Collection Information

Size: 1.0 linear ft. (on 2 microfilm reels)

Summary: Financial and business records relating to various commissions, including the decorative work on the S.S. America, the S.S. United States, and Grace Line ships Santa Rosa and Santa Paula; the mural decoration of the World War II battle monument in Draguignan, France; the decorative map in the Boston Federal Reserve Bank; and the spandrel sculpture on the barracks at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

Biographical/Historical Note

Sculptor, mural painter, craftsman, and educator; Litchfield, Conn. Studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Academie Julian, Paris, the American Conservatory, Fontainebleau, and studied fresco painting independently in Italy.

Provenance

Provenance unknown.

Alternative Forms Available

Microfilm reels 112 & 113 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Restrictions on Access

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

How to Cite This Collection

Austin Purves papers, 1939-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.