Archives of American Art
Robert Franklin Gates papers
Gates, Robert Franklin, 1906-1982
AAA.gaterobe
Archival Resource Key
2.3 Linear feet
1910-1988
bulk 1928-1988
The papers of Washington, D.C. area painter and art instructor Robert Franklin Gates date from 1910-1988, bulk 1928-1988, and measure 2.3 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from government agencies, museums, galleries, and colleagues; business records primarily concerning transactions with the Jack Rasmussen Gallery; artwork including scattered drawings by Gates and block prints by Joe Goethe and D. Neufeld; two scrapbooks; printed materials; and photographs of Gates, family members, models, artwork, and exhibition installations. There are also photograph albums and miscellaneous photographs documenting a 1936 voyage to the Virgin Islands commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department.
English
.
Provenance
The Robert Franklin Gates papers were donated in 1995 by Sarita W. Gates, the artist's widow, via legal representative Bradford G. Weekes III.
Related Material
Also in the Archives of American Art are the papers of Gates' first wife Margaret Casey Gates, 1934-1988,
Processing Information
The Robert Franklin Gates papers were processed in December 2007 by Jean Fitzgerald.
Preferred Citation
Robert Franklin Gates papers, 1910-1988, bulk 1928-1988. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions on 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 Note
Robert Franklin Gates was born on October 6, 1906 in Detroit, Michigan. He studied at the Detroit School of Arts and Crafts, and from 1929 to 1930 attended the Art Students' League in New York. Between 1930 and 1932, Gates studied under C. Law Watkins at the Phillips Gallery Art School in Washington, D.C., later becoming an instructor in life drawing and painting there. During this time, he met fellow student Margaret Casey, and they married on January 7, 1933. Between 1934 and 1938, Robert Gates was an art instructor at the Studio House in Washington, D.C.
In 1934, Gates received a commission from the U.S. Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts to create a series of watercolors of Charles Gardens, South Carolina, and from 1929-1940, murals for post offices in Bethesda, Maryland, Oakland, Maryland, and Lewisburg, West Virginia. In 1936, the Treasury Department also commissioned Gates and fellow artists Mitchell Jamieson and Prentiss Taylor to create series of watercolors of the Virgin Islands, arranging for several voyages there.
Between 1937 and 1942, Gates was a guest instructor at the University of Florida, taught art classes at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland and at the Washington County Museum of Art in Hagerstown, Maryland. He also taught at the Phillips Gallery Art School in Washington, D.C. while his wife was employed as the school secretary. In 1938, Gates received a summer scholarship to study under Henry Varnum Poor at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
During World War II, Gates worked as a civilian technician for the Navy Department doing model making and camouflage design, receiving the Distinguished Civilian Service Award for his work.
After the war, and the closing of the Phillips Gallery Art School, Gates attended classes taught by Bill Calfee at American University. In 1946, he joined the faculty and eventually becane chairman of the Art Department in 1954. Robert and Margaret Gates were divorced sometime in the mid-1950s. From 1966 to 1967, Gates was Artist-in-Residence at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, under the Department of State Educational and Cultural Exchange Program. In 1967, he married his second wife, Sarita, while in Baghdad.
Gates is represented in the permanent collections of the American University, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Dumbarton Oaks collection, the Phillips Collection, and the Lewisshon collection.
Robert Franklin Gates died on March 11, 1982 in Alexandria, Virginia.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Washington, D.C. area painter and art instructor Robert Franklin Gates date from 1910-1988, bulk 1928-1988, and measure 2.3 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; letters from government agencies, museums, galleries, and colleagues; business records primarily concerning transactions with the Jack Rasmussen Gallery; artwork including scattered drawings by Gates and block prints by Joe Goethe and D. Neufeld; two scrapbooks; printed materials; and photographs of Gates, family members, models, artwork, and exhibition installations. There are also photograph albums and miscellaneous photographs documenting a 1936 voyage to the Virgin Islands commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Biographical material includes resumes, biographical accounts, award certificates, records for employment through a State Department Specialists Grant, address lists, teaching notes, writings about Gates, and a guest book signed by colleagues celebrating Gates' forty years at American University. There is a also a group of Navy Department records documenting Gates' employment designing three-dimensional photo-surfaced topography models for use by troops during World War II.
Letters are primarily from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Works Agency discussing commissions, including the painting of post office murals in Maryland and West Virginia, and from various museums and galleries discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities. There are one or two letters each from colleagues Alice Acheson, Adelyn Breeskin, Charles Burchfield, Alida Conover, John Gernand, Duncan Phillips, Henry Varnum Poor, and Prentiss Taylor. Some letters are Christmas cards decorated with original block prints.
Business records primarily document Gates' interaction with the Jack Rasmussen Gallery in Washington, D.C., but also include miscellaneous sales records and pay stubs from American University.
Artwork consists of scattered drawings of modern houses by Gates and abstract sketches by others, and small block prints by Joe Goethe and D. Neufeld. Two Scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and scattered letters.
Additional printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Gates and others, prospectuses for art exhibitions, press releases, calendars of events, booklets about color and lenses, brochures for art schools and books, and an unannotated calendar containing a reproduction of one of Gates' paintings.
Photographs are of Robert Gates, various family members including Gates with his first wife photographed by Prentiss Taylor, models, artwork, and exhibition installations. There are two photograph albums and unbound photographs documenting a 1936 voyage to the Virgin Islands commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. Images of this trip are of Gates and colleagues including Mitchell Jamieson, the ship Doris Hamlin, the crew, markets, a cock fight, miscellaneous buildings, town squares, and the countryside of the Virgin Islands.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into 7 series. Each series is arranged chronologically:
Missing Title
- Series 1: Biographical Material, 1928-1975 (Box 1, OV 4; 34 folders)
- Series 2: Letters, 1930-1988 (Box 1; 25 folders)
- Series 3: Business Records, 1961-1982 (Box 1; 5 folders)
- Series 4: Artwork, circa 1962 (Box 1; 6 folders)
- Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1932-1939 (Box 1-2; 4 folders)
- Series 6: Printed Material, 1916-1988 (Box 2; 48 folders)
- Series 7: Photographs, 1910-1982 (Boxes 2-3, OV 4; 20 folders)
Painters -- Washington (D.C.)
Drawings
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war
Post office buildings
Mural painting and decoration, American
Christmas cards
Art teachers -- Washington (D.C.)
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Taylor, Prentiss, 1907-1991
United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts
American University (Washington, D.C.). Fine Arts Dept. -- Faculty
Jack Rasmussen Gallery (Washington, D.C.)
Biographical Material
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
1928-1975
(Box 1, OV 4; 34 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Biographical material includes resumes, biographical accounts, award certificates, and Navy Department employment records which include letters, writings, floor plan drawings, and photographs concerning Gates's designs for three-dimensional photo-surfaced topography models during World War II. Also included are records of employment through a State Department Specialists Grant, address lists, teaching notes, writings about Gates, and a guest book signed by colleagues celebrating Gate's forty years at American University.
Student Pilot Permit
Archival Resource Key
1928
1
1
Resumes and Biographical Accounts
Archival Resource Key
1957-1967, undated
1
2
Award Certificates
Archival Resource Key
1933-1975
(2 folders)
1
3-4
Navy Department Employment Records
Archival Resource Key
1942-1951
(20 folders; oversized items housed in OV 4)
1
5-24
State Department Specialists Grant Employment Records
Archival Resource Key
1966-1967
(3 folders)
1
25-27
Address Lists, 1956
Archival Resource Key
undated
(2 folders)
1
28-29
Teaching Notes
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
30
Writings about Robert Gates
Archival Resource Key
1962, undated
(2 folders)
1
31-32
Guest Book for Roberts Gates "Gala,"
Archival Resource Key
1975
1
33
Nine Oversize Drawings of Floor Plans for the Photo-Surfaced Model Project from the Navy Department Employment Records
Archival Resource Key
1945
(removed from Box 1, F 5-24)
OV 4
Letters
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
1930-1988
(Box 1; 25 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Letters are from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Works Agency regarding commissions, and from various museums and galleries discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities. There are one or two letters each from colleagues Alice Acheson, Adelyn Breeskin, Charles Burchfield, Alida Conover, John Gernand, Duncan Phillips, Henry Varnum Poor, and Prentiss Taylor. Some letters are Christmas cards decorated with original block prints.
Letters from Correspondents with Unknown Surnames
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
34
Letters from Correspondents with Surnames "A-G,"
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
35
Letters from Correspondents with Surnames "H-Z,"
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
36
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1930-1935
1
37
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1936-1938
1
38
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1939
1
39
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1940
1
40
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1941
1
41
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1942-1946
1
42
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1947
1
43
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1948
1
44
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1949
1
45
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1950-1951
1
46
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1952
1
47
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1953
1
48
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1954
1
49
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1955-1959
1
50
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1960
1
51
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1961-1969
1
52
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1970-1971
1
53
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1973-1975
1
54
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1977-1978
1
55
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1979
1
56
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1980
1
57
Letters
Archival Resource Key
1981-1988
1
58
Business Records
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
1961-1982
(Box 1; 5 folders)
Scope and Contents note
This series consists primarily of business transactions with the Jack Rasmussen Gallery in Washington, D.C. Also included are miscellaneous sales records and pay stubs from American University.
Records Concerning the Jack Rasmussen Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1975-1982
(3 folders)
1
59-61
Miscellaneous Sales Records
Archival Resource Key
1963-1980
1
62
Pay Stubs from American University
Archival Resource Key
1961-1966
1
63
Artwork
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
circa 1962
(Box 1; 6 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Artwork consists of scattered drawings by Gates, including images of Bauhaus style houses. There are also block prints by Joe Goethe and D. Neufeld.
Drawings by Robert Gates
Archival Resource Key
circa 1962
1
64
Drawings by an Unidentified Artist
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
65
Block Prints by Joe Goethe
Archival Resource Key
undated
(3 folders)
1
66-68
Block Print by D. Neufeld
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
69
Scrapbooks
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
1932-1939
(Box 1, 2; 4 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Two scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and scattered letters documenting the beginning of Gates's career. One scrapbook has been disbound.
Scrapbook 1
Archival Resource Key
1932-1933
1
70
Scrapbook 2
Archival Resource Key
1933-1939
(3 folders)
2
1-3
Printed Material
Series 6
Archival Resource Key
1916-1988
(Box 2; 48 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, prospectuses for art exhibitions, press releases, calendars of events, booklets about color and lenses, brochures for art schools and books, and an unannotated calendar containing a reproduction of one of Gates's paintings.
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
undated
2
4
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1916-1932
2
5
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1933-1934
2
6
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1935
2
7
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1936
(2 folders)
2
8-9
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1937-1939
2
10
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1940-1942
2
11
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1946-1947
2
12
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1948-1949
2
13
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1950-1953
2
14
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1954
2
15
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1955-1959
2
16
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1960-1969
2
17
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1977-1978
2
18
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1980-1988
2
19
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
undated
2
20
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1932-1933
2
21
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1934
2
22
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1935
2
23
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1936
2
24
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1937
2
25
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1938
2
26
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1939
2
27
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1940
2
28
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1941
2
29
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1942
2
30
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1943-1944
2
31
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1946-1947
2
32
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1948
2
33
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1949
2
34
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1950-1952
2
35
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1953
2
36
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1954
2
37
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1955-1959
2
38
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1960-1962
2
39
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1975-1978
2
40
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1980-1988
2
41
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs for Others
Archival Resource Key
1931-1940
2
42
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs for Others
Archival Resource Key
1947-1982
2
43
Prospectuses for Art Exhibitions
Archival Resource Key
1939-1940
2
44
Press Releases
Archival Resource Key
1941-1960, undated
2
45
Calendars of Events
Archival Resource Key
1948-1953
2
46
Booklets Concerning Color
Archival Resource Key
undated
2
47
Booklet Concerning Lenses
Archival Resource Key
1944
2
48
Brochures for Schools
Archival Resource Key
1941-1944
2
49
Brochure for Books
Archival Resource Key
1952
2
50
Unannotated Calendar Containing a Reproduction of a Painting by Robert Gates
Archival Resource Key
1969
2
51
Photographs
Series 7
Archival Resource Key
circa 1910-1982
(Boxes 2-3, OV 4; 20 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Photographs are of Robert Gates, various family members, models, artwork, and exhibition installations. There are also two photograph albums and miscellaneous photographs documenting a 1936 voyage to the Virgin Islands commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department that include images of Gates and colleagues including Mitchell Jamieson, the ship Doris Hamlin, the crew, markets, a cock fight, miscellaneous buildings, town squares, and the countryside of the Virgin Islands.
Photographs of Robert Gates
Archival Resource Key
circa 1910-1982
(2 folders; oversized items housed in OV 4)
2
52
Photographs of Robert Gates
Photographs of Robert Gates
Archival Resource Key
circa 1910-1982
2
53
Photographs by Sam Tamashiro of Robert Gates Conducting Class
Archival Resource Key
undated
(2 folders)
2
54-55
Photographs of Family Members
Archival Resource Key
1934-1967, undated
(oversized items housed in OV 4)
2
56
Photographs by Prentiss Taylor of Robert Gates and Margaret Casey Gates in Charleston, South Carolina
Archival Resource Key
1934
2
57
Album 1 of Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Archival Resource Key
1936
3
1
Album 2 of Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Archival Resource Key
1936
3
2
Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Archival Resource Key
1936
3
3
Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Archival Resource Key
1936
3
4
Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Archival Resource Key
1936
3
5
Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Archival Resource Key
1936
3
6
Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Photographs of Voyage to the Virgin Islands
Archival Resource Key
1936
3
7
Photographs of Nude Models
Archival Resource Key
undated
(2 folders)
3
8-9
Photographs of Artwork by Robert Gates
Archival Resource Key
1939-1972, undated
(oversized items housed in OV 4)
3
10
Photographs of Artwork by Others
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
11
Photographs of Exhibition Installations
Archival Resource Key
1940, undated
3
12
Miscellaneous Photographs
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
13
Three Oversize Photographs of Robert Gates
Archival Resource Key
undated
(separated from Box 2, F52-53)
OV 4
Oversize Photograph of a Member of Robert Gates' Family
Archival Resource Key
undated
(separated from Box 2, F54-55)
OV 4
Oversize Photograph of Post Office Mural, Bethesda, Maryland
Archival Resource Key
1939
(separated from Box 3, F10)
OV 4