Carl Rungius papers
Object Details
- Creator
- Rungius, Carl, 1869-1959
- Topic
- Animal painters -- New York (State) -- New York
- Artists' studios -- Photographs
- Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York
- Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
- Provenance
- Donated in 2011 by Ruth Fulda Wacker, niece of Carl Rungius, via Robert A. Brady, executor of her estate.
- Creator
- Rungius, Carl, 1869-1959
- See more items in
- Carl Rungius papers
- Summary
- The Carl Rungius papers, 1896-1995, measure 0.6 linear feet. A scrapbook and three photograph albums document the work, interests, and family of the wildlife painter and illustrator.
- Biographical/Historical note
- Carl Rungius (1869-1959) was a painter and illustrator of wildlife in New York, N.Y., the Western U.S. and Banff, Alberta, Canada. From an early age Rungius enjoyed hunting and wanted to be an artist. Between 1888 and 1890 he was enrolled at the Berlin Academy of Art in his native city, but the curriculum did not suit his interests. He spent much of his free time at the Berlin Zoo studying and sketching animals, and often visited a glue factory that afforded opportunities to observe animal anatomy. In 1894 an uncle invited Rungius to visit him in Maine and hunt moose. The following summer Rungius stalked game in Wyoming where the variety and abundance of wildlife and the dramatic western landscape greatly impressed him. Rungius immigrated to the United States in 1896. Growing concern about native animal populations and a conservation movement aided by the efforts of President Theodore Roosevelt generated many books, magazines, and other publications which Rungius frequently received commissions to illustrate. He ceased illustration work around 1909 to devote himself to easel painting. Rungius first visited the Canadian Rockies in 1910 and so enjoyed painting and hunting there that eventually he built a studio in Banff, where he worked each April through October from 1921 until his death in 1959.
- Extent
- 0.6 Linear feet
- Date
- 1896-1995
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Art
- Identifier
- AAA.rungcarl
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Scrapbooks
- Photographs
- Postcards
- Citation
- Carl Rungius papers, 1896-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Arrangement note
- The collection is arranged as 4 series: Series 1: Illustrated Postcards from Lise, 1908 (Box 1; 1 folder) Series 2: Printed Material, 1935-1938, 1985 (Box 1; 1 folder) Series 3: Scrapbook, 1921-1986 (Bound volume 2; 0.1 linear ft.) Series 4: Photographs, 1896-1995 (Box 1; 0.3 linear ft.)
- Processing Information note
- The collection was processed to a minimal level by Catherine S. Gaines in 2011.
- Rights
- 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.
- Genre/Form
- Scrapbooks
- Photographs
- Postcards
- Scope and Contents note
- The Carl Rungius papers, 1896-1995, measure 0.6 linear feet. A scrapbook and three photograph albums work, interests, and family of the wildlife painter and illustrator. The scrapbook contains mostly printed material and reproductions of Rungius's work. In addition, there is a photograph of a painting and a letter reporting that his ashes had been spread in Banff, Canada. Three family photograph albums include photographs of Carl Rungius and other family members (mainly Fuldas, since Rungius's mother, his wife, and a sister's husband were Fuldas), along with some travel pictures, views of studios and family houses. Volume 3 also contains a fair amount of printed material such as Rungius's Christmas cards featuring reproductions of his paintings, clippings, an exhibition catalog, and an illustrated brochure announcing the publication of new etchings. Also found are three illustrated postcards from Lise. Printed material consists of an article about Carl Rungius and periodicals about hiking and trail riding in the Canadian Rockies.
- Restrictions
- Use of original papers requires an appointment.
- Related Archival Materials note
- Also at the Archives of American Art are the Elisabeth Rungius Fulda papers, 1895-1967, that contain information about her brother Carl Rungius, including: a photograph of Elisabeth Fulda and Carl Rungius, letters from Rungius to his sister concerning her art studies and his own training, his will and letters about his death, and letters from the Glenbow Foundation about an exhibition of Rungius's drawings (microfilm reels 101, 2812, N695, and 3482). An interview with Carl Rungius conducted by DeWitt McClellan Lockman is part of Interviews of artists and architects associated with the National Academy of Design. Rungius's estate, including personal papers and the contents of his studios in Banff and New York, were purchased for the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by its founder, Eric Harvie.
- Record ID
- ebl-1503512392701-1503512392704-0
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
