Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers
name: label: Creator
content: Vonnoh, Bessie Potter, 1872-1955
label: Names
content: Vonnoh, Robert William, 1858-1933
label: Names
content: Carter, Charles M., 1853-1929
label: Names
content: French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931
label: Names
content: Raffaëlli, Jean François, 1850-1924
label: Names
content: Taft, Lorado, 1860-1936
topic: label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Artist couples
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women sculptors
label: Topic
content: Women painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 1995 by Lulette Jenness Thompson, a cousin of Bessie Potter Vonnoh and in 2022 by Kerry Oliver-Smith, who received the collection from his father, Waren McKenney, a second cousin of Vonnoh. An additional photograph album was donated in 2025 by Julie Aronson, a scholar who wrote about Vonnoh. Aronson received the album from Mr. and Mrs. Harry Seymour Jr., who, in turn, received the album from Lulette Jenness Thompson, Harry Seymour's grandmother.
creator: label: Creator
content: Vonnoh, Bessie Potter, 1872-1955
setName: label: See more items in
content: Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1860 to 1991, with the bulk of material dating from 1890 to 1955. The scattered papers document the personal life and career of Bessie Potter Vonnoh and, to a lesser degree, her husband, painter Robert William Vonnoh. Found within the papers are Vonnoh family correspondence, including letters between Bessie and Robert, and professional and personal correspondence, primarily Bessie's. The collection also contains scattered biographical materials, a draft autobiographical manuscript by Bessie Potter Vonnoh, photographs of the Vonnohs, their home and studio, and artwork, clippings, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material, scattered personal business records, and scrapbooks documenting the careers of the Vonnohs (primarily Bessie's) through printed material, letters, and photographs.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: New York sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh (1872-1955) was best known for her small bronze statuettes of domestic and feminine subjects, and for her garden fountains.

Bessie Potter was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Alexander and Mary McKenney Potter. In 1874, after the death of her father, her family moved to Chicago. In childhood she suffered from a series of illnesses from which she did not recover until she was ten years old. In school she enjoyed clay-modeling class and decided at an early age that she wanted to be a sculptor. Beginning in 1890 she studied with Lorado Taft at the Art Institute of Chicago and later became one of his assistants (known as the "White Rabbits") for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. She was also given her own commission for the Illinois building at the fair. After this success, Vonnoh opened her own studio in Chicago and made plaster figurines of society women, friends, and their children. She visited New York and took her first trip to Paris in 1895, visiting the studios of many eminent sculptors such as Auguste Rodin. Her work was influenced by the American Impressionist movement, depicted in one of her most famous works, Young Mother. This piece was exhibited in the National Sculpture Society exhibition of 1898 and led to several public sculpture commissions.

In 1899 Potter moved to New York City and married Impressionist painter, Robert William Vonnoh (1858-1933). They lived in New York and maintained a summer home in Lyme, Connecticut. During her career she received many awards for her works at international exhibitions, including two bronze medals at the Paris Exposition in 1900. Other landmark events included a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 1913 and membership into the National Academy of Design in 1921, making her the first female sculptor accepted as a permanent member. Vonnoh's work was very well received by the public, and in the 1920s she began working on a larger scale, creating large fountains, such as the Frances Hodgson Burnett Memorial Fountain in Central Park, New York, and other decorative garden figures. Robert Vonnoh died in 1933 and, in 1948, Bessie married Dr. Edward Keyes. 

Bessie Potter Vonnoh died in New York City in 1955 at the age of 82.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1860-1991
label: Date
content: bulk 1890-1955
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.vonnbess
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 7 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1899-1955 (Boxes 1, 3; 0.15 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1863-1985 (Boxes 1, 3; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1925-circa 1940s (Box 3; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 4: Photographs, circa 1860-1950 (Box 1-3, OV 5; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1892-1991 (Boxes 2-4; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1881-1941 (Box 4; 1 folder)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1887-1927 (Box 4; 0.9 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The bulk of the Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers received a preliminary level of processing in 1996, and were fully processed by Erin Corley in 2006 and digitized in 2007 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additions to the papers were processed and the finding aid was revised by Stephanie Ashley in 2023 and 2025 and the bulk of the 2023 addition was digitized in 2025 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2017, 2023, and 2025 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1860 to 1991, with the bulk of material dating from 1890 to 1955. The scattered papers document the personal life and career of Bessie Potter Vonnoh and, to a lesser degree, her husband, painter Robert William Vonnoh. Found within the papers are Vonnoh family correspondence, including letters between Bessie and Robert, and professional and personal correspondence, primarily Bessie's. The collection also contains scattered biographical materials, a draft autobiographical manuscript by Bessie Potter Vonnoh, photographs of the Vonnohs, their home and studio, and artwork, clippings, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material, scattered personal business records, and scrapbooks documenting the careers of the Vonnohs (primarily Bessie's) through printed material, letters, and photographs.