American Academy in Rome, est. 1894

American Academy in Rome records, 1855-[ca.1981] (bulk dates 1894-1946)

34.1 linear ft. (microfilmed on 56 reels)
Reel(s): 5749-5800, ITRO 2-3, and ITRO 11-13

Correspondence, treasurers' records, officers' records, miscellaneous records, printed mater, legal documents, Board of Trustees committee minutes, staff records, rosters, photographs, and personal papers and ephemera.

REELS 5749-5750: Records of the predecessor institutions, the American School of Architecture in Rome, 1894-1898 and the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, 1895-1913. Includes Managing Committee records, correspondence, financial records, and printed matter from both schools. Among the papers is information concerning the reorganization of the two schools into the American Academy in Rome.

REELS 5750-5777: Records of the Board of Trustees consisting of legal documents, minutes, reports, committee records, officers' records, and records of individual trustees. Legal documents consist of by-laws and amendments, certificate of incorporation, and constitution and amendments. Records of Officers consist mainly of correspondence files and reports, with large numbers of transcriptions and carbon copies. Records of individual Trustees, 1902-1946 and undated, consist of material relating to official Academy business that was created or maintained by each in his capacity as trustee. Included are records of: Presidents Charles F. McKim, William R. Mead, Charles A. Platt, John Russell Pope, and James Kellum Smith; Vice Presidents Theodore N. Ely, George B. McClellan, and Henry James; Secretaries H. Siddons Mowbray (Secretary/Treasurer), Frank D. Millet, C. Grant La Farge, William B. Dinsmoor, and H. Richardson Pratt; and Treasurers William R. Mead, William A. Boring, Leon Fraser, and Lindsay Bradford; trustees Chester H. Aldrich, Gilmore D. Clarke, James C. Egbert, Barry Faulkner, Allan C. Johnson, William M. Kendall, C. Grant La Farge, Edward P. Mellon, Charles Dyer Norton, Charles A. Platt, John Russell Pope, Edward K. Rand, John C. Rolfe, James Kellum Smith, S. Breck Trowbridge, Ferruccio Vitale, John Quincy Adams Ward, Andrew F. West, and William L. Westerman. Many of these individuals also served as officers or staff of the Academy, and their records documenting those functions will be found in the appropriate series.

REELS 5777-5795: The New York office records consists of records of staff, rosters, printed matter, photographs, personal papers, Association of Alumni of the American Academy in Rome, and miscellaneous records. Records of staff include the office files of Executive Secretaries Roscoe Guersney, Meriwether Stuart, and Mary T. Williams; Librarian George K. Boyce; and Endowment Fund Campaign Secretaries Phillilps B. Robinson and Edgar I. Williams. Photographs are organized into the categories of works of art, people, buildings, places, events, and miscellaneous. Personal Papers, Memorabilia, and Ephemera were donated to the American Academy in Rome or otherwise left on its premises. None are official records generated by the institution. Included are: Ernest Lewis' photograph album/scrapbook; Allan Marquand's papers; Charles F. McKim's memorabilia, photographs, printed matter, and artifacts; Charles R. Morey's correspondence; and Elihu Vedder's Bible. Miscellaneous records are writings and architectural records. Writings consist of published and unpublished manuscript material about the American Academy in Rome and its history, and article by H. Siddons Mowbray advising on ornamentation, and text and illustrations for the Art and Archaeology issue on the Academy. Also included are fragments of unidentified letters. Architectural records [oversize] include property and floor plans of Villas Aurora, Chiaraviglio, Ferrari, and Ludovisi.

REELS 5795-5800: The Rome office records consist of records of staff and personal papers. Records of staff include the office files of Directors H. Siddons Mowbray, George Breck, Jesse Benedict Carter, Gorham Phillips Stevens, James Monroe Hewlett, Chester H. Aldrich, Amey Aldrich [Acting Director, very briefly, perhaps unofficially], Charles R. Morey, and Laurance P. Roberts; and records of two members of the School of Fine Arts faculty, Frank P. Fairbanks, Professor of Fine Arts, and Felix Lamond, Professor of Music. Also surviving are the personal papers of Director Gorham Phillips Stevens consisting of correspondence, financial records, and documentation of professional and charitable activities.

REELS ITRO 2-3 and 11-13: Annual reports, exhibition catalogues, a history of the American Academy in Rome, the American Academy in Rome at the World's Fair and the Golden Gate Exposition and newsletter.

Location of Originals: Reels ITRO 2-3 & 11-13: Originals in American Academy in Rome Rome, Italy.

Material on reels ITRO 3-4 & 11-13 were lent for microfilming at the Academy in 1965. Records of predecessor institutions, the Board of Trustees, and the New York office, including photographs and personal papers were donated 1982 by the American Academy in Rome, through Calvin G. Rand, president. An addition of Rome office records and personal papers of Gorham Philllips Stevens was donated by the Academy in 1990.

How to Use this Collection

• Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm.
• Microfilm reels 5749-5800, ITRO 2-3, and ITRO 11-13 available at Archives of American art offices and through interlibrary loan.
• Please read the Finding Aid for more detailed information on this collection.
• Selected images of documents in this collection are online.
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