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Joseph Lindon Smith papers

Archives of American Art

Object Details

Creator
Smith, Joseph Lindon, 1863-1950
Names
Académie Julian
Alma-Tadema, Lawrence, Sir, 1836-1912
Beaux, Cecilia, 1855-1942
Benson, Frank Weston, 1862-1951
Brush, George de Forest, 1855-1941
Carson, Kit, 1809-1868
Gardner, Isabella Stewart, 1840-1924
James, Henry, 1843-1916
Loring, Charles Greely, 1828-1902
Manship, Paul, 1885-1966
Pershing, John J. (John Joseph), 1860-1948
Ross, Denman Waldo, 1853-1935
Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925
Smith, Corinna Lindon, 1876-
Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921
Place
Egypt -- Antiquities
Egypt -- description and travel
Occupation
Painters -- New Hampshire -- Dublin
Topic
Historical drama
Community theater
Art, Egyptian
Art, Ancient
Art, Egypt
Provenance
The Joseph Lindon Smith papers were donated by Jessie T. Hale, Smith's granddaughter, in 1977 and 1978.
Creator
Smith, Joseph Lindon, 1863-1950
See more items in
Joseph Lindon Smith papers
Summary
The papers of Boston and New Hampshire painter Joseph Lindon Smith date from 1647-1965, with the bulk of papers dating from 1873-1965, and measure 8.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from family members, artists, museums, and art patrons; seven diaries by Smith and two by his wife Corinna, personal business records, notes and writings, files concerning charitable theatrical productions, one sketchbook and other art work, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, and sound recordings of radio interviews and a radio program on Smith.
Biographical Note
Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950) of Boston, Massachusetts and Dublin, New Hampshire, was a painter primarily known for his ability to meticulously depict the murals and tomb sculpture of Egypt and other ancient cultures. Joseph Lindon Smith was born on October 11, 1863 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the son of wholesale lumberman Henry Francis Smith and Emma Greenleaf Smith, a cousin of John Greenleaf Whittier. From 1880 to 1882, Smith studied drawing and painting at the Art School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts under Frederic Crowninshield and Otto Grundman. Accompanied by his friend, Frank Benson, he attended the Académie Julian and studied under William Bouguereau, Gustave Boulanger, and Jules Lefebvre from 1883 to 1885. Upon his return to Boston, Smith established a studio as a portrait and landscape painter, attracting the attention of Denman Ross, a professor of History of Fine Arts at Harvard University. In the early 1890s Smith and Ross began to travel extensively and Smith became interested in ancient civilizations of Mexico, China, and Southeast Asia. In 1892, during a trip to Italy, Smith befriended Isabella Stewart Gardner, for whom he copied famous paintings, and occasionally acted as agent in purchasing art work. Making his first trip to Egypt in 1898, Smith became enthralled with the art work of the ancient civilization and devoted himself to painting copies of the tomb sculptures and murals for educational uses in museums and other public institutions. In 1899, he married Corinna Haven Putnam and the couple spent much of their married life traveling between the United States and the Middle East, especially Egypt. From 1910 to 1939, Smith was a member of the Joint Expedition of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Harvard University directed by Dr. George A. Reisner. For fifty years, Smith was also sought out as a writer and producer of plays and theatrical pageants, fetes, and masques primarily staged for various charitable fund-raising events. Joseph Lindon Smith died on October 18, 1950 in Dublin, New Hampshire.
Extent
8.8 Linear feet
Date
1647-1965
bulk 1873-1965
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.smitjose
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Notebooks
Photographs
Prints
Interviews
Drafts (documents)
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Citation
Joseph Lindon Smith papers, 1647-1965, bulk 1873-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 11 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, 1711-1948 (Box 1, 10; 5 folders) Series 2: Letters, 1768-1965 (Box 1-4, OV 11; 3.5 linear feet) Series 3: Diaries, 1904-1949 (Box 4; 11 folders) Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1647-1959 (Box 4, 10; 11 folders) Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1783-1963 (Box 4-6; 2.0 linear feet) Series 6: Theatrical Production Files, 1897-1950 (Box 6-7, 10; 1.2 linear feet) Series 7: Art Works, 1932-1943 (Box 8, 10; 8 folders) Series 8: Scrapbook, 1888-1901 (Box 8; 1 folder) Series 9: Printed Material, 1723-1963 (Box 8, OV 11; 0.8 linear feet) Series 10: Photographs, 1884-1956 (Box 8-10; 0.5 linear feet) Series 11: Audio Recordings, 1956 (Box 9-10; 2 folders) All material is arranged chronologically except for the writings by others and travel photographs that are arranged alphabetically.
Processing Information
The papers were arranged by Jean Fitzgerald in 1996, and a finding aid prepared in 2010. Eden Orelove encoded the Index of Correspondents 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.
Alternative Forms Available
The collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 5114-5124 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm. All of the sound recordings in this collection were digitized for research access in 2009 and are available at the Archives of American Art offices. Researchers may view the original phonograph records for the archival notations on them, but original media are not available for playback.
Genre/Form
Notebooks
Photographs
Prints
Interviews
Drafts (documents)
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Boston and New Hampshire painter Joseph Lindon Smith date from 1647-1965, with the bulk of papers dating from 1873-1965, and measure 8.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from family members, artists, museums, and art patrons; seven diaries by Smith and two by his wife Corinna, personal business records, notes and writings, files concerning charitable theatrical productions, one sketchbook and other art work, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, and sound recordings of radio interviews and a radio program on Smith. Scattered biographical material consists of family history documents for the Smith and Putnam families, a Jenkes family tree, and passports for Joseph Lindon Smith and his family. Over three linear feet of letters are from family members, artists including Cecilia Beaux, Frank Benson, George DeForest Brush, and Denman Ross, museum staff concerned with work in Egypt, and art patrons including Isabella Stewart Gardner, and individuals involved with Smith's charitable pageants. There are scattered letters from Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Henry James, Charles G. Loring, Paul Manship, General John J. Pershing, John Singer Sargent, and Abbott Handerson Thayer. Among the subjects discussed are student life at the Académie Julian, the Smiths' travels, and individuals known by Smith. Seven diaries written by Joseph Lindon Smith document his ravels in Egypt, Persia, Europe, and New Mexico. Two diaries were written by Corinna Smith during her travels to Beiram and Egypt. Personal business records business records include contracts, price lists, lists of securities, and miscellaneous receipts of the Smith and Putnam families, Joseph Lindon Smith, Corinna Smith, and their daughter Lois Smith. Notes include engagement calendars, notebooks, lists of art work, lecture notes, minutes of meetings, notes on family history and on travel, and an autograph by Kit Carson. Writings include miscellaneous typescripts by the Smiths and others concerning travel, work in Egypt and elsewhere, and anecdotes about various friends and acquaintances. There are also three drafts of "Egypt - My Winter Home." Theatrical production files concern plays, pageants, and masques written and/or produced by the Smiths. Many of the performances were benefits, dedication or anniversary celebrations, such as a pageant given at Fenway Court in honor of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a pageant at the dedication of a memorial to Abbott Handerson Thayer, and the centenary celebration of the founding of Amherst, Massachusetts. Art work includes a sketchbook with extensive notes, a painting, drawings by Joseph Lindon Smith, and prints by other artists. A scrapbook contains clippings and an exhibition catalog from the St. Botolph Club. Additional printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, programs, booklets, brochures, and books by others. Photographs are of Smith, his family, friends including classmates from the Académie Julian, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Abbott Handerson Thayer, exhibition installations, military camp sites from World War I, travel scenes, and art work by Smith. Audio recordings consist of four sound disc recordings of interviews for WKNE Radio, Keene, New Hampshire, with Corinna Smith and Barry Faulkner talking about Smith, and a program about Smith and his book Tombs, Temples, and Ancient Art.
Restrictions
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Related Material
The papers of Smith's wife, Corinna Putnam Smith, are available at The Schlesinger Library of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1562713250356-1562713250372-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw957fba9cb-a7d1-40b4-9a66-a5f4d2a0b7ed

In the Collection

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  • Diaries

  • Notes and Writings

  • Lists of Art Work

  • Card File of Egyptian Art Work

  • Typescript "Madonna Del Fieno" by Hermann Voss, W. Bode, and Prof. Fischel

  • Diary 9 by Corinna Putnam Smith: Egypt

  • Lists of Art Work

  • Poems by Emma Greenleaf Smith

  • Report on Paintings of Sculpture and Architectural Details of the Ruins of Chichenitza

  • Letters

  • File for Play Brewster's Dark Pond, Presented for Amelia Earhart

  • Letters

  • Letters

  • Family Members

  • Transcript of Lecture on Egypt for Visiting Committee on Semitic and Egyptian Civilizations

  • File for an Untitled Play at the Club

  • Letters from Correspondents with Surnames "A" - "B,"

  • Notebook 2

  • Script for Play The Witch's Trunk

  • File for the "Japanese Play,"

  • Letters

  • Booklet A Poem on the Lord's Day: Together with Acrostics on General Washington and President Adams

  • Oversized Statements of Trusteeship

  • Typescript "Ur of the Chaldees and Other Way Stations" Describing Events in 1930

  • Typescript "An Artist's Unique Estate at Dublin Lake, Dublin, N.H." by Harris Walter Reynolds

  • File for an Untitled Tavern Play

  • Typescript "Experience in Luxor" Describing Events in 1939

  • Drawings

  • Typescripts "The Dissenting Shi'a Sect" and "The Dream,"

  • Minutes of Meeting Concerning Recommendations to Trustees

  • File for Play The Pearl and the Pirate

  • File for Play Then and Now

  • Script for Pageant Voices Across the Sea

  • Autograph of Kit Carson; Autograph of Finnish Folk Singer Selma Borg

  • Biographical Material

  • Oversized Photographs of Masque of the Blue Garden

  • Letters

  • Letters

  • Typescript "The Sarcophagus Found at Sidon" Describing Events in 1900

  • Letters

  • File for the Submarine Ball

  • Diary 5: Europe

  • Clippings

  • File for the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Pageant

  • Typescript Describing Travel to China in 1910

  • Clippings

  • Manuscript "Excavations at Ur" Describing Events in 1930

  • Legal Documents and Receipts for the Smith and Putnam Ancestors

  • File for Play The Warrior Comes Home

  • File for Pageant The Building of the Temple

  • Poems by Claude M. Fuess

  • Art Work by Joseph Lindon Smith from Cambodia

  • Miscellaneous Poems

  • Interview with Barry Faulkner conducted by Ruth Redington about Joseph Lindon Smith

  • Travel to Mexico

  • Script for Play The Legasee of the Hawaiian Buried Treasure

  • Travel to Italy (Rome)

  • Travel to the United States (Southwest)

  • Poems by Rebecca London Malicheff

  • File for the Memphis Pageant

  • Booklet Synopsis of Phrenology

  • Notes on George Reisner

  • File for the Lancaster Pageant

  • Notes on Mexico and Central America

  • Typescript "A Visit to London" Describing Events in 1909

  • Letters

  • Manuscript Concerning Travel to Asia by Denman Ross

  • Documents for Joseph Lindon Smith and Family

  • File for Play Love of Country

  • Contract; Certificate of Shares in The Chelsea Pottery

  • Script for Play Jack Frost in Midsummer

  • Letters

  • Script for Play Nuzhat-Fi-Bilad-El-Ajam

  • Minutes of Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt

  • Sketchbook/Notebook

  • Booklet The Introductory Gresham Lecture by F. M. Sandwith

  • Travel to Jordan (Petra)

  • Minutes of Meeting of International Cooperation Administration

  • Clippings

  • Audio Recordings

  • File for Pageant Pan and the Star

  • File for Pageant Once Upon a Time

  • File for Play The President's Dilemma

  • Diary 8 by Corinna Putnam Smith: Beiram

  • Printed Material

  • Typescript "Visits to Italy and England" Describing Events in 1907

  • Diary 1: Egypt

  • Script for Andover Pageant

  • Art Works

  • Prints

  • Programs for Play Alice in Wonderland

  • Diary 6: New Mexico

  • Letters

  • Typescript Describing Travel to Japan in 1901 and 1910

  • Letters

  • Oversized Drawings

  • Script for Play about the Spirit in the Fountain by Grandma Smith

  • Booklet Joseph Lindon Smith - The Man and the Artist by Dr. M. Mahdi Allam

  • Booklet The American Tract Magazine

  • Lecture Notes for "Journey Into the Past" for the Metropolitan Museum

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Diary 9 by Corinna Putnam Smith: Egypt
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