M. Louise Stowell papers
Biographical / Historical note
Artist M. Louise Stowell (1861-1930) was born June 16, 1861 in Hornell, New York. She was a daughter of mathematician Thomas P. Stowell (1819-1896) and Henrietta Fowler (1820-1902). The meaning of the initial “M” in Stowell’s name is unclear. Lifetime census records sometimes list Minnie, her death certificate says “Marie,” her tombstone “Mary.”
Thomas P. Stowell, if not the whole family, were in Rochester in 1863 when he became Fire Insurance Adjuster and Special Agent for Aetna. By 1884 the Stowells had moved to 29 Atkinson Street in Rochester, where M. Louise lived for the rest of her life.
Stowell was a member of the art faculty at Rochester's Mechanics’ Institute 1890-1892, after which she studied with Arthur Wesley Dow in Massachusetts and at the Art Students League in New York prior to 1895. She and fellow artist Ada Howe Kent (1857-1942) shared a studio in the Powers Building in the mid-1890s.
Stowell, Harvey Ellis, Claude Bragdon, John E. Dumont and Thillman Fabry incorporated the Rochester Arts and Crafts Society in 1897. The Society's first exhibition of Japanese prints and French posters was held at the Cutler Building in May 1897. In 1903, the group helped to bring an Arts and Crafts Exhibition to Rochester. Initially organized by Gustav Stickley and his United Crafts, the show ran for ten days at the Mechanics’ Institute and included work by Stowell, Ellis and Bragdon.
From at least 1889 on, Stowell was an exhibiting member of groups including the Rochester Art Club, the American Watercolor Society, and the New York Watercolor Club. Her work was exhibited not only in Rochester but nationally, and at least in 1896, in Leipzig, Germany. Stowell returned to teaching at Mechanics’ Institute 1905-08.
In addition to the watercolors for which she is best known, Stowell designed posters, illustrations, murals and bookbindings. Around 1910, an illness curtailed her ability to produce and exhibit art. At about the same time, she and the bookbinder Margaret Sterling (1873?-1951) opened the “Masu Co.” and “Far East Shop,” at which they sold imported goods and art supplies.
M. Louise Stowell died on February 8, 1930: she is buried in Rochester’s Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists mainly of 31 boxed scrapbooks of clippings, most titled in Stowell's hand. Scrapbooks in Boxes 1-2 contain correspondence and reviews regarding exhibitions of her work. The scrapbook in Box 30 contains clippings of bookbindings and book covers, a few original photographs of what may be the Nordhoff bindery. The clippings in Box 31 are almost exclusively related to bookbinding with a number of original designs annotated in a hand other than Stowell's, possibly Margaret Sterling’s. The collection’s second Series, Artwork and photographs 1890-1910, contains photographs of Stowell, original and printed Stowell artwork as well as block prints and photographic reproductions of works by other artists, primarily Harvey Ellis. Stowell and the bookbinder Margaret Sterling may have sold prints like these at their shops, the Masu Co. and the Far East Shop.
Creator
- Stowell, M. Louise, 1861-1930 (Person)
Dates
- Creation: circa 1889-1910
Language of Materials
English
Extent
44 box(es)
Access
The M. Louise Stowell Papers are open for research. Resarchers are advised to contact the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will be asked to complete a registration form and provide photo identification.
Use
In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Formerly in the collection of The Strong Museum, Rochester, New York.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, item date], M. Louise Stowell Papers, D.506, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Subject
- Stowell, M. Louise, 1861-1930 (Person)
- Title
- M. Louise Stowell papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by RBSCP staff
- Date
- 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Library Details
Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library
