Isabel Lydia Whitney papers
name: label: Creator
content: Whitney, Isabel Lydia, 1884-1962
label: Names
content: Simmons, Dawn Langley
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn
label: Occupation
content: Designers -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Decorative arts
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women designers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were lent for microfilming 1985 by Robert P. Coggins and returned after filming.
creator: label: Creator
content: Whitney, Isabel Lydia, 1884-1962
setName: label: See more items in
content: Isabel Lydia Whitney papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter Isabel Lydia Whitney date from circa 1890 to 1973. Found are notebooks containing lists of works of art, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a mixed-media scrapbook, a photograph album, examples and reproductions of works of art, photographs, and scattered letters.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: New York City painter and designer Isabel Lydia Whitney (1878-1962) was known as the first female fresco painter in the United States. 

After studying at the Pratt Institute, Whitney used Cennino Cennini's fifteenth-century book on fresco painting as a guide to devise her own fresco formulas that could better endure the harsh New York climate. Her career as a fresco painter ended after a fall but she continued to paint in watercolors and oils. Whitney decorated homes of the famous, restored old houses, and designed wallpaper, including restoration of the Williamsburg prints. Her work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum, Fifteen Gallery, Pen & Brush Club, and elsewhere.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Microfilm reel
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1890-1973
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.whitisab
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Microfilm reels
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the pre-existing microfilm arrangement, the collection is arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was microfilmed on Reel 3615 and was returned to Robert P. Coggins after filming. The microfilm was described in a finding aid by Jayna Josefson in 2025 and the microfilm was digitized in 2025 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Information System (CIS) IRM Pool Fund.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection has been microfilmed on reel 3615. The microfilm has been digitized and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Originals returned to Robert Coggins after microfilming.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter Isabel Lydia Whitney date from circa 1890 to 1973. Found are notebooks containing lists of works of art, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a mixed-media scrapbook, a photograph album, examples and reproductions of works of art, photographs, and scattered letters including from Dawn Langley Simmons.