Frederick Dana Marsh (1872-1961) Papers, 1900-1967.

Born in 1872 in Chicago, son of James Marsh, a stockyards commission merchant, he was inducted, when about 16 years old, by his father, into business. Soon [his father] consented to his son's education at the Chicago Art Institute. He was expected, however, to help with expenses and got jobs after classes with well known artists who where shaping up murals for the Chicago World's Fair. This grounded him in mural techniques of the big wall, big brush type.

He then went to Paris where his independent attitude toward the pursuit of art led him to avoid workshop study. In 1895, in Paris he married Alice Randall, a fellow Chicago art student. They lived in a Montparnasse studio where two sons, James and Reginald, were born. Both sons were to become noted artists. In 1900, Marsh exhibited "Lady in Scarlet," a full length portrait in vivid and luminous red, of his young wife. It won the International Bronze Medal and was widely exhibited abroad and in the U.S.

Coming home into New York after seven years in Paris the artist was impressed by the sight of brawny workmen swinging out on girders and riveting the lacy skeletons of the earliest skyscrapers on lower Manhattan. Settling in a well established art colony in Nutley, NJ, Marsh went head on into his industrial period.

Marsh created World War I posters and paintings for the U.S. government. He also created pictorial maps and miniature murals. His clients included D. Rockefeller Jr., William Rockefeller, E.H. Hutton, Herbert Pratt and other millionaires.

In 1928, Marsh retired completely from art production on a commercial basis. Within a year he had lost his parents, his wife and his third and youngest son. He moved to Ormond Beach where, on a long stretch of Atlantic Ocean frontage, he had begun to build a home. For the rest of his life he split his time between Ormond Beach, FL and Woodstock, NY.

In 1930 Marsh married Miss Mabel Van Alstyne, a New York and Woodstock artist, starting a notable artistic partnership. Together they finished a new home, embellishing every inch of it with their own hands.

Frederick Dana Marsh died December 20, 1961.

[Excerpted from the Daytona Beach Morning Journal, December 21, 1961]

Scope and Content Note

The Frederick Dana Marsh (1872-1961) Papers, 1900-1967, provide a small but fascinating glimpse of Marsh's personal life and his artistic work. The biographical and autobiographical materials, primarily clippings and biographies, include two undated autobiographical essays and material regarding Frederick's son, Reginald Marsh. The correspondence contains letters concerning commissions, exhibitions, prizes and the gift of the Marsh collection (now at RPI) to the Hiland G. Batcheller Memorial Foundation. The photographs of Marsh and his homes include shots of the houses Marsh built on Marsh Island, Boothbay, ME and at Ormond Beach, FL. The reproductions of Marsh's work contain magazine covers, photographs of his painting, murals, sculptures, etc. The miscellaneous papers include programs, and miscellaneous photographs.

Oversize materials include Marsh's certificated as Associate of the National Academy of Design (1906), a photograph of Marsh Island, ME (1940), and additional reproductions of his paintings and murals.

Included in this box of personal papers is one folder of original artwork. These small sketches and studies are supplemented by other of Marsh's work housed in the Archives.

Inventory