Manuscript Collections
Manuscript collections in The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library Archives consist primarily of art research files, gallery records, photographs of artists, and artists' correspondence and personal papers that were donated to the Frick Art Reference Library. The research files of art scholars contain correspondence, photographs, notes, and printed material and include documentation of such artists as Gilbert Stuart and Gian Paolo Panini, as well as general research on early American artists and Western European art. The records of two galleries, the American Art Association and Peter H. Davidson & Co., Inc., contain sales records, inventories, correspondence, and photographs of artwork. Artists are documented through collections of photographs and letters, photographs of artists in their studios, and papers of two artists, Charles Hawthorne and Raymond P. R. Neilson.
Below is a current list of Manuscript Collections, each with a brief description and links to the finding aid and catalog record when available.
Manuscript Collections
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American Art Association Records, 1877–1924Correspondence, approximately 1,000 photographs, notes, and printed material documenting selected auction sales conducted by the American Art Association.  Print version (PDF) |
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Anna Kleinman Research Files on Rosalba Carriera, undatedTypescript photocopies of the English translations of the correspondence and diary of Rosalba Carriera (1675–1757), prominent Venetian Rococo portraitist. Also includes explanatory footnotes, biographical sketches of correspondents, and microfilm of the original documents. Print version (PDF) |
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Architecture Images Collection, circa 1900–1920Photographs and reproductions of examples of American architecture, including residences, public buildings, and religious buildings collected by Royal Cortissoz. Also includes photographs of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco in 1915, and photographs of the interior of the Players Club, New York, in 1907. |
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Artists' Correspondence, 1596–1925A collection of approximately twenty-five letters from various artists received by the Frick Art Reference Library as gifts. The artists lived mainly during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The subjects discussed in the letters are both personal and professional, including some references to the artists' works. The content of the letter is noted in the finding aid when possible; some letters are in French or Italian. Print version (PDF) |
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Bignou Gallery Albums, circa 1930s–1940sThirty-three albums containing photographs and descriptions of artwork that passed through the hands of the Bignou Gallery (New York) during the 1930s and 1940s. The artists included are mainly French from the eighteenth through the twentieth century and include such luminaries as Cézanne, Corot, Dufy, Matisse, and Renoir. Print version (PDF) |
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Byers Family Art Collection Inventories, 1900–1977This collection includes a handwritten volume, circa 1900; a 1935 typed inventory; and later lists that document the art collection of A.M. Byers, a prominent art collector and iron manufacturer in the Pittsburgh area, and his family. |
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Catalog of the George Jay Gould Collection, 1945The album catalogs the contents of the art collection of George Jay Gould, the railroad executive. Included are photographs and accompanying typed information for thirty-seven paintings. The artists represented are from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century and are mainly French; two works are by Dutch artists. Print version (PDF) |
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Charles K. Bolton Card Files, 1939Research notes of Charles K. Bolton (Boston Athenaeum Librarian and author) for his unpublished manuscript, Workers with Line and Color in New England 1620–1870: Biographical Notices of Artists and Art Craftsmen Born before 1845. |
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Charles W. Hawthorne Papers, 1904–1947Correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and research material regarding the work of Charles W. Hawthorne, American painter and founder of the Cape Cod School of Art. Print version (PDF) |
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College Art Association of America Records, 1919–1938Documents the research conducted by the College Art Association of America for their publication The Index of Twentieth-Century Artists, through correspondence, exhibition catalogues, press releases, and news clippings. Other material was gathered by the staff of Parnassus, another College Art Association publication. Print version (PDF) |
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Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century British Artists Collection, 1756–1838Correspondence, engravings, printed material, and ephemera from eighteenth and nineteenth century British artists most likely compiled by art authority Charles Henry Hart (1847–1918). Most of the letters are written to either Joseph Nollekens (1737–1823) or to Ozias Humphry (1742–1810). Many of the correspondents were students or professors at the Royal Academy, Associates of the Royal Academy, or Royal Academicians. Print version (PDF) |
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Hesselius Family Papers, 1780–1822Correspondence of the descendants of Gustave Hesselius, including his granddaughter, Elizabeth Henderson Wertmuller, her mother, Lydia Hesselius Henderson, and her aunt Mary Hesselius, as well as other relatives, concerning personal and business matters. Print version (PDF) |
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Images of Artists, circa 1800s–1900sCollection of images of nearly two hundred artists, including Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Jacob Maris, Edvard Munch, and Auguste Rodin. Print version (PDF) |
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J. Hall Pleasants Research Files, 1924–1959Correspondence with Frick Art Reference Library staff and copies of the research notes of J. Hall Pleasants, an authority on early Maryland painters and their works. Print version (PDF) |
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John Hill Morgan Research Files, 1922–1944Correspondence, photographs, notes, printed material, and some drafts of John Hill Morgan’s writings on George Washington portraits and other early American paintings. Also contains information on the George J. Shepard/John J. Hughes/Ferdinand Danton fakes. Print version (PDF) |
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Josef Albers Papers, 1933–1961Artwork, exhibition catalogues and announcements, writings, and clippings that document the career of artist and art educator Josef Albers (1888–1976). Collection includes three original woodcut prints, as well as photographs and reproductions of works. Print version (PDF) |
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Juliette Tomlinson Research Files on Joseph Whiting Stock, 1976–1987Correspondence and research of Juliette Tomlinson on the American folk artist Joseph Whiting Stock (1815–1855). The collection contains Tomlinson’s correspondence regarding paintings by Stock, photocopies of Stock’s personal documents and other biographical material, and some images. Print version (PDF) |
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Katharine McCook Knox Research Files, 1924–1979Drafts, research notes, and correspondence concerning Knox’s publication, The Story of the Frick Art Reference Library: The Early Years (1979). Also contains material on her book about the Sharples family, other early American artists, portraits in the White House, and Library photographing expeditions. |
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Lawrence Park Diary, 1923Lawrence Park’s diary of the Frick Art Reference Library photographing expedition to South Carolina in the spring of 1923. |
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Lawrence Park Research Files on Gilbert Stuart, 1920–1924Correspondence concerning the provenance and authentication of paintings by Gilbert Stuart used in Park’s publication, Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works (1926). Print version (PDF) |
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Lucy B. Mitchell Research Files on James Sanford Ellsworth, 1952–1987Data sheets on individual portraits, photographs, correspondence, research notes, and printed materials document Mitchell's research on the life and works of American folk artist James Sanford Ellsworth (1802–74). The collection also includes genealogical information about the sitters. Print version (PDF) |
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Peter H. Davidson & Co., Inc. Records, 1951–1991Artist files, stock books, subject files, photographs, and correspondence documenting the activities of Davidson’s New York art gallery in the 1970s and 1980s. Print version (PDF) |
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Peter H. Davidson & Co., Inc. Weir Records, 1957–1991Correspondence, photographs, provenance records, invoices, inventories, and printed material pertaining to Davidson's association with the descendants of painter J. Alden Weir. Also concerns the creation of the Weir Foundation and the effort to designate Weir Farm, the home of J. Alden Weir, a national park. |
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Photographs of Artists in Their Studios, circa 1885–1890Seventy-four photographs of artists in their studios from the collection of artist Frank Stokes, including Léon Durand Bonnat, Henri-Joseph Harpignies, Anna Elizabeth Klumpke, Jean-Paul Laurens, and Madeleine Jeanne Lemaire. Print version (PDF) |
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Raymond P. R. Neilson Papers, circa 1930s–1950sDiaries, notebooks, and other notes regarding the work of New York City portraitist, still-life painter, and art instructor Raymond P. R. Neilson. The collection also includes some correspondence regarding portrait commissions. Print version (PDF) |
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Richard P. Wunder Research Files, 1948–1987Research files of art historian Richard P. Wunder, containing artwork files, photographs, correspondence, writings, and notes. His research on Gian Paolo Panini forms the bulk of the collection, though Hyacinthe Rigaud, Emmanuel Leutze, and architectural and theater drawings are also featured in his research. Print version (PDF) |
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Sister Mary of the Compassion (Constance Mary Rowe) Collection, 1959–circa 1970sHoly cards and greeting cards, photographs and postcards of paintings, and clippings document the work of the artist Sister Mary of the Compassion (1908–77), formerly known as Constance Mary Rowe, a member of the Community of the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary in the Blue Chapel, Union City, N.J. Print version (PDF) |
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Theodore Bolton Card Files, 1922–1925Notecards created by the Frick Art Reference Library staff from material compiled by Theodore Bolton (art historian, artist, and librarian) for intended dictionary of early American oil painters. Cards contain biographical information on artists and descriptions of individual portraits. |
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William Suhr Conservation Ledgers, 1938–1957Two ledgers recording William Suhr’s conservation work for The Frick Collection and other prominent museums, collectors, and dealers from 1938 to 1957. Each entry consists of the date work was begun, the owner’s name, the artist and title of the work, conservation treatment performed, the amount charged, and the date completed. |