Collection Information

Size: 0.4 linear ft. (45 items on partial microfilm reel)

Summary: Primarily letters written by Brimmer to Sarah Wyman Whitman, written from London, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere, and referring to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and to contemporary artists such as George Fuller, John LaFarge, William Morris Hunt, John Singer Sargent, and James A. McNeill Whistler. In addition, there are letters from Henry Lee Higginson, Owen Wister, and other friends of Brimmer, referring to Brimmer's death; and a letter from Phillips Brooks to Sarah Wyman Whitman.

Biographical/Historical Note

Brimmer was a collector and first president of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Sarah Wyman Whitman was a Boston painter and patron of the arts, born in Baltimore in 1842. She died in Boston in 1904.

Provenance

Donated 1956 by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston via Mrs. Haven Parker, an Assistant in the Department of Paintings. The Museum owns several paintings by Whitman.

Additional Forms Available

Microfilm reel D32 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Restrictions on Access

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

How to Cite This Collection

Martin Brimmer letters, 1880-1896. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.