Isidore Konti papers, 1879-1956

Collection Information

Size: 1.8 Linear feet, (on 3 microfilm reels); 1.3 Linear feet, Addition

Summary: Letters, award certificates, contracts, drawings, clippings, printed material, 2 scrapbooks, and photographs document Konti's sculpture projects.

Reel 1208: Photographs (1904-1936) show Konti, his family and his works of art. A scrapbook (1908-1928) contains photographs of works of art, clippings, and a letter to Konti's niece, Malvina Kaeyer, from Thomas Green requesting information about a Konti bronze he owns. Another scrapbook (1908-1956) contains a 1929 blueprint of Memorial Park, clippings, photographs of the Kelahan Memorial and the Spanish-American War Monument, and 2 exhibition catalogs (1938-1947).

Reels 1210-1211: Letters (1894-1949) concern sculpture projects and were written primarily by Konti's colleagues, including Karl Bitter, Elliott Daingerfield, Rudolf Eickemeyer, Daniel Chester French, Charles Keck, Hermon MacNeil, Paul Manship, Frederick G. R. Roth, and Adolph Weinman. Business materials include award certificates (1879-1956), contracts (1900-1929), copyright cards (1907-1911), receipts (1905-1926) from the Roman Bronze Works and records of sales (1913-1926). Art works consist of 92 drawings and a sketchbook. Printed materials include clippings (1928-1946), brochures on the Yonkers Art Association (1940) and exhibition and auction catalogs (1898-1940).

Unmicrofilmed: A 1902 letter from Karl Bitter concerns the fall exhibition. Other materials include account statements and receipts from the Gorham Company (1921-1937), the constitution and by-laws (1951) and a bulletin (1954) from the Hudson River Museum, a 1926 catalog on "Small Bronzes by Great Sculptors as Prizes" and six negatives of the Estelle Weaks Reilly Memorial.

Addition Unmicrofilmed Correspondence, certificates, photographs of works of art and people, newspaper clippings, three-dimensional sculpture of a profile 2" X 2", works of art on canvas board and photo albums, letters of condolence, biographical material [c. 1901- 1974].

Biographical/Historical Note

Sculptor. Born July 9, 1862 in Vienna, Austria, emigrated to New York City in 1892, eventually settling in Yonkers, N.Y., where he lived the rest of his life. Konti had studied in Vienna, under Edmund Von Hellmer and Karl Kundmann, and in Rome. Konti worked in the Beaux Arts tradition. In New York, he became an associate of Philip Martiny, a former student of Saint-Gaudens, who sent him to work on decorative models at the World's Columbia Exposition in Chicago. In 1904, Konti created the fountains of the Atlantic and Pacific for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. During the following decades, he established his reputation, befriending many of the significant sculptors of the early 20th century. Died Jan. 11, 1938, Etaples, France.

Provenance

The papers, originally lent for filming by the Hudson River Museum, were subsequently given by Konti's grandnephew, Richard E. Kaeyer. Loan material which was not part of the gift includes 2 oversize award certificates (Reel 1208:692 and Reel 1210:1351) and a biographical account (Reel 1211:570).

Language Note

Approximately half the letters from Frederick G. R. Roth are in German.

Location of Originals

• Location of originals unknown.