Ethel May Wickes Papers mssWickes
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
January 2021
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Ethel May Wickes papers
Creator:
Wickes, Ethel May,
1872-1940
Identifier/Call Number: mssWickes
Physical Description:
2.75 Linear Feet
(1 box, 2 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1917-1978
Date (bulk): 1937-1940
Abstract: A collection of professional and
personal material related to the California artist Ethel May Wickes.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Ethel May Wickes papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Liliane D. Wells, January 1979. Gift of D. McElwain, November 2005.
Ethel May Wickes (1872-1940), earlier known as Ethel Marian Wickes, was an artist known for
her watercolor paintings of California wildflowers. Wickes began to paint at the age of
seventeen, studying in Paris under several prominent artists, and had her first exhibition
the next year at the William Morris Gallery in New York. Early in her career she created a
successful genre picture entitled "Goose Shepherd;" it became so popular she continued to
paint pictures of geese. In 1914 she began painting California wildflowers, which she tried
to render both aesthetically pleasing as well as botanically accurate. She was the president
of the California Spring Blossom and Wild Flower Association and her work was displayed in
several prominent galleries and universities across the country.
A collection of 135 items which contains correspondence, business and biographical papers
and numerous drawings and paintings from 1917 to 1978. The correspondence is both addressed
to, and written by, Wickes and makes up almost half of the total collection. The business
and other papers include a great deal of biographical information about Wickes, including
lists of her paintings and exhibitions, photographs, a copy of her will and several notes
and documents written about her life. The artwork contained in the collection includes
twenty-nine pieces by Wickes, which includes pastel drawings and both oil and watercolor
paintings, fifteen watercolors by her friend, and fellow artist, Liliane D. Wells, and a
drawing by John Hoffman (1920-1937). Correspondents include Bertha Ast, Willis Linn Jepson,
Clarence E. Wells and Liliane D. Wells.
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, September 1979. In 2021, Gayle Richardson created
the finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.
Arranged alphabetically.
Former call number: mssWickes papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Artists -- California
Geese in art
Wild flowers -- California -- Pictorial works
Women artists -- California
Biography files -- California
Drawings (visual works) -- California
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Oil paintings (visual works) -- United States
Pastels (visual works) -- United States
Personal papers -- California
Photographs -- United States
Watercolors (paintings) -- United States
Ast, Bertha
Hoffman, John, active 1928
Jepson, Willis Linn,
1867-1946
Wells, Clarence E.
Wells, Liliane D.