James Stillman letters relating to Homer Dodge Martin
name: label: Creator
content: Stillman, James, 1850-1918
label: Names
content: La Farge, Bancel, 1865-1938
label: Names
content: Martin, Elizabeth
label: Names
content: Martin, Homer Dodge, 1836-1897
topic: label: Topic
content: Art patronage
label: Topic
content: Art patrons
label: Topic
content: Art -- Economic aspects
label: Topic
content: Landscape painters -- New York (State)
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Six letters from Homer Dodge Martin were donated to AAA by Chauncey Stillman, grandson of James Stillman, in 1955 and 1959. Additional letters to Stillman from Martin, Elizabeth Martin, and Bancel La Farge, and from Martin to Mr. Van Loon, were donated by Mrs. P. S. Paine, grandaughter of James Stillman, in 1978.
creator: label: Creator
content: Stillman, James, 1850-1918
setName: label: See more items in
content: James Stillman letters relating to Homer Dodge Martin
abstract: label: Summary
content: The James Stillman letters relating to Homer Dodge Martin  measures 0.2 linear feet and consists of 28 letters and 2 pencil sketches dating from 1882-1898. Primarily from late-19th century painter Homer Dodge Martin and his wife, Elizabeth, to art patron and banker, James Stillman, the letters discuss consignment, exhibition and sale of Martin's artwork, his experiences painting while living in France, his financial struggles, and his physical and mental condition. Two pencil sketches by Martin are accompanied by a note dated 1884. Also found are 2 letters from Martin to Mr. Van Loon discussing payment for paintings and 2 letters to Stillman from Bancel La Farge concerning Stillman's purchase of a La Farge watercolor.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Banker and art patron James Stillman, was committed to promoting the artwork of landscape artist Homer Dodge Martin and providing financial investment in and practical assistance with the logistics of handling Martin's artwork over a period of at least 16 years.

Homer Dodge Martin (1836-1897) was born in Albany, New York. He studied briefly with James Hart and spent his summers during the 1860s in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the White Mountains, and painted landscapes from the sketches he made there in the style of the Hudson River school at his studio in New York City's Tenth Street Studio Building.

In 1876 he took his first trip to Europe and from 1882-1886 lived in Normandy, France in Honfleur and Villerville. There he was influenced both by the Barbizon school of painting and the Impressionists and his painting took on darker, more melancholy tones.

By 1897 Martin had returned to New York City and in 1893 Martin moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where, nearly blind, he painted one of his best-known works, Adirondack Scenery (1895) from memory.

Although never successful within his lifetime, within 2 years of his death Adirondack Scenery sold for $5500 and Harp of the Winds (1895) was aquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Martin's paintings can be found in the collections of other important American museums including the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Albany Institute of History and Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Martin became a member of the National Academy of Design in 1874 and in 1877 was one of the founders of the Society of American Artists.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1882-1898
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.stiljame
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sketches
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 1 series:

Series 1: James Stillman Letters Relating to Homer Dodge Martin, 1882-1898 (Box 1; 4 folders)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The letters were donated in 3 installments and microfilmed at some point after receipt on reels D9, D22 and 3742. All items were merged and fully processed by Stephanie Ashley in 2008, and digitized in entirety in 2009, with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The James Stillman letters relating to Homer Dodge Martin in the Archives of American Art were digitized in 2009.The papers have have been scanned in their entirety and total 85 images.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The James Stillman letters relating to Homer Dodge Martin measures 0.2 linear feet and consists of 28 letters from Martin and his wife Elizabeth to banker and art patron James Stillman documenting Stillman's financial and practical assistance to the Martin's through consignment, exhibition and sale of Martin's artwork. The letters provide insight into Martin's experiences painting while living in Honfleur and Villerville, France, his financial struggles, and his physical and mental condition. They also reveal Elizabeth Martin's efforts as advocate for her husband's work and reputation, and her dismay at his physical and mental decline due in part to lack of financial success.

Also found are 2 1884 pencil sketches by Martin, of a view in Honfleur; 2 letters from Martin to Mr. Van Loon discussing payment for paintings; and 2 letters to Stillman from Bancel La Farge concerning Stillman's purchase of a La Farge watercolor.

The collection contains no letters from Stillman.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: The Archives of American Art also holds the Thomas B. Clarke letters from or about Homer Dodge Martin, 1893-1897. Additional material relating to Homer Dodge Martin, including correspondence with Thomas B. Clarke and Elizabeth Martin, can be found in the Macbeth Gallery records.