F. Luis Mora papers
name: label: Creator
content: Mora, F. Luis (Francis Luis), 1874-1940
label: Names
content: Armory Show (1913: New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Lotos Club (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904: Saint Louis, Mo.)
label: Names
content: National Academy of Design (U.S.)
label: Names
content: Salmagundi Club
label: Names
content: Compton, Sophia
label: Names
content: Downes, William Howe, 1854-1941
label: Names
content: Stribling, T. S. (Thomas Sigismund), 1881-1965 (Birthright)
label: Names
content: Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 (Man that corrupted Hadleyburg)
place: label: Place
content: Spain -- description and travel
topic: label: Occupation
content: Illustrators
label: Occupation
content: Painters
label: Topic
content: Mural painting and decoration
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Muralists
label: Topic
content: Hispanic American artists
label: Topic
content: Painting, American
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The F. Luis Mora papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Cornelia Colton, the daughter of Mora's second wife, May Safford, in 1975. Additional papers were donated in 2008 by Gwen Compton, Mora's niece.
creator: label: Creator
content: Mora, F. Luis (Francis Luis), 1874-1940
setName: label: See more items in
content: F. Luis Mora papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and illustrator F. Luis Mora measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1986, with the bulk of material dating from 1891 to 1922. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, 242 monthy pocket diaries by Mora, and printed and photographic materials.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Francis Luis Mora (1874-1940) was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. In 1877, he and his family moved to Catalonia, Spain and in 1880, they moved again to the United States where they eventually settled in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Both his father, Domingo, and his brother, Joseph, were also noted sculptors.

Mora studied at the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and at the Art Students League of New York. He was a muralist, oil and watercolor portrait painter, and etcher, though he is best known for his illustrations in magazines such as Century, Harper's, and Ladies' Home Journal. He was a member of the Salmagundi Club and the National Academy of Design and taught at the Art Students League of New York and the Chase School of Art. He and his wife, Sophia ("Sonia") Compton, had a daughter, Rosemary, in 1918. After his wife's death, Mora married May Gosman Safford in 1932. Mora died at the age of 64 in 1940.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.7 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1891-1986
label: Date
content: bulk 1891-1922
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.moraflui
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Illustrated letters
label: Type
content: Christmas cards
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Awards
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: The collection is arranged as 5 series. Records are generally arranged alphabetically by subject. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa early 1900s (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1900-1969 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Series 3: Writings, 1899-1922 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1895-1986 (Boxes 1-2 and OV 3; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographic Materials, 1891-1941 (Box 2, MGP 1, MGP 2; 0.4 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information note
content: The collection was processed by Eden Orelove in 2011 and fully digitized in 2012 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives were re-housed in 2015 with a grant from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies note
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2012 and is available via the Archives of American Art's website. Blank pages, duplicates, and blank versos of photographs have not been scanned. In most cases, the cover, title page, and individual relevant pages have been scanned from published materials.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Illustrated letters
label: Genre/Form
content: Christmas cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Awards
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: The papers of painter and illustrator F. Luis Mora measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1986, with the bulk of material dating from 1891 to 1922. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, 242 small monthly pocket diaries by Mora, and printed and photographic materials.

Biographical material includes one folder containing Mora's Rothschild Prize certificate.

The correspondence is primarily with galleries regarding sales, the value of artwork, and Mora's murals for the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. There is also correspondence with Mora's family and friends regarding his personal life and a family vacation in Cadiz, Spain. The collection also includes two Christmas cards, several illustrated letters and two invitations to Mora's solo art shows. Some of the correspondence is to and from Mora's first wife, Sophia Compton.

The majority of the writings consists of 242 monthly pocket diaries, which contain brief daily entries and some sketches. Mora writes about his work, memberships in the Salmagundi Club and the National Academy of Design, and teaching at the Art Student League. He also discusses his ideas about painting and his observations of the art scene, including his visit to the 1913 Armory Show. Also included is a handwritten "Editorial" by Mora, probably for election to the Lotos Club.

Printed material includes clippings, brochures, programs, advertisements, exhibition catalogs, books, and magazines. Two books, The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Essays and Stories, by Mark Twain (1917), and Birthright, by T.S. Stribling (1922), both illustrated by Mora, are included, along with over a dozen magazines containing illustrations by Mora.

Photographs include black and white photographs and glass plate negatives of Mora, family and friends, students, and artwork. Black and white pictures of Mora's artwork include his "Thine is Glory" mural (1919), the "National Academy Jury of 1907" painting (1907) and an etching of his daughter, Rosemary. Glass plate negatives are of his first wife, Sophia Compton, her mother Emma, Mora's father Domingo, the painting "Dance of Salome" (1893), Mora's brother-in-law Alfred Compton, his Boston Museum and Chase School of Art classes, and the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company, where Mora's father worked.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Archival Materials note
content: Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are the F. Luis Mora Art Works and Photographs (available on microfilm reel 5053) and a F. Luis Mora Letter to William John Wittemore (available on microfilm reel D30, frame 534.)