Emily A. Francis (1879-1966) (also known as Emily Jacobs) was the director of the Contemporary Arts gallery (also known as Contemporary Arts, Inc.) in New York, which she founded in 1929 and incorporated into a membership organization in 1931.
Inspired by the American Art-Union (1839-1851), she organized the Collectors of American Art, Inc. in 1937, which was associated with the gallery and initially called the Painting of the Month Club. Contemporary Arts held group shows and selected original artist prints and paintings to distribute annually to Collectors of American Art, Inc. paying members, which began at $5.00 per year. The stated mission of Collectors of American Art, Inc. was "to encourage production and distribution of Fine Art in America." Contemporary Arts sponsored painters and sculptors and exhibited their works in annual traveling exhibitions to universities and art centers across the country, as well as internationally; held regular Monday evening open house receptions for artists to exhibit their paintings and sculptures and chat with the public; and held monthly "Meet the Artist" parties for high schoolers to talk with the artists. Francis was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and first visited the United States in 1913, emigrating in 1916. She remained director of Contemporary Arts and Collectors of American Art, Inc. until her death in New York City in 1966, at the age of 87.
The collection is arranged as 12 series.
The Emily A. Francis papers, circa 1910s-1969, measure 10 linear feet and include organizational records of Contemporary Arts and affiliated member organization, Collectors of American Art, Inc., founded and directed by Emily A. Francis in 1929 and 1937, respectively. The collection consists of biographical material, foundation and board materials, correspondence, artist files, gallery files, exhibition files, membership materials, business and financial material, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, and photographs.
Biographical materials include personal financial material and documents relating to Francis' emigration from New Zealand in 1916. Foundation and board materials document the founding and continuing business of Contemporary Arts and Collectors of American Art, Inc. through board books, meetings minutes, by-laws, and articles of incorporation. Correspondence is with New York and international artists, as well as members, institutions, galleries, and board members; and artist files consist of correspondence, scattered photographs, exhibition materials, and consignment and loan agreements. Among the artists featured extensively in correspondence and artist files are Edward Betts, Virginia Cuthbert, Charles Logasa, and Sam Middleton.
Contemporary Arts gallery files document gallery activities through consignment and loan files to institutions and galleries, inventory records, sign-in registers, and event files. Exhibition files include loan agreements, exhibition price lists, and exhibition catalog mock-ups, as well as scattered correspondence. The files also include membership registers, member bulletin mock-ups, and other membership files, as well as financial ledgers with sales and artist accounts, leases and legal documents, receipts and invoices, and other business and financial material. Exhibition announcements and catalogs, member bulletins and annual reports, "The Bulletin of the Collectors of American Art, Inc.," and other printed material, are also included. Fifteen scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs relating to Contemporary Arts and Collectors of American Art, Inc. Extensive artwork consists of a charcoal sketch, paintings and paint sketches, and original prints, including woodcuts and serigraphs. Photographs are of Emily A. Francis and others, gallery installation views, events, and artwork.
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.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Donated in 1965 by Emily A. Francis and in 2023 by Peter Van Doren, a client of Francis.
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels D224-D226 & D232-D233 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the finding aid does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Emily A. Francis papers, circa 1910s-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2023.
Biographical materials include documents relating to Emily A. Francis' emigration from New Zealand; personal financial and legal material; professional letters of reference and job search materials; correspondence and documents regarding the financial trust of her mother Emily Rose Jacobs; artist-signed Christmas letter; and biographical sketches and obituary clippings.
This series is arranged as two subseries.
Foundation and Board Materials are divided into two subseries. The first subseries includes board of directors meeting minutes, board books, board reports, certificate of incorporation, and other board documents for Contemporary Arts. The second subseries consists of by-laws, certificates of incorporation, board of directors meeting minutes, board books, board reports, draft board letters, distribution lists, committee reports, and materials relating to the Collectors of American Art, Inc.
Correspondence is with artists, including Edward Betts, Isabel Bishop, Louis Bosa, Virginia Cuthbert, Emma Ehrenreich, Roger Holt, Pietro Lazzari, Lawrence Lebduska, Charles Logasa, Alden Mason, Grace Mayer, Sam Middleton, Elliot Orr, Sadie Rosenblum, Stanley Twardowicz, Ellis Wilson, as well as Collectors of American Art, Inc. members, institutions and galleries, board members, and others. Emily A. Francis' personal correspondence is also included.
Includes illustrated letter.
Includes photograph of artist.
Includes illustrated letters.
Includes photographs of artwork.
Includes Bartlett Arkell and Eliot Orr.
Includes Bernadine Custer.
Includes Florence Brillinger and Theodora Kane.
Includes Eugene Higgins and Peggy Bacon.
Includes Louis Bosa, Eliot Orr, and Etienne Ret.
Folder 38 includes Harold Baumbach and Gerard Hordijk.
Includes inquiry card from Hughie Lee-Smith.
Includes Vincent Hartgen and Emmanuel Viviano.
Includes William H. Littlefield, Guy Maccoy, Sadie Rosenblum, and Emmanuel Viviano.
Includes Arnold Herstand, Gerard Hordijk, William H. Littlefield, and Guy Maccoy.
Includes Betty Esman, Lena Gurr, Theo Hios, Alden C. Mason, Jeannette Genius McKean, Lowell Naeve, Virginia Paccassi, and Sadie Rosenblum.
Includes Guy Maccoy.
Includes illustrated letter by Louis Bosa.
Artist files include correspondence, scattered photographs, biographical details, and consignment and loan agreements, and exhibition catalogs and announcements for artists represented by Contemporary Arts and/or part of the Collectors of American Art, Inc. Artists include Edward Betts, Bernice Cross, Lawrence Lebduska, Charles Logasa, Sam Middleton, Phillip Pieck, and Stanley Twardowicz, among others.
Includes original sketches.
Includes snapshots, photographs of artwork, and original sketches.
Includes photographs of artist in studio and artwork.
Contemporary Arts gallery files document gallery activities through loan files with galleries, universites, and museums; consignment agreements; inventory records and ledger; two sign-in books; and publicity and event files. Loan institutions include Albright Art Gallery, Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Institute, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Gallery, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.
Exhibitions held at the Contemporary Arts gallery for individual artists and group shows, as well as annual seasonal traveling exhibitions, are included with exhibition files, and contain correspondence, scattered catalogs and announcements, exhibition catalog mock-ups, and exhibition price lists.
Includes correspondence with Antonio Henrique Amaral.
Member activities with the Collectors of American Art, Inc. and Contemporary Arts are represented in membership files through draft member letters, member bulletin mock-ups, member reports, membership events, paid memberships, and four membership registers.
Business and financial materials are comprised of assorted tax and legal documents; gallery leases; tax exemption status documents; financial reports and bank materials; and receipts and invoices. Also included are 17 financial ledgers consisting of sales, artist accounts, petty cash, and general expenses.
Printed material includes exhibition catalogs and announcements, annual reports, member's bulletins, "Bulletin of Collectors of American Art, Inc.," event programs, clippings, and press releases.
Fifteen scrapbooks include clippings; artist pages of exhibition catalogs, announcements, and related clippings; gallery scrapbooks highlighting annual events, activities, and exhibitions throughout the year; and event scrapbooks concerning a 1931 Contemporary Arts costume ball, and the 1951 Emily A. Francis testimonial dinner.
Artwork is primarily comprised of original prints, including woodcut prints and serigraphs, likely created by artists for the Collectors of American Art, Inc. annual distributions. Also included are a charcoal sketch, paintings, and paint sketches. Artists include Will Barnet, Ben-Zion, Stephen Csoka, Helen Gerardia, José Guerrero, Riva Helfond, Guy Maccoy, Ethel Magafan, Ann Twardowicz, Stanley Twardowicz, and Adja Yunkers, among others.
Includes Ruth Ann and others.
Includes Will Barnet, Selma Bluestein, and others.
Includes Stephen Csoka and others.
Includes Charles Douglas and others.
Includes Helen Gerardia, Theodore Gleaves, Bertram Goodman, Elenor S. Greenberg, F. Betty Guerber, and others.
Includes Riva Helfond and others.
Includes Gail Leff, Rita Leff, and others.
Includes Virginia Paccassi, George Peter, Leonard Pytlak, and others.
Includes Helen Siegl and others.
Includes Ann Twardowicz and others.
Includes Adja Yunkers and others.
Includes artists Jean Gunther, De Rosa, and Sadie Rosenblum.
Photographs include portraits and photographs of Emily A. Francis and others; gallery installation views; John Pellew and other artists at work; and artwork.