Worthington Whittredge papers, circa 1840s-1965, bulk 1849-1908

Collection Information

Size: 2.2 Linear feet

Summary: The papers of landscape painter Worthington Whittredge measure 2.2 linear feet and date from the 1840s to 1965, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1849 to 1908. This small collection documents Whittredge's career as a painter, particularly his years in Europe from 1849 to 1859, through biographical materials, a manuscript of his autobiography, news clippings, catalogs, six sketchbooks and numerous drawings and paintings. Also found are two photographs of Whittredge and a nineteenth-century photo album containing photographs of 32 famous artists.

Biographical/Historical Note

Thomas Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910) was born in 1820 in Springfield, Ohio. Receiving very little formal education, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio at the age of 17 to serve as an apprentice house and sign painter. A few years later, in his early twenties, he briefly ran a daguerreotype studio in Indianapolis, Indiana, and worked as a portrait painter in Charleston, West Virginia. Read More

Provenance

The Worthington Whittredge papers were donated by William W. and L. Emery Katzenbach, grandsons of Whittredge, in 1959. Additional items were donated by William W. Katzenbach in 1968.

Related Materials

Also found in the Archives of American Art are several collections relating to Whitteredge: the Anthony F. Janson research material on Worthington Whittredge, 1969-2003; the Worthington Whittredge sale records, 1900; the Edith Wilkinson Letter to E.P. Richardson and biographical notes on Worthington Whittredge, 1957; and a Worthington Whittredge letter to John Ferguson Weir, 1871. One sketchbook was loaned by William W. Katzenbach for microfilming in 1959 and returned. Loaned material is available on microfilm reel 153, but is not described in container listing of this finding aid.

Language Note

English .

Digitization Note

The papers of Worthington Whittredge in the Archives of American Art were digitized in 2009. The papers have been scanned in their entirety and total 1,088 images.

Funding Note

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