This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
This collection contains materials pertaining to the philanthropic efforts of the Avery Family during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Collected by Jeanne Kleinfield Welcher (1923-2010), great granddaughter of Samuel Putnam Avery Sr. (1822-1905), this collection served as research material for the publication of The Diaries 1871-1882 of Samuel P Avery [Sr.], Art Dealer (Arno Press, 1979). The collection contains institutional documents, professional and personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, visual and research material, and personal affects pertaining to three generations of the Avery Family. Largely focused on the philanthropic efforts of Samuel Putnam Avery Sr. and Samuel Putnam Avery Jr (1847-1920), much of the collection appears to be initially created by Amy, Emma, and Alice Welcher, in the process of documenting the legacies of their uncle and grandfather, before being handed to Jeanne Kleinfield Welcher.
Donated by Jeanne Kleinfield to Avery Library, a small part of the collection originally arrived in 2006 and was partially processed then. The rest of the collection arrived in 2014 after the passing of Kleinfield. Due to the large chronological scope of the material, the material is organized to align with the research interest of the Avery Library. As founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and frequent donors to many institutions in the East Coast, archival holdings on the Avery Family at such institutions further supplement the impact of the family to arts and culture. Due to their profession as art dealers and significant philanthropic imprint in the region, historical record often lacks a differentiation between Samuel Putnam Avery Sr. (SPA Sr.) and Samuel Putnam Avery Jr. (SPA Jr). Where possible, this finding aid explicitly makes note of which Samuel is referred to in correspondence or publication.
Series I: Institutional Records
This series individually represents the contributions of the Avery Family to multiple projects and institutions in the United States, largely in New York and Connecticut. Of significance, original documents and contemporary articles written regarding the establishment of Avery Library at Columbia University, and subsequently Avery Hall on the Morningside campus of the university.
Series II: Personal Correspondence
This series accounts for professional and personal correspondence of certain members of the Avery Family, principally Samuel Putnam Sr., Samuel Putnam Jr., and Mary Ogden. Of particular importance is correspondence from Columbia University to Samuel Putnam Avery Jr. regarding the establishment of Avery Hall, its construction, and allocation of financial support.
Due to the variety of material, this series is the largest in the collection. Most of it pertains to research material collected by Jeanne Kleinfield towards the publication of her book The Diaries 1871-1882 of Samuel P Avery [Sr.], Art Dealer (Arno Press, 1979). However, several remarkable items can be found early within the series: Henry Ogden Avery's business card in pristine condition; a set of diaries by Samuel Putnam Avery Sr., and two scrapbooks compiled by Samuel Putnam Avery Jr. between 1902 and 1920. Notably within the scrapbooks are photographs of Avery Hall (Columbia University) in construction, dated to 2011; along with a set of floorplan sketches for a summer home built for the YWCA of Hartford with money donated by Samuel Putnam Avery Jr.
This series contains several photographs and illustrations dated from the mid nineteenth century to mid twentieth century. Most photographs are personal photographs of the Avery Family, principally portraits of various members. A significant file within the series is a grouping of photographs used to illustrate Jeanne Kleinfield's The Diaries 1871-1882 of Samuel P Avery [Sr.], Art Dealer (Arno Press, 1979), with pencil marks noting sizing and respective figure number in the publication.
This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.
Jeanne Kleinfield Welcher papers on the Avery Family, 1853-2002, Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
This collection was processed by Nicolay Duque-Robayo (Graduate Student Intern) in 2023.
The pedigree of Avery Family can be traced back to Richard Warren, a businessman who traveled on the Mayflower ship in 1620. As pertinent to this collection, the principal patriarch of the Avery family is Samuel Putnam Avery Sr. (1822-1905), married to Mary Ogden Avery (1825-1911). Originally a wood engraver, Avery Sr. established a career as a prominent art dealer in New York City during the second half of the 19th century. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and served as the commissioner in charge of the American Art department at the Exposition Universelle of 1867. Avery Sr. and Mary Ogden had six of children: Samuel Putnam Avery Jr. (1847-1920) was the eldest, who took on the mantle of art dealer as his father and continued philanthropic work in the name of the Avery family in both New York City and Hartford, Connecticut. Henry Ogden Avery (1852-1890) a Beaux-Arts trained architect, unexpectedly passed away at age 38. In memoriam to his death, the Avery Library at Columbia University was established by his father (SPA Sr.) in 1890. The construction of Avery Hall on the Morningside campus of Columbia University was supervised and financially supported by his brother (SPA Jr.). Of the six children of Samuel Putnam Avery Sr., only Fanny Falconer Welcher (1849-1918) had children: among them were Amy Ogden Welcher (1887-1992), Alice Lee Welcher (1884-1989), Emma Parke Avery (1881-1979) and Lester Groome Welcher (1885-1973). Jeanne Kleinfeld Welcher (1923-2010) was one of the daughters of Lester, ostensibly one of the last direct descendants of Samuel Putnam Avery Sr. Jeanne Welcher was a scholar and history professor at C.W. Post University.
Sources: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, The Warren, Little, Lothrop, Park, Dix, Whitman, Fairchild, Platt, Wheeler, Lane and Avery pedigrees of Samuel Putnam Avery, 1847-1920 (New York: 1925).
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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