Summary |
|
| Creator: | Sargent, Irene, 1852-1932. |
| Title: | Irene Sargent Collection |
| Dates: | 1895-1982 |
| Size: | 2 boxes (1 linear foot) |
| Abstract: | The Irene Sargent Collection documents her professional and scholarly activities while a Fine Arts professor at Syracuse University. |
| Language: | Majority of items are in English, some in Italian, one item in Latin. |
| Repository: |
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Biography
In 1895 Irene Sargent began teaching at Syracuse University as a French instructor. From that time until her death in 1932, she worked for the College of Fine Arts teaching courses in architecture, art history, ornamentation, esthetics, literature, Italian, Latin, and fine arts. Sargent became Professor of the History of Fine Arts in 1908, and received two honorary degrees from Syracuse University between 1911 and 1922. She was also an internationally known critic of art and architecture, and received international acclaim for her journal articles and work in translating French, Italian, and German texts. However, her scholarship on the history of art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been largely forgotten.
Sargent was born in Auburn, New York, in 1852. Her father, Rufus Sargent, gave his daughter a broad education, the majority provided by private tutors and Harvard architecture faculty. After her father passed away in 1882, Sargent traveled to Europe to further her academic studies, developing fluency in Italian, French, and German.
Around the turn of the century, Sargent became an important spokeswoman for the Arts and Crafts movement. She helped launch and wrote articles for The Craftsman, a popular monthly journal that emerged from the movement in 1901. In 1926 Sargent received an honorary membership to the American Institute of of Architects (AIA) for her contribution to architecture and related arts. She was the second woman in the history of the AIA to receive this honor.
Sargent was very active in the Syracuse community as well. She lectured for and belonged to the Syracuse Social Art Club, the Professional Woman's League of Syracuse, and the Syracuse Browning Club. She also helped to organize a club devoted to the study of Latin language and literature in Syracuse.
On July 5, 1932 Sargent fell in her room at the Yates Hotel in Syracuse and was hospitalized, where she remained until her death in September of that same year. She was buried in the Syracuse University plot at Oakwood Cemetery.
Scope and Content Note
Spanning between 1895 and 1982, the Irene Sargent Collection is divided into two series: the Irene Sargent Papers and Student Materials.
The Irene Sargent Papers document her academic and scholarly activities while at Syracuse University and include her lecture preparation notes, articles published in The Craftsman and other publications, and some unpublished writings and correspondence. The Student Materials series includes class notes recorded in student notebooks, and a compilation of student recollections of Sargent.
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
A portrait file of Sargent, named "Sargent, Irene, Faculty & Staff," is available in Syracuse University Archives' Portrait Collection.
Selected Search Terms
Names
Subjects
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Irene Sargent Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Sometime before 1977, the materials in the Irene Sargent Papers series were transferred to the University Archives from the Syracuse University Library, but there is no documentation regarding when or by whom they were originally donated to the University. Class notes in the Student Materials series were donated between 1977 and 1982 by former Sargent students Clesta Cook Chase and Mary Merrian Van Vranken. During that same time, personal reminiscences were submitted to the Student Materials series by the following former Sargent students: Ruth H. (Scott) Bird, Elizabeth L. Sterling, Herbert N. Frank, Lydia A. Mackie, Esther Davis Beardnell, E.R. Shaw, Keith A. Marvin, Helen K. Allen, Leona DeLong Smith, Richard V. Smith, Robert M. Berman, Hilda Putziger Levy, H.C. Agan, Charles C. Rock, Vera (Watson) C. Covert and Richard V. Saritlo. Articles from The Keystone were donated separately by Robert Sweeney and Bruce Hirschman in 2014.
Processing Information
Materials have been rehoused in acid-free boxes and folders, and paper clips were removed. An original newspaper article was photocopied before it was destroyed.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Bridget A. Carlin
Date: 1998
Revision history: Revised and converted to EAD by Charlene Martin, 2012. New accessions added and
finding aid updated by Erin Carter and Meg Mason, 2014.