Edwin and Novella Lineberry and Duane Van Vechten Pictorial Collection
Collection
Identifier: PICT-2016-004
Scope and Content
The collection contains negatives and prints photographed by Duane Van Vechten, Edwin Lineberry, Carl Van Vechten and Fannie Brownell Maynard Van Vechten. The materials range from family portraits and domestic scenes likely photographed by Duane’s mother Fannie in Iowa in the early 1900s, to the initial construction of El Rancho de la Mariposa in Taos in 1929, and in later years the residence of Edwin Lineberry and Duane Van Vechten. Photographs taken during this period are authored mainly by Edwin, Duane and Duane’s uncle, Carl Van Vechten, who made many visits to El Rancho de la Mariposa.
As the contributors to this collection were in residence in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Chicago, Illinois and Taos, New Mexico, the photographs depict the life and travels of Duane Van Vechten from the age of 2 until her mid-40s. There are photographs chronicling Duane's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. The Van Vechten family traveled extensively in the United States as well as in Europe, and photographed these travels, their homes, rooms, portraiture of friends and family and recreational activities. Most individuals remain unidentified.
The locations, both urban and rural landscape, are largely unidentified places throughout the United States. Rural landscapes of the southwest and coastal California encompass a large portion of the material. Having traveled extensively by car there is a prolific quantity of the Rocky Mountains, desert, and rock formations and vegetation in the southwestern United States.
Notes on material with attribution to Carl Van Vechten: while some material has evidence of Carl Van Vechten’s embossing stamp, the majority of photographs and negatives assumed to be produced by Carl have been grouped as such due to the processing lab in Manhattan near his residence, subject matter, and their order and grouping upon acquisition.
Identified persons: Duane Van Vechten, Edwin Lineberry, Ralph Van Vechten, Fannie Brownell Maynard Van Vechten, Mary Ann Brownell Maynard , Carl Van Vechten, and Charles Duane Van Vechten.
Photographic processes and formats: gelatin silver negatives and prints, glass plate negatives, cyanotypes, cellulose negatives, silver nitrate prints on paper, and other unidentified negative and photographic print types. Photographic formats range in size from 1.5"x2.5" to 11”x9”. The majority of works are 2.5"x3.5" photographic prints.
As the contributors to this collection were in residence in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Chicago, Illinois and Taos, New Mexico, the photographs depict the life and travels of Duane Van Vechten from the age of 2 until her mid-40s. There are photographs chronicling Duane's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. The Van Vechten family traveled extensively in the United States as well as in Europe, and photographed these travels, their homes, rooms, portraiture of friends and family and recreational activities. Most individuals remain unidentified.
The locations, both urban and rural landscape, are largely unidentified places throughout the United States. Rural landscapes of the southwest and coastal California encompass a large portion of the material. Having traveled extensively by car there is a prolific quantity of the Rocky Mountains, desert, and rock formations and vegetation in the southwestern United States.
Notes on material with attribution to Carl Van Vechten: while some material has evidence of Carl Van Vechten’s embossing stamp, the majority of photographs and negatives assumed to be produced by Carl have been grouped as such due to the processing lab in Manhattan near his residence, subject matter, and their order and grouping upon acquisition.
Identified persons: Duane Van Vechten, Edwin Lineberry, Ralph Van Vechten, Fannie Brownell Maynard Van Vechten, Mary Ann Brownell Maynard , Carl Van Vechten, and Charles Duane Van Vechten.
Photographic processes and formats: gelatin silver negatives and prints, glass plate negatives, cyanotypes, cellulose negatives, silver nitrate prints on paper, and other unidentified negative and photographic print types. Photographic formats range in size from 1.5"x2.5" to 11”x9”. The majority of works are 2.5"x3.5" photographic prints.
Dates
- 1880-1990
- Majority of material found within 1920-1940
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research. Cellulose nitrate film negatives have been removed to cold storage and are not available for research. See Pictorial Archivist for further informaton.
Copy Restrictions
Limited duplication of print and photographic material is allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for compliance with all copyright, privacy, and libel laws.
Family History
Duane Van Vechten (1898-1977) and her husband Edwin Lineberry (1912?-2002) were noted patrons of the arts and a formative presence in the development of the Taos art establishment.
Duane was the adopted child of Ralph Van Vechten and Fannie Brownell Maynard Van Vechten. In Duane’s early childhood, she lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and later moved with her family to Chicago. Ralph Van Vechten was the president of the State Bank of Chicago for more than two decades and vice president and director the Continental and Commercial National Bank. Carl Van Vechten, Duane’s uncle and friend was a noted photographer, author, and follower of the Harlem Renaissance.
A dedicated painter, Duane initially relocated to Taos with her mother Fannie in 1929. In the 1930s and 1940s, Duane and Edwin operated the first grocery store in Taos. They married in 1940, and along with their other community activities, the couple maintained an art studio and darkroom at their estate, El Rancho de la Mariposa, built throughout the 1930s. Edwin was a building contractor and noted for his construction of the Kachina Lodge 1959-1960.
Following Duane's death, Edwin remarried in 1979. Novella Avenell Stiles Jacques (1939-2013) and Edwin, constructed and founded a museum with the work of Duane and other major artists of Taos. In 1994 the Van Vechten-Lineberry Taos Art Museum opened and in 2003, after Edwin’s death, the museum closed and was merged with the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House. The majority of the Lineberry Art Collection was sold at Sotheby’s in 2008.
Duane was the adopted child of Ralph Van Vechten and Fannie Brownell Maynard Van Vechten. In Duane’s early childhood, she lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and later moved with her family to Chicago. Ralph Van Vechten was the president of the State Bank of Chicago for more than two decades and vice president and director the Continental and Commercial National Bank. Carl Van Vechten, Duane’s uncle and friend was a noted photographer, author, and follower of the Harlem Renaissance.
A dedicated painter, Duane initially relocated to Taos with her mother Fannie in 1929. In the 1930s and 1940s, Duane and Edwin operated the first grocery store in Taos. They married in 1940, and along with their other community activities, the couple maintained an art studio and darkroom at their estate, El Rancho de la Mariposa, built throughout the 1930s. Edwin was a building contractor and noted for his construction of the Kachina Lodge 1959-1960.
Following Duane's death, Edwin remarried in 1979. Novella Avenell Stiles Jacques (1939-2013) and Edwin, constructed and founded a museum with the work of Duane and other major artists of Taos. In 1994 the Van Vechten-Lineberry Taos Art Museum opened and in 2003, after Edwin’s death, the museum closed and was merged with the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House. The majority of the Lineberry Art Collection was sold at Sotheby’s in 2008.
Extent
2000 plus items (19 boxes) : Approximately 2000 prints and negatives, 3 oversize works on paper, and 5 scrapbooks
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection contains negatives and prints photographed by Duane Van Vechten, Edwin Lineberry, Carl Van Vechten and Fannie Brownell Maynard Van Vechten. The materials range from family portraits and domestic scenes to landscapes and travel photographs.
Arrangement
The photographic prints and corresponding negatives are preserved in two related sequences. Photographs are ordered by format and subject, beginning with people and concluding with unidentified places; this order repeats for associated negatives.
Gelatin Silver Prints and other Material Attributed to Carl Van Vechten Postcards and Gelatin Silver Prints of Places
Studio Portraits
Informal Photographs and Glass Plate Negatives of the Lineberry, Van Vechten and Maynard Families
Gelatin Silver Prints of Unidentified Persons
Gelatin Silver Prints of Identified Locations
Travel Photographs of the Lineberry, Van Vechten, and Maynard Families
Photographs of Identified Locations
Photographs of Unidentified Locations
Advertising Scrapbooks
Oversize Works on Paper
Negatives of the Lineberry, Van Vechten, and Maynard Families
Negatives Attributed to Carl Van Vechten
Cellulose Negatives of Identified Locations
Gelatin Silver Prints and other Material Attributed to Carl Van Vechten Postcards and Gelatin Silver Prints of Places
Studio Portraits
Informal Photographs and Glass Plate Negatives of the Lineberry, Van Vechten and Maynard Families
Gelatin Silver Prints of Unidentified Persons
Gelatin Silver Prints of Identified Locations
Travel Photographs of the Lineberry, Van Vechten, and Maynard Families
Photographs of Identified Locations
Photographs of Unidentified Locations
Advertising Scrapbooks
Oversize Works on Paper
Negatives of the Lineberry, Van Vechten, and Maynard Families
Negatives Attributed to Carl Van Vechten
Cellulose Negatives of Identified Locations
Physical Location
B2. Shelved by Pictorial Number; oversized folder in Large Drawers and 2 boxes in Big Box location.
Collection Available Online
A selection from the Lineberry Van Vechten Collection is available in digital format from New Mexico's Digital Collections.
Processing Information
Collection was acquired in 2014 and originally accessioned as PICT 000-955 with a corresponding manuscript component, #2014-11-19. In 2016, the collection was consolidated as a pictorial collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid of the Edwin and Novella Lineberry and Duane Van Vechten Pictorial Collection, 1880-1990
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Cindy Abel Morris and Rachel Donovan
- Date
- © 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
Revision Statements
- Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.
Repository Details
Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository
Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451