Series II: Research Notes, 1931-1957
Scope and Contents note
This series consists of carbon copies of Dr. Pleasants' original typed research notes on individual early Maryland paintings. Notes are organized in two groups: portraits and miscellaneous subjects. The notes contain biographies of painting subjects, artist names, owners' names, provenance information, descriptions of the paintings, reproductions, dates, sources of attributions, cross-references to other portraits and family members, genealogical charts, and exhibitions. Notes include notations of the Library's negative numbers (coded FARL) and J. Hall Pleasants' numbers (coded JHP), which are both referenced on photo mounts in the Library's Photoarchive.
Notes on miscellaneous subjects contain research on paintings of estates, landscapes, views of Baltimore, portraits of unidentified subjects, still lifes, street scenes, studies, and battle scenes. Artists mentioned frequently in the notes include John and Gustavus Hesselius, Thomas Sully, Charles Willson Peale, Carroll Kühn, Rembrandt Peale, Philip Tilyard, John Wesley Jarvis, St. Mémin, N. Calyo, Joshua Johnson [Johnston] and John Beale Bordley.
Arrangement
Biographical notes are primarily arranged alphabetically by subject name. Others are grouped by date of photographing expedition, owner, or painting location. Notes on miscellaneous subjects are arranged by previously assigned Library (FARL) or J. Hall Pleasants (JHP) numbers, or alphabetically by title. Library staff continued to update notes into the 1990s.
Repository Details
Part of the Frick Collection Archives Repository
