Everett Shinn collection, 1877-1959

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A Finding Aid to the Everett Shinn Collection, 1877-1958, in the Archives of American Art, by Jean Fitzgerald

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Table of Contents:

• Biographical Information
• Overview of the Collection
• How to Use the Collection
• Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Biographical Information

Everett Shinn (1876-1953) was a painter, muralist, illustrator, and theatrical scene designer who worked primarily in New York City. Shinn was a member of "The Eight," a group of painters known for their realistic portrayal of American urban life.

Everett Shinn was born on November 6, 1876 in Woodstown, New Jersey, the son of Isaiah and Josephiine Ransley Shinn. He attended Quaker schools until 1890 when he went to the Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia, studying engineering and industrial design until 1893.

Shinn enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts between 1893 and 1897. During this time he was hired as an artist-reporter for the Philadelphia Press, the Inquirer, and the Ledger. He also forged his friendships with painters George Luks, John Sloan, William J. Glackens, and Robert Henri, all future members of "The Eight."

Shinn moved to New York City in 1897 and quickly found employment as an illustrator for the newspaper The World. In 1898, he married Florence Scovel, the first of his four wives. In 1900, he traveled to England and France, and was later employed by Harper's Weekly. Shinn befriended decorator Elsie De Wolf and architect Stanford White, and designed and executed murals for the homes of their clients. Shinn created eighteen mural panels for David Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre that opened in 1907, and murals for the Council Room of the Trenton, New Jersey City Hall in 1911. His most notable murals were created for the Oak Room of New York's Plaza Hotel in the 1940s.

In 1908, Shinn participated in the seminal group exhibition of "The Eight" at Macbeth Gallery. In 1911, he was included in the Exhibition of Independent Artists, and was invited to send works to the International Exhibition of Modern Art, better known as the Armory Show, in 1913, but for an unknown reason, declined. Shinn exhibited regularly and his works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.

Throughout his career Shinn was fascinated by the theater and the act of performance, which he made the subject of many of his works. He also wrote, directed, and performed in his own plays. Between 1917 and 1920, Shinn worked as an art director for Sam Goldwin at Goldwyn Pictures. He also worked for Inspiration Pictures from 1920 to 1923, and for William Randolph Hearst at Cosmopolitan Pictures in 1923. He divorced Florence Scovel in 1912, and married Corinne Baldwin in 1913, with whom he had two children, Janet and Davidson. He divorced again in 1921, married Gertrude Chase in 1924, and divorced again in 1932. In 1933, Shinn married his fourth wife, Paula Downing; they divorced in 1942.

From 1935 to 1939, he covered a murder trial for the Boston Traveler, exhibited his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and won a prize for watercolor at an exhibition at the Chicago Art Institute. In the 1940s Shinn participated in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and at the American-British Art Center. In 1949, Shinn was made an Academician of the National Academy of Design, and in 1951, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Everett Shinn died on May 1, 1953 in New York City.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The collected papers of Everett Shinn measure 3.0 linear feet and date from 1877 to 1958. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with friends and colleagues; personal business records; art work, including two sketchbooks of designs for Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre; notes and writings, eight scrapbooks, printed material, and numerous photographs of Shinn, his colleagues, and his work.

Biographical material includes miscellaneous biographical accounts and a membership certificate from the American Watercolor Society. Correspondence consists of letters from Shinn's friends and colleagues, primarily from author Poultney Bigelow. There are also letters from decorator Elsie De Wolfe, dramatist Clyde Fitch, and artists Charles Dana Gibson, William Glackens, and George Luks whose letters are illustrated. There are scattered letters from A. Stirling Calder, Theodore Dreiser, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, Julia Marlowe, Claude Rains, Ruth Warrick, Alexander Woollcott, and Mahonri Young.

Personal business records consist of two account books recording art work used in publications and loaned for exhibitions, and miscellaneous invoices.

Art work consists of two sketchbooks of designs for the Stuyvesant Theatre murals, miscellaneous drawings by Shinn. Art work by others including H. B. Eddy, James Ben Ali Haggin, Colonel Hegan, Oliver Henfold, George Luks, and Philip Nolan, consist primarily of caricatures.

Notes and writings include notes for a book on art, poems, and typescripts by Shinn including "Plush and Cut Glass," a book about George Luks.

Eight scrapbooks primarily contain clippings. Scrapbook 2 contains clippings, exhibition catalogs, a note from Stuart Benson, an illustrated postcard from Ed, and scattered photographs. Additional printed material is primarily comprised of clippings, but there are also exhibition announcements and catalogs for Shinn, reproductions of art work, booklets, and miscellaneous printed material. Rare programs for plays written by Shinn list cast members including Wilfred Buckland, Edith Glackens, William J. Glackens, James Ben Ali Haggin, Robert Henri, J. E. Laub, Thomas Newell Metcalf, James M. Preston, Florence Scovel Shinn, and John Sloan.

Numerous photographs are found within the collection and depict Shinn as a boy, in various Philadelphia newspaper offices, in costume for stage performances, at the easel, and with colleagues including Robert Henri, John Sloan. Photographs of colleagues also include author Poultney Bigelow, decorator Elsie De Wolfe, portrait painter James Ben Ali Haggin, actress Julia Marlowe, and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts classmates William Glackens and Florence Scovel. There are also photographs of Shinn's residences, exhibition installations, set designs and stagings of plays, murals, and other art work.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged as 8 series:

• Series 1: Biographical Material, 1953 (Box 1; 2 folders)
• Series 2: Correspondence, 1899-1952 (Box 1, 4; 46 folders)
• Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1898-1928 (Box 1; 3 folders)
• Series 4: Art Work, 1893-1928 (Box 1, 4, OV 6; 7 folders)
• Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1922-1951 (Box 1; 9 folders)
• Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1898-1952 (Box 1, 2, 4, BV 5; 16 folders)
• Series 7: Printed Material, 1894-1958 (Box 2, 4; 19 folders)
• Series 8: Photographs, 1877-1950 (Box 2-4, OV 7; 1.3 linear feet)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

The bulk of the Everett Shinn collection was acquired via purchase from art dealer Thurston Thatcher between 1958-1964. Art collector Howard Lipman donated additional material in 1962. Five negatives of Shinn's work were donated in 1969 by Dr. Milton Luria, an acquaintance of Shinn's son, Davidson. The photograph of Everett Shinn, John Sloan, and Robert Henri was donated on an unknown date by an unidentified donor.

Separated and Related Materials

Additional Everett Shinn papers are available at the Helen Farr Sloan Library, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware.

How the Collection was Processed

Accessions were microfilmed upon receipt on reels D179, 441, 899, 950, 952-953, 1118, 2917, and 3471-3472. All accessions were merged, arranged, and described by Jean Fitzgerald in September 2009.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Everett Shinn collection is owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Available Formats

Portions of the collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels D179, 441, 899, 950, 952-953, 1118, 2917, and 3471-3472 at Archives of American Art offices, and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the current arrangement of the collection does not reflect the order of the collection on microfilm.

How to Cite this Collection

Everett Shinn collection, 1877-1958. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1953 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Biographical material consists of miscellaneous biographical accounts and a membership certificate from the American Watercolor Society.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1899-1952 (Box 1, 4; 46 folders)

Correspondence primarily consists of letters from Shinn's friends and colleagues including Poultney Bigelow, Elsie De Wolfe, Clyde Fitch, Charles Dana Gibson, William Glackens, and George Luks. There are scattered letters from A. Stirling Calder, Theodore Dreiser, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, Julia Marlowe, Claude Rains, Ruth Warrick, Alexander Woollcott, and Mahonri Young.

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1898-1928 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Personal business records consist of account books recording art work used in publications and loaned for exhibitions, and miscellaneous invoices.

Series 4: Art Work, 1893-1928 (Box 1, 4, OV 6; 7 folders)

Art work consists of two sketchbooks of designs for the Stuyvesant Theatre murals, miscellaneous drawings by Shinn and others including H. B. Eddy, James Ben Ali Haggin, Colonel Hegen, Oliver Henfold, George Luks, and Philip Nolan.

Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1922-1951 (Box 1; 9 folders)

Notes and writings include notes for a book on art, poems, and typescripts by Shinn including "Plush and Cut Glass," a book about George Luks.

Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1891-1908 (Box 1, 2, 4, BV 5; 16 folders)

Eight scrapbooks primarily contain clippings. Scrapbook 2 contains clippings, exhibition catalogs, a note from Stuart Benson, an illustrated postcard from Ed, and scattered photographs.

Series 7: Printed Material, 1894-1958 (Box 2, 4; 19 folders)

Printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Shinn, reproductions of art work, booklets, and miscellaneous printed material. Programs for plays list cast members including Wilfred Buckland, Edith Glackens, William J. Glackens, James Ben Ali Haggin, Robert Henri, J. E. Laub, Thomas Newell Metcalf, James M. Preston, Everett Shinn, Florence Scovel Shinn, and John Sloan.

Series 8: Photographs, 1877-1950 (Box 2-4, OV 7; 1.3 linear feet)

Photographs are of Shinn as a boy, in various Philadelphia newspaper offices, in costume for stage performances, at the easel, and with colleagues including Robert Henri, John Sloan. Photographs of colleagues also include author Poultney Bigelow, decorator Elsie De Wolfe, portrait painter James Ben Ali Haggin, actress Julia Marlowe, and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts classmates William Glackens and Florence Scovel. There are also photographs of Shinn's residences, exhibition installations, set designs and stagings of plays, murals, and other art work.