George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum Archives

Early 1900s postcard showing the exterior of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum

A Glimpse into the Gilded Age

Circular, purple medallion with the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum stamp at center.

Constructed in 1895 to house the extraordinary art collections of Springfield residents George Walter Vincent Smith (1832-1923) and Belle Townsley Smith (1845-1928), the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum is a late 19th-century Gilded Age treasure with a rich history.

In addition to housing art collections, the museum stewards hundreds of photographs and documents that tell the story of Springfield’s first art museum and offer insights into the lives of its benefactors. Among the highlights of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum Archives are correspondence between George Walter Vincent Smith and artists such as Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908) and Raffaele Mainella (1856-1941). The Archives also include Belle Townsley Smith’s letters from Italy, where the couple lived between 1882 and 1887; early photographs of the museum; diagrams of original gallery installations; exhibition catalogues produced by James Dwyer Gill’s Art Gallery which operated in Springfield; and much more.

Funded through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, digitizing and sharing these Archives began in 2020. We invite you explore selections from the holdings through the links below.

Photographs

Letters

Gill’s Catalogues

This Project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor

National Endowment for the Humanities

Photographs

The George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum Archives contain hundreds of photographs taken prior to 1928 that document the museum exterior and grounds, as well as the Smiths’ nearby home on Chestnut Street. Also included in the Archives are historic images of artworks, case arrangements, and the Smiths themselves. Especially interesting are photographs of gallery installations curated by George Walter Vincent Smith, as they offer insight into the collector’s display philosophy which aimed to suggest, “beauty and repose – beauty of form, beauty in color schemes, consequently beauty of thought.” Meanwhile, images of artists, colleagues, and friends of the Smiths provide a glimpse into their social lives. Of interest to all who have enjoyed the Springfield Museums’ grounds, additional images show George and Belle Smith relaxing on what is now referred to as the “Quadrangle” with their beloved cats. More than a visual record of a bygone era, these photographs allow for a close study of Springfield’s budding cultural district and the legacy of George Walter Vincent and Belle Townsley Smith.

Exterior of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, undated

Tell Us What You Think!

Complete this short survey on the new digital archives and receive a free Springfield Museums lunch tote! Estimated completion time is 4 minutes.

Take the Survey

Letters

Postmarked from cities such as Springfield, New York, Venice, and London, the over 200 letters in the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum Archives are a testament to the Smiths’ engagement with the wider world. Extensive correspondence sheds light on objects purchased from prominent art dealers including Yamanaka Sadajiro (1866-1936). Additionally, letters written to and from artists such as Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908), Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Raffaele Mainella (1856-1941), and Thomas Waterman Wood (1823-1903), outline business dealings and friendships. Underscoring the Smiths’ connections to prominent individuals of the era, the Archives also include exchanges with Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) and Booker T. Washington (1856-1915). Personal letters, too, such as those written by Belle Townsley Smith to her friend Doll, describe the Smiths travels in Italy and offer hints about their personalities.

Click the thumbnails to view the full letters.

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Winslow Homer, New York, March 3, 1880. Artist Winslow Homer writes GWV Smith to attest for the character of the young women portrayed in the painting "Promenade on the Beach."

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Alfred Thompson Bricher, New York, June 9, 1882. Artist Alfred Thompson Bricher describes his newly finished painting, "Castle Rock Marblehead," to GWV Smith. Bricher declares the work “the best picture of that size I ever done.”

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Raffaele Mainella, Forno di Zoldo, September 25, 1884. Raffaele Mainella, a young Italian artist, writes to GWV Smith to thank him for his support and to share details of his artistic inspiration. He hopes that his watercolors will please Smith, and also invites Smith to send a letter with feedback.

Letter to Mr. Mills from George Walter Vincent Smith, Venice, December 18, 1884. In this lengthy letter from Venice, GWV Smith discusses the possibility of purchasing a painting for the Mills family, and the cholera epidemic in Italy and his ease in buying paintings. GWV Smith also details their itinerary while in Europe.

Letter to “Doll” or Mrs. C. C. Buswell from Belle Townsley Smith, Venice, January 23, 1886. Belle Townsley Smith shares details of her time in Italy in a letter to her close friend Doll (Mrs. C.C. Buswell). She details their travels around the Italian countryside and Milan the previous summer, as well as the winter scene in Venice.

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Raffaele Mainella, Turin, November 18, 1886. Artist Raffaele Mainella thanks GWV Smith for advising him to go to Turin to see a special exhibition; Mainella thoroughly enjoyed the show and found inspiration in the beautiful works. He also apologizes for initially introducing his now-wife as his sister during their first meeting in his studio; he begs Smith to pardon his embarrassing lie.

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from William Rice, Springfield, May 8, 1889. William Rice of the City Library Association, reports to GWV Smith that the Association received the announcement in his recent letters with great enthusiasm. He notes, “The expression of satisfaction that your fine collection is eventually to come to us are very hearty and universal.”

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from J.G. Brown, New York, June 16, 1891. After the sale of artwork, artist J.G. Brown thanks GWV Smith for his support of American artists.

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Thomas Waterman Wood, New York, May 17 1895. Artist Thomas Waterman Wood writes to GWV Smith noting, “It will give me the greatest pleasure to become identified even in a small degree with your magnificent gift to Springfield, by contributing this portrait-picture of yourself and Mrs. Smith to be a part of your own collection in the Springfield Museum.”

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Andrew Carnegie, New York, June 1, 1897. After visiting Springfield and touring the museum, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie wrote to GWV Smith saying, “The precious treasure which you have given Springfield impressed me so deeply that I could not resist sending you a "Mercury in Repose "as a memento of my visit. Will you please accept it and let me feel that I have just a wee bit cooperation with you in spirit — Springfield cannot today realize what your gift means but it will some day although each succeeding generation will have to set a higher value upon it.”

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Susan E. P. Forbes, Byfield, Massachusetts, June 24, 1904. Susan Forbes, wife of Alexander Barclay Forbes, founder of Forbes and Wallace Department Stores in Springfield, writes GWV Smith to tell him she has purchased a large Sumida vase for the museum as a memento of her interest in Springfield and “its rarely beautiful art collection.”

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from D.J.R. Ushikubo of Yamanaka and Co., New York, March 29, 1905. D.J.R. Ushikubo of Yamanaka & Co., Dealers of Japanese Art Objects on Fifth Ave. in New York City, thanks GWV Smith for his many years of uninterrupted patronage. He discusses the Shinto Wheel Shrine and notes the difference between the two types of Shinto architecture – the Ise type (simple) and the Tokugawa type (more modern and elaborate).

Letter to George Walter Vincent Smith from Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, February 6, 1912. Booker T. Washington, of the Tuskegee Institute, thanks GWV Smith for his philanthropic contribution, and expresses gratitude for his visit to Springfield and the opportunity to meet Smith.

Report to the Curator from Dr. Asa Matsuoka, July 29, 1932. Asa Matsuoka, M.A., Ph. D., reports to the museum curator a report on her year of work in the collection. In addition to detailing the arms and armor collection and the lacquer, she notes, “It is amazing, indeed, that this enormous museum collection was amassed by one man, Mr. Smith. I understand that he had no advisor to give him the best judgment in purchasing the objects. He bought them simply because he thought them beautiful.”

Letter to The President and Board of Trustees, Springfield City Library Association, from Cordelia S. Pond, Springfield, November 28, 1950. In this letter, Cordelia S. Pond shares details of her nearly 50 year career in the GWV Smith Art Museum, including her twenty years as curator and director. Her accomplishments include building infrastructure and safety work, the maintenance of collections, a strong schedule of loaned exhibitions, and growing public programming.

James D. Gill’s Art Gallery, circa 1890. Image courtesy of the Wood Museum of Springfield History Archives

James Dwyer Gill’s Art Gallery Catalogues

Although fascinated by the arts of Asia and the Middle East, George Walter Vincent Smith was also an enthusiastic supporter of artists working in the United States. In order to promote the work of contemporary American painters, Smith partnered with Springfield dealer James Dwyer Gill (1849-1937) to present annual exhibitions at Gill’s Art Gallery, located on the corner of Main and Bridge Streets. In 1889, The Springfield Republican reported that the superb selection of works on display in the Second Annual Art Exhibit were, “due to the experienced taste and long and wide acquaintance of Mr. G.W.V. Smith, who also proved himself a first-rate hanging committee in giving the pictures their best advantage.” The George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum Archives contain the most complete collection of annual exhibition catalogues produced by Gill’s Art Gallery from 1878 through 1928. Interestingly, some catalogues are notated to indicate price sold or the name of the buyer. This rare and important collection of Gill’s Art Gallery catalogues contributes to the provenance of paintings located at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, as well as in private and public collections around the world.

Newsletter Sign Up