James Fitzgerald papers
name: label: Creator
content: Fitzgerald, James, 1899-1971
label: Names
content: Hennig, Calvin
label: Names
content: Hubert, Anne, 1909-2004
label: Names
content: Hubert, Edgar, 1909-1994
label: Names
content: Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971
place: label: Place
content: Monhegan Island (Me.)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Marine painters -- California -- Monterey
label: Occupation
content: Marine painters -- Maine -- Monhegan
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California -- Monterey
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Maine
label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States
label: Topic
content: Art -- Collectors and collecting
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were donated in 1991 by Fitzgerald's literary executors, Anne and Edgar Hubert.  Two additional sketchbooks were donated in 2014 by the chairman of the James Fitzgerald Legacy, Robert L. Stahl.
creator: label: Creator
content: Fitzgerald, James, 1899-1971
setName: label: See more items in
content: James Fitzgerald papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter James Fitzgerald measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1992.  Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence, including fifty-one letters from Rockwell Kent; personal business records; writings; artwork consisting of drawings and 21 sketchbooks; printed material, including a scrapbook of clippings and catalogs; and photographs of Fitzgerald, his family and friends, and his work.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Painter James Fitzgerald (1899-1971) lived and worked in Monterey, California and Monhegan, Maine and is known for his watercolors of seascapes, animals, and nature.  

Born in Milton, Massachusetts, Fitzgerald studied from 1919 to 1923 at the Massachusetts School of Art and from 1923 to 1924 at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School with Philip Hale, Leslie P. Thompson, and Edmund C. Tarbell.  From 1923 to 1928, Fitzgerald took a break from his art studies to travel, sailing and crewing on fishing ships and freighters on the coasts of northern America.  During a trip along the West coast in 1928, his travels brought him to Monterey, California where he established a studio and met and became associated with a group including John Cage, Martha Graham, E. F. Ricketts, and John Steinbeck. 

From 1936 to 1942, Fitzgerald taught painting in California, then sold his studio the following year to settle in the artists' colony at Monhegan, Maine, which he had first visited in 1923.  From 1944 to 1971, Fitzgerald made annual trips to Mt. Katahdin and also formed friendships with other Monhegan residents, including Rockwell Kent and Anne and Edgar Hubert. Fitzgerald died suddenly on the Irish island of Arranmore Ireland, where he had traveled to paint in 1971.
function: label: Function
content: Artist colonies
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1905-1992
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.fitzjame
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1918-1971 (2 folders; Boxes 1, 5)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1934-1987 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1948-1972 (0.5 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 4: Writings, 1955-1988 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 2-3, 5)

Series 5: Artwork, 1930-1969 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 4-6)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1923-1989 (0.2 linear feet; Box 4)

Series 7: Photographic Material, 1905-1992 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was fully processed by Jean Fitzgerald in 1994.  A finding aid was prepared by Judy Ng in 2014 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter James Fitzgerald measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1992.  Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence, including fifty-one letters from Rockwell Kent; personal business records; writings; artwork consisting of drawings and 21 sketchbooks; printed material, including a scrapbook of clippings and catalogs; and photographs of Fitzgerald, his family and friends, and his work.

Biographical materials include certificates, military records, and identification cards and passports.  Correspondence is with collectors and friends, including Monhegan residents Anne and Edgar Hubert, Grace Sullivan, and Rockwell Kent.  Personal business records include banking, tax, and estate records.  Writings consist of Fitzgerald's notebook and notes, essays and recollections of Fitzgerald by friends, and Calvin Hennig's notes on a 1984 posthumous exhibition catalog.

There are loose drawings and 21 sketchbooks of Fitzgerald's artwork.  Printed material includes clippings, a clippings scrapbook, exhibition catalogs, and a five-minute video recording describing the holdings of Anne and Edgar Hubert's Fitzgerald art collection.  Photographs are of Fitzgerald, his friends and family, residents, travel snapshots, and photographs and slides of his artwork.