Guide to the Royal Bailey Farnum records , 1905-1965

bulk 1905-1946

Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Fleet Library at RISD
2 College Street
Providence, RI 02903
Tel: 401-709-5922
Fax: 401-709-5932
email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Royal Bailey Farnum records
Date range:	1905-1965, bulk 1905-1946
Creator:	Farnum, Royal B. (Royal Bailey), 1884-1967
Extent:	7 linear feet
Abstract:	The collection contains records of the Director, Educational Director, Executive Vice-President, and Presidents. The records cover 1905-1965 and the bulk of the records document the Royal Bailey Farnum administration, 1929-1946.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Collection number:	4.0

Scope & content

The collection contains records of the Director, 1901-1929, Educational Director, 1929-1937, Executive Vice-President, 1937-1946, and Presidents Eliza G. Radeke and Helen Danforth. The bulk of the records document the Royal Bailey Farnum administration, 1929-1946, with emphasis on the development of the educational program and the Business Office, the impact of WW II, construction of the Auditorium and College St. Building, the budget, the Executive Committee, faculty and staff, and the Museum with particular emphasis on Director Alexander Dorner. The records from the Office of the Director, 1901-1929, document World War One, the Jewelry Department, the Library, and scholarships. A collection of Farnum's published writings is included as well as awards given to Farnum.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Farnum, Royal Bailey

Subject Organizations

• Rhode Island School of Design. Office of the Executive Vice-President

Subject Names

• Radeke, Eliza G., 1854-1931
• Danforth, Helen M., 1887-1984
• Dorner, Alexander, 1893-1957
• Jackson, F. Ellis, 1879-1950
• Creer, Philip, 1903-1993
• Farnum, Royal B. (Royal Bailey), 1884-

Subject Organizations

• Rhode Island School of Design. Museum of Art
• Fleet Library
• Rhode Island School of Design. Office of the Director
• Rhode Island School of Design. Office of the Educational Director

Subject Topics

• World War, 1914-1918--United States--Education and the war
• World War, 1914-1918--Sources
• Rhode Island School of Design--Presidents
• Rhode Island School of Design--Administration
• Rhode Island School of Design--Buildings
• World War, 1939-1945--Education and the war
• World War, 1939-1945--War work--Schools

Subject Topics

• Education

Document Types

• Letters (correspondence)
• Financial records
• Reports
• Personnel records

Arrangement

The records are arranged in four series:

• I. Subject files, 1905-1947, bulk 1929-1946
• II. Reports, 1930-1943
• III. Awards and Achievements, 1919-1965
• IV. Writings, 1914-1953

Historical note

Created by the Board of Trustees on April 14, 1937, the Office of the Executive Vice-President centralized the executive management of the Corporation, previously divided between the Museum and Educational Directors, under the President and the Executive Committee. The Administrative Manual, adopted May 9, 1940, outlined the responsibilities of Executive Vice-President Royal Bailey Farnum including: preparation and supervision of the budget; preparation of the...reports of the Executive Committee; general supervision of all financial and physical operations of the institution; faculty appointments, with Committee approval, and staff hiring; preparation and administration of the educational program; and supervision of publications except for the Museum's. The responsibilities, except for educational program development, transferred to the President in 1947.

The Board of Trustees voted on May 22, 1929 to create the coequal positions of Educational Director and Museum Director. Previously, the Director carried out the duties of the two offices with the assistance of the Dean of the College (1919-1929). Royal Bailey Farnum, appointed Educational Director, served as the administrative head of the institution, except for the Museum, and was responsible to the President and the Executive Committee. As head of the Faculty, Farnum could call and preside over Faculty meetings. He prepared Executive Committee reports and agendas and attended all Committee meetings. The Committee expected Farnum to "take an active interest in the educational policy of the institution and...make such suggestions as he may deem appropriate for the consideration of the President and the Executive Committee." The Board of Trustees created the position of Executive Vice-President after the death of Museum Director L. Earle Rowe.

Biographical note

Royal Bailey Farnum, 1884-1967

• Education Director, 1929-1937
• Executive Vice-President, 1937-1946

Royal Bailey Farnum graduated from the Massachusetts Normal Art School in 1906 and received his master's in education from the Cleveland School of Art in 1929. Brown University bestowed an honorary Art D. in 1935. Farnum taught at the Cleveland School of Art (1906-1909) and the Department of Art at Summer School of the South, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1909-1911). He lived and worked in New York, 1911-1921, holding positions in the Department of Education; the School of Arts and Crafts (Chautauqua); Bevier School of Art (Director), and Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (President). From 1921-1929, he served as the Principal of the Massachusetts School of Art, Boston and the State Director of Art Education.

Farnum's numerous professional activities included: Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; American secretary of the International Federation for Art Education, Drawing and Art in Industry; President of the Providence Art Club, 1941-1945; National Association for Art Education, President; U.S. Delegate to the International Art Congress, 1925, 1928, 1935, and 1937; "School Arts Magazine, " 1916-1919; "Education" magazine; National Conference of Schools of Design, Chair, circa 1946-1947; and the Educational Study Committee of the Hoover Commission.

Farnum retired to Fearnhame, Hampton, CT in 1946.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	The use of certain documents and collections may be restricted. Please consult the Archives staff for further details.
Use of the materials:	Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright.
Preferred citation:	Royal Bailey Farnum records, Rhode Island School of Design Archives.
Contact information:	Rhode Island School of Design Archives Fleet Library at RISD 2 College Street Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Royal Bailey Farnum records were found in the basement of the Bank building.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Douglas Doe.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Jessica Bitely 2009 February 20
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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