1900-1959 Group of Materials Illustrating the Creative Life of William Steeple Davis, Orient Long Island New York Fine Artist Including Original Sketches, a Typed Manuscript of a Nautical Book, Art & Photography Exhibition Catalogs & Articles.
Orient, Long Island New York: Various, 1900. F. Collection includes: a pencil sketch titled Revolution Cottage Orient, approx. 6" x 6" (on 6" x 9" sheet) and on another fold of the same sheet, 6" x 9" are three more sketches - another Orient home on the shoreline, a small sailboat and an interior view with lamp - paper darkened, old burn-spot at edge of 'lamp' sketch, edge-chipped a bit, sketches good and with good detail; with another sketch of a stylized butterfly corner-ornament, perhaps for an illustration - done in colored crayons on a 5" x 7 3/4" sheet, the art about 3" x 3" - on the back of this is a tracing of the butterfly in pencil and above that a sketch of a sailing boat pictured in a seashell-cornered frame - sailing vessels being one of Davis' favorite subjects - this sheet with a couple of closed tears and darkened a bit, artwork good; (these are not signed); (with) a (32) page double-space typed manuscript with corrections in Davis' hand for a book by him "Tentative Title: From Many Ports" - that surveys the history of ships and commerce, especially American sailing boats, with corrections in his hand throughout. In good condition, light wear, with old paper-clip rustmarks at top of sheets and with an index card written in his hand stating that "...Book idea specimen Mss. & 7 sheets of drawings sent Little, Brown Apr 1/35 Ret." (drawings not part of this ms.) with the first class mailing envelope from Little Brown that held the ms. papers - Davis "...had a great enthusiasm for sailing vessels and made a careful study of their structures and the details of their sails and riggings..." (quote from a Oysterponds Hist. Soc. exhibit notice of his works - with a copy of this notice here as well) - as far as we can determine, this book was not published; (with) a copy of the French arts review magazine 'Revue Du Vrai Et Du Beau' of Paris, issue of December 10, 1924 with a typed translation of an article about Davis, with corrections in his hand, that his found within a larger piece on "The Exhibition at Newport" by Count Chabrier and the article illustrates 2 paintings by W.S.D. - the translation is 2 typed pages, both magazine & trans. in good condition; (with) Art Exhibition catalogues in every one of which are found one or more works by William Steeple Davis, among artistic endeavors of many other prominent artists of the time: 1914 Second Annual art Exhibition Benefit Eastern Long Island Hospital Greenport L.I. ([4] sides, W. Cole Brigham, Sarah L. Craven, Whitney M. Hubbard, Edith & Henry Prellwitz, Julia M. Wickham, Gladys & Irving Wiles, more) some chipping and soil, good; 1926 Montclair At Museum ([4] sides, single artist exhibit for Davis, with a large list of works, oil, watercolor, etching, block prints); 1926 Brooklyn Society of Artists Tenth Annual Exhibition ([8] pages, at Pratt Institute Brooklyn, Edna Thurber, W.E. Spader, Sara Hess, Leon Davo, Will J. Quinlan, Louise Mansfield, Katharine Lovell, Isabel Moore Kimball, with list of Society members); 1927 Canadian National Exhibition Fine, Graphic & Applied Arts & Salon of Photography ([140] pages, black and white illustrated throughout, hundreds of artists & works listed, Anna Airy, Reginald Brundrit, Gordon Coutts, Lady Scott Young, Louis Jourdan, F.S. Coburn, Amy C. Despard, Fred Haines, Charles Jefferys, Marion Long, Charles Comfort, W. Maltman, Tod Lendenmouth, Stanley Turner, Tankai Suzuki, J. Sudek, Edward Mudge, Laboratorio di Resinotipia, Frank Drtikol, an excellent, detailed catalog); 1928 Brooklyn Soc. of Artist at Pratt, ([6] panels, Eugene F. Cole, Sanilslav Rembski, Fred Cuming, Eugene Jones, Louis J. Urich, Frances Keffer, Alta West Salisbury, Bessie Eisenberg, Alexander Zeitlin, more); 1929 Eighth Annual Exhibition of Etchings Lithographs Block Prints The Art Alliance Philadelphia ([8] panels, Charles H. Woodbury, John Taylor Arms, Lee Sturges, Gordon Grant, Richard E. Bishop, Margaeret J. Patterson, Wuanita Smith, Frances H. Gearhart, Beatrice S. & William Auerbach-Levy, G. A. Mock, Marylka Modjeska, Frank W. Benson, more) 1940 Tercentenary Art Exhibition Peconic School ([4] panels, Virginia Beresford, Caroline M. Bell, T. Currie-Bell, Gladys & Irving Wiles, Julia Wickham, Willa Hagerman, Edith & Henry Prellwitz, more, with list of Patronesses); (and) a copy of the November 1916 Photo-Era The American Journal of Photography, (72) pages, which holds 8 black and white photo-images by W.S. Davis, as part of a featured article "The Possiblities of our Neighborhood" by him, (and articles & illustrations by others) - magazine with some wear and soiling to covers, rub- spot, in good condition; (and) 1957, 1958 and 1960 single-artist exhibitions of Davis' work, paintings, at the National Arts Club Gramercy Park, lists of oil paintings and watercolors, (4) panels each catalog; the above are all priced catalogs, with titles identified, the group with light wear, very good; (with) a Little, Brown & Co. illustrated 4-panel review and order form for the popular W.S. Davis book "Practical Amateur Photography"; (and) a (16) page child's school-book in which a young Davis translates line-by-line various French works, fairy tales and fables, all in his script hand, (paper wrap covers detached, in very good condition); William Steeple Davis (1884-1961) painter, educator, engraver, inventor, block printer, pictorial photographer, writer, graphic artist, resident of Orient, Long Island, (WWW in American Art 1999); a good group of material concerning this artist's life and work and especially interesting for the insight it offers into the many aspects of his creative work; also of interest to read of how this work, in many different artistic fields, was promoted and sold over a half-century, along with seeing how other artists joined in the effort to vigorously publicize and sell their works over the years; this group of special interest concerning Peconic Art School and Orient Long Island art history. Item #21547
Price: $750.00