Robert Aitken papers
name: label: Creator
content: Aitken, Robert, 1878-1949
label: Names
content: Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
label: Names
content: Ward, De Witt
label: Names
content: Wheeler, Benjamin
topic: label: Topic
content: Monuments -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: Monuments -- California -- San Francisco
label: Topic
content: Sculptors
label: Topic
content: Artists' studios -- Photographs
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in November 1973.
creator: label: Creator
content: Aitken, Robert, 1878-1949
setName: label: See more items in
content: Robert Aitken papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of California-born sculptor Robert Aitken measure 0.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900-1960. The collection primarily consists of photographs of Aitken in his studio and photographs of his sculpture including fountain figures, mausouleum doors, medallions, refliefs, and portrait busts. Also found is a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt at the dedication of the Navy Monument in Union Square, San Francisco, in 1902. The collection also includes one 1904 letter from Benjamin Wheeler to Robert Aitken thanking Aitken for a bust of George Washington, and scattered clippings and postcards reproducing works of art by Aitken.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Noted sculptor Robert Aitken (1878-1949) was born in San Francisco, California, and taught at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art from 1901-1904. He studied in Paris in 1897 and from 1904-1907, and then settled in New York City where he spent most of his career teaching at the National Academy of Design.

He completed numerous sculpture commissions including portrait busts, medallions and coins, reliefs, and fountain figures. His works include the "Fountain of Earth" for San Francisco's Panama Pacific Exposition, the Navy Monument in San Francisco's Union Square, doors for the Greenhut and John W. Gates Mausoleums in New York, several military sculptures at West Point, and Guardian Figures at the National Archives building and the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court building, both in Washington D. C.

Aitken was a member of the National Academy of Design, the National Arts Club, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the National Sculpture Society and the New York Architectural League.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1900-1960
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.aitkrobe
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Series 1: Robert Aitken Papers, circa 1900-1960
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The Robert Aitken papers were microfilmed at some point after receipt on reel 1027. The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by archivist Stephanie Ashley in 2014, with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. The Archives of American Art has implemented minimal processing tactics when possible in order to increase information about and access to more of our collections.

Minimal processing included arrangement to the series and folder level. Generally, items within folders were simply verified with folder titles but not arranged further. Folders within boxes may not be numbered. The collection was rehoused in archival containers and folders.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: This collection is also available on 35 mm microfilm reel 1027. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of California-born sculptor Robert Aitken measure 0.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900-1960. The collection primarily consists of photographs of Aitken in his studio and photographs of his sculpture including fountain figures, mausoleum doors, medallions, reliefs, and portrait busts. Also found is a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt at the dedication of the Navy Monument in Union Square, San Francisco, in 1902. The collection also includes one 1904 letter from Benjamin Wheeler to Robert Aitken thanking Aitken for a bust of George Washington, and scattered clippings and postcards reproducing works of art by Aitken.  

Some of the photographs are silver gelatin and gold toned silver gelatin prints, and some were taken by noted photographer De Witt Ward.