Guide to the Richard Brown Baker Family Papers , 1866-2002

(bulk 1900-1990)

Rhode Island Historical Society
121 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906
Tel: 401-273-8107
Fax: 401-751-7930
email: reference@rihs.org

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Richard Brown Baker Family Papers
Date range:	1866-2002, (bulk 1900-1990)
Creator:	Baker, Richard
Extent:	8 linear feet
Abstract:	Richard Brown Baker was born in Providence, R.I. on November 5, 1912 to Harvey Almy Baker and Marion North Brown. His grandfather was Henry Martin Brown, President of the Industrial Trust Co. of Rhode Island (later Fleet National Bank). He became a prodigious collector owning over 1,600 works of art before he died. He focused on the artists that were new and on the edge deciding in the 1950s to focus on young and unestablished artists. Richard Baker was one of the first to buy works by artists such as Jackson Pollock and Roy Lichtenstein.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Rhode Island Historical Society
Collection number:	MSS 1117

Scope & content

This collection has been organized into 5 series.

Series 1: RBB Diaries

Series 2: RBB Correspondence received

Subseries 1: family

Subseries 2: friends and associates (some of the folders also include letters sent by RBB)

Series 3: RBB Writings

Series 4: RBB Subject Files

Series 5: Family Materials

Subseries 1: Individuals

Subseries 2: Subject files

Series 1: RBB Diaries contains copies of the diaries kept by Richard Brown Baker 1926- 1998. The original diaries were donated to Yale University. The only original diary at the RIHS is the one he kept in 1926. The copies were used to edit the diaries for possible publication. As a result there are frequent editorial corrections and the copies are not a complete set. The folder titled Lorenzo's notes are comments made by one of the people helping Richard edit the diaries and are useful as a quick index to events for the 1960-1971 period.

The diaries are a very insightful record of personal and world events. Richard travels extensively and his descriptions of the sights and sounds of new places are worth the trip. He also comments often on the political situation of the countries he visits. Of note are his comments on the situation in Germany during the summer of 1934 and his opinions on the possibility of war in Spain during the spring of 1936. The diaries also include information about his frequent trips back to Rhode Island to visit his family and also to participate in the local art scene focusing around his work for the Rhode Island School of Design

Series 2: RBB Correspondence received consists of all the letters that Richard received from his family, friends and associates. The folders of correspondence from friends and associates also often includes copies of letters written by RBB in reply. Some of the correspondence is written in languages other than English and that has been noted in parentheses next to the name of the correspondent. Of note is the correspondence from Gerd Sommerhof, a German national who was living in England at the beginning of World War II. He, along with many foreign nationals in England, was rounded up by the British government and sent to Canada where he spent at least two years in an internment camp.

Series 3: RBB Writings has been divided into two sections - one for papers he wrote while a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and the other section for his other literary works. This series includes clippings of short stories RBB wrote as a child and had published in the Providence Journal. It also contains the writing exercises he created during the spring of 1948 when he had first committed to writing as a profession. Drafts of his two published works are also represented in this series.

Series 4: RBB Subject Files contains materials and some correspondence he collected while studying in Geneva Switzerland in 1932, Yale University, Oxford University and working at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain. This series also contains information about some of the many trips he took throughout his life.

Series 5: Family Materials focuses on the correspondence and documents which were received and belonged to members of Richard Baker's family. The majority of correspondence in this series was written by RBB to his mother Marion (Brown) Baker. He writes to her frequently and the correspondence complements and fills in gaps left by Richard's diaries.

Of note is an item Richard included in a letter to his mother from Germany in June, 1934. Richard describes the item as a "Postbill attacking the Jews, which, with hundreds like it, appeared in Kothen, Anhalt, at the end of June, 1934, and was posted thickly in the most frequented streets of the town." The postbill reads: "Vorsicht! Trau' keinem Fuchs auf gruner Heid' Trau keinem Jud' bei seinem Eid!" Richard also included a clipping from the newspaper Stadt Kothen regarding the postbills dated June 29, 1934.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Baker Family.
• Baker, Harvey Almy, 1881-1951.
• Baker, Marion North (Brown), 1881-1973.
• Brown, Henry Martin, 1850-1926.
• Cecil, Oswald N.A. (Sir Nigel)
• Chafee, John H., 1922-1999.
• Chapin, Howard Millar, 1887-1940.
• Freeman, Marion (Baker), 1909-1962.
• Franco, Francisco, 1892-1975.
• Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945.
• Schlesinger, Arthur Meier, 1917-.
• Weddell, Alexander Wilbourne, 1876-1948.

Subject Organizations

• American Red Cross.
• National Button Company.
• Yale University.

Subject Organizations

• United States. Embassy (Spain)
• United States. Office of Strategic Services.

Subject Topics

• Art, Modern - Twentieth century - United States.
• Art - Collectors and collecting - United States.
• Diaries - 20th Century.
• Homosexuality.
• World War, 1939-1945 - England - Personal narratives.
• World War, 1939-1945 - France - Paris - Personal narratives, American.

Geographical Names

• Africa - Description and travel.
• Asia - Description and travel.
• Europe - Description and travel.
• Mongolia - Description and travel.
• Rhode Island - Hurricanes, 1938.
• Spain - History - Civil war, 1936-1939.
• Washington (D.C.) - Description and travel.

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest
• Social Life and Customs
• Art

Arrangement

• Series 1: Richard Brown Baker Diaries
• Series 2: Richard Brown Baker, Correspondence Received
• Series 3: Richard Brown Baker, Writings
• Series 4: Richard Brown Baker, Subject Files
• Series 5: Family Materials

Historical note

Richard Brown Baker was born in Providence, R.I. on November 5, 1912 to Harvey Almy Baker and Marion North Brown. His grandfather was Henry Martin Brown, President of the Industrial Trust Co. of Rhode Island (later Fleet National Bank). His older sister was Marion Martin (1909-1962) who married Evert Freeman (1898-1955) in 1940. Their younger sister Anne Harvey died at the age of 6 months (Nov 7, 1923 - May 16, 1924).

Richard attended the Moses Brown School in Providence, R.I. before attending Yale University from which he graduated in 1935. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and studied during 1935-1938 at the Honour School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University receiving a BA and an MA. After completing his studies Richard's first job in 1939 was as a reporter and editorial assistant for the Providence Journal. His journalism career was short however because he was offered the opportunity to be the private secretary for Ambassador Alexander Weddell and his wife Virginia Weddell in Madrid, Spain. Richard left for Madrid in January 1940 and spent the next 10 months assisting the Ambassador with all his entertainment and diplomatic duties. When he returned to the U.S. he hoped to work in the diplomatic corps but finally landed at the Library of Congress in 1941 as a Social Science Analyst. From there he moved to the Office of Strategic Services and worked in Washington, London and Paris as a Research Analyst. He experienced the bombing of London during 1944 and the liberation of Paris in 1945. His last employer was the Central Intelligence Agency as a Foreign Affairs Officer. He quit in 1948 in order to focus on creating a career as a writer.

Richard's writing career moved along at a very slow pace but he did publish two works through Exposition Press in 1952. He published one book of poetry entitled Stairways to Another Stage. His other book was based on the diary he kept while in London during 1944 and was called The Year of the Buzz Bomb. The books did not become huge successes and Richard decided to follow another passion, modern art. He moved to New York City in 1952 and began painting. He studied for a brief period with Morris Kantor and Hans Hoffman but turned his energy toward collecting art rather than creating it. He became a prodigious collector owning over 1,600 works of art before he died. He focused on the artists that were new and on the edge deciding in the 1950s to focus on young and unestablished artists. Richard Baker was one of the first to buy works by artists such as Jackson Pollock and Roy Lichtenstein. The collection he gathered was not meant to be for his sole enjoyment, he lent paintings and other works regularly to museums all over the country for special exhibitions. His other great passion was travel which he enjoyed throughout his life. Records of his extensive travels in Europe, Asia and the Soviet Union exists in his diaries and the letters he wrote to his family.

Richard Baker died on January 22, 2002 in Shelburne, VT. He bequeathed the majority of his art collection along with his original diaries to Yale University and the remainder to the Rhode Island School of Design.

Brown/Baker Family Genealogy:

Henry Martin Brown (1850-1926) married Annie Weed North (1851-1945)

Their children:

Marion North (1881-1973) married Harvey Almy Baker (1881-1951)

Helen married Erling C. Ostby

Benjamin Baker (1854-1921) married Lucy Anna Sisson (1850-1934)

Their children:

Harvey Almy (1881-1951) married Marion North

Benjamin Charles (1884-1955) married Louisa Higginson (1891- ) no children

William C.

Harvey Almy Baker (1881-1951) married Marion North Brown (1881-1973)

Their children:

Marion Martin (1909-1962) married Evert Freeman (1898-1955) no children

Richard Brown (1912-2002) never married

Anne Harvey (1923-1924)

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access.
Use of the materials:	Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Rhode Island Historical Society.
Preferred citation:	Richard Brown Baker Family Papers, MSS 1117, Rhode Island Historical Society.
Contact information:	Rhode Island Historical Society 121 Hope Street Providence, RI 02906 Tel: 401-273-8107 Fax: 401-751-7930 email: reference@rihs.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	This collection was bequeathed to the RIHS by Richard Brown Baker. The original diaries and other materials were bequeathed to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, New Haven, CT. The obituary for Richard Baker published on January 27, 2002 in the New York Times mentioned that copies of the diaries were coming to the RIHS.
Processing information:	Genealogical manuscripts regarding the lineage of the Harvey Almy Baker and Marion North Brown families was transferred to the RIHS Printed Collection.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Karen Eberhart.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Mark Chepkwony 2009 August 03
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Bibliography:

Obituary "Richard B. Baker, 89; philanthropist, famed collector of contemporary art" Providence Journal, January 24, 2002, C-6. Smith, Roberta"Richard Brown Baker, Collector and Donor of Contemporary Art, Dies at 89," New York Times, January 27, 2002, p.31.

Inventory

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