Andrew Dasburg and Grace Mott Johnson papers, 1833-1980, bulk 1900-1980

The small amount of biographical material found here includes Johnson family documents, such as list of births, as well as a draft of Grace Mott Johnson's will from 1912 and her brief biography for the publication "Leading Women of America." Legal documents include Johnson family property deeds and a legal agreement regarding Johnson's living accommodations while in Egypt. Also found are her Art Students' League membership card and three exhibition labels for her art work at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Items are arranged chronologically within each folder.

Eighty years of Johnson's general correspondence primarily consists of personal letters with friends, family, and fellow artists. There is also a substantial amount of correspondence with her son, Alfred Dasburg. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1906 to 1919.

Because Alfred spent most of his childhood living in Taos with his father, Andrew Dasburg, or away at school or camp, Johnson's correspondence with her son provides very candid and detailed accounts of her daily activities. The letters discuss her current artwork, news from her friends and relatives, and her travels, including her stay in Taos, New Mexico in 1919. Also included are numerous letters written during her stay in a mental hospital from 1937 to 1938. Many of her later letters to Alfred include reminiscences of her youth and extensive self-analysis.

General correspondence with other family and friends is extensive and most often discusses social events, news of family and friends, and other daily activities of the writer. Family correspondence includes numerous letters between Johnson and her siblings, especially her brother Van Cleve Johnson. Grace Mott Johnson corresponded with numerous painter and sculptor friends whom she met at the Art Students' League and in Woodstock, New York. Some of these include Marion Bullard, Russell Cowles, John F. and Margaret Carlson, Florence Ballin Cramer, Florence Lucius, Walter Frankl, Lila Wheelock Howard, with whom she shared a studio for a period of time, Thomas Hunt, Henry Lee McFee, Morgan Russell, Mary Riley, Lee Simonson, Lindsey Morris Sterling, and Alice Morgan Wright. Johnson was also close friends with the Davidson family, and found here is her correspondence with the sculptor Jo Davidson and his two sisters Ray and Rose. Other notable correspondence is with friend Vera Spier Kuhn, wife of artist Walt Kuhn, art patron Mable Dodge Luhan, journalist John Reed, gallery owner William Macbeth, and her psychiatrist Abraham Brill. Also found is a small amount of correspondence documenting Johnson's civil rights activities, including letters from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

This subseries also includes the correspondence of Frances H. Johnson, Grace Mott Johnson's aunt, also known as Aunt Fanny, with whom she was very close. Found here are postcards and letters from family and friends as well as numerous letters between Frances and Grace Mott Johnson, including several detailed letters from Grace describing her time in Taos.

See Appendix B for a select list of correspondents from Series 2.2.

Found here are writings by Grace Mott Johnson and others. Writings by Johnson include two brief autobiographical writings describing her early life, such as living on a farm, her interest in art, and her art education. Also found is a diary giving an account of her daily activities for one week in 1904, various handwritten recipes and menus, and several issues of "The Johnson Monthly" a home-made magazine written by Grace and her siblings and illustrated by Grace. Of particular interest is a writing entitled "Two Weeks in New Mexico," Johnson's detailed account of her stay in a cottage belonging to Mabel Dodge Luhan in Taos, New Mexico, their attempt to attend an Indian dance, and her interaction with Andrew Dasburg while there. Additional miscellaneous writings by Johnson include poems, writings about civil rights, loose diary-style writings in which she expresses her thoughts on her early life and experiences with psychoanalysis, notes, lists, and other writing fragments, some of which may be draft letters. Writings by others include a draft of an address on natural history given by her relative John Van Cleve, poetry by others, and an essay "Shall Women Vote?" by an unidentified author. Items are arranged chronologically within each folder.

A small amount of financial material includes receipts for the delivery or casting of Johnson's sculptures and for the purchase of art supplies. Miscellaneous financial records primarily include account statements. Items are arranged chronologically within each folder.

Printed material includes a booklet containing essays on religion, an announcement for the exhibition of Johnson's artwork, and various news clippings of articles on the exhibition of her artwork and her civil rights activities. Miscellaneous printed material includes clippings of published poems and song lyrics by others and two Ringling Bros. Circus route schedules. Items are arranged chronologically within each folder.

Found here are photographs of Grace Mott Johnson, her family, friends, and artwork. Photographs of Johnson include a portrait of her as a small child and portraits of her as a young woman, as well as photographs of her in Yonkers, New York, on Monhegan Island in Maine, and in Taos, New Mexico. Also found are nude photographs of Johnson at the beach and bathing in a river, and photographs of her with her son Alfred. Photographs of Johnson with friends include a tintype of her with the artists Jo Davidson and Florence Lucius, another photograph of her with Lucius, with her friend and fellow artist Lila Wheelock Howard, with fellow artists Edward McCartan, Walter Frankl, and Carl Illava, and dining with various friends including the artist Henry Lee McFee. Also found here are a few photographs of other friends and family, and photographs of her artwork. Additional photographs of Johnson with Andrew Dasburg and others are found in Dasburg's papers, Series 1.5. Photographs are arranged by subject and chronologically within each folder.

This subseries contains artwork by Grace Mott Johnson, including loose drawings and two sketchbooks. Loose drawings include pen and ink drawings of horses and illustrations of animals and landscapes in pencil and charcoal for "The Johnson Monthly," a home-made magazine created by Johnson and her siblings. The sketchbook dating from circa 1901 to 1902 contains charcoal and pencil drawings of animals, landscapes, and other designs. The sketchbook from circa 1911 includes two pencil sketches of her son Alfred Van Cleve Dasburg, as well as drawings of animals and preliminary sketches for her sculptures. Items are arranged chronologically within each folder.