Charles E. Feinberg collection of artists letters
name: label: Creator
content: Feinberg, Charles E., 1899-1988
label: Collector
content: Austin, Ben W.
label: Names
content: Gill, James Dwyer, 1849-1937
topic: label: Occupation
content: Businesspeople -- Michigan -- Detroit
label: Topic
content: Autographs -- Collections
label: Topic
content: Collectors and collecting
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was lent for microfilming in 1968 by Charles Feinberg, an active donor and friend of AAA. Fifteen of the letters microfilmed were subsequently bought at auction by AAA in 1968, including one letter from Cox, three from Fielding, three from Johnson, five from Sargent, and two from West. All except for one (Johnson) have been remicrofilmed and cataloged individually. Feinberg also donated additional letters to AAA during the 1950s and 1960s; these have been cataloged separately.
creator: label: Creator
content: Feinberg, Charles E., 1899-1988
setName: label: See more items in
content: Charles E. Feinberg collection of artists letters
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Charles Feinberg collection of artists letters dates from 1800 to 1930. Artists include Albert Bierstadt, Timothy Cole, Kenyon Cox, Rembrandt Peale, Joseph Pennell, John Sartain, Elihu Vedder, and many others. Also included is an artist autograph collection collected by Ben Austin, Esq. Many of the letters are addressed to James D. Gill, a gallery owner whose gallery suffered a fire, regarding the status of paintings and offering condolences.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Charles Feinberg was a businessman and a book and manuscript collector in Detroit, Michigan and Florida.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Microfilm reel
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1800-1930
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.feinchar
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Microfilm reels
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the pre-existing microfilm arrangement, the collection is arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was microfilmed on Reel D316 and was returned to Charles Feinberg after filming. The microfilm was described in a finding aid by Jayna Josefson in 2025 and the microfilm was digitized in 2025 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collections Information System (CIS) IRM Pool Fund.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection has been microfilmed on reel D316. The microfilm has been digitized and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Originals were returned to Feinberg after microfilming. All were subsequently sold at auction by Parke-Bernet, sale no. 2676, April 2-3, 1968.

Fifteen letters were purchased from the auction by the Archives of American Art from the Parke-Bernet sale. Included are letters from Cox (1/2/19), Fielding (3/23/31-4/29/31), Johnson (5/10/46 and undated), Sargent (1/19/87, 3/13, 5/24, 7/25, and undated), and West (1812, and 4/15/15): Originals in Archives of American Art, Washington, D.C..
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Charles Feinberg collection of artists letters dates from 1800 to 1930. Artists include Albert Bierstadt, Timothy Cole, Kenyon Cox, Rembrandt Peale, Joseph Pennell, John Sartain, Elihu Vedder, and many others. Also included is an artist autograph collection collected by Ben Austin, Esq. Many of the letters are addressed to James D. Gill, a gallery owner whose gallery suffered a fire, regarding the status of paintings and offering condolences.