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Frederic and Eileen Monaghan Whitaker Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: JMB
Date: Sep 1978

Biographical History

Frederic Whitaker (1891-1980) was an award-winning American artist and writer on painting and art. Whitaker began his artistic career as a metalsmith, working for Gorham Manufacturing Company and Tiffany & Co. and later founding two companies of his own. However, it was as a watercolorist that he became most famous and when he retired in 1949 he devoted himself full-time to painting. He was also active in the promotion of the arts, particularly painting; he was a member of the National Academy of Design, a Fellow of Britain's Royal Society of Arts, served seven years as president of the American Watercolor Society, and founded Audubon Artists. He received numerous awards and recognitions for his work, and was the author of two books and numerous articles and essays on painting, art, and political topics of the day.

Eileen Monaghan Whitaker (1911-2005) was a painter of watercolors. Though less widely known than her husband, she was an important artist in her own right. The couple married in 1943 and often exhibited their work in joint shows. Eileen was a member of the American Watercolor Society, the recipient of many awards, and in 1978 she became only the second woman to be elected to the National Academy of Design's watercolor division.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Frederic and Eileen Monaghan Whitaker Papers is divided into eight series: American Watercolor Society, Artwork, Correspondence, Eileen Monaghan Whitaker, Memorabilia, Printed material, Subject Files, and Writings .

American Watercolor Society (AWS) contains correspondence, committee information, publications such as newsletters and publicity, the AWS constitution and revisions, meeting minutes, reports, material on special projects undertaken by the AWS, and more. Much of this material dates from Frederic's tenure as president of the Society.

Artwork contains both original artwork and reproductions. Works include sketches, drawings, pencil tracings, and of course watercolors. Included here are some examples of the Whitakers' work used in publications, as for example the Prudential Company's annual report.

Correspondence includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence with artists, galleries, publishers,art schools, art organizations, and family and friends. Correspondents of note include Walt Disney, Clara Fasano, Boyland Fitzgerald, William Gropper, Jimmy Hatlo, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Janice Lovoos (Whitaker biographer), Edmondo Quattrocchi, and more.

Eileen Whitaker material consists of a material related solely to Eileen Monaghan Whitaker. This includes awards, biographical material, clippings, correspondence with family including her brother Kevin and sister Connie, portfolios of her work, scrabooks, and high school yearbooks.

Memorabilia contains a wide range of items, from address books and awards to scrapbooks and travel notes. The bulk of this series consists of photographs taken by the Whitakers both in the United States and other countries.

Printed material includes articles, clippings and exhibit catalogs. The majority of the clippings related to either Frederic or Frederic and Eileen, but there is also one folder of clippings related solely to Eileen.

Subject files contains clippings, photographs, artwork, and other materials depicting various types of subject matter -- balloons, boats, flowers, insects, raccoons, .seagulls, and so on. These may have been used as artistic reference material by the Whitakers.

The bulk of Writings consists of essays by Frederic on a wide range of topics (art, beauty, charity, equality, free enterprise, non-citizens/immigrants, taxes, prostitution, and more). There are a few items by Eileen, drafts of Frederic's autobiography, and a small number of other items such as poetry.

Arrangement of the Collection

Within each series, material is arranged alphabetically with the exception of clippings and articles, which are arranged chronologically.

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.

Access to audiovisual material requires advance notice to produce a listening copy.

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

A large number of published books and monographs by and about the Whitakers have been removed from the collection and transferred to Rare Books for cataloging. To locate these items, please refer to Libraries Search and search for "Gift of Frederic Whitaker".

Subject Headings

Persons

Huntington, Anna Hyatt, 1876-1973.
Huntington, Archer M. (Archer Milton), 1870-1955.
Kent, Norman, 1903-1972.
Lovoos, Janice.
Madsen, Roy P. (Roy Paul)
Monaghan, Kevin.
Spooner, Maryjane.
Whitaker, Eileen Monaghan, 1911-
Whitaker, Frederic.

Corporate Bodies

Allied Artists of America.
American Artists Professional League.
American Watercolor Society.
Audubon Artists.
California Watercolor Society.
Frederick and Eileen Monaghan Whitaker Foundation.
Grand Central Art Galleries.
National Academy of Design (U.S. : 1828-1997)
Rhode Island School of Design.
Royal Society of Arts (Great Britain)
Society of Western Artists.

Associated Titles

American artist (Stamford, Conn.)

Subjects

Art, American -- 20th century.
Art, American -- Societies, etc.
Freemasons -- California.
Painters -- United States.
Painting, American -- 20th century.
Watercolor painting.
Watercolorists -- United States.

Places

California -- Description.and travel.
Guatemala -- Description.and travel.
Mexico -- Description.and travel.
San Diego (Calif.) -- Intellectual life.
Southwest, New -- Description and travel.

Genres and Forms

Address books.
Articles.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Drafts (documents)
Exhibition catalogs.
Greeting cards.
Manuscripts for publication.
Pamphlets.
Photograph albums.
Photographs.
Scrapbooks.
Sketches.
Slides (photographs)
Sound recordings.
Watercolors (paintings)

Occupations

Artists.
Painters.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Frederic Whitaker and Eileen Monaghan Whitaker Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

American Watercolor Society

Artwork

Correspondence

Eileen Monaghan Whitaker

Memorabilia

Printed material

Subject Files

Writings

Inventory