Guy Pène Du Bois papers
name: label: Creator
content: Pène Du Bois, Guy, 1884-1958
label: Names
content: C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries
label: Names
content: Cortissoz, Royal, 1869-1948
label: Names
content: Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967
label: Names
content: McCoy, Samuel Duff, 1882-
label: Names
content: Pène du Bois, William, 1916-1993
label: Names
content: Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987
label: Names
content: Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painting, American -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Sketches and etching proofs were lent to the Archives of American Art in 1970 for microfilming by Pène du Bois' children, Yvonne McKenney and William Pène du Bois. Yvonne McKenney donated papers in 1971. In 1980, two journals dating from 1913 to 1955, were loaned for microfilming by Pène du Bois' daughter-in-law, Willa Kim. These journals were subsequently donated by Martha Fleishman in 2017. Additional twenty items donated in 2025 by Christine Oaklander, who purchased the material from a dealer who received the items from the estate of Guy Pène Du Bois.
creator: label: Creator
content: Pène Du Bois, Guy, 1884-1958
setName: label: See more items in
content: Guy Pène Du Bois papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois measure 2.02 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1963 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1920 to 1963. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including letters from Royal Cortissoz and Edward Hopper; writings, including essays, journals, short stories, and drafts of the autobiography Artists Say the Silliest Things; personal business records; printed material; and artwork.

There is a 20 item unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2025 that includes correspondence with Pène du Bois family members and friends including Raphael Soyer. Also included are portrait head sketches in pencil presumably by Guy Pène du Bois on five pieces of notepad paper; a poem by Donald Duncan to Mrs. Guy Pène du Bois; an artist's statement by Guy Pène du Bois; and Guy Pène du Bois' identification card for New York State Employment. Materials date from circa 1922-1955.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois (1884-1958) lived and worked in New York City, New York and was known for his realist paintings, essays, and art reviews.

Pène Du Bois was born in Brooklyn, New York to the art critic Henri Pène Du Bois and his wife Laura.  After he showed an early interest in art, his' family supported his decision to enroll in William Merritt Chase's New York School of Art at the age of 15.  There, Pène Du Bois trained with the realist painters Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller along with fellow students George Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Rockwell Kent.  In 1905, he traveled to Paris and studied briefly with the artist Thèophile Steinlen, but returned to New York the following year after the death of his father.  To help support his family, he found work as an illustrator and cartoonist for the New York American, and was promoted to the position of art critic for the newspaper in 1909.  

In 1911, Pène Du Bois married his wife, Florence Duncan, and became an assistant writer for the New York Tribune under Royal Cortissoz (1913).  Pène Du Bois also wrote art reviews for the New York Post (1916-1918), and was a writer and later editor of Arts and Decoration (1913-1915, 1917-1921).  During these years, Pène Du Bois also began to establish a career as a realist painter of note.  His work was included in the 1913 Armory Show, after which he signed on as a member of the Kraushaar Gallery stable.  Throughout the 1910s, Pène Du Bois exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, and held his first one-man show in 1918 at the Whitney Studio Club.

From 1920 to 1924, Pène Du Bois taught at the Art Students League, and spent the latter part of the 1920s in France with his family.  After seven years, he moved his family back to Connecticut and opened the Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art in Stonington, Connecticut.  Throughout the 1930s, Pène Du Bois continued painting and received commissions to design federal murals in upstate New York (1937) and Boston (1942). In 1940, Pène Du Bois published his autobiography, Artists Say the Silliest Things.  After the death of his wife in 1950, Pène Du Bois lived and traveled with his daughter's family and died in her home in Boston in 1958.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.02 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1900-1963
label: Date
content: bulk 1920-1963
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.duboguyp
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Prints
label: Type
content: Sketches
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Biographical material, 1929-1954 (4 folders; Box 1)

Correspondence, 1908-1958 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Writings, circa 1900-1954 (1.1 linear feet; Box 1-4)

Personal business records, circa 1920-1949 (3 folders; Box 3)

Printed material, circa 1920-1963 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)

Artwork, circa 1920-1954 (2 folders; Box 3)

Unprocessed Addition, circa 1922-1955 (1 folder; Folder 5)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Materials received a preliminary level of processing at some point after donation and were microfilmed onto reel 28.  All materials were fully processed and described by Judy Ng in 2013 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

The 2017 addition was processed by Ryan Evans in 2018.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of this collection and material lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels 28-29 and 2008 at the Archives of American Art offices and though interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
otherfindaid: label: Other Finding Aids
content: Sketches and etching proofs, microfilm reel 29: A list of sketches and proofs is available on the microfilm.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois measure 2.020 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1963 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1920 to 1963.  Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including letters from Royal Cortissoz and Edward Hopper; writings, including essays, journals, short stories, and drafts of the autobiography Artists Say the Silliest Things; personal business records; printed material; and artwork.

Biographical materials consist of certificates, a curriculum vitae, passport, and a photograph of two unidentified women.

Correspondence is primarily with Pène Du Bois' family, friends, and business associates.  The series includes significant correspondence from fellow art critic Royal Cortissoz; artists Raphael Soyer and Edward Hopper; and writers Samuel Duff McCoy, Lincoln Isham, and Newton Booth Tarkington.  Other correspondents of note include C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries and Pène Du Bois' son, the children's book illustrator William Pène Du Bois.  

Writings include book drafts of Pène Du Bois' autobiography, Artists Say the Silliest Things, journal entries, 35 essays, 8 short stories, and various writing fragments and notes.

Personal business records consist of account and sales records from C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, book and publishing contracts, and receipts for art supply purchases.

Printed material includes a brochure for the Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous printed material.

Artwork consists of pen and ink sketches by Pène Du Bois and a print by an unknown artist.

There is a 20 item unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2025 that includes correspondence with Pène du Bois family members and friends including Raphael Soyer. Also included are portrait head sketches in pencil presumably by Guy Pène du Bois on five pieces of notepad paper; a poem by Donald Duncan to Mrs. Guy Pène du Bois; an artist's statement by Guy Pène du Bois; and Guy Pène du Bois' identification card for New York State Employment. Materials date from circa 1922-1955.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives also holds the Guy Pène Du Bois and Mary Lightfoot Tarleton correspondence.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 28) including sketches and etching proofs. Lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.