Call Number:

Pittman

Repository:

Bryn Mawr College

Extent:

2 boxes

Language:

English

Date:

1929-1988 (inclusive)

Abstract:

Hobson Pittman was an artist and instructor of art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and summer classes at the Pennsylvania State University. His collection, which ranges from 1929 to 1988, consists primarily of correspondence received by Pittman and his scrapbooks.

Hobson Pittman was born January 14, 1899, in Edgecome County, North Carolina. He attended Pennsylvania State College (1921-22), afterwards teaching briefly in a one-room school in Chester County, PA. He then studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (1925-26).

Pittman is most well-known for his interior paintings and paintings of flowers. He was a well-regarded watercolorist and pastelist. His art can be found in institutions from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, to the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill.

Pittman was also an established teacher, instructing at the Friends Central Day School (1931), Pennsylvania State College (1932-1965), the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1945), and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1949).

He passed away May 5th, 1972, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Bibliographical note: https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/pittman-hobson-lafayette

The Hobson Pittman papers house the papers of Hobson Pittman, artist and instructor of art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and summer classes at the Pennsylvania State University. The collection, which ranges from 1929 to 1988, consists primarily of correspondence received by Pittman and his scrapbooks.

The collection is stored in two boxes. The first box contains correspondence and scrapbooks. The second box contains only scrapbooks.

The first box in the collection contains general correspondence from friends, 1944-1965; miscellaneous correspondence, 1950-1965; and formal invitations. It also contains letters from Lt. Col. Donald Gordan and Alyce "Tink" Gordan, Dean Stambourgh, Margaret Sanger, Franklin C. Watkins, and others. Furthermore, there are letters from other artists, students, galleries, and art dealers. It also contains four scrapbooks: from 1931-1941; from 1934-1944; from 1941-1946; and 1947-1951. The second box contains two more scrapbooks, one from 1938-1957 and one from 1954-1969. The scrapbooks include newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and brochures for exhibitions.

Pittman specialized in pastels and oil paintings of interiors and flowers. His use of color was acclaimed and his art can be found in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. This collection would be of use to those interested in Pittman's art and personal life.