G. (George) William Patten Papers

Transcription

1 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Archives and Manuscripts Department John J. Burns Library Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill, MA,

2 Table of Contents Summary Information... 3 Administrative Information...4 Biographical/Historical note... 5 Scope and Contents note... 6 Arrangement note...6 Collection Inventory... 8 Series I: Artwork... 8 Series II: Clippings and programs...9 Series III: Commercial art, lettering, and schematics... 9 Series IV: Correspondence Series V: Iconography and symbolism notes...10 Series VI: Monument design...12 Series VII: Photographs...14 Series VIII: Subject files Series IX: Writings and speeches...15 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 2 -

3 Summary Information Library Unit Archives and Manuscripts Department Creator Patten, G. William, (George William), Title G. (George) William Patten papers Date [inclusive] Extent 19.0 Linear feet (19 boxes, and 2 map-case drawers. ) Language Abstract The G. (George) William Patten papers contain the professional and personal papers of Boston monument designer and artist G. William Patten ( ). They include artwork, architectural drawings, blueprints, correspondence, clippings, exhibition catalogs, notes, photographs, publications, sketchbooks, and writings. The majority of the materials relate to Patten s memorial design work, including designs he did for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. There are also some materials from Patten s WWII career as a draftsman for Vought Corporation working on the Corsair fighter aircraft. The papers date from Preferred Citation note Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, G. (George) William Patten Papers, MS , John J. Burns Library, Boston College. G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 3 -

4 Administrative Information Publication Information Processed by Stephanie Bennett, Alexandra Bisio, and Adrienne Pruitt, September This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit. Conditions Governing Access note Collection is open for research. Restrictions on use Copyright interests have not been transferred to Boston College. Provenance Deposited by Susan Patten, G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 4 -

5 Biographical/Historical note G. (George) William Patten ( ) was a Boston-area monument designer and artist. He began his artistic education while still a high school student with classes at the Boston Museum of Art, and continued via correspondence courses with the Federal School of Commercial Designing and formal instruction at the Massachusetts School of Art, the Boston Architectural Club, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University. In 1924, he went to work for the funerary monument company Cook, Watkins, and Patch as an office boy and was quickly promoted to the art department, where he remained until his retirement in the 1970s. During World War II, Patten was employed at the Chance- Vought Aircraft plant in Stratford, Connecticut, where he worked in the experimental laboratory drawing engineering schematics for the Corsair fighter aircraft. He later did architectural work for the Cambridge, Massachusetts, firm of Louis Lualdi, Inc., an ecclesiastical furnishings company, and it was in this capacity in the 1970s that he designed statuary and carvings for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Patten also provided lettering, commercial art, architectural renderings, and engineering schematics on a piecework basis for various companies in the Boston area. He was professionally active, often publishing and speaking about monuments, symbolism, iconography, and the art of ancient Egypt. He served as the art editor of the trade journal American Art in Stone and was involved with several professional monument design organizations, including the Monument Institute of America. Source Bureau of the Census Census of Population and Housing. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, Ancestry.com (accessed August 17, 2012). "G. William Patten: Master Designer." American Art in Stone. G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 5 -

6 Scope and Contents note The G. (George) William Patten papers contain artwork, architectural drawings, blueprints, correspondence, exhibition catalogs, clippings, notes, photographs, publications, sketchbooks, writings, and speeches documenting Patten s career as a monument designer and artist. Patten designed war memorials, headstones, and advertising materials for the funerary monument company Cook, Watkins, and Patch, and his sketches, product sheets, and pamphlets for them form a large part of this collection. There are also a substantial number of architectural drawings for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., for which Patten designed statuary and carvings in several chapels as a subcontractor to Lualdi, Inc. Patten designed furnishings for other chapels for Lualdi, including the Boston College High School chapel, detailed by photographs and drawings in the papers. Patten s commercial artworks include lettering, engineering schematics, and product illustrations. Of particular interest is his work for Vought Corporation aircraft company during World War II, which consists of engineering schematics, sketches, prints, and pamphlets for the Corsair fighter aircraft. In addition to his commissioned work as a monument designer and commercial artist, Patten created personal artwork, including pen and ink and pencil sketches, watercolor paintings, oil pastel portraits, and etchings. These range from early student works (exercises and copies of famous artworks) to later original pieces. Architecture, Boston and its environs, and life drawing are the subjects best represented. A large bound sketchbook contains artworks of many various subjects from all phases of Patten s life, and also includes clippings and examples of his professional work. Patten had a strong interest in iconography and symbolism and kept a series of notebooks on those topics. In addition, there are subject files consisting of clippings and reference images, mostly on religious art. A small amount of biographical material in the subject files includes clippings, an exhibition catalog, and educational certificates. In the mid-1970s, Patten took several trips to Egypt with his second wife, Susan, and materials on Egypt and the trips are also found in the subject files. Correspondence in the collection is brief and mainly relates to Patten s correspondence courses in art. There are a small number of architectural reference photographs and photographs of Patten s acquaintances. Arrangement note This collection is arranged alphabetically in nine series: I. Artwork; II. Clippings and programs; III. Commercial art, lettering, and schematics; IV. Correspondence; V. Iconography and symbolism notes; VI. Monument design; VII. Photographs; VIII. Subject files; and IX. Writings and speeches. Series I. Artwork is divided into seven subseries: A. Animals and people; B. Boston area; C. Buildings; D. Landscape and seascapes; E. Machines; F. Sketchbook; and G. Student work. Series III. Commercial G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 6 -

7 art is divided into five subseries: A. Callaway Associates; B. Donald Gillespie Associates; C. General; D. Kenyon C. Bolton III and Associates; and E. Vought Corporation. Series VI. Monument Design is divided into four subseries: A. American Art in Stone; B. Cook, Watkins, and Patch; C. Other memorial organizations; and D. Louis Lualdi, Inc. Subseries D is divided into two sub-subseries: i. General projects and ii. National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 7 -

8 Collection Inventory Series I: Artwork, circa 1920s-1986 Animals and people, circa 1920s-1986 Case- Drawer 3-17 Folder 6 Box 1 Folder 1-5 Box 5 Folder 1 Box 6 Folder 2-8 Boston area, circa 1920s-1986 Box 1 Folder 6 Box 3 Folder 1-15 Box 5 Folder 2-5 Box 6 Folder 1 Buildings, circa 1920s-1986 Box 1 Folder 7-9 Box 4 Folder 1-3 Box 5 Folder 6-11 Box 6 Folder 9-10 Box 7 Folder 3-6 Landscapes and seascapes, circa 1920s-1986 Box 1 Folder Box 4 Folder 4-5 Box 5 Folder Machines, circa 1920s-1986 Box 1 Folder 12 Sketchbook, Box 2 Volume 1 Student work, circa 1920s-1950s Box 1 Folder Box 5 Folder 14 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 8 -

9 Series II: Clippings and programs, Box 8 Folder 1-2 Series III: Commercial art, lettering, and schematics, circa Subseries A: Callaway Associates, circa Box 8 Folder 3-8 Subseries B: Donald Gillespie Associates, circa Box 8 Folder 9-10 Subseries C: General, circa Advertisements, circa 1950s-1971 Box 8 Folder 11 Billing, 1957, 1971 Box 8 Folder 12 Home exterior and interior sketches, circa 1940s-1986 Box 8 Folder 13 Illustrations, Box 8 Folder 14 Lettering, circa Box 7 Folder 7 Box 8 Folder Logos, circa Box 8 Folder 17 Mock-ups, circa 1940s-1986 Box 8 Folder Sketches, circa 1940s-1986 Box 8 Folder 20 Subseries D: Kenyon C. Bolton III and Associates, circa Box 8 Folder Subseries E: Vought Corporation, circa Clippings and pamphlets, circa Box 8 Folder 23 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 9 -

10 Engineering drawings, 1943 Box 8 Folder Corsair assembly breakdown booklet, 1944 Box 8 Folder 27 Group 16 Fine Art Exhibition, 1943 Box 8 Folder 28 Sketches and prints of the Vought Corsair plane, circa Box 7 Folder 8 Sketches, photographs, and lettering, circa Box 8 Folder 29 Series IV: Correspondence, Box 9 Folder 1 Series V: Iconography and symbolism notes, circa 1940s-1980s Animals A-F, circa 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 2 Animals L-Z, 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 3 Biblical clothing, circa 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 4 Bibliography, 1940s-1950s Box 13 Countries A-G, 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 5 Countries H-O, 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 6 Countries P-Z, 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 7 Cross and apostles, 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 8 General A, 1940s-1980s Box 9 Folder 9 General B, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 1 General Ca-Ch, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 2 General Ci-Cz, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 3 General D-F, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 4 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 10 -

11 General G-H, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 5 General I-L, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 6 General M, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 7 General N-O, 1940s-1980s Box 10 Folder 8 General P, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 1 General Q-Se, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 2 General Sh-Sy, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 3 General T-V, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 4 General W-Z, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 5 German memorial design, circa 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 6 Groups and organizations, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 7 Ireland and Irish art, circa 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 8 Jerusalem, Judaism, and Egypt, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 9 Memorial architecture and design types, circa 1940s-1970s Box 11 Folder 10 Numbers, 1940s-1980s Box 11 Folder 11 Persons A-B, 1940s-1980s Box 12 Folder 1 Persons C-E, 1940s-1980s Box 12 Folder 2 Persons F-I, 1940s-1980s Box 12 Folder 3 Persons J-L, 1940s-1980s Box 12 Folder 4 Persons M-Q, 1940s-1980s Box 12 Folder 5 Persons R-S, 1940s-1980s Box 12 Folder 6 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 11 -

12 Persons T-Z, 1940s-1980s Box 12 Folder 7 Plants A-J, 1940s-1980s Box 14 Folder 1 Plants L-Z, 1940s-1980s Box 14 Folder 2 Tomb of St. Peter, circa 1940s-1980s Box 14 Folder 3 Trinity and the Blessed Virgin, 1940s-1980s Box 14 Folder 4 William West - Symboleography, 1940s-1980s Box 14 Folder 5 Series VI: Monument design, circa 1940s-1970s Subseries A: American Art in Stone, circa 1940s-1986 Articles, circa 1940s-1986 Box 14 Folder 6 Correspondence, Box 14 Folder 7 Information sheets, covers, and design work, Box 14 Folder 8-9 Issues, Box 14 Folder 10 Subseries B: Cook, Watkins, and Patch, circa 1940s-1970s Advertisements, circa 1940s-1970s Box 7 Folder 1 Box 14 Folder Box 15 Folder 1 Correspondence and memos, 1954, 1968 Box 15 Folder 2 Facilities blueprint and sketch, circa 1940s-1960s Case- Drawer 3-16 Folder 2 Box 15 Folder 3 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 12 -

13 Haverhill, Massachusetts, World War I memorial project, 1956 Milford, Massachusetts, Order of the Sons of Italy World War II monument project, 1973 New London, Connecticut, city war memorial project, Box 15 Folder 4 Box 15 Folder 5 Box 15 Folder 6 Photographs, circa 1940s-1970s Box 5 Folder 15 Box 15 Folder 7 Price list booklets and flyer, Box 15 Folder 8 Product sheets, circa 1940s-1970s Box 15 Folder 9-14 Sketches and drawings, circa 1940s-1970s Box 7 Folder 9 Box 16 Folder 1-3 Subseries C: Other memorial organizations, circa 1940s-1970s Clippings and advertisements, circa 1950s Box 16 Folder 4 Product sheets and booklets, circa s Box 16 Folder 5-6 Sketches, notes, and drawings, circa 1940s-1970s Case- Drawer 3-16 Folder 1 Box 16 Folder 7-8 Subseries D: Louis Lualdi, Inc., circa 1940s-1970s Sub-subseries i: General projects, circa 1940s-1960s Invoices, Box 16 Folder 9 Photographs, circa 1950s-1960s Box 16 Folder 10 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 13 -

14 Product sheets and advertisements, circa 1950s-1960s Box 16 Folder 11 Sketches, drawings, and lettering, circa 1940s-1970s Box 7 Folder Box 7 Folder 2 Box 16 Folder 12 Sub-subseries ii: National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, circa 1960s-1970s Architectural plans, circa 1960s-1970s Case- Drawer 3-17 Case- Drawer 3-16 Folder 1-5 Folder 3-6 Box 7 Folder 10 Box 16 Folder Clippings and publications, circa 1960s Box 16 Folder 16 Notes and sketches, circa 1960s-1970s Box 16 Folder Subseries E: Lyons, Kansas, Chamber of Commerce Father Padilla Cross, Box 16 Folder Series VII: Photographs, circa 1920s-1971 Alfred di Cesare, circa 1940s-1950s Box 16 Folder 22 Church pew detail, circa 1971 Box 16 Folder 23 First Church of Christ, Scientist, circa Box 16 Folder 24 India photographic postcards, circa 1920s-1930s Box 17 Portrait of Jean, 1958 Box 16 Folder 25 Taj Agra, no. 1077, Bourne & Shepherd print, undated Box 16 Folder 26 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 14 -

15 Series VIII: Subject files, circa 1880s-1980s (Bulk, ) American Monument Association - Monument Builders of America convention, 1948 Artists: Sargent, Burne-Jones, Tissot, Abbey, circa 1950s-1980s Box 16 Folder 27 Box 16 Folder 28 Biographical materials, Box 5 Folder 16 Box 18 Folder 1-2 Egypt trip, Box 5 Folder Box 18 Folder 3-6 Mountain climbing, circa 1930s-1970s Box 18 Folder 7-9 Religion: Catholic, Box 18 Folder 10 Religious art articles, circa 1940s-1980s Box 18 Folder Religious art: the Bible, circa 1880s, 1950s-1970s Box 19 Folder 1-2 Religious art: the Blessed Virgin, circa 1940s-1980s Box 19 Folder 3 Religious art: Byzantine and Greek Orthodox, circa 1930s-1980s Box 19 Folder 4 Religious art: Christ, life of, circa 1880s-1980s Box 19 Folder 5-6 Religious art: Christ portraits and crucifixion, 1886, Box 19 Folder 7-8 Religious art: Sculpture, circa 1930s-1950s Box 19 Folder 9 Stamp collecting, Box 19 Folder 10 Series IX: Writings and speeches, circa 1940s-1960s G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 15 -

16 Patten, G. William. Book reviews in American Art in Stone, circa 1940s, 1960s Patten, G. William. Design winner announcements in American Art in Stone, circa 1950s Patten, G. William. "Designer's Viewpoint," typescript and various reprints, Patten, G. William. "The History of Monument Design," in American Art in Stone, circa 1950s-1960s Patten, G. William. "The Language of Symbolism, Part I of Address," in American Art in Stone, circa 1953 Patten, G. William. "Memorial Symbolism," clippings from American Art in Stone, typescript, and program, circa Patten, G. William. "The Symbolism of Numbers," in American Art in Stone, circa 1950s-1960s Patten, G. William. "Toward Better Lettering," in American Art in Stone, circa 1950s Patten, G. William. "Toward the Memorial Ideal," in American Art in Stone, circa 1950s Box 19 Folder 11 Box 19 Folder 12 Box 19 Folder 13 Box 19 Folder 14 Box 19 Folder 15 Box 19 Folder 16 Box 19 Folder 17 Box 19 Folder 18 Box 19 Folder 19 G. (George) William Patten Papers MS Page 16 -