Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1878-1911 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
16 cm of textual records (2 volumes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles Wyatt Eaton (1849-1896) was a Canadian painter, illustrator, author and teacher who spent much of his life in the United States. Born in Philipsburg, Canada East (now Quebec), he left to study in New York at the National Academy of Design around 1867 and subsequently (1872) in France at the École des beaux-arts in Paris. There, he was influenced by Jean-François Millet and the Barbizon painters. Returning to Philipsburg in 1876, Eaton began painting portraits locally and in Montreal. From 1877 to 1882 he taught drawing and portraiture at the Cooper Union in New York and helped found the Society of American Artists, of which he was president in 1883. He married Charlotte Collins of New York in 1887. During and after this period he produced portraits of American authors and poets (notably pen-and-ink drawings for Century Magazine) and prominent Canadians along with well-received genre pictures of the Quebec countryside in the manner of Millet. In 1895 he went to Italy to recover from illness and surgery. He returned to the United States the following year and died in Newport or Middletown, Rhode Island. He is buried in Philipsburg.
Archival history
The material forming the Wyatt Eaton fonds was donated by Charlotte Eaton and Edmund Morris in 1911. A letter dated 3rd April 1911 from the president of the Art Museum of Toronto to Charlotte Eaton acknowledging the gift may be found on p. 47 of Volume 1 of this fonds.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
AGO credit line: Gift of Charlotte Eaton and Edmund Morris, 1911
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of scrapbooks assembled by Canadian artist and author Edmund Morris (1871-1913) of autograph manuscripts of Wyatt Eaton, chiefly on art (especially Italian Renaissance art), and literature. Also included are correspondence of Edmund Morris, Charlotte Eaton and others regarding Wyatt Eaton, and material related to the Society of American Artists.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Physical condition: Pages of scrapbooks are warped and brittle.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Morris, Edmund (Custodian)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Final
Level of detail
Partial
Dates of creation revision deletion
Description prepared 2004.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Description and finding aid prepared by Gary Fitzgibbon, 2004.
Uploaded and adapted by Nirvana Chainani, 2019.