Collection inventory

---

---

Carl T. Hawley Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Steffi Chappell
Date: 2014

Revision history:

Biography

Carl T. Hawley was born on April 4, 1873, in Montrose, Pennsylvania. Hawley began his college education at Cornell University, intending to study architecture. He transferred to Syracuse University a year later and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1894. Shortly after graduation, Syracuse University hired Hawley as a fine arts instructor. He taught various painting and drawing classes for the next few years. In 1903 Hawley received the Hiram Gee Fellowship, which allowed him to travel abroad and further his art education. He used the fellowship to visit Paris, where he enrolled in two Parisian art schools: the Académie Colarossi and the Julian Académie. Upon his return to the University in 1905, Hawley was again hired as a painting instructor. In 1907 he was promoted to Associate Professor and in 1911 promoted again, this time to Full Professor. Hawley also received an honorary master’s degree in painting from the University in 1911.

Hawley worked on a number of large projects early in his career as a painter. In 1908 he assisted artist Alphonse Mucha with the mural decoration of Deutsches Theater located in New York City. Hawley also painted murals in the Oswego County court house in Pulaski, New York. He made many trips to Europe throughout the first two decades of the twentieth century, exhibiting his work at an international level, primarily in France. In 1914 Hawley’s work was part of the Salon at the Société National des Beaux Arts as well as the International Exposition Aix les Bains and the Summer Exhibition in Paris. In 1915 Hawley returned to the United States and Syracuse University to continue teaching painting. On June 27, 1921, the artist married Janet Sterling and the couple had one son, Carl S. Hawley, in 1922.

Hawley illustrated many publications throughout his career. Most notable are two books, History in Rhymes and Jingles, written by Alexander Flick in 1901, and an edition of Tanglewood Tales, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawley also illustrated nationally published advertisements and works of fiction printed in the Syracuse Herald.

In the first half of the 1930s Hawley compiled his own book titled Adventure in Creative Color and Spatial Reasoning, which he attempted to publish. The book addressed the physical practice of drawing and painting and the theory behind art production, and it was illustrated with work produced by Hawley’s students. Ultimately publishing companies rejected the manuscript because the cost of printing the illustrations in color proved too high.

During his academic career, Hawley was a member of the national honorary fraternity Phi Kappa Phi, the National Architectural and Allied Arts fraternity Tau Sigma Delta, and Phi Gamma Delta. Hawley retired from Syracuse University in 1942. He died on May 7, 1945, in Syracuse.

Scope and Content Note

The Carl T. Hawley Papers contains materials relating to Hawley's career as an artist and professor. The collection is divided into three series: artwork, correspondence, and subject files.

The Artwork series primarily contains examples of Hawley's work. These include sketchbooks, advertisements and books Hawley illustrated (such as History in Rhymes and Jingles), and newspaper clippings showing examples of the artist’s drawings and prints. Included in these files are also newspaper clippings of articles Hawley wrote that are accompanied by his illustrations. Also part of these files are the original illustrations for Hawley’s unpublished manuscript Adventure in Creative Color and Spatial Reasoning. Twenty-three of the illustrations are in color and produced by other artists, while the rest are pencil drawings by Hawley.

The Correspondence series contains incoming and outgoing letters for Hawley and his wife, as well as a letter book filled with handwritten notes from Hawley, many of which are addressed to his mother. Much of the correspondence from Hawley and his wife centers on the couple's attempts to publish Hawley's manuscript, which is also part of the collection.

The Subject Files series contains biographical materials, newspaper clippings about Hawley's activities as an artist and professor, articles written by the artist, photographs, and information relating to specific projects Hawley worked on.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

In addition to these papers, the Syracuse University Archives holds a clippings file and a portrait file on Carl T. Hawley, and the SU Art Galleries has one painting by Carl. T. Hawley in their collection. You may visit their website for additional details.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Hawley, Carl T.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

Painting.
Syracuse University -- Faculty.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Carl T. Hawley Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Materials in the Carl T. Hawley Papers were donated to Syracuse University by his widow Janet Hawley Lundy in 1964.

Processing Information

The materials have been rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes.

Arrangement

The items are arranged in alphabetical order.

Table of Contents

Artwork

Correspondence

Subject Files

Inventory