Charles Keck papers
name: label: Creator
content: Keck, Charles, 1875-1951
label: Names
content: Calder, Alexander Stirling, 1870-1945
label: Names
content: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907
label: Names
content: Weinman, Adolph A. (Adolph Alexander), 1870-1952
topic: label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was loaned for microfilming, and the bulk of it was later donated, between 1962-1972 by Anne C. Keck, widow of Charles Keck.
creator: label: Creator
content: Keck, Charles, 1875-1951
setName: label: See more items in
content: Charles Keck papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of New York City sculptor Charles Keck (1875-1951) measure 8.6 linear feet and date from circa 1905-circa 1954. The papers provide scattered documentation of Keck's life through thirteen letters, two speeches, lists of artwork with price and sales information, printed material, and photographic material, including photos of Keck and his studio, and a collection of 1003 glass plate negatives, primarily of Keck's artwork, which document the wide range of work he produced throughout his prolific career.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: New York City sculptor Charles Keck (1875-1951) was known for his statuary and relief sculpture, including military and presidential statues, busts, and memorials, medal relief sculpture, and memorial tablets. 

Keck was born in New York City, and began his art training at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York. He also worked in the studio of Augustus Saint-Gaudens from 1893-1898. In 1899 he won the Prix de Rome and studied sculpture at the American Academy in Rome from 1901-1904. On returning to the United States in 1905, he opened a studio in New York City, from which he worked for the remainder of his life.

Keck's most famous works include a figure of Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee, Alabama (1922), a seated figure of Abraham Lincoln at Wabash, Indiana (1926), a statue of World War II chaplain, Father Francis D. Duffy in Times Square, New York (1937), and equestrian statues to Andrew Jackson in Kansas City (1934) and Independence (1949), Missouri. His relief work included designs of state medals, seals, and coins, memorial tablets such as his USS "Maine" tablet, and friezes for the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Bronx Building in New York. 

Keck received many awards during his career, including the Annual Gold medal for Sculpture of the Architectural League of New York (1926), and was a member of professional art organizations including the National Academy of Design, the National Sculpture Society, the American Federation of Arts, and others.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1905-circa 1954
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.keckchar
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as two series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1920-circa 1954 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Photographic Material, circa 1905-circa 1948 (8.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-22)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The papers in the collection received a preliminary level of processing after donation, between 1962 and 1972, and were microfilmed on Reels D105, 439, 441, and 2068. The glass plate negatives were re-housed in 2015 by Anna Rimel with a grant provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. 

The collection was processed and described in a finding aid by Stephanie Ashley in 2018, and the collection was digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and The Walton Family Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2019 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Materials which have not been digitized include blank pages, the full text of a publication, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates including copy prints of glass plate negatives.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of New York City sculptor Charles Keck (1875-1951) measure 8.6 linear feet and date from circa 1905-circa 1954. The papers provide scattered documentation of Keck's life through thirteen letters, two speeches, lists of artwork with price and sales information, printed material, and photographic material, including photos of Keck and his studio, and a collection of 1003 glass plate negatives, primarily of Keck's artwork, which document the wide range of work he produced throughout his prolific career.

Keck's thirteen letters include two from Alexander Stirling Calder and one from Homer Saint-Gaudens. His lists of artwork include details of contracts, payments, and prices.

Photographs include Keck, his wife, Anne Keck, two photos from a circa 1920 Beaux Arts ball, photographs of Keck at work in his studio, including one taken at the American Academy in Rome, three group photographs of Keck, Adolph Weinman, Milton Horn, and others, and photos taken at the unveiling of Keck's monument in Raleigh, North Carolina, that include President Harry S. Truman and Margaret Truman.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel D105) including scrapbooks containing clippings, speeches, photographs, and some correspondence. Items were returned to the donor after microfilming and are not further described in the container listing of this finding aid.