Henry Bacon papers
name: label: Creator
content: Bacon, Henry, 1839-1912
label: Names
content: Bacon, Lee Andrews, 1861-
label: Names
content: Beaumont
label: Names
content: Berne-Bellecourt, E.
label: Names
content: Carolus-Duran, 1837 or 8-1917
label: Names
content: Chevillard, Vincent
label: Names
content: Chialiva, Luigi, 1841-1914
label: Names
content: Clairin, Georges, 1843-1919
label: Names
content: Dupain, Edmond-Louis, 1847-1933
label: Names
content: Gonzales, Antonio
label: Names
content: Heilbuth, Ferdinand
label: Names
content: Lemaire, Madeleine-Jeanne Coll, 1845-1928
label: Names
content: Merson, Luc Olivier, 1846-1920
label: Names
content: Olivie, Leon
place: label: Place
content: Egypt -- description and travel
topic: label: Occupation
content: Artists -- France -- Paris
label: Occupation
content: Authors -- France -- Paris
label: Occupation
content: Landscape painters
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- United States
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 1987 by Nancy N. Brecht, the grandniece of Henry Bacon and granddaughter of Bacon's brother, Earle.
creator: label: Creator
content: Bacon, Henry, 1839-1912
setName: label: See more items in
content: Henry Bacon papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and writer Henry Bacon date from 1849-1931 and measure 1.9 linear feet.  The collection documents Bacon's career and travels through France and Egypt.  Included are biographical materials, correspondence, writings by Bacon and others, scattered business records, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, eight sketchbooks and additional sketches.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Painter and writer, Henry Bacon (1839-1912) spent much of his career and life in France and Egypt.  He is best known for his watercolor depictions of Egyptian desert scenes.  

Henry Bacon was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1839.  During the Civil War, ee enlisted in the Union Army  and served as corporal in Company D, 4th Battalion of Rifles of the 13th Massachusetts Regiment. Also during the war, he worked as a field artist for Leslie's Weekly.  He suffered an injury at the Second Battle of Bull Run and was discharged in 1864.  That same year, he married Lizzie Lord and moved to France.  The couple settled in Paris where Bacon studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Alexandre Cabanel.  He spent many summers in Étretat, France--a subject he painted and wrote about in his bookÉtretat:  Hamlet of the Setting Sun.  

After the death of Lizzie Lord, Bacon married Louisa Lee Andrews.  In the 1890s, Henry and Louisa spent their time split between London and Egypt.  It was during this time that Bacon produced his many watercolor scenes of the desert, the Nile River, and of the Egyptian people.  Henry Bacon died in Cairo in 1912.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1849-1931
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.bacohenr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1:  Biographical Material, 1864-circa 1930 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 2:  Correspondence, 1849-1931 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 3:  Writings and Notes, 1875-circa 1912 (Box 1-2, 5; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 4:  Personal Business and Financial records, 1864-1871 (Box 2; 2 folders)

Series 5:  Printed Material, 1882-1931 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6:  Scrapbooks, 1866-1923 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7:  Photographs, circa 1862-circa 1930 (Box 3-5; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 8:  Artwork and Sketchbooks, 1864-1912 (Box 4-5; 0.4 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The Henry Bacon papers were arranged and microfilmed upon receipt on reels 4040 and 4041.  In 2013, the collection was fully processed, arranged and described by Jayna Josefson and digitized with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of this collection was digitized in 2013 and is available via the Archives of American Art's website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter and writer Henry Bacon date from 1849-1931 and measure 1.9 linear feet.  The collection documents Bacon's career and travels through France and Egypt.  Included are biographical materials, correspondence, writings by Bacon and others, scattered business records, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, eight sketchbooks and additional sketches. 

Scattered biographical materials include an address book, a photo identification card, genealogical material, and autobiographical notes and resumes.  The bulk of correspondence is in French written by French artists included in Bacon's book Parisian Art and Artists, including Beaumont, E. Berne-Bellecourt, Vincent Chevillard, Luigi Chialiva, Georges Clairin, Edmond Dupain, Carolus Duran, Antonio Gonzalez, Ferdinand Heilbuth, Madeleine Lemaire, Luc Oliver Merson, and Leon Olivie. Also found is correspondence between Louisa Lee Bacon with museums and institutions concerning her husband's art. 

Writings and notes contain short stories, personal accounts, and poems by Henry Bacon, as well as a biographical work on Bacon by Louisa Bacon, and unsigned poems in French.  Manuscripts of Bacon's books are not found. 

Scattered personal business records include a sales record notebook, an expense journal, and a lease.  Printed materials consist primarily of clippings, a few exhibition catalogs, a copy of Bacon's book Étretat:  Hamlet of the Setting Sun, and printed images of works of art. Two scrapbooks document Bacon's career as an artist through clippings, photos, exhibition catalogs, and announcements.  

Photographs include portraits and snapshots of Bacon and his wife, travel photos used as reference, and photos of works of art.  Artwork by Bacon includes eight sketchbooks, watercolor sketches, and pen and ink sketches.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: Also found in the Archives are three sketchbooks lent by Nancy C. Brecht for microfilming on reels 4040-4041.  The scrapbooks are not described in the container listing of this finding aid but are available for viewing in Archives of American Art offices and via interlibrary loan.