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Theodore Roosevelt’s membership card to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Roosevelt is listed as a Fellow in Perpetuity, one of several levels of membership, each of which required a certain monetary contribution.
1875-01-04
Article about the painting collection of Theron R. Butler, great-grandfather of Eleanor Butler Roosevelt. The paintings, from artists including Theodore Rousseau, Jean-Francois Millet, and Julien Dupre were on display at the American Art Galleries and were to go on sale on January 7, 1910. The article is continued across several pages. Images of some of the paintings are included with the article.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1910-01
President Roosevelt lauds William T. Evans for donating a collection of paintings by American artists to the National Gallery of Art. Roosevelt hopes that is collection, along with collections endowed by Charles Lang Freer and Harriet Lane Johnston, will persuade Congress to provide an appropriate building for its housing and display.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-06
President Roosevelt ask Anna Cabot Mills Davis Lodge if her and her husband, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, would meet him at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. He will tell Mr. Maguire they will be there.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-14
President Roosevelt feels that the American public will support the enterprise Halsey Cooley Ives is engaged in, and feels that the creation of such a museum of art will “be one of the strongest factors in the development of art education and of the appreciation of art,” not only in Missouri, but throughout the United States. He hopes that Ives is able to do the work he suggests.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-18
President Roosevelt acknowledges the difficulty that University of Michigan President Angell points out, but thinks it will take care of itself. He believes that it is wise for the government to accept the gift of Charles Lang Freer’s art collection now, as nothing can be done in terms of constructing a building to house it until Freer’s death.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-24
President Roosevelt encloses a letter in which Charles Lang Freer has offered to bequeath his art collections to the Smithsonian Institution or United States Government, along with $500,000 to construct or secure a building suitable to house the art. Roosevelt suggests having the collection examined by William Sturgis Bigelow or John LaFarge if there are any doubts about its value. Freer makes this offer with certain conditions which Roosevelt believes are reasonable. Roosevelt urges Chief Justice Fuller, who is also the Chancellor of the Smithsonian, to accept the gift on behalf of the nation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-19
President Roosevelt instructs S. P. Langley of the Smithsonian Institution not to refuse the offer of Charles Lang Freer’s art collection “on any account.” He believes that Congress will appropriate the necessary funds to care for the valuable pictures.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-21
Beatrice Howie Mackey informs Theodore Roosevelt she painted a portrait of Salish Chief Charlo a few months before his death. She intends to send it to him for evaluation and asks for help putting it in a collection. Previous attempts to exhibit her work have yet to be successful. Living on the reservation, she provides for herself and two boys through painting and wants the opportunity to show her work.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-27
Senator Lodge thanks President Roosevelt for looking into the matter of a picture frame for him, but believes that the answer Roosevelt gave is slightly off base with regard to duties placed on the frame, as it is being brought in for a museum, which has traditionally been free from duty payments. The duty was assessed in Vermont, and not in Boston, so Lodge believes that the Department of the Treasury was somewhat disingenuous in placing the blame on George H. Lyman, who is Collector of Customs at Boston. Lodge has heard that the political situation in New York has improved, and believes that the Democrats will not be able to defeat Roosevelt in any northern state.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-18
Unknown
English
Postcard showing a large hallway lined with paintings and busts. Charles C. Myers identifies it as one of the galleries in the south wing of the Palace of Versailles. He comments on the gallery’s dimensions and notes that there are paintings of battles scenes of the American Revolutionary War. Myers discusses the art of making the tapestries and rugs also on display in the gallery.
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This is one of the galleries of the south wing of the palace. This hall is 400 ft long and 45 ft wide, but is divided in the middle by a set of columns. In the far end of the hall is to be seen many rare paintings and battle scenes and many scenes in America during the Revolutionary War. The siege of Yorktown in 1781 is one of the most prominent paintings in the hall. Here in the near end of the hall that which appears to be paintings is very fine tapestries and all amde [sic] by hand, representing battle scenes of the 13th to 16th centuries. The art of making these fine tapestries seems to be a secret kept by a certain sect or class of people and passed on to the next generation. This tapestry work is still done is Paris but is so expensive that few are made for other than Royal families. From across the room you would be willing to take oath that these tapestry pieces were fine paintings.”
Postcard showing a city square with fountain and statues in the foreground and a neoclassical building in the background. Charles C. Myers identifies it as Trafalgar Square in London, England. He notes that he visited the area on November 22, 1910.
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This picture is taken in one corner of Trafalgar Square showing the National Art Gallery which is one of the leading art galleries of the world. Trafalgar Square is one of the most beautiful open squares in London and was dedicated to the memory and honor of Lord Nelson, the hero of the battle of Trafalgar when he saved England from invasion by Napoleon and his forces in 1805.”
A postcard showing a large, neoclassical building with columns. Charles C. Myers notes it is the National Art Gallery in Sydney, Australia.
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, ” National art gallery in Sydney. Not a very large building but it is known as being one of the finest art galleries in the world and perhaps excelled only by that of Paris–The Louvre Art Gallery.”
Uncle Sam, Columbia, and Puck sit at a table, ready to enjoy a Thanksgiving turkey dinner in a gallery with paintings on the wall in the background. Uncle Sam is gesturing toward these paintings, which depict Irish uprisings and unrest in England, volcanoes in Java, earthquakes in Italy, “Cholera” as the grim reaper in Egypt, French colonialism, anarchy in Spain, German militarism, and Alexander III, Emperor of Russia, standing on the body of a peasant in a painting titled “Russian Reform.” On the far right, at a dock labeled “U.S. Navy,” a ship in disrepair leans to one side. A bulldog gnaws on a bone labeled “New York” beneath a bench on the left. Caption: Uncle Sam – “Well, we seem to be getting along a little better than the rest of the world, and if we can’t be thankful for all that we have, we may at least be thankful that there are some things we haven’t.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-11-28
Vignettes depict artists, “laymen,” paintings and sculpture, and in the quiet of an empty gallery, a couple embracing on a bench.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1915-01-16
Puck arranges portrait paintings on a gallery wall, placing “C. E. Hughes” and “J. Johnson” side by side. Among the other portraits are William Jennings Bryan, Charles W. Fairbanks, William H. Taft, Mayor Tom Johnson, and J. S. Sherman. Caption: The Hanging Committee — These two would look well in a strong light.
Puck, claiming his role as the eponymous magazine’s spokesman-mascot, asserts preferred choices for the upcoming presidential race. New York’s new and reform-minded Charles Evans Hughes is endorsed despite his short time in public life, and President Roosevelt’s endorsement of William H. Taft. On the Democratic side, Puck endorses Minnesota Governor John A. Johnson, respected but relatively unknown; and less known today. Johnson was beginning his third term as governor (and would die the following year).
President William H. Taft, as a thief, steals a portrait painting of Robert M. La Follette as Mona Lisa from a gallery of paintings that also includes portraits of William Jennings Bryan and George W. Wickersham.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1911-09-27