I have been researching F. (Frederic) Edwin Church (1876–1975) for over twenty years. Until I met my late husband, a grandson of the artist, I belonged to the scores of people who had never heard of this “other” Frederic Edwin Church. When I began the F. Edwin Church (1876–1975) Online Catalogue Raisonné Project, it was with a sense of determination and urgency. Older generations of his family were leaving us, and with them, firsthand impressions of the artist were being lost. As a relatively forgotten artist, and before the advent of the internet, it was nearly impossible to find information on him. His family’s recollections, and the paintings and papers they kept, helped me form the basis of his history. Further research on my part in libraries and institutes, and online, served to greatly expand that history, especially his exhibition records. Determined that he not slip through the cracks of history, I decided to take on his catalogue raisonné. Little did I know what that would entail, but it is a gratifying, challenging pursuit and is especially rewarding when one of his paintings is located. Placing Church’s papers at the Archives of American Art has also been part of this work.

Researching Fred is very difficult due to the confusion of having the same name as the Hudson River artist, Frederic Edwin Church (1828–1900) and the large accumulation of information available about that artist. F. Edwin Church’s father, Elihu Dwight Church, knew the Hudson River artist and simply named his fourth son in honor of him. In order to distinguish himself from the other artist Fred ultimately chose to sign his works, F. Edwin Church. The name duplication always impedes research, which makes the gift of artist’s papers his granddaughter, Mary S. Grothe, had inherited all the more important.

The donation of Church’s papers in November 2021 was done literally as a death bed promise I made to Mary, who gave the papers to me shortly before she died. They were precious to her—a link to a beloved person in her life. As I was developing the idea of creating the catalogue raisonné, Mary and I searched for his artwork and discussed plans for the future of materials she stored. They needed to be in a place they would be appreciated, protected, and accessible. The papers were nearly lost forever after the artist’s death as his estate was hastily dispersed. In the 1970s, Mary was a professional photographer, becoming one of the leading trackside photographers of motorcycle road racing in the country. She ran the business from home. When her grandfather died in 1975, she was allowed to choose her allotment from his estate. She selected several of his paintings, a few pieces of furniture, and some file cabinets that she thought would be useful for keeping her business organized. When the items were delivered, to her surprise, the file cabinets were filled her grandfather’s papers. Had she not randomly selected those cabinets, it is likely that everything would have ended up in the landfill—years later the papers also narrowly missed being destroyed in a house fire in which some of his paintings were lost. Unforeseen circumstances such as these underscore the importance of having the papers stored securely at the Archives. Living in the Northern Virginia area, Mary agreed that the Archives would be the most logical and beneficial place to donate her collection. The papers she had carefully preserved over forty-five years cover a broad selection of subjects about her grandfather and include photographs she took of him in his early nineties—including a portrait of him at his easel painting a floral arrangement.

Many items in the collection will help give an overview of Fred’s life and career. For genealogists, his papers contain an extensive family tree showing, as Church had always claimed, that his family was not related to the Hudson River School artist. There is also a January 16, 1923, letter from Frederick Stuart Church (1842–1924) with a note on family branches. On the theme of name identity, there are letters where he refutes people’s inquiries into his lineage.

Historians will enjoy looking at the ornate WWI certificate he received for serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the New York City military forces. Certificates for life memberships in the New York Zoological Society and the American Museum of Natural History confirm Church’s fascination with the natural world. Another worth mentioning is from New York’s Department of Public Instruction for his father who taught art in the public schools and was a painter himself until he took over the family business, Church & Dwight. Like his father, Fred also belonged to the Grolier Club. While his father collected books on Americana, Fred pursued collecting Japanese prints which would influence some of his works. A handwritten list, written in response to a question from his granddaughter Mary about which famous artists he knew and were his friends, and a selection of Christmas cards demonstrate his relationships with other artists including Harry Hoffman, William Glackens, Charles Bittenger, Everett Warner, Knowles Hare, Wallace Morgan, and others. There is also a note from Clark Vorhees on his election to life membership in the Lyme Art Association.