TABLE OF CONTENTS
Series Descriptions/Container Listing
Biographical Material, 1910-1950, undated
Financial Material, 1899-1934, undated
Notes and Writings, 1888-1949, undated
American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks File, 1914-1925
Anna Coleman Ladd
A Finding Aid to the Anna Coleman Ladd Papers, 1881-1950, in the Archives of American Art
by Jean Fitzgerald
January 2006
- Contact Information
- Reference Department
- Archives of American Art
- Smithsonian Institution
- Washington. D.C. 20560
- www.aaa.si.edu/askus
Collection Overview | ||
| Creator: | Anna Coleman Ladd | |
| Title: | Anna Coleman Ladd papers | |
| Dates: | 1881-1950 | |
| Abstract: | The collection measures 4.2 linear feet, dates from 1881-1950, and documents the career of sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd. Found within the papers are biographical material, letters, diaries, financial material, notes and writings, art work, a file concerning the American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs. | |
| Extent: | 4.2 linear feet | |
Administrative Information
Provenance
The Anna Coleman Ladd papers were donated in 1991 by William Terry on behalf of Robert Edwards, a friend of Anna Coleman Ladd.
Processing Information
The papers were processed by Jean Fitzgerald in December 2005.
Preferred Citation
Anna Coleman Ladd papers, 1881-1950. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Anna Coleman Ladd papers are 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.
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Index Terms | ||
| This collection is indexed in the online catalog of the Archives of American Art under the following index terms. People, families and organizations are listed under "Subjects" when they are the topic of collection contents and under "Names" when they are creators or contributors. | ||
| Subjects: | ||
| American Red Cross -- Studio for Portrait Masks (Paris, France) | ||
| Subjects-Topical: | ||
| Architectural sculpture | ||
| Portrait sculpture | ||
| Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston | ||
| Women authors -- Massachusetts -- Boston | ||
| Women sculptors -- Massachusetts --Boston | ||
| World War, 1914-1918 -- France -- Paris | ||
| Types of Materials: | ||
| Photographs | ||
| Scrapbooks | ||
| Sketchbooks | ||
| Sketches | ||
| Works of art | ||
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Biographical Note
Born in 1878 in Philadelphia to John and Mary Watts, Anna Coleman Ladd (née Watts) was educated in private schools and Europe. She also studied in American under Charles Grafly.
She moved to Boston in 1905 and married Boston pediatrician Maynard Ladd. Working in her studio on Clarendon Street, Ladd became one of the city's most prolific sculptors, creating fountain pieces, portrait busts, memorials, and reliefs in addition to authoring two novels, Hieronymus Rides in 1912, and The Candid Adventurer in 1913.
Between 1907 and 1915 Ladd had solo exhibitions at the Gorham Gallery in New York, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and at the Pennsylvania Academy in Philadelphia. She was also invited to exhibit her bronzes at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. In 1914 she executed a bronze statuette of Eleanora Duse for which the actress posed, and later completed portrait busts of Anna Pavlova and Ethel Barrimore.
In late 1917 in Paris, Ladd founded the American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks to provide cosmetic masks to be worn by men who had been badly disfigured in World War I. Her services earned her the Légion d'Honneur Crois de Chevalier and the Serbian Order of Saint Sava.
For many years, Ladd maintained a summer studio "Arden" at Beverly Farms in Manchester, Massachusetts. In 1923, she received an honorary degree of Master of Arts from Tufts College.
Anna Coleman Ladd died June 3, 1939 in Santa Barbara, California.
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Scope and Content Note
The papers of sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1881 to 1950. Found within the papers are biographical material, scattered letters primarily from family members and friends, diaries containing brief daily annotations, financial material including miscellaneous receipts and an account book for her husband Dr. Maynard Ladd, notes and writings including notebooks on various subjects and typescripts for Ladd's book Hieronymus Rides, art work by Ladd and others, scrapbooks containing photographs, typescripts, and clippings, miscellaneous printed material, and photographs of Ladd, her family, friends, and art work. There is also a file concerning the American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks containing letters, notes and writings, a scrapbook, and photographs documenting Ladd's creation of cosmetic masks to be worn by soldiers badly disfigured during World War I.
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Arrangement | ||
The collection has been organized into 10 series. All series are arranged chronologically. Oversized material from various series has been housed in Box 6 (Sol) and OV 7, and is noted in the Series Descriptions/Container Listing section at the appropriate folder title with see also/see references. | ||
| Series 1: Biographical Material, 1910-1950, undated (Box 1; 4 folders) | ||
| Series 2: Letters, 1895-1937, undated (Box 1-2; 1.1 linear feet) | ||
| Series 3: Diaries, 1903-1912 (Box 2; 2 folders) | ||
| Series 4: Financial Material, 1899-1934, undated (Box 2; 6 folders) | ||
| Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1888-1949, undated (Box 2, 6, OV 7; 44 folders) | ||
| Series 6: Art Work, 1901-1928, undated (Box 2, 6, OV 7; 8 folders) | ||
| Series 7: American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks File, 1914-1925 (Box 2-3, 6; 12 folders) | ||
| Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1900-1940 (Box 3; 17 folders) | ||
| Series 9: Printed Material, 1889-1942, undated (Box 3, 6, OV 7; 55 folders) | ||
| Series 10: Photographs, 1881-1932, undated (Box 4-6; 49 folders) | ||
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Series Descriptions/Container Listing
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1910-1950, undated (Box 1; 4 folders) |
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This series includes biographical and genealogical notes for Anna Coleman Ladd and the Ladd family. There are also membership and award certificates. |
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Box |
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| 1 | CallingCards, undated | ||||||||
| Biographical Accounts, 1930-1950, undated | |||||||||
| Genealogical Notes, undated | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous Certificates, 1910-1929 | |||||||||
Series 3: Diaries, 1903-1912 (Box 2; 2 folders) |
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The diaries contain brief annotations describing Ladd's daily activities. The diary dated 1903-1905 also contains a list of relief sculpture. The other diary has a hand-worked suede cover, and primarily annotates daily activities in 1911. There is also a page of annotations describing activities dating from January 20 to 27, 1912, with an additional page listing names. |
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Box |
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| 2 | Diary, 1903-1905 | ||||||||
| Diary, 1911-1912 | |||||||||
Series 4: Financial Material, 1899-1934, undated (Box 2; 6 folders) |
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Financial material consists of receipts for the sale of art work and for travel, stock certificates for the Alliance Oil Company, and a promissory note and account book relating to Maynard Ladd's medical practice. |
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Box |
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| 2 | Promissory Note from Maynard Ladd, 1899 | ||||||||
| Travel Receipts, 1903-1917 (2 folders) | |||||||||
| Sales Lists and Receipts for Art Work, 1911-1929, undated | |||||||||
| Stock Certificates for the Alliance Oil Company, 1924 | |||||||||
| Accounts Book for Dr. Maynard Ladd, 1934 | |||||||||
Series 6: Art Work, 1901-1928, undated (Box 2, 6, OV 7; 8 folders) |
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Art work consists of sketchbooks, drawings, and a small plaster relief sculpture by Anna Coleman Ladd. Art work by others includes a drawing of Mademoiselle Monnier by E. Briant, a watercolor sketch by E. Hunter, and a cut-out silhouette of a woman. |
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Box |
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| 2 | Sketchbook 1, undated | ||||||||
| Sketchbook 2, 1902 | |||||||||
| Drawings by Anna Coleman Ladd, 1902-1905, undated (2 folders) | |||||||||
| Art Work by Others, 1901-1928 | |||||||||
Box |
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| 6 (sol) | Oversized Anatomical and Architectural Drawings by Anna Coleman Ladd, undated | ||||||||
| Plaster Relief Sculpture by Anna Coleman Ladd, undated | |||||||||
Box |
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| OV 7 | Oversized Pages of Tracings, undated | ||||||||
Series 7: American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks File, 1914-1925 (Box 2-3, 6; 12 folders) |
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This series contains material relating to Ladd's services to aid soldiers badly disfigured during World War I. Ladd established a studio in Paris in which she fashioned cosmetic masks to be worn by soldiers with terrible facial wounds. The notes and writings include a small notebook of price lists for sculpture. The scrapbook contains letters, clippings, and photographs of Maynard Ladd in the trenches and of disfigured soldiers both with and without their masks. |
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Box |
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| 2 | Letters, 1919-1925 | ||||||||
| Notes and Writings, undated | |||||||||
| Scrapbook, 1914-1923 (7 folders) | |||||||||
Box |
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| 3 | Printed Material, 1916-1918 | ||||||||
| Photographs, undated | |||||||||
Box |
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| 6 (sol) | Oversized Photographs, undated | ||||||||
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1900-1940 (Box 3; 17 folders) |
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Scrapbook 1 primarily contains photographs, clippings, and postcards showing works of art and architecture. Scrapbook 2 contains photographs of Ladd and her work, notes and writings, and clippings. Scrapbook 3 contains photographs of art work, typescript "Jesus and the Sleeping Child," a booklet, and clippings. |
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Box |
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| 3 | Scrapbook 1, 1900 | ||||||||
| Scrapbook 2, 1913-1940 (9 folders) | |||||||||
| Scrapbook 3, 1923-1936 (7 folders) | |||||||||