Henry Hudson and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson papers
name: label: Creator
content: Kitson, Henry Hudson, 1863?-1947
label: Creator
content: Kitson, Theo Alice Ruggles, 1876-1932
label: Names
content: Cavanagh, Dorothy, 1907-1986
label: Names
content: Horn, Milton, 1906-
label: Names
content: Kitson, Samuel James, 1848-1906
label: Names
content: Lawrie, Lee, 1877-1963
topic: label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Massachusetts
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Framingham
label: Topic
content: War memorials
label: Topic
content: Scrapbooks
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Dorothy P. Cavanagh, sister of the Kitsons' daughter-in-law Helen (wife of John Kitson), who was writing a biography on the Kitsons up until her death in 1986. Some unmicrofilmed material was donated by Cavanagh in 1973 and 1976. Cavanagh loaned additional papers for microfilming in June 28, 1982 and September 12, 1986. This material was donated upon her death by her nephew and executor, Paul Bennet.
creator: label: Creator
content: Kitson, Henry Hudson, 1863?-1947
label: Creator
content: Kitson, Theo Alice Ruggles, 1876-1932
setName: label: See more items in
content: Henry Hudson and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Henry Hudson and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson papers measure 6.1 linear feet and date from 1845-1985, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1880s to the 1940s. The papers document the careers of sculptors Henry and Theo Kitson through scattered biographical material, family and some professional correspondence, scattered writings, personal business records including comission contracts, artwork consisting primarily of preliminary sketches, a dismantled scrapbook and printed material documenting the major accomplishments of both artists, and photographs and glass plate negatives of the Kitsons, family members, their homes and studios, and their artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Boston, Massachusetts sculptors Henry Hudson Kitson (1863?-1947) and Theo(dora) Alice Ruggles Kitson (1876-1932) were known for their monumental and portrait sculptures from the late 1800s through the 1940s, and contributed multiple sculptures and statues to Civil War national military parks and other commemorative sites throughout the United States. 

Henry Kitson was born in Huddersfield, England, and emigrated to the United States where he met and taught Theo Ruggles as an art student beginning in 1886. Theo showed talent as an artist from an early age and in 1888 became the youngest woman and the first American to receive honorable mention at the Salon des Artistes Français. In 1893, after returning from France, Henry and Theo were married. They lived in Framingham, Massachusetts, and maintained studios in Boston. 

On her return to the United States, Theo enjoyed a certain celebrity due to her achievements, becoming the first woman admitted to the National Sculpture Society and winning the bronze medal at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. 

Both Henry and Theo executed multiple commemorative statues for historic, Revolutionary War, and Civil War sites in the United States. These included Henry's Minuetman, in Lexington, Massachusetts, and The Pilgrim Maiden in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Theo's Tadeusz Kościuszko statue in Boston Public Gardens. Theo is perhaps best known for over 70 military statues, busts, and reliefs she executed for Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi, making her the most prolifically represented sculptor in the park.

Theo and Henry separated in 1909 but continued to collaborate over the next 17 years until Theo died in 1932. In the last 2 decades of his life, Henry worked to convert a barn on his property in Tyringham, Massachusetts, into a working studio. Known as "Santarella" Kitson spent years on the installation of an asphalt shingled roof for the studio, intended to replicate as closely as possible the traditional thatched roof buildings of his native England, before he died in 1947.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1845-1985
label: Date
content: bulk 1880s-1940s
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.kitshenr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Diaries
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as eight series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1863-circa 1970s (0.1 linear feet; Boxes 1, 4, OV 7)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1885-1979 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1884-1963 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1888-1946 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 5: Printed Material,1845-1979 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 4)

Series 6: Scrapbook,  1888-1954 (0.5 Linear feet; Box 2)

Series 7:  Artwork and Artifacts, circa 1880s-circa 1910 (0.6 Linear feet; Boxes 2, 4, OVs 7-8, 2 artifacts)

Series 8: Photographs and Glass Plate Negatives, circa 1860s-1956, 1985 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 9-13)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed in 2024 by Stephanie Ashley.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 3929-3931 at the Archives of American Art office and through 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: Diaries
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Henry Hudson and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson papers measure 6.1 linear feet and date from 1845-1985, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1880s to the 1940s. The papers document the careers of sculptors Henry and Theo Kitson through scattered biographical material, family and some professional correspondence,  scattered writings, personal business records including comission contracts, artwork consisting primarily of preliminary sketches, a dismantled scrapbook and printed material documenting the major accomplishments of both artists, and photographs and glass plate negatives of the Kitsons, family members, their homes and studios, and their artwork.

Biographical materials include family records, biographical and genealogy notes, awards, and certificates.

Personal and professional correspondence includes family letters as well as letters from other artists and from clients regarding commissions. A portion of the correspondence is between family friends who corresponded about the Kitsons after Henry Kitson's death in relation to Dorothy Cavanagh's research for a biography she was writing on the sculptor. These letters provide biographical details about the Kitsons and their relationships with other artists including Lee Lawrie and Milton Horn. 

Writings include a poem and diary by Henry Kitson, and reminiscences by sculptor Lee Lawrie and Dorothy Cavanagh.

Personal business records include contracts for commissions by the Kitsons, receipts, real estate records, bank statements, and promissory notes. 

Art works include sketches by Theo Kitson, an architectural rendering of a bas-relief designed by Henry Kitson, and sketches by Hiroshi Yoshida. 

Printed material primarily consists of announcements for dedication ceremonies of monuments and other sculptures produced by the Kitsons and clippings documenting press coverage throughout their careers. 

A dismantled scrapbook, 1888-1954, contains records which supplement multiple other series including letters and postcards, business records, clippings and other printed material documenting works executed by the Kitsons, copies of speeches given at a monument dedication, and photographs of the Kitsons, their children, and their artwork. 

Photographs are of the Kitsons, their family, homes, studios, their work, and dedications of sculptures and monuments. The series includes copy prints, glass plate negatives, and various other vintage photographic formats.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds the Dorothy Cavanagh research material on Henry Hudson Kitson, 1888-1983. Additional Kitson letters also located at the New York Historical Society.