John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915

This series contains photographs of John White Alexander, friends and associates, family members, studios, places, exhibitions, and works of art.

Dozens of formal portraits are found depicting Alexander, many taken by notable photographers, including Zaida Ben-Yusuf, Aimé Dupont, Curtis Bell, Elizabeth Buehrmann, and several signed Miss Huggins, who may have been Estelle Huntington Huggins, a New York painter and photographer. Also found are photographs made in the well-known studios of Pach, Sarony, and George Rockwood. Portraits of others include Alexander's friends William Merritt Chase and Edward Austin Abbey.

Groups portraits depict Carnegie Founders' Day, the Metro Club, and the National Academy of Design. Juries include the Carnegie International Exhibition, the National Academy of Design, and one group identified as both the Academy jury and the last meeting of the Paris Society of American Artists.

Annotations are found throughout the series, in what appears to be either John White Alexander's or Elizabeth Alexander's handwriting. Mrs. Alexander's annotations in particular sometimes contradict information found in the photograph itself, or on other photographs of the same subjects. Contradictory annotations are particularly common among jury, studio, and personal photographs, and photographs of works of art.

Photographs of Alexander's studios include spaces in New York City; Paris; Sea Bright, New Jersey; and Onteora, New York; Alexander is pictured in some of the studios. Also found are photographs of the Alexander Memorial Studio built at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire after Alexander's death, several of which were taken by photographer Jesse Tarbox Beals. See Awards and Memorials for more images and documentation of the MacDowell studio.

Individuals identified in personal photographs include Alexander, Katherine Beatty, Ed Moran, Thomas S. Clarke, and Alexander's son, James. Also pictured here is Alexander with portraits painted at the Cowan residence in Scotland circa 1900, and Alexander in a mummy costume circa 1903-1904. Numerous photographs of unidentified children appear to have been taken in Alexander's Paris studio. Photographs of Polling, Bavaria show scenic views and architectural details.

Photographs of works of art span Alexander's career and are sometimes annotated with titles, dates of execution, and often owners. Note that annotations are sometimes contradictory. Photographs of paintings are arranged in broad chronological groups, with approximate dates noted in parentheses in the folder listing. These dates have not been verified, however, and many paintings are undated.

Original glass negatives are found for several personal photographs, photographs of studios, and photographs of works of art. Several of the negatives of works of art are retouched and numbered in the original. Recent prints have been made from the original negatives are filed along with vintage prints. Note that recent prints of paintings have been cropped to the picture frame and do not show the negative images in their entirety.

Additional photographs are found in Awards and Memorials, Artwork, and Scrapbooks. The bulk of this series has been scanned. Items not scanned include photographs of artwork, and duplicate photographs. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Glass plate negatives have been digitized.