Manuscripts
Mary Cummings Eudy
- Description
- This collection consists of two series: the Grace Nicholson papers (2,926 items) and addenda (1,444 items). The papers consist primarily of correspondence, while the addenda is primarily notes. Both relate to Grace Nicholson and her work in the fields of Native American and Asian art. There are many letters from Native Americans to Nicholson and extensive diaries and notes that Nicholson kept on her buying trips through Native American territory, especially of the Karok, Klamath, and Pomo Indians. Subject matter includes Native American legends, folklore, vocabulary, tribal festivals, basket making, business in art trade, and living conditions. There is also a considerable amount of correspondence from China, Japan, and Korea between Nicholson and her buyers. Among the subjects covered are Chinese art and architecture, Japanese art, Korean art, Javanese textiles, Siamese art, Philippine art, life and social conditions in Asia, and the business of trading Asian art. Being a well-known dealer in Native American and Asian art, Nicholson was in contact with many artists, such as Frederick Arthur Bridgman, W. Herbert Dunton, Sadakichi Hartmann, Elizabeth Conrad Hickox, Louise Merrill Hickox, Grace Carpenter Hudson, George Wharton James, Lilian Miller, Hovsep T. Pushman, Joseph Henry Sharp, and Millard Sheets. Nicholson also purchased materials for institutions such as the Field Museum of Natural History, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art, the Pasadena Art Museum, and the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, California. Her intimate relationships with Native Americans give particular insight into their lives and culture. Historians and academics sought her out, including Alfred Lewis Kroeber, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Clinton Hart Merriam. Nicholson also received letters from political figures such as Frederick Webb Hodge, Herbert Hoover, Hiram Johnson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
