Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Baker, Robert Peter (1886-1940) |
| Title: | Robert Peter Baker Collection |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1908-1948 |
| Quantity: | 1 folder (SC 175) |
| Abstract: | Biographical material, photographs, drawings, published material by or about the American sculptor and artist |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center |
Biographical History
Robert Peter Baker was born in London in 1886. Both his father and grandfather were sculptors, as was his brother Bryant. Baker studied at Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guild Technical Institute, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, becoming especially adept at Gothic church architectural sculpture; many restored English cathedrals show his skill, among them Beverly Minster and Selby Abbey, both in Yorkshire. He was also talented in drawing; in 1917 he collaborated with James H. Worthingon to produce an illustrated book of poems entitle Poetry, Prose, Paint and Pencil. After a number of visits to the United States he settled in Massachusetts, where he died in 1940.
Baker's sculpture was compared with both classical Greek work and with Rodin (Sculpture of Today, 1931). A 1948 biographical sketch says of him, "Baker's individual inclination was toward the ideal and creative in art...The story of mankind was his desperate concern...His art was highly finished, with a most delicate sense of proportion, facile, spontaneous and unlabored, expressive of the human emotions and of rare sensibility." (White's Biography, 1948, p. 219)
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Robert Peter Baker Collection consists of Biographical material (a brief published sketch), Photographs of Baker's paintings and sculpture (and on of Baker himself), Artwork (three original drawings), and clippings from Published material about Baker and his work.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Subject Headings
Persons
Subjects
Genres and Forms
Occupations
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Robert Peter Baker Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Gift, 1966.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: MRR
Date: Oct 2006
Revision history:
Inventory
| Biographical material | |||||||||||
| SC 175 | Biographical sketch from White's Biography 1948 | ||||||||||
| Photographs | |||||||||||
| SC 175 | Baker's work 1908, 1916, 1920, 1921, 1925, 1930, undated - photos of a number of Baker's paintings and sculpture, as well as his work at Beverly Minster and at Sledmere Church in East Yorkshire, annotated on the reverse with descriptions and, in some cases, dates (18 photographs) | ||||||||||
| SC 175 | Baker undated - portrait of Baker | ||||||||||
| Artwork | |||||||||||
| SC 175 | Drawings undated | ||||||||||
| "The Light of Reason" "The Dispassionate Soul of the Elements" "The Dance of the Superstitions" |
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| Published material | |||||||||||
| SC 175 | Articles about Baker 1917, 1919, 1921 - includes highly favorable review article on the collaboration with Worthington | ||||||||||
| SC 175 | Baker's work undated - clippings of published photos of Baker's work | ||||||||||