Collection Information
Size: 1 Linear foot
Summary: The papers of Massachusetts art patron, art collector and engineer Desmond Fitzgerald measure 1 linear foot and date from 1868 to 1927. The papers consist of 28 diaries, one account book, one exhibition catalog, and a photograph of Desmond Fitzgerald.
Biographical/Historical Note
Desmond Fitzgerald (1846-1926) was an art patron, art collector, and engineer based in Brookline, Massachusetts. He served on the boards of the Boston Public Library and the Copley Society. In 1913, Fitzgerald arranged to have the Armory Show come to Boston. His collection of mainly French and American impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, Dodge Macknight, and others became a kind of semi-public museum. Upon his death, the collection was sold at auction.
Provenance
Material on reel D177 was lent for microfilming in 1965 by Andrew Oliver, then returned to him. Material on reels 2774-2775 (the diaries, auction book, and exhibition catalog) was purchased in 1979 from an auction in New Hampshire by the dealers R. & D. Emerson of Falls Village, Connecticut. The Archives of American Art arranged to purchase them through a grant from the Hope Foundation of Providence, Rhode Island, a philanthropic organization founded by the Brown family. Fitzgerald was a cousin of John Nicholas Brown.
Related Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reel D177, including letters from Macknight to Desmond Fitzgerald, Boston critic, collector, dealer, and biographer of Dodge Macknight; press clippings concerning Macknight exhibitions; and letters to Fitzgerald from Isabella Gardner, Claude Monet, and John Henry Twachtman, mostly relating to Macknight. The original loaned materials on reel D177 were returned to the donor Andrew Oliver after microfilming and are not described in the container inventory.
Language Note
English .
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