Alexander Robertson James papers
name: label: Creator
content: James, Alexander, 1890-1946
label: Names
content: James, Frederika Paine
topic: label: Occupation
content: Portrait painters
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New Hampshire
label: Topic
content: Gesso
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: A bound volume containing thirty-seven letters from William James to his youngest son, Alexander James, one letter from his mother, Alice Howe Gibbens James, and eleven postcards were lent for microfilming by Michael James, the son of Alexander James, and returned in 1986. The bulk of the microfilmed material and additional papers were donated in 1986 by Michael James.
creator: label: Creator
content: James, Alexander, 1890-1946
setName: label: See more items in
content: Alexander Robertson James papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Alexander Robertson James papers measure 3.9 linear feet and date from circa 1885-1986. They illustrate his career through biographical materials, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed and photographic materials, and artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Alexander Robertson James (1890-1946) was a painter who worked primarily in Dublin, New Hampshire. 


James was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts as Francis Temple Tweedy James to philosopher William James and was the nephew of noted writer Henry James. He studied at the Boston Museum School under Frank W. Benson, before marrying Frederika Paine in 1916 and moving to California. While in California James was met with many portrait commissions, however after two years he moved to Dublin, New Hampshire under the suggestion of his mentor Abbot Thayer in 1918. In 1925 he had his name officially changed to Alexander Robertson James. Later in life he dropped the Robertson and became Alexander James. 


During the depression, the family moved to Paris, France in 1929 before moving again to the suburb of Ville d'Avrey. In 1930, the family returned to Dublin and in 1931 James took a reprieve of one year to live in Richmond, New Hampshire to paint portraits. From 1930 to 1937, James focused on portrait painting and his most famous works include George de Forest Brush and Portrait of a Professor. James remained in Richmond, where his wife and three children visited on weekends, until returning to Dublin in 1942. In the last years of his life, he built a studio behind his Dublin home which was completed in 1945. James would die soon after. 


James is also well known for his impressionist inspired landscapes and genre scenes and was a long time exhibitor at the Art Institute of Chicago as well as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. He was a member of the Century Association and today his works can be seen at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Fine Art in Missouri.


Alexander Robertson James died of a heart attack on February 26, 1946.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1885-1986
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.jamealex
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection consists of seven series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1916-1937 (.1 Linear feet: Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1893-1983 (1.7 Linear feet: Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1907-1955 (.2 Linear feet: Box 2)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1912-1978 (.8 Linear feet: Box 3)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1916-1986 (.1 Linear feet: Box 3)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1885-1986 (.5 Linear feet: Boxes 3-5)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1897-1940 (.5 Linear feet: Boxes 4-6)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared, by Allessandra Liberati in 2023.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 3828 and 4195-4201 at the Archives of American Art offices 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: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Alexander Robertson James papers measure 3.9 linear feet and date from circa 1885-1986. Biographical materials include several passports for Alexander and Frederika James, a marriage certificate, and a family genealogy. Correspondence is to and from James and is with family and professional colleagues. Writings include several diaries by James, his mother, and Frederika, as well as a notebook containing descriptions of his gesso technique, Frederika's notes on her husband's paintings, and an account of the family's time in Paris. Personal business records consist of James' name change application and certificates and his last will and testament, as well as files regarding commissions, various exhibitions, and multiple expense legers. Also included are art valuations by an insurance company and records of art sales. 


Printed material contains exhibition catalogs, various art publications, and news clippings. Photographic material includes photographs of James and his family, his studio, and his artwork, as well as a photograph album of William James and other family members. There are also two albums of exhibition photographs, and photographs of two sketches, one by John Singer Sargent and one by Barry Faulkner. Artwork includes various loose sketches, five sketchbooks, an oil portrait of James' father, three watercolors of Giverny, France, three pigment studies, and sketches of James.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also hold, on microfilm reel 3828 only, a bound volume containing thirty-seven letters from William James to his youngest son, Alexander James, one letter from his mother, Alice Howe Gibbens James, and eleven postcards.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel 4195) including original letters from William James (1842-1910) to Alexander James. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.