Guide to the Royal Bailey Farnum records , 1905-1965

bulk 1905-1946


Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Fleet Library at RISD
2 College Street
Providence, RI 02903
Tel: 401-709-5922
Fax: 401-709-5932
email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title: Royal Bailey Farnum records
Date range: 1905-1965, bulk 1905-1946
Creator: Farnum, Royal B. (Royal Bailey), 1884-1967
Extent: 7 linear feet
Abstract: The collection contains records of the Director, Educational Director, Executive Vice-President, and Presidents. The records cover 1905-1965 and the bulk of the records document the Royal Bailey Farnum administration, 1929-1946.
Language of materials: English
Repository: Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Collection number: 4.0

Scope & content

The collection contains records of the Director, 1901-1929, Educational Director, 1929-1937, Executive Vice-President, 1937-1946, and Presidents Eliza G. Radeke and Helen Danforth. The bulk of the records document the Royal Bailey Farnum administration, 1929-1946, with emphasis on the development of the educational program and the Business Office, the impact of WW II, construction of the Auditorium and College St. Building, the budget, the Executive Committee, faculty and staff, and the Museum with particular emphasis on Director Alexander Dorner. The records from the Office of the Director, 1901-1929, document World War One, the Jewelry Department, the Library, and scholarships. A collection of Farnum's published writings is included as well as awards given to Farnum.

Access Points

Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Topics Subject Topics Document Types

Arrangement

The records are arranged in four series:

  • I. Subject files, 1905-1947, bulk 1929-1946
  • II. Reports, 1930-1943
  • III. Awards and Achievements, 1919-1965
  • IV. Writings, 1914-1953

Historical note

Created by the Board of Trustees on April 14, 1937, the Office of the Executive Vice-President centralized the executive management of the Corporation, previously divided between the Museum and Educational Directors, under the President and the Executive Committee. The Administrative Manual, adopted May 9, 1940, outlined the responsibilities of Executive Vice-President Royal Bailey Farnum including: preparation and supervision of the budget; preparation of the...reports of the Executive Committee; general supervision of all financial and physical operations of the institution; faculty appointments, with Committee approval, and staff hiring; preparation and administration of the educational program; and supervision of publications except for the Museum's. The responsibilities, except for educational program development, transferred to the President in 1947.

The Board of Trustees voted on May 22, 1929 to create the coequal positions of Educational Director and Museum Director. Previously, the Director carried out the duties of the two offices with the assistance of the Dean of the College (1919-1929). Royal Bailey Farnum, appointed Educational Director, served as the administrative head of the institution, except for the Museum, and was responsible to the President and the Executive Committee. As head of the Faculty, Farnum could call and preside over Faculty meetings. He prepared Executive Committee reports and agendas and attended all Committee meetings. The Committee expected Farnum to "take an active interest in the educational policy of the institution and...make such suggestions as he may deem appropriate for the consideration of the President and the Executive Committee." The Board of Trustees created the position of Executive Vice-President after the death of Museum Director L. Earle Rowe.

Biographical note

Royal Bailey Farnum, 1884-1967
  • Education Director, 1929-1937
  • Executive Vice-President, 1937-1946


Royal Bailey Farnum graduated from the Massachusetts Normal Art School in 1906 and received his master's in education from the Cleveland School of Art in 1929. Brown University bestowed an honorary Art D. in 1935. Farnum taught at the Cleveland School of Art (1906-1909) and the Department of Art at Summer School of the South, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1909-1911). He lived and worked in New York, 1911-1921, holding positions in the Department of Education; the School of Arts and Crafts (Chautauqua); Bevier School of Art (Director), and Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (President). From 1921-1929, he served as the Principal of the Massachusetts School of Art, Boston and the State Director of Art Education.

Farnum's numerous professional activities included: Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; American secretary of the International Federation for Art Education, Drawing and Art in Industry; President of the Providence Art Club, 1941-1945; National Association for Art Education, President; U.S. Delegate to the International Art Congress, 1925, 1928, 1935, and 1937; "School Arts Magazine, " 1916-1919; "Education" magazine; National Conference of Schools of Design, Chair, circa 1946-1947; and the Educational Study Committee of the Hoover Commission.

Farnum retired to Fearnhame, Hampton, CT in 1946.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: The use of certain documents and collections may be restricted. Please consult the Archives staff for further details.
Use of the materials: Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright.
Preferred citation: Royal Bailey Farnum records, Rhode Island School of Design Archives.
Contact information: Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Fleet Library at RISD
2 College Street
Providence, RI 02903
Tel: 401-709-5922
Fax: 401-709-5932
email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: The Royal Bailey Farnum records were found in the basement of the Bank building.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Douglas Doe.
Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Jessica Bitely 2009 February 20
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory


Series I. Subject files
The bulk of the records document the Farnum administration, 1929-1946, with emphasis on the development of the educational program and the Business Office, construction projects, the budget, the Executive Committee, faculty and staff, and the Museum particularly Director Alexander Dorner. The collection contains records from the Office of the Director, 1901-1929, including World War One records, the Jewelry and Textile Departments, the Library, and scholarships (1905-1938).

There are extensive records on educational planning especially for a year long series of faculty meetings exploring art education, 1944-1945. The documents include detailed reports on the faculty discussions. The files on the development of the College Street Building, 1935-1937, and the Auditorium, 1938-1941, provide extensive coverage of the construction process including correspondence with architects Philip D. Creer and F. Ellis Jackson.

The files contain extensive records on Farnum's work for and relationship with the Executive Committee as well as the Faculty. Documents include Evening School Reports, 1934-1943, Faculty radio talks, 1932-1933, personnel files, 1934-1946, World War Two correspondence with faculty and students, and Commencement records, 1931-1947. The appointment and dismissal of Museum Director Alexander Dorner, 1938-1941, is documented in detail.

The records document the period from 1905-1929 with particular emphasis on World War One. The records include comprehensive lists of RISD war volunteers, correspondence, letters from soldiers to Eliza Radeke, and vocational training records (1918-1923). The records include files for individual scholarships granted to RISD students.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Container Description Date
Box 1, Folder 1 Advisory Committee Letters
1911-1920
Box 1, Folder 2 Advisory Committee-Reports to
1934-1935
Box 1, Folder 3 Auditorium-Assemblies
1943-1945
Box 1, Folder 4 Auditorium-Rentals
1941-1945
Box 1, Folder 5 Bequests File Location
1941
Box 1, Folder 6 Budget
1934-1937
Box 1, Folder 7 Budget
1942-1943
Box 1, Folder 8 Budget-Equipment and Supplies
1931-1935
Box 1, Folder 9 Budget-Faculty Requests
1932-1936
Box 1, Folder 10 Budget-Figures and Statistics
1934-1940
Box 1, Folder 11 Budget Statistics
1939-1940
Box 1, Folder 12 Buildings-Auditorium Contracts and Bids
1939-1941
Box 1, Folder 13 Buildings-Auditorium Building Comm. Minutes
1939-1941
Box 1, Folder 14 Buildings-New Building, Auditorium
1938-1941
Box 2, Folder 1 Buildings-Auditorium Dedication, Pageant
1938-1941
Box 2, Folder 2 Buildings-Carrington House
1936-1938
Box 2, Folder 3 Buildings-Jewelry Building Dedication
1919-1923
Box 2, Folder 4 Buildings-New Building, Aldrich
1931-1932
Box 2, Folder 5 Buildings-New Building, Financial
1935-1938
Box 2, Folder 6 Buildings-New Building, General
1933-1938
Box 2, Folder 7 Buildings-New Building, Jackson
1931-1935
Box 2, Folder 8 Buildings-New Building, Jackson
1936-1937
Box 2, Folder 9 Buildings-New Building, Proposed Equipment
1932-1937
Box 2, Folder 10 Buildings-New Building, Equipment Supplies
1935-1937
Box 2, Folder 11 Buildings-New Building, Cornerstone /Dedication
1936-1937
Box 3, Folder 1 Buildings and Grounds-Reports
1935-1941
Box 3, Folder 2 Commencement -Addresses, Speakers, Proposed Speakers
1931-1945
Box 3, Folder 3 Commencement
1940-1946
Box 3, Folder 4 Commencement
1946
Box 3, Folder 5 Commencement-Senior Tea
1946
Box 3, Folder 6 Commencement-Notes, Exhibition
1940-1945
Box 3, Folder 7 Commencement -Programs, Invitations, Diplomas, Certificates
1928-1947
Box 3, Folder 8 Commencement-Invitations
1941-1945
Box 3, Folder 9 Comptroller, Authorizations-Business Office
1938-1945
Box 3, Folder 10 Contact Bureau Reports-NYA
1934-1939
Box 3, Folder 11 Convocation Exercises
1944
Box 3, Folder 12 Corporation-Board of Trustees, Meeting Reports
1946
Box 3, Folder 13 Corporation-Board of Trustees: Report to the State
1934
Box 3, Folder 14 Corporation-Brd. of Trustees, Resolutions
1939-1941
Box 3, Folder 15 Corporation-By-laws
1937-1940
Box 3, Folder 16 Corporation-Educational Director, Annual Reports
1930-1935
Box 4, Folder 1 Corporation-Ex. Comm., Annual Reports
1936-1941
Box 4, Folder 2 Corporation-Ex. Comm., Quarterly Reports
1929-1937
Box 4, Folder 3 Corporation-Executive Comm., Meetings
1943-1945
Box 4, Folder 4 Corporation-Executive Comm., Meetings
1945-1946
Box 4, Folder 5 Corporation-Old Exec. Comm. Meetings: Dean Max Sullivan
1945-1946
Box 4, Folder 6 Corporation-Membership Drive
1938-1941
Box 4, Folder 7 Corporation-School, Library, and Museum Annual Reports
1931-1933
Box 4, Folder 8 Corporation-Trustees, Reports and Letters: Secretary G. Alder Blumer
1919-1931
Box 5, Folder 1 Corporation-Trustees Visiting Day
1930s
Box 5, Folder 2 Corporation-William H. Edwards
1932-1942
Box 5, Folder 3 Correspondence, B-W (incomplete)
1938-1946
Box 5, Folder 4 Correspondence-Confidential
1943-1945
Box 5, Folder 5 Department Heads
1945
Box 5, Folder 6 Educational Films (1)
1918-1930
Box 5, Folder 7 Educational Films (2)
1918-1930
Box 5, Folder 8 Equipment (old)
1930-1941
Box 5, Folder 9 Evening School Reports-William D. Fales, Supervisor
1934-1943
Box 5, Folder 10 Faculty
1945-1946
Box 5, Folder 11 Faculty Appointments
1908-1934
Box 5, Folder 12 Faculty Council Minutes
1929-1935
Box 5, Folder 13 Faculty Memos
1935-1942
Box 5, Folder 14 Faculty Questionnaire
1941
Box 6, Folder 1 Faculty Radio Talks
1932-1933
Box 6, Folder 2 Grading
1923
Box 6, Folder 3 History-General
1928-1939
Box 6, Folder 4 History-50th Anniversary
1928
Box 6, Folder 5 Jewelry Department
1918-1929
Box 6, Folder 6 Jewelry Department-Equipment
1920-1921
Box 6, Folder 7 Jewelry Department-Equipment
1920-1921
Box 6, Folder 8 Library-Acquisition Correspondence
1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 9 Library-Acquisition Correspondence
1924-1929
Box 6, Folder 10 Library Reports
1921-1931
Box 6, Folder 11 Library-Ruth V. Noble
1943-1945
Box 7, Folder 1 Museum-Alexander Dorner: Carnegie Grant
1941-1942
Box 7, Folder 2 Museum-Alexander Dorner: Military Intelligence Investigation
1941
Box 7, Folder 3 Museum-Alexander Dorner: Museum Committee Meeting
1941 May 6
Box 7, Folder 4 Museum-Alexander Dorner: My Experiences in the Hanover Museum
undated
Box 7, Folder 5 Museum-Alexander Dorner: President's Files
1937-1941
Box 7, Folder 6 Museum-Alexander Dorner: Private-School (1)
1937-1942
Box 7, Folder 7 Museum-Alexander Dorner: Private-School (2)
1937-1942
Box 7, Folder 8 Museum-Alexander Dorner: Trustees v. Museum Director
1941
Box 7, Folder 9 Museum-Alexander Dorner: "Why Have Art Museums?"
1941
Box 7, Folder 10 Museum-Applicants for Directorship
1937
Box 7, Folder 11 Museum-Assistant Director
1946
Box 7, Folder 12 Museum-Concerts, Museum Gallery
1936-1940
Box 7, Folder 13 Museum-Gordon Washburn
1942
Box 7, Folder 14 Museum-Purchases, Honore Daumier
1938
Box 7, Folder 15 Museum-RISD v. Gow; "The Terrace"
1939-1941
Box 7, Folder 16 Pageants-Artists' Ball; Romance of Jewels
19301934
Box 8, Folder 1 Pageants-Romance of Textiles
1933
Box 8, Folder 2 Pageants-Television Tales
1932
Box 8, Folder 3 Personnel-Applicants
1936-1946
Box 8, Folder 4 Personnel-Appointments
1938-1943
Box 8, Folder 5 Personnel-Employees, Letters to, Lists
1934-1945
Box 8, Folder 6 Personnel- Raemisch, Waldemar
1939-1940
Box 8, Folder 7 Personnel-Salary Information
1939-1946
Box 8, Folder 8 Personnel-Teaching Applicants
1936-1940
Box 8, Folder 9 Planning: Course List
1945
Box 8, Folder 10 Planning: Degree Data
1931-1943
Box 9, Folder 1 Planning: Faculty
1931-1945
Box 9, Folder 2 Post-War Planning-Faculty Discussions and Papers
1944 Jan - July
Box 9, Folder 3 Post-War Planning-Faculty Discussions and Papers
1944 July - 1945 May
Box 9, Folder 4 Post-War Planning-Faculty Discussions and Papers: "Art and Education," Graham Carey
1937
Box 9, Folder 5 Providence School Committee: Critic Teachers
1936
Box 9, Folder 6 Radeke, Eliza G.-Correspondence
1918-1931
Box 9, Folder 7 Rowe, L. Earle
1912-1937
Box 9, Folder 8 Scholarships-Benedict
1917-1933
Box 9, Folder 9 Scholarships-Correspondence
1918-1933
Box 9, Folder 10 Scholarships-Hoppin
1920-1924
Box 9, Folder 11 Scholarships-Palestine
1921-1925
Box 10, Folder 1 Scholarships-Prizes: Freehand Department
1915-1935
Box 10, Folder 2 Scholarships-Providence Art Club
1905-1933
Box 10, Folder 3 Scholarships-Women's Clubs, State Federation Of
1918-1938
Box 10, Folder 4 School Exhibition
1932
Box 10, Folder 5 Tercentenary Pageant Costumes
1937
Box 10, Folder 6 Textile Department
1912-1927
Box 10, Folder 7 Walt Disney
1937
Box 10, Folder 8 War-1st World War: Army Classes
1917-1918
Box 10, Folder 9 War-1st World War: Clippings-Providence Sunday Journal
1918
Box 10, Folder 10 War-1st World War: Correspondence (1)
1917-1918
Box 10, Folder 11 War-1st World War: Correspondence (2)
1917-1918
Box 10, Folder 12 War-1st World War: Men Represented by Gold Stars on Service Flag
circa 1919
Box 10, Folder 13 War-1st World War: RISD Veterans-Lists
1918
Box 11, Folder 1 War-1st World War: RISD War Records
1917-1918
Box 11, Folder 2 War-1st World War: Vocational Training (1)
1918-1923
Box 11, Folder 3 War-1st World War: Vocational Training (2)
1918-1923
Box 11, Folder 4 War-2nd World War: Admissions
1942
Box 11, Folder 5 War-2nd World War: Alumni, Students, Faculty in Military and Defense Work, Correspondence
1941-1945
Box 11, Folder 6 War-2nd World War: Civil Defense
1940-1943
Box 11, Folder 7 War-2nd World War: Civilian Aeronautics Administration, Mr. Haste-Coordinator
1940-1943
Box 11, Folder 8 War-2nd World War: Design-Isignias/Posters
1941-1945

Series II. Reports
The reports, prepared monthly during the academic year by Royal Bailey Farnum for presentation to the Executive Committee, provide a detailed narrative of Farnum's administration. In addition, the reports document his professional activities outside of RISD including trips to other states and Europe, conferences, speeches, and organizations.

Farnum describes the activities of faculty, staff, the Museum and students with particular emphasis on the development of new educational programs. He covers the development of the degree in teacher training in depth as well as the Freshman Foundation and the creation of the Business Office and Administrative manual. His remarks include discussions of current trends in art education, cooperative ventures with local industry and educational institutions, the impact of W.W.II on the School, and his philosophical musings on various subjects.

The reports may include enrollment and scholarship statistics, correspondence, and notes of Executive Committee deliberations.

Arranged chronologically by month.

Container Description Date
Box 12, Folder 1
1930 Feb - May
Box 12, Folder 2
1930 July - 1931 June
Box 12, Folder 3
1931 July - 1932 June
Box 12, Folder 4
1932 July - 1933 June
Box 12, Folder 5
1933 July - 1934 June
Box 12, Folder 6
1934 July - 1935 June
Box 12, Folder 7
1935 July - 1936 June
Box 12, Folder 8
1936 July - 1937 June
Box 12, Folder 9
1937 July - 1938 June
Box 12, Folder 10
1938 July - 1939 June
Box 12, Folder 11
1939 July - 1940 June
Box 12, Folder 12
1940 July - 1941 June
Box 12, Folder 13
1941 July - 1942 June
Box 12, Folder 14
1942 July - 1943 June
Box 12, Folder 15
1943 Oct
Box 12, Folder 16 Index

Series III. Awards and Achievements

Container Description Date
Box 13 Rochester (NY) Art Club Membership
1919
Box 13 Grand Army of the Republic Honorary Associate Membership
1925
Box 13 Cleveland School of Art Honorary Degree
1929
Box 13 American Geographical Society Fellow
1934
Box 13 National Enrollment for Peace
1934
Box 13 US Dept. of State, 7th International Congress of Design
1935
Box 13 Eastern Arts Association Awards
1938-1949
Box 13 Friedsam Award
1942
Box 13 RI State Council of Defence, Certificate of Merit
1943
Box 13 US Treasury Dept., War Savings Program
1943
Box 13 Providence (RI) City Plan Commission Oath
1944
Box 13 American Institute of Planners Membership
1946
Box 13 Rhode Island State College Honorary Degree
1946
Box 13 University of the State of New York, Education Dept.
1955
Box 13 Scholastic Art Awards
1965
Box 13 Massachusetts School of Art Alumni Association Tribute
circa 1946
Box 13 Committee for Economic Development Resolution
194-?
Box 13 RI State Council of Defence, Auxiliary Police
circa 1942

Series IV. Writings

Container Description Date
Box 12, Folder 17 "Art and Its Relationships." The Harvard Educational Review (May 1937).
1937
Box 12, Folder 17 Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1928-1930. Chapter VIII. Art Education. U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Education. Bulletin, 1931, No 20.
1931
Box 12, Folder 17 Art Education in the United States. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. Bulletin, 1925, No. 38.
1926
Box 12, Folder 17 Munsell, A. H. Color Notation: An Illustrated System Defining All Colors and Their Relations by Measured Scales of Hue, Value, and Chroma. Introduction by Royal Bailey Farnum. Baltimore, Md.: Munsell Color Co., 1946.
1936
Box 12, Folder 17 "Decoration for the Rural School." Cornell Rural School Leaflet for Teachers 7 (April 1914).
1914
Box 12, Folder 17 Education: Art Education Number 60 (November 1939). (editor)
1939
Box 12, Folder 17 "Art and Praha." Everyday Art 6 (April1928).
1928
Box 12, Folder 17 "Handicrafts during War and Peace." Related Arts Service 2 (February 1944).
1944
Box 12, Folder 17 "How Pictures Talk in the Home." Journal of Home Economics 23 (October 1931).
1931
Box 12, Folder 17 "Minimum Essentials in Representation, Design, Handwork." The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bulletin of the Department of Education 8 (1926).
1926
Box 12, Folder 17 "My Beliefs in the Crafts." 1952.
1952
Box 12, Folder 17 "The Purpose of Art Education in American Education." Journal of the Michigan Schoolmaster's Club (1916).
1916
Box 12, Folder 17 "Results of a Questionnaire on Color in Art Education." Journal of the Optical Society of America 32 (December 1942).
1942
Box 12, Folder 17 "Some Findings in Art Education in the United States." Education (March 1932).
1932
Box 12, Folder 17 "The State Art Specialist." Related Arts Service 11 (February 1951).
1953
Box 12, Folder 17 "Strengthen the Art Factor in Industrial Arts." Shopcraft 2 (January 1949).
1929
Box 12, Folder 17 "Women's Dress as a Man Sees It." Clothes 2 (1924).
1924