Houghton Cranford Smith papers

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Houghton Cranford Smith papers

1890-1991

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c91ed2e8-4c21-403e-970c-80ba6269d66f

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.

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Archives of American Art

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6630724

Archives of American Art

Related Entities

There are 27 Entities related to this resource.

Browne, George Elmer, 1871-1946

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z04jhc (person)

Painter, art instructor; New York, N.Y. and Provincetown, Mass. From the description of George Elmer Browne papers, 1900-1932. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122502707 Painter, art instructor; New York, New York. Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Browne studied at the Museum of Fine Arts School of Drawing and Painting, and at the Cowles Art School, Boston. In Paris he studied under Robert-Fleury and at the Academie Julien under Lefebvre. ...

Rivers, Jack

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67t0cq7 (person)

Levinson, Abraham F., 1883-1946

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n901ww (person)

Painter; Jamaica, N.Y. and Rockport, Mass. Studied with Robert Henri and Max Weber. From the description of Abraham F. Levinson letters, 1917 and 1947. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122545534 Painter, graphic artist, block printer; Provincetown and Rockport, Mass. and St. Augustine, Fla. He was active in the Provincetown Art Association. His wife Elisabeth Warren Lindenmuth was a painter, engraver and children's books illustrator. From the description of Tod Lin...

Beachcombers (Organization)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67d8sb5 (corporateBody)

Shepard, Florence Cranford Smith

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zg9h90 (person)

Smith, Laura Gilbert Williams.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d86r7t (person)

Gieberich, Oscar H., b. 1886.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68656wd (person)

Académie Julian.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nh20gx (corporateBody)

Pratt Institute. Art School

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c587bc (corporateBody)

Passedoit Gallery (New York, N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fn745z (corporateBody)

Hawthorne, Charles Webster, 1872-1930

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kp8520 (person)

Charles Webster Hawthorne (1872-1930), an American portrait and genre painter and teacher, founded the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899. The school, dedicated to outdoor figure painting, proved very successful and influential, attracting many well-known artists. Hawthorne directed the school until his death in 1930. Hawthorne is known for his genre scenes (he was intrigued by the Portuguese fishing families from Provincetown) and his portraits. From the description of Charles W. Hawtho...

Carnegie Institute. Museum of Art.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hx588k (corporateBody)

The Carnegie Institute Museum of Art was established in 1895 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, in Pittsburgh, Pa. From the description of Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art records, 1883-1962, bulk 1885-1940. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 767864363 Pittsburgh, Pa. From the description of Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art records, 1896-1940. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 688849035 From the description of Carnegie Institute, Museum of A...

Chaffee, Oliver Newberry, 1881-1944

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vq34tc (person)

Ozenfant, Amédée, 1886-1966

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62j6mtf (person)

French painter, writer and teacher, Ozenfant opened painting schools in Paris (1924 and 1932), London (1938), Cannes (1939) and New York (1939). In 1953 he was investigated by McCarthy and dismissed. He returned to France, where he was renaturalized. From the description of Letter to Prade, 1933 Nov. 27. (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 80589467 The French painter Ozenfant was also an author and a professor. He founded the art review L'esprit nouveau (1920-192...

Pratt Institute

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October 2nd, which was Charles Pratt's birthday, was for many years celebrated as Founder's Day at the Institute. From the description of Founder's Day record group, 1888-1966. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155455515 Art school; Brooklyn, New York. From the description of Pratt Institute exhibition catalogs, 1916-1924. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122577345 Pratt Institute was founded in 1887 by industrialist Charles Pratt. Pratt was owner of Charles ...

Smith, Houghton Cranford, 1887-1983

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Landscape painter; Provincetown, Mass., Taos, N.M., Paris, France, and Chile. Smith studied at the Art Students League, and in Provincetown, Mass. under Charles Hawthorne and E. Ambrose Webster. He studied in France 1913-1914, and traveled extensively throughout his life, sketching and painting the landscape. He taught drawing and painting at the University of Kansas from 1921-1925. From the description of Houghton Cranford Smith papers, 1890-1991. (Unknown)....

Académie Julian

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Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)

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Art school. Organized in 1875 by students as a revolt against the National Academy of Design school. From the description of Art Students League records, 1875-1955. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122565877 ...

Butler Institute of American Art

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Youngstown, Ohio. Earlier name: Butler Art Insitute. From the description of Butler Institute of American Art records, 1889-1974. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122557167 ...

Smith, Laura Gilbert Williams

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zq76s6 (person)

University of Kansas.

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The University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence, Douglas County was established in 1864 under constitutional provision. KU is a major comprehensive research and teaching university that serves as a center for learning, scholarship, and creative endeavor. The university is committed to offering the highest quality undergraduate, professional, and graduate programs and offers a broad array of advanced graduate study programs. It fulfills its mission through faculty, academic, and research programs of in...

Cape Cod School of Art

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Lhote, André, 1885-1962

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French painter, theoretician, art critic and teacher. Besides his activity as an artist, he created the Académie André Lhote in 1922, and was art critic for the Nouvelle revue française from 1922 to 1940. He published numerous articles and several books of theory of art and lectured widely outside France as late as the 1950s. From the description of Letters and manuscript, 1918-1955. (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 77645902 ...

Saint-Gaudens, Homer, 1880-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64m9d87 (person)

Webster, E. Ambrose (Edwin Ambrose), 1869-1935

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Art instructor; Provincetown, Mass.; d. 1935. Director, Webster Art School, Provincetown, Mass. From the description of Edwin Ambrose Webster papers, 1804-1970. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 82919157 ...

Passedoit Gallery (New York, N.Y.)

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Carnegie Institute

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