Russell Sturgis, Jr., papers

Collection

Call Number: MS 2046

Scope and Contents

The papers primarily document the personal and family life of Russell Sturgis, Jr., and include little documentation of his professional career as an architect except for clippings of articles, reviews, and obituaries contained in a scrapbook. The bulk of the collection consists of family correspondence, including letters, dated 1863-1864, written by Sturgis' brother, Appleton, while serving in the Union army, and early writings from Sturgis' college years. There are also sketchbooks of landscape and architectural drawings from European trips taken by Sturgis, dated 1858-1883, as well as a small number of family photographs.

Dates

1808-circa 1940

Creator

Sturgis, Russell, 1836-1909

Language of Materials

The materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Alexander Finley and Beatrice Sturgis Bartlett, 2016.

Arrangement

The materials are arranged according to document type.

Extent

3.67 Linear Feet (6 boxes)

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.2046

Additional Description

Overview

Biographical / Historical

Russell Sturgis, Jr. (1836-1909), the son of Russell (1804-1873) and Margaret Dawes Appleton Sturgis, was born in Chantilly, Baltimore County, Delaware. He was the oldest of four children, with two brothers, Appleton and Edward, and a sister, Kate. The family’s primary residence was in New York City, where Russell, Jr., graduated from the Free Academy of New York (now the City College of New York) in 1856. He studied architecture under Leopold Eidlitz and then, in 1858, travelled to Europe, where he spent some time studying in Munich. After returning to America in 1862, he married Sarah Maria Barney, daughter of Danford N. Barney, in 1864. They had seven children: Margaret (Mrs. Hector W. Thomas), Danford N. B. (a twin brother of Danford died at birth), Beatrice Cynthia Barney (Mrs. Philip Golden Bartlett), Sarah B., and twins Lyman B. (Van) and Edward B. Sturgis was an architect who designed buildings across the eastern part of the country, with the majority in New York state and Connecticut. These included four buildings at Yale: Farnham Hall (1868), Durfee Hall (1870), Battell Chapel (1872-73), and Lawrance Hall (1884). While not unsuccessful as an architect, he was more well-known as a commentator on architecture and art. He was a prolific author of articles published in the popular press and in professional journals. In addition to editing Dictionary of Architecture and Building and a revision of Wilhelm Lübke’s Outline of the History of Art, he was the author of several volumes, including European Architecture: A Historical Study, How to Judge Architecture, and A History of Architecture. He was active in many professional and artistic organizations, including the American Institute of Architects and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He received an honorary degree from Yale in 1872 and served as the Chair of Architecture and the Arts of Design at City College from 1878-to 1880, when ill health led him to retire from his professorship and to curtail his architectural practice. He continued write and lecture on art and architecture until shortly before his death on February 11, 1909 in New York City.