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Inventory of Rebecca Salsbury James Collection, 1935-1955
Museum of Fine Arts Library and Archives Email:
URL: mfasantafe.org
©2006
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Title |
Inventory of Rebecca Salsbury James Collection
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Dates (Inclusive) |
1935-1955 |
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Abstract |
This collection contains essays and exhibition catalogs of works by Rebecca Salsbury James at the Museum of Fine Arts and Martha Jackson Gallery. This collection also contains black and white photographs that depict paintings on glass by the artist. All material in this Collection is to be found in Oversize Boxes (O.B.) 22 and 23.
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Collection Number |
ms07 |
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Size |
2 oversize boxes
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Repository |
Museum of Fine Arts Library and Archives |
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Language(s) |
English |
Rebecca Salsbury James achieved widespread recognition as an artist who painted mostly on glass, and for her "colcha" embroidery work. Her private life brought her into contact with many notables who affected - in some respects shaped - her artistic efforts.
During her early years, she met and fell in love with Paul Strand, a renowned photographer, whom she eventually married and who in turn introduced her to Alfred Stieglitz. Through the latter she met Georgia O'Keeffe.
The threesome developed an intimate relationship, so much so that in time Stieglitz began taking nude photographs of Rebecca and Georgia at his home at Lake George.
Her marriage to Paul Strand fell apart in 1930 - she was then 39 years old - when she met Taos rancher and banker Bill James. They married seven years later.
Through all the years of her middle life, her painting efforts, evidently influenced by O'Keeffe, led her to focus on works on glass. She also discovered a folk art form, colcha embroidery, using a special stitch that had been introduced to New Mexico during the Spanish colonial period. Her artistry in that field paralleled her work on glass.
The material in this collection contains essays, catalogs and black and white photographs of paintings on glass.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Copy Restrictions
Limited duplication of print materials allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rebecca Salsbury James Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504.
All collection materials stored in the Library and Archives at the Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM.
None
James, Bill James, Rebecca Salsbury O'Keeffe, Georgia Stieglitz, Alfred Strand, Paul colcha embroidery folk art form paintings on glass photographs
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| Description |
Container |
Essay |
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1) Rebecca Salsbury James: An American Original. By Suzan Campbell.
Typewritten. With pencil changes. [Draft?] Personalized biography of Rebecca Salsbury James' life, with emphasis on her private activities and affairs. |
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Catalogs |
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2) Martha Jackson Gallery, N.Y., N.Y. Paintings [of Rebecca Salsbury James] On Glass. Third New York Exhibition. September 21 – October 9, 1954. Illustrated. Photo of Rebecca Salsbury James head on cover. Lists one-man exhibitions (7), dates and places; with brief statement of her
work. Donald J. Bear [Curator, Denver Art Museum]. Lists prominent curators of her paintings. Also, précis of her work by Elizabeth McCausland, and a biographic sketch by Gallery which includes a reference to Rebecca Salbury James over 100 original (colcha) embroideries, and her book on Taos. |
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3) Museum of Fine Arts. Santa Fe. [Rebecca Salsbury James] a Modern Artist & Her Legacy. November 26, 1992 – April 26, 1992. Illustrated. Photo of Rebecca Salsbury James, ca. 1930s on inside of cover; and box photo of her, miniature, on opposite page, ca. 1923, by Alfred Stieglitz. Essay [paralleling her essay in Folder 1 supra]. Brilliant Sunlight,
Enchanted Air: [Rebecca Salsbury James] In New Mexico. By Suzan Campbell. Exhibition checklist at end of catalog. |
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The black and white photographs catalogued in this series
of Folders were donated to the Museum of Fine Arts by the
Estate of Rebecca Salsbury James, deceased. They depict paintings on glass by the artist. They are mounted on cardboard,
11 x 9¾ sheets; on the back of each one is information mostly
noted in the artist’s handwriting which falls into the following
categories:
A. Title of Painting.
B. Year Painted.
C. Owner or owners, or purchaser.
D. Photographer.
E. Size.
These lettered categories will be used in the digests that follow.
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| Description |
Container |
Related painting on glass. |
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(i)
A. Peace # 1. White Swan. B. 1941 C. May Salsbury, Maine D. Jo Baum E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(ii)
A. Peace # 2. Black Swan. B. 1949 C. Ruth Swaine, Ranchos de Taos D. Jo Baum E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(iii)
Peace # 3. Untitled. B. 1952 C. Mimi de Schultess D. Jo Baum E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(iv)
A. Peace # 4. Untitled. B. 1951 C. Ruth Swaine, Ranchos de Taos D. Jo Baum E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(i)
A. Earth and Water. B. 1950 C. MFA. Bequest of Helen Miller Jones. 1986 D. Mildred Tolbert E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(ii)
A. Fire and Air. B. 1950 C. [?] D. Mildred Tolbert E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(iii)
A. Day and Night.
B. 1950 C. Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Bentler, Frenoré Clarens, Switzerland. D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(i)
A. Despair #1. B. 1947 C. Solvin Smith, N.Y.C. D. Mildred Tolbert E. 7 x 8 ¼ |
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(ii)
A. Despair #2. B. 1947 C. Solvin Smith, N.Y.C. D. Mildred Tolbert E. 5 7/8 x 7 7/8 |
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(iii)
A. [Duplicate of (ii).] B. 1947. Solvin Smith Mildred Tolbert 6 x 8¼ |
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(i)
A. Watching Woman #1. B. 1950 C. Corning Glass Museum of Art D. Mildred Tolbert E. 6 ¾ x 9 5/8. |
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(ii)
A. Watching Woman #2. B. 1951 C. W.H. and R.S. James, Taos. D. [?] E. 5 ¾ x 7. |
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(i)
A. Heat. B. 1951 C. John and Claire Evans, Taos. [Son of Mabel Luhan.] D. Jo Baum E. 3 3/8 x 4 ¼ |
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(ii)
A. Cold. B. 1951. C. [Same as (i).] D. Jo Baum. E. 3 ¼ x 4 ¼ |
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Other paintings on glass. |
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(i)
A. A Still Life (New England). B. 1935. [?] D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 5¾ x 8¼ |
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(ii)
A. Shell On A Shore. B. 1936. C. [?] D. Jo Baum. 6¾ x 11. |
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(iii)
A. Pansies. B. 1939. C. [?] D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 7x9 |
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(i)
A. White Rose - Twilight. B. 1940. C. William H. James. D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 6¾ x 8 3/8. |
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(ii)
A. Gladiola (Polar Ice) and Hollyhocks. [Marked duplicate.] B. 1941. C. (Mrs.) Paul Albright, Taos. D. [?]. E. 6 x 9¼. Color copy of original at Owings-Dewey Fine Art Gallery. Santa Fe. Shows erroneous date of death as 1960 instead of 1968. |
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(iii)
A. Devout Women (Tesuque Church, N.M.). B. 1946. C. [?] D. Jo Baum. E. 7 x 8½ |
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(iv)
A. Walking Woman. B. 1946. C. [?] D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 7 3/8 x 8½ |
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(i)
A. The New Plant. B. 1947. C. Millicent Rogers. Became part of permanent collection. D. [?] E. 7 3/8 x 9¼ |
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(ii)
A. Taos Tom A - Hunting. B. Circa 1947. C. (Mrs.) Paul Thompson, Ranchos de Taos. D. [?] E. 7 3/8 x 8 7/8. |
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(iii)
A. The Mountains - Winter. B. 1948. C. [?] D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 6½ x 8¼ |
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(iv)
A. The Desert. Summer - Taos. The Quick and The Dead. B. 1949. C. (Mrs.) Joseph du Barry, Spain. D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 6 5/8 x 8¼ |
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(v)
A. Autumn in Taos. B. 1949. C. (Mrs.) Minetta [?] Burke for her Cimarroncita. D. Mildred Tolbert. E. 6¾ x 8½. |
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(i)
A. Greeting in the Night. B. 1950. C. [?] D. Jo Baum. E. 3x4. |
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(ii)
A. The Edge of the [?] Santo. B. 1953 C. (Mrs.) Howard Wurlitzer, Taos, Wurlitzer Foundation in 1962. D. [?] E. 7½ x 9¼. |
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(iii)
A. High on a Hill. B. 1954 C. (Mrs.) Bobby du Barry. D. [?] E. 5 7/8 x 6 7/8 |
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(iv)
A. Commemorative Painting B. 1955 C. Commissioned by Frieda Lawrence for San Cristobal Chapel; installed in Lawrence Chapel; later to University of New Meixco. D. [?] E. 9x6½. Top arched. |
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Portfolio Portfolio covers inscribed, "Painting on Glass." By Rebecca Salsbury James. Marked: "Sold and duplicates in house." |
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Black and White Photos Exhibition of paintings on glass at Palace of Legion of Honor. San Francisco. February 1951. Photographs. Installation by Jerry McCagy. (i) Two photos, black and white 7¾ x 9½. (ii) Two photos, black and white. 7¾ x 9½. (iii) Two photos, black and white. 7¾ x 9½. (iv) One photo, black and white. 7¾ x 9½ |
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Portfolio Cover. |
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