Alma de Bretteville Spreckels papers, 1920-1978

Collection Information

Size: 0.6 Linear feet

Summary: The papers of San Francisco art patron and philanthropist Alma de Bretteville Spreckels measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1978. The collection focuses on Spreckels's founding of and service to the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and the Maryhill Museum of Fine Arts through correspondence, financial and legal records, meeting minutes, photographs, printed material, and registrarial records. Of note are Queen Marie of Romania's handwritten descriptions describing the provenance of her mementos and artifacts donated to the Maryhill Museum of Fine Arts.

Biographical/Historical Note

Alma de Bretteville Spreckels (1881-1968) was an art patron and socialite from San Francisco, California. Her early childhood was marked by near poverty but her fascination with art led her to studying at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art (San Francisco Art Institute). Alma worked as an artist model for artists such as Robert Aitken, and she was purportedly the inspiration for Aitken's Dewey Monument in San Francisco.

Provenance

The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Mrs. Dorothy Munn, daughter of Alma de Bretteville Spreckles, in 1980.

Language Note

English .

Funding Note

Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.