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Francis Davis Millet Collection

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 23 Nov 2009

Biographical History

Francis Davis Millet (1846-1912) was an American painter, sculptor, and writer. He served as a drummer boy during the Civil War, graduated from Harvard, and worked as a reporter and editor for the Boston Courier and as a war correspondent for several British and American newspapers. His painting took him from Rome, where he had a studio for several years and lived with travel journalist Charles Warren Stoddard, to Venice and later back to the United States; among his close friends were painter John Singer Sargent, author Mark Twain and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Millet was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects. He died in the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Francis Davis Millet Collection consists of research material relating to Millet. The material appears to have been collected by Thomas B. Brumbaugh, professor of fine art at Vanderbilt University. Material includes correspondence between Brumbaugh and various repositoties requesting photographs of paintings by Millet, as well as correspondence between Brumbaugh and various relatives of Millet's. Other material includes photocopies of articles and clippings about Millet, Stoddard, and Twain; research notes; correspondence with dealers about Millet and Stoddard letters; and miscellaneous related items. A good portion of the material concerns Millet's relationship with Charles Warren Stoddard and his friendship with Mark Twain.

The collection contains no original material from Millet, Stoddard, or Twain, only secondary material about them.

Arrangement of the Collection

Material is arranged alphabetically.

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.

Related Material

The library has several books by Millet, both in the circulating collections and in our rare books holdings. Please refer to Libraries Search for a complete listing.

Subject Headings

Persons

Brumbaugh, Thomas B. (Thomas Brendle), 1921-2011.
Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912.
Stoddard, Charles Warren, 1843-1909.
Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.

Subjects

Journalists -- United States -- 20th century.
Painters -- United States -- 20th century.
Sculptors -- United States -- 20th century.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Photographs.
Research notes.

Occupations

Painters.
Sculptors.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Francis Davis Millet Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

Correspondence-subject files

Inventory