Object Details
- Creator
- Thayer, Polly, 1904-2006
- Subject
- Sarton, May
- Koval, Dorothy
- Yarnall, Agnes
- Abramson, Doris E.
- Cortissoz, Royal
- Hofer, Philip
- Thayer, Ethel Randolph
- Thayer, Ezra Ripley
- Tudor, Tasha
- Wheelwright, John
- Starr, Donald C.
- Friends General Conference (U.S.)
- Trustees of Reservations (Mass.)
- Vose Galleries of Boston
- Copley Society (Boston, Mass.)
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Nucleus Club (Boston, Mass.)
- Place of publication, production, or execution
- United States
- Physical Description
- 21.6 Linear feet; 0.807 Gigabytes
- Arrangement
- The Polly Thayer papers were organized and inventoried by curator Dorothy Koval and other art consultants prior to arriving at the Archives of American Art, and most likely do not reflect the original order by Polly Thayer. The Archives has maintained the arrangement imposed by Koval for the bulk of the papers. This collection is arranged as 13 series. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1921-2007 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1, 22, 0.582 GB; ER01-ER02) Series 2: Family Files, 1846-2006 (2 linear feet; Box 1-3, 22) Series 3: Correspondence, 1929-2008 (1.3 linear feet; Box 3-5) Series 4: Interviews, 1995-2004 (0.2 linear feet; Box 5, 0.196 GB; ER03) Series 5: Writings, 1922-2006 (1.7 linear feet; Box 5-6) Series 6: Subject Files, circa 1900-2008 (3.3 linear feet; Box 7-10) Series 7: Organization Files, 1931-2008 (1 linear feet; Box 10-11, 0.029 GB; ER04) Series 8: Exhibition Files, 1928-2006 (1.9 linear feet; Box 11-13) Series 9: Art Inventory, circa 1940-1999 (4.6 linear feet; Box 13-17) Series 10: Printed Material, 1900-2006 (1.8 linear feet; Box 17-19, 22) Series 11: Sketchbooks, 1930-circa 1970 (0.3 linear feet; Box 19, 23) Series 12: Artwork, 1927-circa 1990 (0.4 linear feet; Box 19, 23, OV 25) Series 13: Photographs, 1898-2006 (2.1 linear feet; Box 19-21, 24)
- Access Note / Rights
- Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
- Summary
- The papers of Boston portraitist and painter Polly Thayer (Starr) (1904-2006) measure 21.6 linear feet and 0.807 GB and date from 1846 to 2008, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1921-2008. The papers document Thayer's personal life and career as a painter, portraitist, and pastel artist. Found within the papers are biographical materials, extensive family papers, correspondence with artists and art venues, interviews, writings, subject files, organization files, exhibition files, art inventory records, printed and digital materials, five sketchbooks, artwork, and photographs.
- Citation
- Polly Thayer (Starr) papers, 1846-2008, bulk 1921-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Funding
- Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust
- Use Note
- The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
- Related Materials
- The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Polly Thayer conducted May 12, 1995-February 1, 1996, by Robert F. Brown.
The Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust holds archival materials and artwork by Polly Thayer. - Biography Note
- Polly Thayer (Starr) (1904-2006) was a Boston painter of portraits, landscapes, and still lifes.
- Language Note
- The collection is in English.
- Provenance
- The Polly Thayer (Starr) papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Polly Thayer in 1998 and again in 2008 by Thayer via Stephanie S. Wright, executor. A notebook was donated in 2016 by Dinah Starr, daughter of Polly Thayer (Starr) and merged with the rest of the collection.
- Location Note
- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
- Record number
- (DSI-AAA_CollID)6141
- (DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216362
- AAA_collcode_thaypoll
- Type
- Photographs
- Sound recordings
- Sketchbooks
- Transcripts
- Interviews
- Sketches
- Video recordings
- Drawings
- Scrapbooks
- Theme
- Women
- Lives of artists
- Archives of American Art
- Topic
- Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston
- Kanto Earthquake, Japan, 1923
- Women artists
- Women painters
- Theme
- Women
- Lives of artists
- Record ID
- AAADCD_coll_216362
