American Academy in Rome records, 1855-2012

Records of staff include the office files of executive secretaries Roscoe Guersney (reels 5777-5787), Meriwether Stuart (reels 5787-5788), and Mary T. Williams (reel 5788); librarian George K. Boyce (reel 5788); and endowment fund campaign secretaries Phillilps B. Robinson (reel 5788) and Edgar I. Williams (reel 5788-5789).

The executive secretary, based in New York, handled nearly all routine administrative matters. Records of this office (8 linear feet) are mainly those of Roscoe Guernsey (7.33 linear feet), who held the post from 1919 to 1946; they represent the most extensive and comprehensive set of files among all of American Academy in Rome records. Prior to 1919, this type of information is found among the records kept by the Secretary and, to a slightly lesser extent, the president. Records of two later executive secretaries, Meriwether Stuart and Mary T. Williams, are less comprehensive (each 0.33 linear feet).

Other staff records are those of the librarian (2 folders) and endowment fund campaign secretaries (0.25 linear ft.). Although the library and its staff are based in Rome, records of George K. Boyce (former fellow in classical studies who was appointed librarian in 1939) are placed with those of the New York office staff because they are from the period when the academy was closed during the Second World War and all correspondence concerning library matters was addressed to him at the academy's New York office.

This subseries (0.75 linear feet, reels 5789-5790) consists of printed forms filled out by fellows and visiting students indicating biographical information, academic and professional background, and dates in attendance. Many include attachments, usually letters, requesting a recommendation or verification of attendance, with occasional news clippings. The correspondende indicates that these files were maintained simultaneously by the secretary and executive secretary, probably as a reference file. Some forms, especially those from the period when the institution was the American School of Architecture in Rome, are copies made many years later and contain the notation: "Please fill out and return. May 1, 1914."

Printed matter (5.2 linear feet, reels 5790-5794) includes material produced by the academy and material produced by others relating to the academy. Items produced by the academy include that which relates to the academy in general, and that which relates specifically to the School of Classical Studies and the School of Fine Arts. Material relating specifically to the School of Classical Studies includes annual announcements, the consolidation agreement, a directory, fellowship announcements and applications, lecture announcements, newsletters, and brochures about summer sessions. School of Fine Arts printed matter includes annual announcements, concert programs, exhibition checklists and catalogs, fellowship announcements and application forms, a history, and newsletters.

Printed matter produced by others consists of three scrapbooks of news clippings and photographs compiled by the American Academy in Rome, extensive clipping files, and articles from miscellaneous publications. All of these items are about the American Academy in Rome, or are by or about individuals associated with the institution. Also included is a poster for Leave Courses offered at the Academy for U. S. servicemen.

Appendix A: American Academy in Rome Printed Matter, 1911-1964 lists printed matter loaned for microfilming in 1965.

These records (0.66 linear feet, reel 5795) were donated to the American Academy in Rome from various sources or otherwise left on its premises. None are official records generated by the institution and some predate 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.

Ernest Lewis, fellow in architecture, was at the American Academy in Rome, circa 1908-1911. Little is known of him other than that he practiced architecture in New York. The Ernest Lewis scrapbook, included in this subseries, includes photographs of Lewis and his fellow students (many identified, most likely at a later date), circa 1908-1911; interior views of Mirafiore and Lewis in Egypt; photographs of architectural renderings and drawings of architectural details (some by Lewis, others unsigned); clippings and printed matter about architecture, including illustrations of a prize-winning work, and articles about French architects Constant Désiré Despradelle and Jean Louis Pascal; photographs and reproductions of architectural renderings of Roman buildings and entries in various architectural competitions; a McKim, Mead & White label [possibly a bookplate]; a reprint from The Technology Review, November 1912, of an article about Constant Désiré Despradelle; "Rome Letter," 1913 and undated, by George S, Koyle, Fellow in Architecture, American Academy in Rome; and an article about Jean Louis Pascal from Journal of the American Institute of Architects, circa 1913.

Allan Marquand (1853-1924) was professor of art history and archaeology at Princeton University, from 1883 until his death in 1924. Between 1896 and 1897 he served as a professor in the School of Classical Studies in Rome. From approximately 1909 to 1923, he chaired the annual meeting of the Committee on Medieval and Renaissance Studies of the Archaeological Institute of America, a committee which originated in the School of Classical Studies. Papers relating to Marquand and included in this subseries were given to the American Academy in Rome by Miss Lucy Shoe, who had received the materials from the Marquand family.

Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), after studying at Harvard, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and working in the offices of H. H. Richardson, in 1879 formed the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White. After meeting other architects and artists at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and discussing with them the advantages of studying art in Europe, McKim proposed the idea for a school in Europe for American artists. From this plan emerged the American School of Architecture in Rome which eventually became the American Academy in Rome. In addition to being a founder, McKim served as trustee, treasurer, and president; in the early days, McKim's determined service and financial help were responsible for the institution's continued existence. Acquisition documents relating to McKim's files are contained in this subseries and include an itemized list of the gift, labeled as follows: "Documents, property of Mr. McKim, which were brought from Mr. Smith's office by Mr. Dolan (21/8/47) to be left with record in A.A.R. office (in small black case in closet)." Items 10, 11, 12 (case of drawing instruments, 18" ruler, and sketch by unknown artist) were not among the materials received from the American Academy in Rome by the Archives of American Art.

Charles R. Morey (1877-1965) was a professor of art and archaeology at Princeton University, a fellow at the American School of Classical Studies in Rome in 1903, and professor of classical studies at the American Academy in Rome from 1925 to 1926. From 1945 to 1947, Morey served as Acting Director, and later Director of the American Academy in Rome. Morey's correspondence is included in this subseries.

Mural painter Elihu Vedder (1836-1923), a resident of Rome, was affiliated with the firm of McKim, Mead and White during a stay in America from 1897 to 1898. Nothing is known of the circumstances under which the Elihu Vedder Bible, included in this subseries, became the property of the academy.

Records of the Association of the Alumni of the American Academy in Rome (1.5 linear inches, reel 5795) consist of a small number of scattered records including correspondence, fellows' war/government service information (compiled by Sidney Waugh), membership lists, and a newsletter.

Miscellaneous records consist of writings and architectural records. Writings consist of published and unpublished manuscript material about the American Academy in Rome and its history. Two files relate to a 1922 issue of Art and Archaeology issue on the American Academy in Rome. The School of Fine Arts Section file consists of an outline indicating it was to feature articles by G. P. Stevens, F. P. Fairbanks, P. H. Manship, and Russell Cowles. The file includes the text of Stevens's article, Rome Preeminently the Center for the Advanced Study of Architecture, with illustrations; photographs of "Diogenes, detail of a composition called `The Philosophers' by Ezra Winter, Fellow in Painting of the American Academy in Rome;" and photographs of Greco-Roman sculpture to illustrate Manship's article. The School of Classical Studies Section file includes The School of Classical Studies manuscript by G. M. Wicher with illustrations, including a portrait of Tracy Peck (1838-1921), Director of the American School of Classical Studies in Rome and the school library at Via Vicenza. It also includes the manuscripts, with illustration of Literature, History and Religion, by Nelson G. McCrea, Archaeology, by A. W. Van Buren, and Publications and Museum, by C. Densmore Curtis (including a view of the Museum of the American Academy in Rome and photographs of individual items in its collections).

Architectural records [oversize] include property and floor plans of the Villas Aurora, Chiaraviglio, Ferrari, and Ludovisi.