Frick Art Reference Library Staff Research - Katherine McCook Knox Records
Scope and Content Note
The records of Katharine McCook Knox document her work as a member of the Frick Art Reference Library staff, as well as her personal research and writings in the field of early American art, from 1922 to 1974. The records include correspondence, typescripts and manuscripts, galley proofs, handwritten and typed notes, invoices, photographs, and printed material. Some newspaper clippings date from 1882 to 1901. Mrs. Knox’s personal correspondence and research, which she donated to the Library from the 1930s to the 1970s, has been interfiled with her related work for the Frick Art Reference Library. Some folders indicate the date of the gift.
The records are organized in three series: Series I: Writings; Series II: Research on Artists; and Series III: Photographing Trips. Series I: Writings, 1924-1979, forms the bulk of the records. The series contains typescripts and manuscripts, galley proofs, correspondence, notes, and reference material related to Mrs. Knox’s publications and research. Of special interest are notes and drafts of research on portraits in the White House. Also of note are numerous typescript drafts of The Story of the Frick Art Reference Library: The Early Years, with accompanying notes and background material. The series also includes material on The Sharples: Their Portraits of George Washington and His Contemporaries, entries for The Frick Collection catalogue, and articles on Michel Felice Corné and a George P.A. Healy portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Series II: Research on Artists (1929-1977) contains Mrs. Knox’s research on specific artists, as well as general notes on artists and paintings. Series III: Photographing Trips (1925-1956) documents Mrs. Knox’s involvement in the organization and research related to Frick Art Reference Library photographing expeditions, primarily those in Baltimore and Kentucky. The series contains notes, correspondence and receipts for photographs sent to the Library.
Most photographs of works of art in the records were transferred to the Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive and replaced in the files with preservation photocopies of the images.
Dates
- Creation: 1924-1979
Creator
- Frick Art Reference Library (Organization)
Access Restrictions
These records are open for research by appointment under the conditions of
Historical Note
The Frick Art Reference Library was founded in 1920 by Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984) in honor of her father, industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). Katharine McCook Knox (1890-1983), a Washington, D.C.-area art historian and author specializing in early American art, began her association with the Frick Art Reference Library in 1922. A friend of Helen Clay Frick’s since they were classmates at Miss Spence’s School for Girls in New York City, her involvement with the Frick Art Reference Library as a researcher, consultant, and special staff member spanned over 50 years. Mrs. Knox often worked from her Washington, D.C. home, providing new research on artists and paintings in the Library’s photoarchive, researching entries for The Frick Collection catalog, and acquiring photographs for the Library. She also planned and participated in Library photographing expeditions, which were undertaken by the staff to document works of art held in private collections, historical societies, museums, and other institutions throughout the U.S.
In 1931, Mrs. Knox supervised the photographing of portraits in the White House and compiled the photographs and her research into a binder, which the Frick Art Reference Library presented as a gift to the White House. Her book, The Story of the Frick Art Reference Library: The Early Years (1979), the only published history of the Library, traces its founding and growth, and includes her personal reminiscences. Originally drafted by Mrs. Knox in 1950, the book was reworked and edited in the 1970s by Frick Art Reference Library staff.
Mrs. Knox was also a lecturer and art collector, and was involved in planning exhibitions for Washington D.C. museums, including the National Collection of Fine Arts of the Smithsonian Institution, the Phillips Gallery, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Her publications include: The Sharples: Their Portraits of George Washington and His Contemporaries (1931), The Portraits of the Adams-Clements Collection and Their Painters (1951), and “Healy’s Lincoln No. 1” (1956, 1959), as well as numerous other articles.
Extent
5.0 Linear feet (9 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Katharine McCook Knox (1890-1983), a Washington, D.C.-area art historian and author specializing in early American art, worked with the Frick Art Reference Library as a researcher, consultant, and special staff member for over 50 years. These records document her work as a member of the Library staff, as well as her personal research and writings in the field of early American art from 1922 to 1974. Records include correspondence, typescripts and manuscripts, galley proofs, handwritten and typed notes, invoices, photographs, and printed material.
Arrangement
Organized into three series: Series I: Writings; Series II: Research on Artists; and Series III: Photographing Trips. Arranged alphabetically within each series.
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Susan Chore, 2000; updated 2015.
Subject
- Cornè, Michele Felice, 1752-1845 (Person)
- Frick Art Reference Library--History (Organization)
- Knox, Katharine McCook (Person)
- Sharples, Ellen, 1769-1849 (Person)
- Sharples, James, 1752-1811 (Person)
- White House (Washington, D.C.) (Organization)
- Title
- Finding Aid for Frick Art Reference Library Staff Research - Katharine McCook Knox Records, 1924-1979 FARL.1400.050
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Susan Chore
- Date
- © 2015 The Frick Collection. All rights reserved.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Frick Collection Archives Repository
