Historians will enjoy looking at the ornate WWI certificate he received for serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the New York City military forces. On the theme of name identity, there are letters where he refutes people’s inquiries into his lineage. There is also a January 16, 1923, letter from Frederick Stuart Church (1842–1924) with a note on family branches. For genealogists, his papers contain an extensive family tree showing, as Church had always claimed, that his family was not related to the Hudson River School artist. Many items in the collection will help give an overview of Fred’s life and career. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Pencil and watercolor sketch of the carousel in Luxembourg Park, Paris, circa 1905. This sketch was likely made during Church's study at the Académie Julian in Paris. The papers she had carefully preserved over forty-five years cover a broad selection of subjects about her grandfather and include photographs she took of him in his early nineties-including a portrait of him at his easel painting a floral arrangement. Living in the Northern Virginia area, Mary agreed that the Archives would be the most logical and beneficial place to donate her collection. Unforeseen circumstances such as these underscore the importance of having the papers stored securely at the Archives. Had she not randomly selected those cabinets, it is likely that everything would have ended up in the landfill-years later the papers also narrowly missed being destroyed in a house fire in which some of his paintings were lost. When the items were delivered, to her surprise, the file cabinets were filled her grandfather’s papers. She selected several of his paintings, a few pieces of furniture, and some file cabinets that she thought would be useful for keeping her business organized. When her grandfather died in 1975, she was allowed to choose her allotment from his estate. In the 1970s, Mary was a professional photographer, becoming one of the leading trackside photographers of motorcycle road racing in the country. The papers were nearly lost forever after the artist’s death as his estate was hastily dispersed. They needed to be in a place they would be appreciated, protected, and accessible. As I was developing the idea of creating the catalogue raisonné, Mary and I searched for his artwork and discussed plans for the future of materials she stored. They were precious to her-a link to a beloved person in her life. ![]() The donation of Church’s papers in November 2021 was done literally as a death bed promise I made to Mary, who gave the papers to me shortly before she died. Grothe, had inherited all the more important. The name duplication always impedes research, which makes the gift of artist’s papers his granddaughter, Mary S. In order to distinguish himself from the other artist Fred ultimately chose to sign his works, F. Edwin Church’s father, Elihu Dwight Church, knew the Hudson River artist and simply named his fourth son in honor of him. Researching Fred is very difficult due to the confusion of having the same name as the Hudson River artist, Frederic Edwin Church (1828–1900) and the large accumulation of information available about that artist. Placing Church’s papers at the Archives of American Art has also been part of this work. ![]() Little did I know what that would entail, but it is a gratifying, challenging pursuit and is especially rewarding when one of his paintings is located. Determined that he not slip through the cracks of history, I decided to take on his catalogue raisonné. Further research on my part in libraries and institutes, and online, served to greatly expand that history, especially his exhibition records. His family’s recollections, and the paintings and papers they kept, helped me form the basis of his history. ![]() As a relatively forgotten artist, and before the advent of the internet, it was nearly impossible to find information on him. ![]() Older generations of his family were leaving us, and with them, firsthand impressions of the artist were being lost. Edwin Church (1876–1975) Online Catalogue Raisonné Project, it was with a sense of determination and urgency. Until I met my late husband, a grandson of the artist, I belonged to the scores of people who had never heard of this “other” Frederic Edwin Church. (Frederic) Edwin Church (1876–1975) for over twenty years. Edwin Church painting a floral arrangement, circa 1970.
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