Correspondence, Abbott H. Thayer to Clara A. May
name: label: Creator
content: Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921
label: Creator
content: Thayer, Gerald Handerson, 1883-1939
label: Names
content: May, Clara Adelaide, 1872-1946
label: Names
content: Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921
label: Names
content: Thayer, Gerald Handerson, 1883-1939
label: Names
content: Thayer, Gladys, 1886 or 7-1945
label: Collection Creator
content: Brumbaugh, Thomas B. (Thomas Brendle), 1921-
topic: label: Topic
content: Art, American
creator: label: Creator
content: Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921
label: Creator
content: Thayer, Gerald Handerson, 1883-1939
setName: label: See more items in
content: The Brumbaugh Collection of Artist Letters
bioghist: label: Abbott Handerson Thayer
content: Abbott Handerson Thayer was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 12, 1849 to a distinguished family. He moved from Boston to Brooklyn during his childhood, where he attended the National Academy of Design. Thayer often used his wife, Kate Bloede Thayer, her sister Gertrude, and his three children Mary, Gerald and Gladys as models. He also used Clara A. May as a model. His subjects included ethereal angels, landscapes, women, children, and flowers. When Kate died, Thayer's entire outlook on art and life changed. It had been Kate's family that introduced Thayer to the sense of idealism that comes from a German family who had immigrated to the United States. He had learned about the romanticism surrounding art and literature from the Bloedes, all of which encouraged the artist to paint perfectly beautiful figures. Later in life, Thayer established a permanent household in Dublin, New Hampshire, with his new wife, Emma Beach. He loved to paint the surrounding mountains and birds. Interestingly, Charles Lang Freer was one of Thayer's patrons.
label: Clara May
content: Clara May was one of Thayer's models. May met Thayer at the summer colony of Dublin in New Hampshire, where the two families were neighbors. Their friendship lasted around ten years, but this friendship withered following May's marriage to Reverend Paine. Following her marriage, May no longer worked as a model for Thayer.
label: Gerald Thayer
content: Gerald Thayer was one of Abbott Thayer's sons, who wrote an unfinished thank you letter to May which was sent along with Abbott's letter.
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1890-1899 May 25
container: label: Container
content: Box 1, Folder 2
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Correspondence
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Letters written by Abbott H. Thayer to his model and friend, Clara A. May. Also included is a thank-you letter from Thayer's son, Gerald, to May.