Emma Yard Ivins
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Ivins, William Mills, 1881-1961
setName: label: See more items in
content: William Mills Ivins papers
label: See more items in
content: William Mills Ivins papers / Series 5: Ivins Family Papers
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1878-1940
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.ivinwill, Subseries 5.4
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: Emma Yard Ivins (1857-1940) was the mother of William M. Ivins, Jr. She was an amateur photographer whose work was exhibited at the turn of the century. She was active in the woman's suffrage movement from circa 1900 to 1915. She was sometimes addressed as Nem or Bammie.

Correspondence between William M. Ivins, Jr., and his mother, Emma Yard Ivins, is extensive and wide-ranging. Included are letters from boarding school, c. 1890-1897, with childhood memorabilia such as grade reports, homework papers, a silhouette, and printed programs from school concerts and athletic events. His letters written while an undergraduate at Harvard, 1897-1901, and during his European trip of 1901-1902, reflect a growing interest in art. During some periods, mother and son corresponded almost daily. He frequently wrote in detail about progress with work, news of the museum, opinions about art, and activities of friends and colleagues, as well as commenting on daily life at home.

Material relating to the woman's suffrage movement includes letters from Susan B. Anthony, with a photographic portrait and a printed silhouette. Also included are letters from Ida Husted Harper and Anna H. Shaw. In addition, there is miscellaneous printed matter and undated impressions of the suffrage movement in England by an author unknown.

Miscellaneous records include Christmas lists; constitution and by-laws of the Wednesday Afternoon Club, with lists of officers and programs since its establishment in 1888; a certificate from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation; and clippings about Emma Yard Ivins.

Letters from relatives include those from James S. Y. Ivins [son]; Katharine Ivins [daughter]; Margaret Ivins Holmes and Jonathan Holmes [daughter and grandson]; Sarah Mills Ivins [mother-in-law]; William M. Ivins, Jr. [son]; and William M. Ivins, Jr., and Florence Wyman Ivins [son and daughter-in-law].