Manuscript Collections

Biographic Letters from Distinguished Painters Represented in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Others

112 autograph and typed letters dating from 1896 through 1909, addressed to painter, curator, and Met administrator George Henry Story (1835-1922).

Charles Warren Cram Papers

Primarily letters from Paris-based artists as well as receipts and visiting cards. Cram (1833-1899) was an American living in Paris in the 1880s; he appears to have acted as an art dealer. 

Collection of Early 19th-Century French Documents, 1813-1841

Legal documents relating to the sale of residences in the Département de la Seine-et-Marne, France during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Daniel Cady Eaton: Lectures, 1896

Eaton (1837-1912), nephew of the feminist pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was professor of art history at Yale from 1869 to 1876, and again from 1902 to 1909.

Eda Lord Dixon Sketchbooks, Ledgers, and Photo Albums

Sketch, design, and account books of Dixon (1879-1926), an influential and award-winning American silversmith, enamelist, and jeweler.

Frank Blackwell Mayer: Correspondence, 1822-1888

Mayer (1827-1899) was a Maryland-based artist and correspondent to the Minnesota Historical Society. This collection contains correspondence on art as well as family and personal matters.

Frank Edwin Elwell Papers and American Sculptors' Letters

Elwell (1858-1922) was an American sculptor and Curator of Ancient and Modern Statuary at The Met between 1903 and 1905.

Havemeyer Family Papers Relating to Art Collecting, 1901-1922

Letters, writings, notes, and ephemera regarding Louisine and Henry Havemeyer's art collecting activities.
Finding aid

Henry Gurdon Marquand Papers

Marquand (1819-1902) served as Trustee, Treasurer, and President of The Met.

Finding aid

James Abbott McNeill Whistler Letters

Letters from Whistler (1834-1903) to the art critic, collector, and dealer Théodore Duret (1838-1927).

Jewelry Design Books of Jaques and Marcus, 1890-1910

Eight volumes of drawings of custom jewelry by the New York firm. From the Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.

Mary Elizabeth Brown Papers, ca. 1885-ca. 1909

Correspondence between Brown (1842-1918) and experts throughout the world concerning musical instruments.

Mayor Family Correspondence, 1862-1928

A. Hyatt Mayor (1901-1980) worked in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Met from 1932 to 1966, succeeding William Ivins as curator in 1946.

Miscellaneous Papers, 1781-1971

Letters of artists and others, as well as news clippings, documents, and forty-six autographed invitation cards sent to artists soliciting participation in the exhibition "Speak Their Language."

Robert T. Nichol Collection of Heraldic Papers, Old Leases, etc., 19th Century

Nichol worked in the Cataloging Division of The Met of Art from 1913 to 1933.

Robert Gilmor Letters to Charles Graff, 1825-1844

Correspondence between Gilmor (1774-1848) and Graff (1779-1846), regarding their respective philosophies and activities related to purchasing and collecting art.

Sadakichi Hartmann: Papers, 1899-1937

Hartmann (1867-1944) was an art and photography critic and poet. The collection contains an unpublished manuscript, photographs, and correspondence with Alfred Stieglitz (1846-1946).

Spencer Bickerton Collection

Bickerton was an art collector, donor, and patron of The Met. Much of the material in this collection concerns nineteenth-century British engravers, authors, and the Royal Academy.

William  H. Lippincott Letters, 1887-1917

Lippincott (1849-1920) was an American painter, born in Philadelphia and active in Pont-Aven (Brittany, France) and New York.