Archives of American Art
Guy Pène Du Bois papers
Pène Du Bois, Guy, 1884-1958
AAA.duboguyp
Archival Resource Key
2 Linear feet
circa 1900-1963
bulk 1920-1963
The papers of painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois measure 2.0 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1963 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1920 to 1963. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including letters from Royal Cortissoz and Edward Hopper; writings, including essays, journals, short stories, and drafts of the autobiography Artists Say the Silliest Things; personal business records; printed material; and artwork.
The collection is in English.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Sketches and etching proofs were lent to the Archives of American Art in 1970 for microfilming by Pène du Bois' children, Yvonne McKenney and William Pène du Bois. Yvonne McKenney donated papers in 1971. In 1980, two journals dating from 1913 to 1955, were loaned for microfilming by Pène du Bois' daughter-in-law, Willa Kim. These journals were subsequently donated by Martha Fleishman in 2017.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 28) including sketches and etching proofs. Lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Related Materials
The Archives also holds the Guy Pène Du Bois and Mary Lightfoot Tarleton correspondence.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of this collection and material lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels 28-29 and 2008 at the Archives of American Art offices and though interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Processing Information
Materials received a preliminary level of processing at some point after donation and were microfilmed onto reel 28. All materials were fully processed and described by Judy Ng in 2013 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The 2017 addition was processed by Ryan Evans in 2018.
Preferred Citation
Guy Pène Du Bois papers, circa 1900-1963, bulk 1920-1963. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Biographical / Historical
Painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois (1884-1958) lived and worked in New York City, New York and was known for his realist paintings, essays, and art reviews.
Pène Du Bois was born in Brooklyn, New York to the art critic Henri Pène Du Bois and his wife Laura. After he showed an early interest in art, his' family supported his decision to enroll in William Merritt Chase's New York School of Art at the age of 15. There, Pène Du Bois trained with the realist painters Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller along with fellow students George Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Rockwell Kent. In 1905, he traveled to Paris and studied briefly with the artist Thèophile Steinlen, but returned to New York the following year after the death of his father. To help support his family, he found work as an illustrator and cartoonist for the New York American, and was promoted to the position of art critic for the newspaper in 1909.
In 1911, Pène Du Bois married his wife, Florence Duncan, and became an assistant writer for the New York Tribune under Royal Cortissoz (1913). Pène Du Bois also wrote art reviews for the New York Post (1916-1918), and was a writer and later editor of Arts and Decoration (1913-1915, 1917-1921). During these years, Pène Du Bois also began to establish a career as a realist painter of note. His work was included in the 1913 Armory Show, after which he signed on as a member of the Kraushaar Gallery stable. Throughout the 1910s, Pène Du Bois exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, and held his first one-man show in 1918 at the Whitney Studio Club.
From 1920 to 1924, Pène Du Bois taught at the Art Students League, and spent the latter part of the 1920s in France with his family. After seven years, he moved his family back to Connecticut and opened the Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art in Stonington, Connecticut. Throughout the 1930s, Pène Du Bois continued painting and received commissions to design federal murals in upstate New York (1937) and Boston (1942). In 1940, Pène Du Bois published his autobiography, Artists Say the Silliest Things. After the death of his wife in 1950, Pène Du Bois lived and traveled with his daughter's family and died in her home in Boston in 1958.
Scope and Contents
The papers of painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois measure 2.0 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1963 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1920 to 1963. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including letters from Royal Cortissoz and Edward Hopper; writings, including essays, journals, short stories, and drafts of the autobiography Artists Say the Silliest Things; personal business records; printed material; and artwork.
Biographical materials consist of certificates, a curriculum vitae, passport, and a photograph of two unidentified women.
Correspondence is primarily with Pène Du Bois' family, friends, and business associates. The series includes significant correspondence from fellow art critic Royal Cortissoz; artists Raphael Soyer and Edward Hopper; and writers Samuel Duff McCoy, Lincoln Isham, and Newton Booth Tarkington. Other correspondents of note include C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries and Pène Du Bois' son, the children's book illustrator William Pène Du Bois.
Writings include book drafts of Pène Du Bois' autobiography, Artists Say the Silliest Things, journal entries, 35 essays, 8 short stories, and various writing fragments and notes.
Personal business records consist of account and sales records from C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, book and publishing contracts, and receipts for art supply purchases.
Printed material includes a brochure for the Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous printed material.
Artwork consists of pen and ink sketches by Pène Du Bois and a print by an unknown artist.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Missing Title
- Biographical material, 1929-1954 (4 folders; Box 1)
- Correspondence, 1908-1958 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
- Writings, circa 1900-1954 (1.1 linear feet; Box 1-4)
- Personal business records, circa 1920-1949 (3 folders; Box 3)
- Printed material, circa 1920-1963 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)
- Artwork, circa 1920-1954 (2 folders; Box 3)
Other Finding Aids
Sketches and etching proofs, microfilm reel 29: A list of sketches and proofs is available on the microfilm.
Photographs
Prints
Sketches
Painting, American -- New York (State) -- New York
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
Cortissoz, Royal, 1869-1948
Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967
McCoy, Samuel Duff, 1882-
Pène du Bois, William, 1916-1993
Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987
Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946
C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries
Biographical Material
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
4 Folders
Box 1
1929-1954
Scope and Contents
Biographical materials consist of certificates, a curriculum vitae, passport, and a photograph of two unidentified women.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by document type.
Certificates
Archival Resource Key
1940-1942
1
1
Curriculum Vitae
Archival Resource Key
circa 1935-1954
1
2
Passport
Archival Resource Key
1929-1930
1
3
Photograph, Two Unidentified Women
Archival Resource Key
circa 1940-1954
1
4
Correspondence
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
0.5 Linear feet
Box 1
1908-1958
Scope and Contents
Correspondence is primarily with Pène Du Bois' family, friends, and business associates. The series includes significant correspondence from fellow art critic Royal Cortissoz; artists Raphael Soyer and Edward Hopper; and writers Samuel Duff McCoy, Lincoln Isham, and Newton Booth Tarkington. The over 180 letters to Lincoln Isham detail Pène Du Bois' daily life, in addition to covering his thoughts on writing, philosophy, politics, and news of his family.
Other correspondents of note include C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries and Pène Du Bois' son, the children's book illustrator William Pène Du Bois. There are also letters of condolences addressed to Pène Du Bois' daughter, Yvonne McKenney.
Arrangement
Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
A Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1940-1949
1
5
American Artists Group Inc.
Archival Resource Key
1939-1954
1
6
B Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1929-1952
1
7
Bartlett, Clay
Archival Resource Key
1949-1950
1
8
C Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1936-1945
1
9
Carnegie Institute
Archival Resource Key
1937-1949
1
10
Cooper Union
Archival Resource Key
1942-1954
1
11
Cortissoz, Royal
Archival Resource Key
1930-1933
1
12
C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries
Archival Resource Key
1940-1947
1
13
D Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1940-1941
1
14
Du Bois, George
Archival Resource Key
1951-1956
1
15
Du Bois, Guy Pène
Archival Resource Key
1941-1954
1
16
Du Bois, William Pène
Archival Resource Key
1944-1949
1
17
Du Bois, William Pène and Jane
Archival Resource Key
1950-1953
1
18
Du Bois, William Pène and Willa
Archival Resource Key
1953-1956
1
19
Duncan, Rita Jean
Archival Resource Key
1950-1954
1
20
Duncan, Robert
Archival Resource Key
1949-1955
1
21
E-H Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1939-1954
1
22
Hopper, Edward
Archival Resource Key
1931-1954
1
23
Hopper, Edward
I Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1950
1
24
Isham, Lincoln and Lea
Archival Resource Key
1942-1955
1
25-27
J-M Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1908-1954
1
28
Macy, George
Archival Resource Key
1945
1
29
McCoy, Samuel Duff and Neely
Archival Resource Key
1949-1953
1
30
Merritt, Nancy Lucas
Archival Resource Key
1951-1954
1
31
N-P Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1939-1954
1
32
Q-S Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1939-1952
1
33
Soyer, Raphael
Archival Resource Key
1951-1955
1
34
T Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1930-1940
1
35
Tarkington, Newton Booth
Archival Resource Key
1943-1946
1
36
Tarkington, Newton Booth
U Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1950
1
37
U.S. Treasury Department
Archival Resource Key
1936-1938
1
38
V-W Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1940-1950
1
39
Watson, Forbes
Archival Resource Key
1932-1953
1
40
X-Z Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
1940
1
41
Unknown and Illegible
Archival Resource Key
circa 1940-1954
1
42
Condolences, A-Z
Archival Resource Key
1958
1
43-44
Writings
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
1.1 Linear feet
Box 1-4
circa 1900-1954
Scope and Contents
Writings include book drafts of Pène Du Bois' autobiography, Artists Say the Silliest Things, 2 bound journals dating from 1913-1955, journal entries, 35 essays on various art related topics, 8 short stories, and various writing fragments and notes. The journal entries are primarily writing exercises in essay style and cover diverse topics of fashion, character studies, art history, and current events.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by document type.
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part One
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
45-46
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part One (copy 1, incomplete)
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
47
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part One (fragments)
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
48
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part One (handwritten draft, incomplete)
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
49
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part Two
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
50-51
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part Two (copy 1)
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
52
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part Two (copy 2, incomplete)
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
53
Book, Artists Say the Silliest Things, Part Two (handwritten draft)
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1940
1
54
Book, Untitled, Chapters 1-2
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
1
55
Book Proposals
Archival Resource Key
circa 1940-1954
1
56
Book Reviews
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
1
57
Essay, "Apes and Angels in Art"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
58
Essay, "Art and Decoration"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
59
Essay, "Art and the Decline of the Bourgeoise"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
60
Essay, "Art is Art and Life is Life"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
61
Essay, "Children's Books"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
62
Essay, "Classicism"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
63
Essay, "Clothes and War and Art"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
64
Essay, "Contrasts and Contemporaneous Art"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
65
Essay, "Decoration"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
66
Essay, "Eclectics"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
67
Essay, "Disordered Notes of an Ex Art Critic"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
1
68
Essay, "Essay Written for an American"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
1
Essay, "Eyes are Windows"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
2
Essay, "Forbears of the Fashionable Linguists"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
3
Essay, "High Art and Hillbillies"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
4
Essay, "Holley and the Square"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
5
Essay, "Note on Fashion"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
6
Essay, "Note on Modern Art"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
7
Essay, "Note on Statues"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
8
Essay, "Note on the American Scene Painting"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
9
Essay, "On the Satirist"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
10
Essay, On Artists and World Affairs
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
11
Essay, On Children's Book Fair
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
12
Essay, On Denys Wortman
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
13
Essay, On French Modernism
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
14
Essay, On Intellectualism
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
15
Essay, On Seeing Art
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
16
Essay, On Space
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
17
Essay, On Style and Fashion
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
18
Essay, "Realism"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
19
Essay, "Romanticism"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
20
Essay, "Seeing Could Be Believing"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
21
Essay, "Seeing in Its Relation to the Visual Arts"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
22
Essay, "Turnabout in Art"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
23
Essay, "War and Art"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
24
Journal Entries
Archival Resource Key
1949-1953
2
25
Journal
Archival Resource Key
1913-1925
4
Journal
Archival Resource Key
1926-1955
5
Stories, "1907 New York," "Question of Bravery," "Sailors," "The Square"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
26
Story, "Final Flourish"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
27
Story, "Over-Lord"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
28
Story, "Staten Island"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
2
29
Story, "Wild Horses in Harlem"
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930-1954
2
30
Fragments, Handwritten
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
2
31-32
Fragments, Typescripts
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
3
1-2
Fragments, Introductions
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
3
3
Fragments, Stories
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
3
4
Notes
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
3
5
"Letters of Frederick von Elder," by Unknown Author
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
3
6
"Moral Freedom--Natural Law," by W.W. Sherman
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
3
7
Personal Business Records
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
3 Folders
Box 3
circa 1920-1949
Scope and Contents
Personal business records consist of account and sales records from C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, two book and publishing contracts, and miscellaneous receipts for art supply purchases.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by document type.
Account Records, C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries
Archival Resource Key
1937-1944
3
8
Contracts
Archival Resource Key
1930-1945
3
9
Receipts
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1949
3
10
Printed Material
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
0.3 Linear feet
Box 3
circa 1920-1963
Scope and Contents
Printed material includes a brochure for the Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous printed material.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by document type.
Brochure, Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art
Archival Resource Key
1940
3
11
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1963
3
12-13
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1920-1963
3
14-18
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1954-1960
3
19
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs, Other Artists
Archival Resource Key
1942-1943
3
20
Periodical, Magazine of Art
Archival Resource Key
1943
3
21
Miscellaneous Printed Material
Archival Resource Key
1931-1945
3
22
Artwork
Series 6
Archival Resource Key
2 Folders
Box 3
circa 1920-1954
Scope and Contents
Artwork consists of pen and ink sketches by Pène Du Bois and a print by an unknown artist.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by artist.
Sketches
Archival Resource Key
circa 1920-1954
3
23
Artwork by Others
Archival Resource Key
1931
3
24