Mollie Garfield papers, 1874-1883

Collection Information

Size: 0.2 Linear feet

Summary: The Mollie Garfield papers measures 0.2 linear feet and date from 1874 to 1883 and consist primarily of an album of 26 signed pencil sketches, ink drawings, and watercolors of various subjects by American painters and illustrators, including James Carter Beard, Harry Fenn, William Henry Holmes, Joseph Pennell, and others. Also found are a few items of correspondence and notes regarding the album and the artists, and a few scattered miscellaneous documents from the 1870s.

Biographical/Historical Note

Mary "Mollie" Garfield (1867-1947) was born in Washington, D.C. to James A. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph Garfield. She was 14 when her father became President of the United States in January, 1881. On July 2, James Garfield was shot at Union Station in Washington, D.C. and Mollie and her mother were present when he died of his wounds on September 19. Mollie Garfield's education included Miss Mittleberger's School in Cleveland, Ohio and one semester at Miss Porter's Finishing School in Farmington, Connecticut. She lived with her mother at the Garfield family home, Lawnfield, in Mentor, Ohio until her marriage in 1888 to Joseph Stanley-Brown, who had been her father's private secretary. She died in Pasadena, California at the age of 80.

Provenance

The collection was donated in 1970 by Mrs. Herbert (Ruth) Feis, daughter of Mollie Garfield.

Related Materials

The Mary Garfield Stanley-Brown papers, 1881-1967, are located at the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

Language Note

English .

Digitization Note

The papers of Mollie Garfield (later Mary Garfield Stanley-Brown) regarding her father, President James Garfield in the Archives of American Art were digitized in 2007. The papers have been scanned in their entirety, and total 66 images.

Funding Note

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.