Edwin Ambrose Webster papers
name: label: Creator
content: Webster, E. Ambrose (Edwin Ambrose), 1869-1935
label: Names
content: Armory Show (1913: New York, N.Y.)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art teachers -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were donated in 1974 by the wife of Mrs. Webster's nephew, Mrs. Karl F. Rodgers. Additional materials were donated by Mrs. Rodgers in 1975.
creator: label: Creator
content: Webster, E. Ambrose (Edwin Ambrose), 1869-1935
setName: label: See more items in
content: Edwin Ambrose Webster papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1821 to 1968. Found within the papers are biographical material; business and personal correspondence; writings; teaching and research files, including information on Webster's participation in the 1913 Armory show; printed material; artwork; and photographic materials of Webster, his family and friends, and his work.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster (1869-1935) lived and worked in Provincetown, Massachusetts and was known for his vibrant landscapes and for opening the first modernist art school in Provincetown.

Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Webster began his art studies at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts under Frank Benson and Edmund Tarbell, where he received a three year scholarship to study abroad at the Academie Julian. There, he studied under Jean Laurens and Jean-Joseph Constant and was awarded several additional student prizes for his work. Upon his return, Webster established himself as a founding member of the burgeoning art colony in Provincetown, opening his Summer School of Art in 1900, which he operated for the next thirty five years. 

Alongside his teaching duties, Webster continued to develop a modernist style and was invited to exhibit in the 1913 Armory Show. In 1918, he traveled to France to study Cubism under Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, and upon his return to Provincetown, began incorporating these techniques into his paintings as well as into his lectures and classes. As an active organizer within the art colony, Webster helped to found the Provincetown Art Association in 1914 and served as its director from 1917 to 1919. In 1916, he also hosted the first exhibition of the woodblock carving group, the Provincetown Printers, at his studio. Webster died at his Provincetown home in 1935.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1821-1968
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.webse
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1821-1930 (5 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1900-1940 (2 folders; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, 1910-1930 (3 folders; Box 1)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1930-1933 (5 folders; Box 1)

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1911-1939 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 5-6)

Series 6: Artwork, 1890-1930 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, Artifacts 4, 7)

Series 7: Photographic Materials, 1875-1930 (8 folders; Box 1)

Series 8: Karl Rodgers Research Files, 1940-1968 (6 folders; Box 1)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Materials received a preliminary level of arrangement after receipt and portions of the collection were microfilmed onto reels D30 and 866. All accessions were merged and the collection was processed, described, and prepared for scanning by Judy Ng in 2016 with funding provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2016 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Materials which have not been scanned include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates. In some cases, exhibition catalogs and other publications have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1821 to 1968. Found within the papers are biographical material; business and personal correspondence; writings; teaching and research files, including information on Webster's participation in the 1913 Armory show; printed material; artwork; and photographic materials of Webster, his family and friends, and his work.