Collection Information

Size: 3500 items (on 6 microfilm reels)

Summary: Correspondence, business records and printed material primarily relating to activities of the Brooklyn Art Association. REELS N13-N17: Letters from American artists and others; business records; and printed matter relating to the Brooklyn Art Association. Many of the letters are addressed to H.R. Latimer, a curator at the Association, regarding exhibitions, receipt and return of work, etc. REEL N25: Publications, clippings, correspondence, etc. about planning a World's Fair in New York celebrating the centennial of George Washington's inauguration, 1889.

Biographical/Historical Note

Lawyer, collector; New York City. Treasurer of Brooklyn Art Association, 1862-1891, which later became the Brooklyn Academy of Music. At the time of his death, Ford possesed the most valuable private library collection in the U.S., which his sons donated to the New York Public library.

Provenance

Microfilmed 1956 by the Archives of American Art with other art-related papers in the Manuscript Division of the New York Public Library. Included in the microfilming project were selected papers of the Art Division and the Prints Division.

Location of Originals

• Originals in the New York Public Library, Manuscript Division.

Alternative Forms Available

Microfilm reels N13-N17 & N25 (frames 1171-1368) available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Restrictions on Access

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

How to Cite This Collection

Gordon Lester Ford papers, 1828-1889. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.