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TABLE OF CONTENTS


Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Description of Series

Letters

Sketches

Houston Public Library, Houston Metropolitan Research Center

E. Richardson Cherry Papers:

An Inventory of her Records at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library



Descriptive Summary

CreatorCherry, Emma Richardson, 1859-1954
TitleE. Richardson Cherry Papers
Inclusive Dates1882 to 1954
Bulk Dates1909 to 1950
IdentificationMSS 27
Extent10 boxes: 12.5 lin. ft.
LanguageMaterials are in English.
RepositoryHouston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library

Biographical Note

E. Richardson Cherry resided in Houston between the years of 1892 and 1954. Her works, primarily in oil or watercolor, depicted landscapes, still lives, and portraits. She was perhaps the city's best known artist for half a century.

Ms. Cherry was born on Februay 28, 1859 in Aurora, Illinois. She initially attended the Art Institute of Chicago, and then the Art Student League in New York City. Following this period, she studied in Paris and Italy.

Upon completion of her studies, she began teaching at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In 1887, she married Dillon Brooke Cherry. After five years of living in Denver, Colorado, the couple moved to Houston, Texas. There, Mrs. Cherry worked as a painter and arts promoter. She was director of the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin and worked to organize the San Antonio Art League. It was during this time that Mrs. Cherry helped found the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. She and her husband remained permanent residents of Houston.

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Scope and Contents

E. Richardson Cherry's collection of correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia detail her family's history, her own travels and artistic achievements as well as her role in the founding of what has become the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Her papers also contain an extensive assortment of materials relating to the career of her son-in-law, Colonel Walter H. Reid, who served for a time as the commanding officer of Ellington Air Force Base.

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series contained in ten boxes. Boxes one through eight contain E. Richardson Cherry's papers; including correspondence, postcards, clippings and photographs. Boxes nine and ten contain Mrs. Cherry's sketch books.
Series 1: Letters
Series 2: Sketches

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

None.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish or reproduce materials from the E. Richardson Cherry Papers must be obtained from the Houston Metropolitan Research Center or the appropriate copyright holder.

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Index Terms

Subjects
Artists--Texas--Houston
Subjects (Organizations)
Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Tex.)
Ellington Air Force Base (Tex.)
Subjects (People)
Cherry, Emma Richardson, 1859-1954
Cherry family
Reid, Walter

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

E. Richardson Cherry Papers. Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library.

Acquisition Information

Collection donated November 4, 1977.

Processing Information

Processed by: 'COC', November 1977.

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Detailed Description

 

Letters

BoxFolder
11Undated Correspondence
2Undated Correspondence
3Undated Correspondence
4Undated Correspondence
5Undated Correspondence
6Undated Correspondence
7Fragmented Correspondence
8 Correspondence, 1894 to1907
9 Correspondence, A. E. Job to Mrs. Cherry, 1905 to 1921
BoxBox
21 Correspondence, 1908
2 Correspondence, 1909
3 Correspondence, 1910 to 1911
4 Correspondence, 1912
5 Correspondence, 1913 to 1951
BoxBox
31 Articles about Mrs. Cherry
2 Newspaper clippings about the Cherry family
3 Miscellaneous materials about Mrs. Cherry
4 Clippings and miscellanous materials about Col. W. H. Reid
5 Correspondence and newspaper clippings about Col. Reid
6Photographs of the Cherry family
7 Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
BoxBox
41Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
2Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
3Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
4Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
5Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
6Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
7Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
BoxBox
51Catalogues of exhibits containing the works of Mrs. Cherry
BoxBox
61Undated postcards
2Undated postcards
3Undated postcards
4Postcards, 1900 to 1942
5Miscellaneous memorabilia
6Undated Christmas cards
BoxBox
71Miscellaneous art notes by Mrs. Cherry
2Miscellaneous art notes by Mrs. Cherry
3Diploma fragments
4Address book
BoxBox
81Correspondence, 1882 to 1909
2Correspondence, 1910 to 1929
3Correspondence, 1930 to 1954
4Correspondence, undated
5Correspondence, undated
6Photographs: WPA murals, unidentified exhibit
7Notes
8The Little Review: Joseph Stella
9Photo negatives of paintings
10Scripts: "The Humanitarian Hour"; Biographical sketch of E. Cherry; Miscellaneous

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Sketches

Box
9Sketch books
Box
10Sketch books

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