Artists' Fund Society records, 1859-1937.

ArchivalResource

Artists' Fund Society records, 1859-1937.

Artists' Fund Society records, 1859-1937.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/709967036

The collection offers insight into the mission and operation of a New York based mutual aid society for artists. The records span from the Society's founding in 1859 through 1937, a decade before it consolidated with the Society of Illustrators. The records document the organization's structure, decision making, and finances. Meeting minutes, reports, amendments to the constitution, correspondence, resignations, wills, and financial records all demonstrate how the organization operated and changed over time. Much of the correspondence in the collection describes the conditions of artists in need of help, including struggles with illness, disability, and economic hardship. Sales ledgers documenting annual art auctions from 1861 to 1889 include artist names, titles of paintings, names of purchasers, and purchase prices. Series I of the collection consists of the papers of Alexander C. Morgan, a long time member of the Society who served as president from 1910 through 1933. Series II through X are made up of Society records arranged by type. Morgan's papers were acquired by the New-York Historical Society in 1941; the rest of the materials were donated by the Society of Illustrators in 2008. The collection documents the history of the Artists' Fund Society, a New York based organization founded in 1859 to assist members and their families in cases of illness, old age and death; and to provide aid to non-member artists in distress. It includes meeting minutes, reports, membership materials, financial records, and correspondence.

5.5 Linear feet (10 boxes and 13 bound volumes)

New-York Historical Society Library