Olin Dows Papers, 1886-1986 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Collection Overview
Title: Olin Dows Papers, 1886-1986
Primary Creator: Dows, Olin (1904-1981)
Extent: 6.05 Cubic Feet
Date Acquired: 00/00/1956
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Collection Historical Note
Olin Dows was born August 14, 1904 in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York. He was the son of Mr. Tracy “Pup” Dows and Alice Olin Dows. He was the grandson of Stephen H. Olin, a New York City attorney and founder of the Dutchess County Historical Society, and he was the great-grandson of the Rev. Stephen Henry Olin, a prominent Methodist educator and early president of Wesleyan College in Connecticut.
In 1908, Dows moved with his parents to “Foxhollow,” a 1000-acre estate in Rhinebeck, New York, where eventually the Rhinebeck Country School was built. As an adult, Dows resided in “Glenburn,” his mother Alice’s ancestral home adjoining Foxhollow.
Dows attended St. Marks School, a preparatory school in Massachusetts, and he later studied art at Harvard University and at Yale School of Fine Arts, specializing in murals, panels, and screens. From 1934 to 1936, Dows served as an administrator in the Federal Works Agency-Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts. In 1939, he received a commission from the FWA to design and paint the murals in the Rhinebeck Post Office. In 1941, at the suggestion of President Roosevelt, Dows was commissioned to design and paint the murals in the Hyde Park Post Office as well. During this period, Dows was very involved in the Rhinebeck community and served on the local school board.
In 1942, Dows enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Engineers Corps, later becoming a Technical Sergeant in the Historical Section. He was appointed one of three artists in the European Theatre to make a pictorial record of operations there. Dows spoke German fluently, and while in Joigny, France he reportedly convinced 56 Nazis to surrender. In December 1944, Dows received a Bronze Star for bravery during military operations in St. Lo, France.
In 1949, Dows published Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park for which he spent two years writing the text and drawing the book’s 174 illustrations. The Dows family had been lifelong friends and neighbors of the Roosevelt, and the Dows family frequently attended as guests events at Hyde Park and in Washington, D.C., both before and during the presidency. Dows also had worked closely with the President in the conception and design of the Hyde Park Post Office murals.
After the publication of Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park, Dows continued with his painting and held numerous gallery showings. He was a frequent lecturer and teacher on art and art history.
In 1950, Dows married Carmen Vial de Senoret of Chile. Prior to their marriage, Mrs. Dows was a member of the Chilean delegation to the United Nations and an accredited Chilean Minister to the Netherlands. Following their marriage, Dows and his wife lived in her native Chile six months out of the year, returning to Glenburn every spring.
Dows had one stepson, Mr. Luis Browne. His sister Deborah Dows was a lifelong Rhinebeck resident and owner of Southland Farms. His other sister Margaret (“Bargy”) Dows Thyberg was married to Knut Thyberg, a Swedish diplomat.
Olin Dows died June 6, 1981, at the age of 76.
Administrative Information
Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Access Restrictions: This collection is available for use by the general public.
Use Restrictions: Copyright interest in these papers has been donated to the United States Government.
Acquisition Source: Olin Dows and Luis Browne
Acquisition Method: The papers were presented to the Library by Mr. Olin Dows in 1956 (Accession No. 56-01) and by Mr. Luis Browne in 1991 (Accession No. 91-06).
Related Materials: Files in the President’s Official File (OF 3715-b) and the James H. Rowe, Jr. Papers concerning the Federal Works Agency-Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts; Files in the President’s Official File (OF 3710) and the John Carmody Papers concerning the Federal Works Agency in general; Files in the President’s Official File (OF 444), the Harry Hopkins Papers, the Aubrey Williams Papers, and the Dutchess County NY Materials concerning the Works Progress Administration and the WPA Art Program; Files in the President’s Secretary’s File (PSF 139), the President’s Personal File: Speeches (Box 57), Dutchess County NY Materials concerning the Hyde Park Post Office; Files in the President’s Personal File: Speeches (Box 46), Rhinebeck NY Post Office NARA RG 121, and Dutchess County NY Materials concerning the Rhinebeck Post Office.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Personal Materials],
[Series 2: Business and Financial Matters],
[Series 3: Literary Materials],
[Series 4: Printed Materials],
[All]
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Series 1: Personal Materials
- Primarily consisting of personal correspondence from his mother Alice Dows, his sisters Deborah Dows and Margaret ("Bargy") Thyberg, and his wife Carmen Dows. Also includes correspondence from Eleanor Roosevelt, members of the art community, and friends and neighbors. Folders are organized in rough chronological order according to the groupings of letters as kept by Dows. Correspondence within the folders is arranged in chronological order with undated materials at the end of each folder. Additional personal materials other than correspondence are located at the end of the Series in Container 5.
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Box 1
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Personal Correspondence, 1918-1938 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1918-1938 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1937 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1937-1949 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1940-1943 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1943-1963 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1943-1963 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1944 and undated
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Box 2
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Box 3
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Personal Correspondence, 1949-1951 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1951 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1951-1952 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1951-1952 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1951-1952 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1951-1957 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1952 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1952 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1955 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1958-1959 and undated
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Box 4
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Personal Correspondence, 1960-1963 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1962 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1963-1965 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1963-1979 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1964-1965 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, 1967
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Personal Correspondence, 1976 and undated
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Personal Correspondence, undated
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Box 5
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Series 2: Business and Financial Matters
- Correspondence, contracts, and other financial materials related to Dows' art projects and participation in art-related organizations. Folders are arranged alphabetically by topic. Materials within the folders are arranged chronologically and by types of materials (contracts, memoranda, etc.).
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Box 6
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Art Correspondence, 1949-1979 and undated
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Chaloner Prize Foundation, 1949-1969 and undated
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Chaloner Prize Foundation History, 1956-1958 and undated
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (Gift of Paintings and Drawings for Hyde Park and Rhinebeck Post Office Murals), 1967
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Hyde Park Post Office Commission (Correspondence), 1940-1942 and undated
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Hyde Park Post Office Commission (Other Materials), 1940-1941 and undated
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Miscellaneous Financial Matters, 1961-1979 and undated
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Proposed Collection of Government Sponsored Fine Arts, 1947 and undated
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Rhinebeck Post Office Commission, 1939-1941 and undated
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Rhinebeck School Board, 1941-1942 and undated
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Series 3: Literary Materials
- Notes, drafts, and typescripts concerning Dows' varied literary interests. Containers 7 and 8 contain correspondence, notes, source materials, drafts, and newsclippings related to Dows' 1949 book Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park for which he both wrote the text and drew the illustrations. Containers 9 and 10 contain his notebooks on various art museums he visited, lecture and speech notes, and other materials written by Dows.
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Sub-Series 1: Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park
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Box 7
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Correspondence - Business, 1947-1950 and undated
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Correspondence - Source Material, 1947-1948 and undated
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Correspondence - Reaction Mail, 1949-1950 and undated
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Lists of Drawings, Titles and Dimensions, undated
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Commentary on History of Book and Drawings, undated
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Source Materials - Newsclippings and Printed Material, 1947-1948 and undated
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Source Materials - Notes and Lists, 1949 and undated
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Source Materials - Source Materials - Photographs (photocopies -- originals removed to Photograph Collection)
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Newsclippings - Publications Announcements and Reviews, 1949
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Newsclippings - Publications Announcements and Reviews, 1949
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Box 8
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Sub-Series 2: Writings and Lectures
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Box 9
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Olin Family History, 1955 and undated
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Rhinebeck and Hyde Park Post Office Murals (Lecture), undated
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High School Speech (undelivered), 1943 and undated
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Wesleyan University Lecture, undated
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Miscellaneous Notes on Mural Lectures, 1940 and undated
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Notes on Hogarth, undated
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Notes on Daumier and Gavarni, undated
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Notes on Keene and Phil May, undated
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Notes on Chile, undated
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Art History Notes, undated
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Engagement Announcement, undated
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Uncorrected Notes on Egyptian Art, undated
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Notes on Christianity and Established Religion, undated
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Art Notebooks
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Art Notebooks
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Box 10
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Series 4: Printed Materials
- Printed materials collected by Dows, including materials written or illustrated by Dows, materials on particular topics of interest to Dows such as local Rhinebeck history and biography and art in general, and publications on art exhibits in which Dows participated.
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Personal Materials],
[Series 2: Business and Financial Matters],
[Series 3: Literary Materials],
[Series 4: Printed Materials],
[All]