Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78029629
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Lee Lawrie, sculptor, were given to the Library of Congress by Lawrie in 1955. Several substantial additions were given by his widow, Mildred Allen Baker Lawrie, 1963-1970. Further additions were received from Mrs. Lawrie's estate in 1970, from his son Archer Lawrie in 1986, and from his daughter Anne Lawrie Wolcott in 1985 and 1991.
The Lawrie Papers were processed by Grover Batts in 1962, with additions and revisions by Beverly Brannan in 1970, by David Mathison in 1987, and by Nan Thompson Ernst in 1996. The finding aid was revised in 2012.
Many photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division, where they are identified as part of these papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Lee Lawrie and Mildred Allen Baker Lawrie in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Lee Lawrie are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Lee Lawrie Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Lee Lawrie (1877-1963) span the years 1908-1990 with the bulk dating from 1920 to 1963. The collection is organized in eight series: General Correspondence, Family Correspondence, Special Correspondence, Sculpture Commission Files, Biographical File, United States Commission of Fine Arts, Addenda, and Oversize. Lawrie's personal life and career are well documented by correspondence with his family, fellow sculptors, architects, bronze founders, and other artisans.
Lawrie specialized in architectural sculpture. Many of his finest early works were for buildings designed by Bertram G. Goodhue, with whom Lawrie shared the view that sculpture was integral to architecture and not simple adornment. Correspondence in the collection between Lawrie and Goodhue concerns their many collaborations, including St. Thomas' Church, the Church of the Heavenly Rest, and the Goodhue Memorial Tomb at the Chapel (now Church) of the Intercession, all in New York City; the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C.; and the state capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska. Goodhue correspondence can be found in the General Correspondence and in the Sculpture Commission Files.
The Sculpture Commission Files document Lawrie's projects and his role in the creation of public buildings. Correspondence between the many persons involved in public works reveals that adjustments in viewpoints were made to achieve a final artistic unity. Important works documented in the series, in addition to those done with Goodhue, include the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and the bronze "Atlas" and sculptured stone screen for the International Building, Rockefeller Center in New York City; statues for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; the Los Angeles Public Library; Bok Singing Tower in Florida; Louisiana State Capitol; Yale University's Harkness Memorial Tower; the Memorial Bridge eagles in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and George Washington at the National Cathedral, Washington D.C.
Lawrie served as consultant in sculpture to the Board of Design for the New York World's Fair in 1939, to the Architect of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the renovation of the Senate and House chambers, and to the American Battle Monuments Commission in the 1940s, and he was sculptor-member of the national Commission of Fine Arts, 1933-1937 and 1945-1950. Papers relating to these assignments are included in the General Correspondence series, the Sculpture Commission Files, and the Commission of Fine Arts series. Papers added to the collection after 1963 are included in the Addenda.
The National Academy of Sciences holds records that document the design and construction of its building.
This collection is arranged in eight series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78029629
Letters sent and received.
Arranged chronologically by correspondent.
Letters sent and received by various members of the Lawrie family.
Chronologically arranged.
Letters to and from Archer Lawrie, editor of
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, contracts, bills and receipts, photographs, and printed matter relating to sculptural projects executed by Lawrie.
Arranged alphabetically by name of the project.
Drafts of autobiography, "Boy Wanted," citizenship and genealogy correspondence, lists of Lawrie's sculptures, tributes, and related material.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Minutes of meetings and miscellaneous material.
Account books, announcements and invitations, drawings, financial and legal papers, photographs, printed matter, diaries, writings, scrapbooks, certificates, awards, and correspondence.
Arranged by year in which the addition was processed and thereunder alphabetically by subject or type of material.
Certificates, awards, photographs, printed matter, and a scrapbook.
Arranged by type of material.