1. Search and Browse Collections
  2. Chester Beach papers, 1846-1999, bulk 1895-1999
  3. Series 5: Correspondence , 1875, 1933-1996

Chester Beach papers, 1846-1999, bulk 1895-1999

Creator

Occupation

Make a Request

  • To request an appointment to view materials, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reading Room" button. Please note, you will receive the full box.
  • To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.
Select containers from the following list if you want to request them for reading room use or reproduction

Series 5: Correspondence , 1875, 1933-1996
0.5 Linear feet
Box 3

With the exception of a nineteenth century letter addressed to a relative of Mrs. Beach, most letters are addressed to Chester Beach's widow and their daughter, Eleanor Beach Fitchen. Many mention Chester Beach. Estate correspondence and related documents, created mainly by the sculptor's daughter, Eleanor Beach Fitchen, concern efforts to exhibit or sell Beach's remaining work and maintain his reputation.
The series is arranged as 2 subseries. Project files (Series 2) contain the majority of Beach's professional correspondence. General business correspondence is filed among his business records (Series 3), and additional correspondence is found in volumes 1 and 2 of the scrapbooks (Series 8). A few Christmas cards (Series 5) contain notes from friends.
  • 5.1: Family Correspondence, 1875-1996
  • 5.2: Estate Correspondence and Related Documents, 1956-1999
This series has been scanned in its entirety.

5.1: Family Correspondence, 1875-1996

The 1875 letter to George Murdock from Mame relays news of family and friends. Among the small number of letters to Mrs. Beach is one from Walker Hancock reminiscing about their days at the American Academy in Rome.
Letters to Eleanor Beach Fitchen are mostly from friends, and one from each of her sisters; several mention her father.
Description Container
Murdock Family Letter, 1875
3
4
Letters to Mrs. Chester Beach (Eleanor Hollis Murdock Beach), 1944-1963
3
5
Letters to Eleanor Beach Fitchen ("Toto"), 1933-1996
3
6

5.2: Estate Correspondence and Related Documents, 1956-1999

Estate correspondence and related documents were created mainly by Chester Beach's daughter, Eleanor Beach Fitchen; also found are a very small number of letters addressed to or from her mother and sisters. Mrs. Fitchen acted as the estate's sales agent, ran the Chester Beach Memorial Studio, sought exhibition opportunities, and worked to maintain her father's reputation.
Letters from Brenda Kuhn to Eleanor Beach Fitchen concern estate management and relate some of what she learned from handling the estate of her father, Walt Kuhn. The letters include ideas and advice about exhibitions, the Memorial Studio, and the Beach Centennial.
A letter from sculptor Walker Hancock, filed with "Letters, Miscellaneous," contains advice about posthumous castings. "Studio Building, 207 East 17th Street" contains a letter from the great-granddaughter of sculptor William Couper, who sold the property to Beach around 1913; Mrs. Fitchen's reply relates the building's history, as she recalls being told by her parents.
Description Container
Article Proposals Declined, 1968
3
7
Centennial of Beach's Birth, 1981
3
8
Consignments, 1956-1965
Inlucdes the Gorham Company, James Graham and Sons, Grand Central Art Galleries, and Purnell Art Gallery.
3
9
Curators/Scholars/Writers, 1977-1994
3
10
Exhibition Proposals and Gifts Declined, 1963-1969
3
11
Exhibitions
"The Armory Show 50th Anniversary Exhibition," Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute and Henry Street Settlement, 1962-1963
3
12
"The Figure in American Sculpture," Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991-1995
3
13
"Fresh Air Sculpture," National Sculpture Society at America's Tower, 1995-1996
3
14
"Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition," C. W. Nelson Nursery, Sandisfield, MA, 1998-1999
3
15
"Sculptors of United States Coins," Chase Manhattan Money Museum, 1968
3
16
Gifts of Sculpture, 1964-1997
3
17
Letters from Brenda Kuhn, 1962-1971
3
18
Letters, Miscellaneous, 1968-1998
3
19
Photograph Requests and Reproduction Permissions, 1985-1986
3
20
Requests for Corrections, 1960-1996
3
21
Research
Commissions (1908-1951), Prizes, Sales (photocopy), circa 1960s
3
22
Lists of Sculpture, Available Work, Photographs, 1956-1968
3
23
Notes, circa 1960s-1990s
3
24
Sales Card Index (1919-1961), circa 1961
3
25
Sales
Chester Beach Sculpture, 1965-1987
3
26
Eleanor Beach Paintings, 1965-1970
3
27
Not Completed, 1964-1966
3
28
Pending, 1965-1969
3
29
Studio Building, 207 East 17th Street, 1959-1986
3
30

Make a Request

  • To request an appointment to view materials, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reading Room" button. Please note, you will receive the full box.
  • To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.