On eBay Now...
Louis Michel Eilshemius (1864–1941): Personal Archive of Art, Ambition, and Recognition, 1895–1939
Louis Michel Eilshemius wanted to be known for considerably more than his paintings. He was a poet, composer, inventor, amateur naturalist, and tireless correspondent, convinced of his own extraordinary abilities long before the American art world began taking him seriously.
This remarkable collection of 26 original documents and publications preserved among his personal papers tells the story of his artistic recognition, but also something more intimate: his efforts to make himself known and understood.
Dating from 1895 to 1939, the archive includes exhibition catalogues, contemporary critical reviews, personally inscribed publications, original correspondence, published poetry, and a period photograph of his painting Moonlight, bearing an inscription on the reverse attributed to Eilshemius.
Several objects have particularly interesting relationships.
The recognition of Moonlight, 1930
Three pieces document the painting's exhibition and reception: the 1930 Spring Salon catalogue, which reproduces Moonlight; Henry McBride's contemporary newspaper review praising the painting; and a separate period photograph bearing its title, the artist's name, and his New York address in manuscript.
An extraordinary connection to India
A December 1930 issue of The Old College, published at the Maharaja's College in Trivandrum, India, bears a personal inscription from K. P. Padmanabhan Thampi to Eilshemius, addressing him as a great poet.
Thampi directs his attention to an essay on Upton Sinclair and includes handwritten remarks inviting Eilshemius's thoughts on the Malayalam language.
This correspondence has a remarkable independent historical reference.
In Milton MacKaye's September 1935 New Yorker profile of Eilshemius, titled "The Mahatma," the artist recounts that scholar Tampi of Trivandrum College had bestowed upon him the title of "Mahatma" and sent him a Silver Badge of Merit. The inscribed 1930 magazine provides a tangible documentary connection between the two men.
The New Yorker article is cited for historical context and is not included in the collection.
The poet and correspondent
Two issues of The Commentary, a little-known international correspondence-club publication from approximately 1930, document Eilshemius introducing himself to potential correspondents as an author, painter, composer, inventor, and self-described pessimist. In the following issue, he contributes his poem Blossoms of Love.
A separate September 1930 issue of The Town Crier publishes his poem Greatness, accompanied by an editorial introduction.
The artist and his family, 1932
The March 26, 1932 issue of The Literary Digest contains an extended illustrated profile, "The One and Only Eilshemius," discussing his remarkable claims to genius, his prolific correspondence with newspapers, and his growing critical recognition.
Preserved alongside it is a two-page handwritten letter dated March 31, 1932, from his niece Daisy in Lausanne, Switzerland.
She celebrates his recent Valentine Gallery exhibition, expresses the family's pride in his success, and reflects on critics' difficulties understanding his paintings. She specifically discusses Samoa, a painting reproduced in two other exhibition catalogues included here.
The archive also documents Eilshemius's participation in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Worcester Art Museum, Albright Art Gallery, Boyer Galleries, and the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Together, these materials provide an unusually personal record of an artist who spent much of his life demanding recognition, while seeking intellectual and emotional connections extending far beyond the world of Louis Michel Eilshemius (1864–1941)
Dates: 1895–1939
Extent: 26 individually numbered objects, offered together as one collection.
Contents: Exhibition catalogues, literary publications, periodicals, contemporary reviews, an original newspaper clipping, a photograph bearing an attributed artist inscription, personal correspondence, and other associated material.
Autograph material: Includes Eilshemius's name and address inscribed on the reverse of the Moonlight photograph, a penciled autograph in a 1905 American Art Galleries catalogue, handwritten presentation inscriptions, and an original signed letter from his niece.
Institutional connections: Whitney Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Worcester Art Museum, Albright Art Gallery, Valentine Gallery, Boyer Galleries, and others.
Documentation: A complete numbered inventory identifying all 26 included objects, their dates, dimensions, and principal features is provided among the listing photographs. Additional individual photographs are available upon request.
Offered as: One indivisible archival collection. No original paintings or drawings are material survives in varied period condition, with age toning, handling wear, folds, rubbing, occasional edge tears, and wrapper losses. The 1936 Whitney watercolor exhibition catalogue has particularly noticeable front-cover surface loss. Manuscript inscriptions, ownership markings, and other evidence of historical use have been preserved. Please examine the photographs for representative condition and request further images of any particular object as needed.
