Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Clark, Eliot Candee, 1883-
Title:	Eliot Candee Clark Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1910-1969
Quantity:	1.5 linear ft.
Abstract:	Papers of the American painter, art critic. Correspondence, 1910-1969; holograph and typescript essays, lectures, and speeches; photographs; and printed material, including articles, exhibition catalogs, and material relating to the National Academy of Design, of which Clark wrote a history.
Abstract:	Correspondence includes that of fellow artists, art critics and historians, and those who shared Clark's interest in Asian art. Organizational correspondence includes that of the Allied Artists of America, Inc., the American Watercolor Society, the Art Students League of New York, the Asia Institute, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the East and West Association, the Fine Arts Federation of New York, the National Academy of Design, the National Arts Club, and the National Sculpture Society. There is also correspondence and printed material relating to Clark's service on the Committee on Government and Art.
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

Eliot Candee Clark was an American impressionist painter known for his landscapes, particularly harbor views. His father, artist Walter Clark, fostered the young boy's talent which appeared early -- he submitted his first work to the New York Water Color Club at age nine and to the National Academy of Design at thirteen (he exhibited at the latter location almost annually until 1980). His work was accepted for exhibition at the Society of American Artists’ annual in 1900 when he was only seventeen.

Two years later, in 1904, Clark undertook an extended journey across Europe; when he returned in 1906 he settled in to a productive career in New York City. In 1912 he had a one-man show at the Louis Katz Gallery in New York and won the Third Hallgarten Prize at the National Academy for Under the Trees and in 1919, along with George Elmer Browne and Walter Griffin, he was part of a three-man show at the Milwaukee Art Institute. The Telfair Academy of Savannah, Georgia, exhibited his work in 1924. Clark shared his expertise with students at the Art Students League and, beginning in 1933, at summer school classes in Charlottesville.

In addition to his painting and teaching, Clark also published several works on art history. In 1916 he completed his first monograph (on Alexander H. Wyant, one of America's great landscape painters); his other works included a book on John Henry Twachtman (1924); History of the National Academy of Design (1954); and a major monograph on Theodore Robinson, published many years posthumously by R. H. Love Galleries of Chicago in 1980).

Clark was a member of the American Watercolor Society and served as president from 1920 to 1923. Clark also served as president of the National Academy of Design (1956-1959). He continued to write and paint until his death in Charlottesville, Virginia at the age of ninety-seven.

[Portions of this biographical sketch adapted from information from R. H. Love Galleries.]

Return to top

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Spanning 1910 to 1969, the Eliot Candee Clark Papers comprises Biographical material, Correspondence, a Subject file, Writings, and Memorabilia which illuminate the professional career of the American painter and art critic (1883-1980).

Arranged chronologically, the predominantly incoming Correspondence (Box 1) covers the years 1910 to 1969, with the majority of the letters from the 1950s, during which time Clark assumed an active role in the membership of the National Academy of Design, serving as its president from 1956 to 1959. Correspondence includes that of fellow artists (Karl Anderson, Pietro Annigoni, John Taylor Arms, Edwin Dickinson, Ralph Fabri, Harry Hoffman, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Eric Isenburger, Leon Kroll, Harry Leith-Ross, Georg Lober, Will Low, Roy Mason, Hobart Nichols, Ogden M. Pleissner, Everett Shinn, Coulton Waugh, Frederic Whitaker, Guy Wiggins, F. Ballard Williams); art critics and historians (J. Donald Adams, Royal Cortissoz, Boylan Fitz-Gerald, Emily Genauer, Lloyd Goodrich, Meyer Schapiro, Theodore Sizer); and galleries and museums (the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the Milwaukee Art Institute, the Montclair Art Museum). Clark also corresponded with a number of professional organizations (Allied Artists of America, Inc., the American Watercolor Society, the Art Students League of New York, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the Fine Arts Federation of New York, the National Academy of Design, the National Arts Club, the National Sculpture Society) as well as persons, publications, and organizations which reflected his interest in Asian art (Asia and the Americas, the Asia Institute, Pearl S. Buck, the East and West Association, Arthur Upham Pope). A selected index to the correspondence follows the box list.

A Subject file contains material relating to Clark's artwork and the professional organizations in which he was active. Artwork includes exhibition announcements, invitations, and catalogs (1916-1947) for various of Clark's shows as well as photographs and reproductions of his work. The Subject file also includes exhibition catalogs and organizational publications of the Allied Artists of America, the American Watercolor Society, and the National Academy of Design, of which Clark wrote a history. Also featured in this section is correspondence and printed material (1950-1957) relating to Clark's service on the Committee on Government and Art, which explored the role of the federal government in promoting the arts in the United States, and which published its findings in the Goodrich Report.

Writings includes manuscripts (holograph and typescript drafts) of Clark's essays, lecture notes, and speeches as well as published material. Essays include entries for Childe Hassam, Jonas Lie, and Frederick Waugh for the Dictionary of American Biography as well as a number of miscellaneous pieces which are arranged by title. Published Writings includes articles for Art in America, Scribner's Magazine, and The Studio as well as a number of exhibition catalogs for which Clark produced the text.

Memorabilia encompasses awards, membership cards, personal photographs, and printed material. The latter contains articles and newspaper clippings about Clark, miscellaneous exhibition catalogs, invitations, and publicity and reviews, mostly related to his History of the National Academy of Design, 1825-1953, published in 1954 by Columbia University Press.

Return to top

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.

Return to top

Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

Return to top

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Eliot Candee Clark Papers
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Finding Aid Information

Created by: KM
Date: Oct 1992
Revision history: 8 Apr 2007 - converted to EAD (AMCon)

Return to top

Inventory

	Biographical material
Box 1		Biographical material

	Correspondence
Box 1		1910-1969, undated (15 folders)

	Subject files
		Artwork (Clark)
Box 2			Exhibition announcements, invitations
Box 2			Exhibition catalogs 1916-1947, undated (3 folders)
Box 2			Photographs, reproductions
Box 2		Allied Artists of America 1961-1963 - by-laws, exhibition catalogs
		American Watercolor Society
Box 2			Constitution and by-laws
Box 2			Exhibition catalogs 1959-1964
Box 2		Committee on Government and Art 1950-1957 - correspondence, printed material
		National Academy of Design
Box 2			Exhibition catalogs 1949-1964 (2 folders)
Box 2			School of Fine Arts 1959-1964 - brochures, course catalogs
Box 2			Miscellaneous publications (2 folders)

	Writings
		Manuscripts
			Essays
Box 2				Dictionary of American Biography entries for Childe Hassam, Jonas Lie, Frederick Waugh
Box 2				Miscellaneous A-Z (by title), untitled (2 folders)
Box 2			Lecture notes
Box 2			Speeches
Box 2			Miscellany
		Published material
			Articles
Box 2				Art in America 1918-1921, 1927, undated (2 folders)
Box 2				Scribner's Magazine 1918-1919, 1921-1922
Box 2				The Studio 1956-1961 (2 folders)
Box 2				Miscellaneous publications
Box 2			Exhibition catalogs

	Memorabilia
Box 2		Awards, membership cards, etc.
Box 2		Photographs (personal)
		Printed material
Box 2			Articles about
Box 2			Clippings 1912-1965
Box 2			Exhibition catalogs (various non-Clark related)
Box 2			Invitations
Box 2			Publicity, reviews
Box 2			Miscellany

Return to top

Selected index to correspondence

• Adams, J. Donald : 1955 June 9; 1957 July 2
• Albee, Grace Arnold : 1956 May 1
• Albright Art Gallery : 1919 Mar. 25
• Allied Artists of America, Inc. : 1947 Mar. 29; 1949 Oct. 12
• American Watercolor Society : 1950 May 13; 1956 Apr. 5; 1956 May 9; 1956 Aug. 24; 1961 Feb. 5; 1967 May 14
• Anderson, Karl : 1941 Oct. 1; 1946 Nov. 7
• Annigoni, Pietro : 1958 Nov. 19; 1959 Feb. 26
• Arms, John Taylor : 1943 Apr. 13; 1948 Dec. 17; 1949 Feb. 10; 1949 Feb. 18; 1949 May 18; 1949 Nov. 11; 1949 Dec. 31; 1950 Jan. 16; 1951 Apr. 24; undated
• Art Institute of Chicago : 1910 June 24; 1914 Aug. 25
• Art Students League of New York : 1912 Apr. 16; 1913 May 19; 1950 Nov. 8; 1950 Nov. 13; 1951 Feb. 20
• Asia and the Americas : 1944 Aug. 4; 1944 Aug. 9; 1945 Mar. 2; 1945 Mar. 12
• Asia Institute : see Pope, Arthur Upham
• Barzun, Jacques : undated
• Baur, John I. H. : 1956 Mar. 26
• Bittinger, Charles : 1955 Jan. 5
• Bohnert, Rosetta : 1956 Apr. 6
• Bosworth, Welles : 1956 July 12
• Bouche, Louis : 1961 Mar. 13; 1969 Aug. 30 (Mrs. Marian Bouche)
• Braun, Harry : 1941 Jan. 24; 1941 Jan. 27
• Brunner, Arnold W. : 1918 Sept. 28; 1918 Oct. 25
• Buck, Pearl S. : 1942 Apr. 18; 1942 Apr. 29; 1943 Jan. 29; 1943 Feb. 5; 1943 Feb. 22; 1943 Mar. 2; 1943 Mar. 16; 1943 Apr. 2; 1943 Nov. 6; 1943 Nov. 30; 1947 Apr. 16
• Carlson, John F. : undated
• Carnegie Institute : 1913 Apr. 24
• Christensen, Erwin O. : 1957 May 31
• Clarke, Gilmore D. : 1956 Aug. 22; 1958 July 7; See also Subject file: Committee on Government and Art
• Cleveland Museum of Art : 1920 Dec. 23; 1921 Apr. 5
• Columbia University : 1949 May 9; 1954 Oct. 28; 1955 Jan. 5
• Committee on Government and Art : See Subject file: Committee on Government and Art
• Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts : 1912 Feb. 20; 1960 Nov.; 1960 Dec. 13
• Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art : 1949 Nov. 28; 1953 May 22
• Cornwell, Dean : undated
• Cortissoz, Royal : 1944 Feb. 11; 1944 Mar. 4
• Cresson, Margaret French : 1950 Oct. 31 (to Lawrence Grant White)
• Dabo, Leon : 1942 Jan. 23
• De Francisci, Anthony : 1955 Feb. 1
• Delano, William Adams : 1956 May 17
• Detroit Institute of Arts : 1923 June 13; undated
• Dickinson, Edwin : 1955 Apr. 4; 1956 May 3
• Dickinson, Sidney : 1956 Feb. 19
• Dufner, Edward : undated
• East and West Association : 1942 Apr. 18; 1942 Apr. 29; 1943 Jan. 29; 1943 Feb. 5; 1943 Feb. 22; 1943 Mar. 2; 1943 Mar. 16; 1943 Apr. 2; 1943 July 12; 1943 Nov. 6; 1943 Nov. 30
• Eisenhower Foundation : 1956 Nov. 15; 1957 Jan. 5
• Eisenhower, Milton S. : 1956 Aug. 7; 1956 Aug. 27
• Evans, Rudulph : 1950 Feb. 7
• Fabri, Ralph : 1949 Sept. 21; 1950 July 21 (copy enclosed with M.F. Cresson to L.G. White); 1950 Nov. 18 (to Lawrence Grant White); 1951 Jan. 20; 1959 Mar. 7
• Fine Arts Federation of New York : 1949 Apr. 29; 1949 Oct. 26; 1951 Oct. 31; 1957 Dec. 27 (carbon of minutes); 1958 Feb. 7 (carbon of minutes); 1958 Apr. 25 (printed copy of address by Arnold Whitridge)
• Fine Arts Liberty Loan Committee : 1918 Sept. 28; 1918 Oct. 10; 1918 Oct. 25
• Fitz-Gerald, Boylan : 1956 Apr. 13; 1958 Oct. 2
• Genauer, Emily : 1958 Oct. 31
• Goodrich, Lloyd : 1956 June 5; 1956 June 12; See also Subject file: Committee on Government and Art
• Gould, Charles W. : 1916 June 19; 1917 Dec. 29
• Grant, Gordon : 1943 Apr. 6
• Gregg, John Robert : 1943 Nov. 13; 1947 June 25
• Hale, Lilian W. : 1958 Jan. 7
• Harbeson, John : 1959 Mar. 30; 1960 Mar.; 1960 Apr. 21
• Hassam, Childe : 1920 Jan. 12
• Hewitt, Eleanor G. : 1917 Mar. 5; 1920 May 20
• Hildebrandt, Howard L. (Mrs.) : 1956 May 1
• Hoffman, Harry : 1956 Mar. 9; 1956 May 7
• Hoffman, Malvina : 1965 Nov. 27 (outgoing); 1965 [Dec.]
• Huntington, Anna Hyatt : 1956 Apr. 18
• Huntington, Archer Milton : 1949 June 1 (copy); 1950 Feb. 8 (copy); 1950 Apr. 17 (copy); 1950 Dec. 26 (to Lawrence Grant White); 1954 Dec. 23; 1956 June 12 (excerpt from will)
• International Institute of Arts and Letters : 1958 Feb. 5; 1958 Mar. 20
• Isenburger, Eric : 1946 May 8; 1956 Jan. 25
• Katchadourian, S. : 1942 Oct. 9
• Kent, Norman : 1959 Mar. 5
• Koch, John : 1961 Mar. 14
• Kroll, Leon : 1955 Feb. 5; 1958 May 20; undated (outgoing)
• Kronberg, Louis : 1956 Feb. 2
• Lafayette Art Association : 1913 Apr. 2; 1914 Apr. 6
• Leith-Ross, Harry : 1955 Nov. 16; 1958 May 2; 1959 Mar. 8
• Lever, Hayley : 1956 Apr. 26
• Liberty Loan Committee : see Fine Arts Liberty Loan Committee
• Lie, Jonas : 1934 May 2
• Lissim, Simon : 1956 Jan. 28
• Lober, Georg : 1944 Apr. 26; 1944 Oct. 9; 1945 Mar. 15; 1946 Aug. 12; 1949 Mar.; 1951 Feb. 10; 1954 May 13; 1954 Nov. 9; 1955 Aug. 12; 1956 Mar. 9
• Lockman, DeWitt : 1955 Jan. 5
• Low, Will H. : 1920 Aug. 8
• Mason, Roy M. : 1949 Aug. 18; undated
• Milwaukee Art Institute : 1918 Aug. 2; 1934 June 13
• Montclair Art Museum : 1946 Oct. 31; 1946 Nov. 14; 1946 Dec. 11
• Moran, Thomas : 1916 June 22 (2 letters)
• National Academy of Design : 1939 Oct. 23; 1944 Apr. 26; 1944 May 1; 1944 Oct. 9; 1945 Nov. 7; 1946 June 25; 1951 Nov. 9; 1951 Dec. 17; 1952 May 13; 1954 July 21; 1955 May 4; 1956 Jan. 25; 1957 Mar. 1; 1957 Apr. 25; 1958 Jan. 29; 1958 Dec. 8; 1959 Mar. 11; 1960 Mar.; 1960 Apr. 21; 1961 Mar. 10
• National Arts Club : 1910 Jan. 10; 1920 Feb. 11; 1941 Jan. 24; 1941 Jan. 27; 1945 Apr. 26
• National Sculpture Society : 1952 Jan. 21; 1952 Feb. 13; 1952 Feb. 25; 1956 Oct. 3
• Nelson, George Laurence : 1956 Mar. 28
• Nichols, Hobart : 1939 Oct. 23; 1943 Apr. 29; 1944 May 1; 1945 Nov. 7; 1946 June 25; 1955 Feb. 16; 1956 Jan. 14; undated
• Nisbet Robert H. : 1956 Feb. 10
• Percy, William Alexander : 1935 Apr. 1
• Perry, Raymond : 1958 Jan. 25
• Phillips Memorial Gallery : 1942 Jan. 23
• Pleissner, Ogden M. : 1956 Aug. 30; 1957 May 28
• Pond, Dana : 1945 Apr. 27
• Pope, Arthur Upham : 1946 Oct. 3; 1948 May 12; 1952 Jan. 21
• Prezzi, Wilma : 1947 Feb. 4
• Redfield, Edward W. : 1912 Feb. 2
• Reilly, Frank J. : 1956 Dec. 31
• Rockefeller, Nelson A. : 1952 Feb. 4
• Salmagundi Club : 1919 June 23; 1956 June 4; 1959 Apr. 10
• Sawyer, Helen : 1950 May 8
• Schapiro, Meyer : 1957 Sept. 27
• Setterberg, Carl : 1956 Dec. 21
• Shinn, Everett : 1950 Mar. 18; 1952 Dec. 10; 1953 Jan. 13
• Sizer, Theodore : 1957 Memorial Day
• Society of American Graphic Artists, Inc. : 1956 Apr. 3
• Society of Illustrators, Inc. : 1950 Mar. 31
• Speight, Francis : 1950 Jan. 8; 1951 Jan. 16 (outgoing)
• Sweeney, James Johnson : 1956 Mar. 19
• Taylor, Charles : undated
• The Arts : 1923 Apr. 5
• The Studio : 1961 July 13
• Toledo Museum of Art : 1923 Apr. 26
• Twachtman, Martha (Mrs. John) : 1927 June 22; 1927 July 16
• United States Treasury Department : See Fine Arts Liberty Loan Committee
• Voorhees, Mabel B. : 1956 Apr. 14
• Waltman, Harry Franklin : 1948 Mar. 29
• Ward, Lynd : 1956 Apr. 3
• Warndof, F. : 1924 Jan. 25; 1924 Feb. 1; 1924 Feb. 2; 1936 May 28
• Warner, Everett : 1918 Mar. 31; 1942 Feb. 20; 1959 Jan. 14; 1959 Apr. 9
• Waugh, Coulton : 1955 Nov. 10; 1955 Nov. 21
• Waugh, G. (Mrs. Frederick) : 1940 Dec. 16
• Waugh, Sidney : 1955 Jan. 12
• Whitaker, Frederic : 1950 May 13; 1954 Sept. 14; 1955 Apr. 8
• White, Lawrence Grant : See National Academy of Design
• Whitney Museum of American Art : 1961 June 12
• Whitridge, Arnold : 1958 Apr. 25 (printed copy of address)
• Wiggins, Guy : 1956 Feb. 21; 1958 Mar. 17
• Williams, F. Ballard : 1955 Apr. 14; 1956 Feb. 4
• Williams, Frederic Allen : 1956 Mar. 10
• Wilson, Woodrow : 1915 Feb. 1 (photocopy)
• Wuermer, Carl : 1958 Mar. 20
• Wyeth, Andrew : 1961 Jan. 24 (photocopy)
• Yutang, Lin (Mrs.) : 1943 Apr. 19

Return to top