The papers were donated in 1974 by the wife of Mrs. Webster's nephew, Mrs. Karl F. Rodgers. Additional materials were donated by Mrs. Rodgers in 1975.
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2016 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Materials which have not been scanned include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates. In some cases, exhibition catalogs and other publications have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned.
Materials received a preliminary level of arrangement after receipt and portions of the collection were microfilmed onto reels D30 and 866. All accessions were merged and the collection was processed, described, and prepared for scanning by Judy Ng in 2016 with funding provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Edwin Ambrose Webster papers, 1821-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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Painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster (1869-1935) lived and worked in Provincetown, Massachusetts and was known for his vibrant landscapes and for opening the first modernist art school in Provincetown.
Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Webster began his art studies at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts under Frank Benson and Edmund Tarbell, where he received a three year scholarship to study abroad at the Academie Julian. There, he studied under Jean Laurens and Jean-Joseph Constant and was awarded several additional student prizes for his work. Upon his return, Webster established himself as a founding member of the burgeoning art colony in Provincetown, opening his Summer School of Art in 1900, which he operated for the next thirty five years.
Alongside his teaching duties, Webster continued to develop a modernist style and was invited to exhibit in the 1913 Armory Show. In 1918, he traveled to France to study Cubism under Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, and upon his return to Provincetown, began incorporating these techniques into his paintings as well as into his lectures and classes. As an active organizer within the art colony, Webster helped to found the Provincetown Art Association in 1914 and served as its director from 1917 to 1919. In 1916, he also hosted the first exhibition of the woodblock carving group, the Provincetown Printers, at his studio. Webster died at his Provincetown home in 1935.
The papers of painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1821 to 1968. Found within the papers are biographical material; business and personal correspondence; writings; teaching and research files, including information on Webster's participation in the 1913 Armory show; printed material; artwork; and photographic materials of Webster, his family and friends, and his work.
Biographical materials include address books, certificates, military records, and geneological information for the Webster and Emerson families.
Materials are arranged by document type.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Address Book: circa 1850-1930
Address Books: circa 1850-1930
Certificates: 1911-1922
Military Records: 1864-1866
Webster and Emerson Family: 1821-1867
Oversized material housed in Box 2, Folder 1
Personal correspondence is with family and friends. Professional correspondence includes letters from collecting institutions, galleries, and museums regarding the acquisition or exhibition of Webster's works.
Materials are arranged by document type.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Personal: circa 1900-1936
Professional: circa 1920-1940
Writings consist of four notebooks and Webster's 1926 diary, which he kept during his travels abroad in La Guade, France.
Materials are arranged by document type.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Diary: 1926
Notebook: circa 1910-1930
Notebooks: circa 1928
Teaching files include Webster's informal student account records and notes, promotional material, professional printing blocks, and model cutouts used to teach the Golden Section/Golden Mean.
Materials are arranged by document type.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Account Records: 1931-1933
Golden Section Model: circa 1930
Notes: circa 1931-1933
Printing Blocks: circa 1930
Promotional Material: circa 1930
Printed material includes clippings, bulletins, exhibition announcements and catalogs, posters, reproductions of artwork, and several French language monographs and periodicals on art related topics.
Materials are arranged by document type.
The bulk of this series has been scanned. In some cases exhibition catalogs and other publications have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned.
Bulletins: 1925, 1936
Clippings: circa 1914-1938
Oversized materials housed in OV 5
Exhibition Announcement and Catalogs: circa 1915-1939
Exhibition Catalogs, Other Artists: 1924-1938
Monographs,
Monographs, On Gauguin and Matisse: circa 1911-1925
Periodicals,
Periodicals,
Periodicals,
Periodicals,
Oversized materials housed in OV 5
Posters: circa 1915-1930
Oversized material housed in OV 6
Reproductions of Artwork: circa 1915-1930
Oversized materials housed in Box 2, Folder 1 and OV 5
Artwork inclues prints and sketches of Webster's work, including numerous figure studies of men, women, and children in graphite, charcoal, and pastels. Two of Webster's palettes and a paintbox, are also included in the series.
Materials are arranged by document type and subject.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Palette and Paintbox: circa 1890-1930
Oversized materials housed in Artifact Cabinet
Prints, Graphs, and Paintings: circa 1890-1930
Oversized material housed in Box 2, Folder 2
Sketchbooks: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Buildings: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Woodwork: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Miscellaneous: circa 1890-1930
Oversized materials housed in OV 6
Sketches, Portraits: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Men: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Men and Women: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Women: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Women
Sketches, Women: circa 1890-1930
Sketches, Women
Digitized with Box 1, Folder 28
Digitized with Box 1, Folder 28
Photographic materials are of Webster with friends, family, and students at his Summer Art School. There are also photographs of individual family members, unidentified individuals, and reproductions of artwork by Webster and other artists.
Materials are arranged by subject.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Edwin Ambrose Webster: circa 1880-1930
Edwin Ambrose Webster with Friends: circa 1900-1925
Edwin Ambrose Webster with Students: circa 1920-1930
Georgianna Rodgers Webster: circa 1905-1930
Webster and Emerson Family: circa 1875-1910
Unidentified Individuals and Groups: circa 1890-1920
Reproductions of Artwork by Webster: circa 1920-1930
Reproductions of Artwork by Others: circa 1920-1930
Research files gathered by Webster's nephew, Karl Rodgers, consist of biographical notes and research on Webster's artwork, including materials related to his participation in the Armory Show; posthumous correspondence with collectors, galleries, and museums; and miscellaneous printed material.
Materials are arranged by document type.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Biographical Notes: circa 1940-1941
List of Artworks: circa 1960-1968
Armory Show: 1962-1963
Collectors: 1946-1968
Galleries and Museums: 1963-1965
Clippings: circa 1963-1965