, Elizabeth Cabot Cary, 1822-1907. Papers, 1838-1920 (inclusive), 1838-1908 (bulk). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Ruskin, John, 1819-1900. Letter : [Denmark Hill?] to [William James] Stillman, [Cambridge, Mass.?], 14 December [1860?]. University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries
referencedIn Howells family papers, 1850-1954 (inclusive). Houghton Library
creatorOf Hay, John, 1838-1905. Correspondence, 1854-1914, "Stanley" to "Taylor". Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Clough, Arthur Hugh, 1819-1861. Autograph letter signed A. H. Clough to: William James Stillman June 12, [1860]. Wellesley College
Role Title Holding Repository
Walt Whitman to William J. Stillman, 24 October [1876] Walt Whitman Archive

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Relation Name
associatedWith Agassiz, Elizabeth Cabot Cary, 1822-1907. person
correspondedWith Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 1836-1907 person
associatedWith Baldwin, William Wilberforce, person
associatedWith Bierstadt, Albert, 1830-1902. person
associatedWith Bliss Lane, Arthur, Mrs, person
correspondedWith Century Company corporateBody
associatedWith Century illustrated monthly magazine. corporateBody
associatedWith Century Magazine. corporateBody
associatedWith Choper, Carl Samuel. person
associatedWith Church, William Conant, 1836-1917. person
associatedWith Clough, Arthur Hugh, 1819-1861. person
associatedWith Collingwood, William Gershom, 1854-1893 person
associatedWith Cranch, Christopher Pearse, 1813-1892. person
correspondedWith Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel, 1853-1935 person
associatedWith Detroit Institute of Arts Research Library & Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith Durand, John, 1822-1908. person
correspondedWith Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882 person
associatedWith Feiss, Richard A., 1878-1954. person
associatedWith Fuller, George, 1822-1884. person
associatedWith Gardner, Isabella Stewart, 1840-1924. person
correspondedWith Garrison family. family
associatedWith Glass, James William, 1825-1857. person
associatedWith Gleason, Herbert Wendell, 1855-1937. person
associatedWith Gray, John Clinton, 1843-1915, person
associatedWith Greenough, Richard S. (Richard Saltonstall), 1819-1904. person
associatedWith Hart, James McDougal, 1828-1901. person
associatedWith Hawks, Stanley, Mrs, person
associatedWith Hay, John, 1838-1905. person
associatedWith Houghton Mifflin Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Jackson, John Adams, 1825-1879. person
correspondedWith Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882 person
correspondedWith Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891 person
associatedWith Mayer, Frank Blackwell, 1827-1899. person
associatedWith McEntee, Jervis, 1828-1891. person
associatedWith Mead, Larkin G. (Larkin Goldsmith), 1835-1910. person
associatedWith Moore, Charles Herbert, 1840-1930. person
associatedWith Norton, Charles Eliot, 1827-1908. person
correspondedWith Norton family, recipient. family
associatedWith Palmer, Erastus Dow, 1817-1904. person
associatedWith Perry, Bliss, 1860-1954 person
associatedWith Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882. person
correspondedWith Rossetti, William Michael, 1829-1919 person
associatedWith Rossiter, Thomas Prichard, 1818-1871. person
associatedWith Ruskin, John, 1819-1900. person
associatedWith Scudder, Horace Elisha, 1838-1902 person
spouseOf Stillman, Marie Spartali, 1844-1927 person
correspondedWith Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874 person
associatedWith Suydam, James A. (James Augustus), 1819-1865. person
correspondedWith Thayer, William Roscoe, 1859-1923 person
associatedWith Volk, Leonard Wells, 1828-1895. person
associatedWith Ward, John Quincy Adams, 1830-1910. person
associatedWith Ward, Samuel Gray. person
correspondedWith Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
Crete, Greece
Scotland, United Kingdom
Subject
Art
Art publishing
Authors
Diplomatic protection
Occupation
Photographers
Activity

Person

Birth 1828-06-01

Death 1901-07-06

Birth 1828

Death 1901

Americans

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