Oliver Frazer family papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Oliver Frazer family papers
- Date
- 1811-1918, undated
- Creator
- Frazer, Oliver, 1808-1864
- Extent
- 0.9 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Artists--Kentucky.
- Correspondence.
- Medicine--Kentucky.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged into ten series: Oliver Frazer; James Frazer; Martha B. Frazer; Nancy Frazer; Bessie Frazer; Fanny Frazer; Kate Frazer; Nannie Frazer; Assorted; and Photocopies.
- Preferred Citation
- 1997ms253: [identification of item], Oliver Frazer family papers, 1811-1918, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Kentucky artist, Oliver Frazer (1808-1864) was born in Lexington, Kentucky, to Alexander and Nancy Frazer. Frazer. One of the three most celebrated antebellum Kentucky portrait painters, Frazer studied art with Matthew Jouett in 1825, Thomas Sully in Philadelphia in the late 1820s, and with Thomas Coture and Baron Antoine-Jean Gros in France from 1834-1835. From 1835-1836, Frazer toured European art museums. He returned to Lexington in 1838 and painted portraits of many famous Kentuckians including Richard Meneffee, Joel T. Hart, and Henry Clay. He married Margaret Bell Mitchell (1816-1903), the niece of Matthew Jouett, in 1838; they had seven children including Bessie (1841-1910), Fanny (1846-1878), Kate (1847-1921), Nannie (b. 1848), and Florence (1854-1861).
- Scope and Content
- The Oliver Frazer family papers (dated 1811-1918, undated; 0.9 cubic feet; 2 boxes, 1 folder) comprise correspondence, accounts, a ledger, and ephemera documenting Kentucky painter Oliver Frazer's tour through Europe in the 1830s as well as the lives of his wife and daughters following his death. The papers primarily consist of letters from Oliver Frazer to his mother Nancy Frazer as well as correspondence with his uncle Robert Frazer and his brother James Frazer (b. 1813). Other correspondence consists of letters sent to Frazer's wife, Martha Bell Frazer and daughters, Bessie, Fanny, Kate, and Nannie. The letters from Frazer to his mother document his time in Philadelphia studying under Thomas Sully in 1828; his time studying art in Paris from 1834-1835; and his tour of European art from 1835-1836. In the letter dated September 14, 1835, Frazer notes "I have been visiting the pictures about the city...and I say to you what I would not say to anyone else that I felt myself equal to anything I saw there...In fact the painters in this city are not near so good as they are in Philadelphia." Additionaly, items of interest include accounts relating to Oliver Frazer's funeral; a memorial card for Florence Frazer; and a ledger of patient's accounts kept by Martha Bell Frazer's father, Frankfort physician Alexander John Mitchell from 1811-1815. Mitchell's patients included Richard Taylor, Isaac Shelby, Achilles Sneed, Harry Innis, Humphrey Marshall, Matthew Jouett, and Simon Kenton.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact Special Collections.
Contents of the Collection
Oliver Frazer, 1825-1865, undated
James Frazer correspondence, 1828 June
Accounts relating to Oliver Frazer's funeral and estate, 1865 November 22
James Frazer, 1830, undated
Martha B. Frazer, 1845-1886, undated
Fanny Frazer, 1872, undated
Assorted, 1811-1815, 1895, 1918
Photocopies, 1825-1918, undated
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Descriptive Summary
- Collection Overview
- Preferred Citation
- Restrictions on Access and Use
- Contents of the Collection
- Oliver Frazer, 1825-1865, undated
- James Frazer, 1830, undated
- Martha B. Frazer, 1845-1886, undated
- Nancy Frazer letters to James Frazer, 1826-1830
- Bessie Frazer correspondence, 1859-1882, undated
- Fanny Frazer, 1872, undated
- Kate Frazer correspondence, 1871, 1885
- Nannie Frazer letter, 1910 May 21
- Assorted, 1811-1815, 1895, 1918
- Photocopies, 1825-1918, undated
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
