James Britton papers
name: label: Creator
content: Britton, James, 1878-1936
label: Names
content: Arlington Galleries (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Kelly, Andrew J.
label: Names
content: Kent, Duncan Scott
label: Names
content: Mitchell, Edwin Valentine, 1890-1960
label: Names
content: Vonnoh, Robert William, 1858-1933
label: Names
content: Blackfield
label: Names
content: Fiske, Gertrude, 1878-1961
label: Names
content: Higgins, Eugene, 1874-1958
label: Names
content: Inukai, Kyohei, 1913-
label: Names
content: Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966
label: Names
content: Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1858-1924
label: Names
content: Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946
label: Names
content: Vose, Robert C. (Robert Churchill), 1911-1998
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art critics
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Diaries
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Connecticut
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1985 and 2020 by Barbara and Ursula Roberts Britton, granddaughters of James Britton. Additional material donated in 2022 by Barbara Britton.
creator: label: Creator
content: Britton, James, 1878-1936
setName: label: See more items in
content: James Britton papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and writer James Britton measure 4.5 linear feet and date from circa 1905-1984, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1905-1935. The bulk of the papers consist of 49 diaries dating from 1918-1935, plus notebooks of diary excerpts, that chronicle Britton's daily activities and include lists, illustrations, and drafts of correspondence. Additional papers include biographical information compiled by the Britton family; scattered business and financial records; correspondence, including copies of Britton's letters to the editors of the Hartford Courant and the Hartford Times; additional writings and notes that include drafts and manuscripts of an autobiography, drafts of articles for his publication Art Opus, and other writings; sketches and a woodcut print; printed materials, including clippings of his published writings for Art Review International, Book Notes, and Opus; and one photograph of Britton and of works of art.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: James Britton (1878-1936) was a portrait painter and writer active in Connecticut and New York. Britton wrote extensively about American art and artists and was the editor of his own publications Art Review International and Opus. Also, he was a member of the group of New York painters and sculptors known as The Eclectics.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1878, James Britton began his career as an apprentice working under August Jaccaci at Scribner's Magazine in 1895. He studied under George de Forest Brush at the Art Students' League and under Walter Griffin and Charles Noel Flagg in Hartford. He exhibited and worked with many of the American artists associated with the Ash Can school and The Eclectics, a group of New York artists that included Theresa Bernstein, Guy Pene du Bois, Walter Griffin, Philip L. Hale, Eugene Higgins, George Luks, Jane Peterson, Maurice Prendergast, and Mahonri Young. Mainly, Britton worked as a portrait painter but produced many landscapes of Sag Harbor, Long Island, and of his homes in Connecticut. He was a founding member of the New Society of American Artists and the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. He exhibited at numerous New York City galleries including Ainslie Galleries, Arlington Galleries, Babcock Galleries, Dudensing Galleries, Folsom Galleries, and at the studio of sculptor Marie Apel. 

A prolific writer on American art and artists, as well as an illustrator, Britton worked as staff artist for the Hartford Times and as an art critic for American Art News and the Hartford Courant. He also founded and edited Art Review International and Opus. Two of his published books include Copley, Painter of the Revolution and Artists of America. Britton was also interested in classical music and wrote on composers Haydn and Beethoven. Britton's extensive diaries found within his papers chronicle his daily life and commentary. 

In 1914, Britton married Caroline Korner and settled mostly in Connecticut. They had three children, Jerome, Teresa, and Ruth. In 1928, a car struck Britton and left him disabled. Although he continued to paint, he suffered from ill-health as a result of the accident. He died in 1936. 

James Britton's works are represented at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Mark Twain Memorial, Manchester Public Library and at St. Joseph's College.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.5 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1905-1984
label: Date
content: bulk 1905-1935
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.britjame
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Illustrations
label: Type
content: Notebooks
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Prints
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Drafts
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 9 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1970-1984 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Business and Financial records, 1919-1933 (Box 1; 7 folders)

Series 3: Correspondence, 1913-1945 (Box 1; 9 folders)

Series 4: Diaries, 1918-1935 (Box 1-2; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Writings and Notes, circa 1910s-1931 (Box 2-3; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1920-1929 (Box 3; 5 folders)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1910-1982 (Box 4; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1905-1930s (Box 4, OV 5; 3 folders)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1920-1934 (Boxes 6-8; 1.6 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The James Britton papers were arranged and microfilmed shortly upon receipt on reels 3647-3651. In 2010, Jayna Hanson rearranged the papers and wrote a finding aid prior to digitization in 2010 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Later donations are unprocessed.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: This site provides access to the papers of James Britton in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2010, and total 6872 images.

Materials that have not been digitized include photographs of works of art, duplicates, and some printed materials.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Illustrations
label: Genre/Form
content: Notebooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Drafts
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of painter and writer James Britton measure 4.5 linear feet and date from circa 1905-1984, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1905-1935. The bulk of the papers consist of 49 diaries dating from 1918-1935, plus notebooks of diary excerpts, that chronicle Britton's daily activities and include lists, illustrations, and drafts of correspondence. Additional papers include biographical information compiled by the Britton family; scattered business and financial records; correspondence, including copies of Britton's letters to the editors of the Hartford Courant and the Hartford Times; additional writings and notes that include drafts and manuscripts of an autobiography, drafts of articles for his publication Art Opus, and other writings; sketches and a woodcut print; printed materials, including clippings of his published writings for Art Review International, Book Notes, and Opus; and one photograph of Britton and of works of art.

Biographical information consists of a file of photocopied materials prepared by the Britton Family. Scattered business and financial records include papers relating to Britton's auto accident, indexes of letters, illustrated indexes and lists of works of art, miscellaneous invoices and receipts, and file relating to Arlington Gallery. 

Nine folders of correspondence include letters written to and by Britton along with posthumus materials to his widow, Caroline Britton. Correspondents include artists and friends Gertrude Fiske, Eugene Higgins, Kyonei Inukai, Andrew Kelly, Dewitt McClellan Lockman, Edwin Valentine Mitchell, Maurice Prendergast, Duncan Phillips, Alfred Stieglitz, Robert Vonnoh, and Robert C. Vose. 

The bulk of the Britton papers consist of his extensive diaries - 49 volumes, plus notebooks of excerpts and detailed indexes. The diaries date from 1918-1935 and details Britton's daily activities and observations about art figures active in New York and Connecticut, classical music, the Great Depression, Prohibition, the Catholic Church, and politics. In addition, Britton talks of his relationships with his wife and children. The diaries served as a place for Britton to make lists of works of art, portrait subjects, potential clients, etc. Britton also created "Notebooks of Diary Excerpts" and a detailed index of many of the diaries. 

Additional writings and notes include a handwritten and incomplete typescript of an autobiography, writings for Britton's publication Opus, and miscellaneous writings about art, music and plays. Writings by others include works by Duncan Scott Kent and Blackfield. 

Artwork includes a print and sketches by Britton, and children's drawings. 

Printed materials include issues of Britton's Art Review International, Opus, and other publications for which he wrote articles or provided illustration, clippings, exhibition catalogs, and programs. 

Photographs include one photo of the artist with a painting and photos of works of art.

There is a 1.6 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated 2020 and 2022 that includes correspondence, writings by Britton about art, printed material (some annotated), lists of works of art by Britton and others, sketches by Britton, Britton's original letterhead printed from woodcut plate, and transcriptions of composer Joseph Haydn's symphonies for piano and string quarter, exhibition checklists, and notes.Material date sfrom circa 1920-1934.