Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Bradley, Morton C., Jr. (Morton Clark), 1912-2004
- Abstract:
- Morton C. Bradley, Jr. was a great-grandson of Theophilus A. and Rebecca D. Wylie of Bloomington, Indiana. He was born and lived his whole life in Arlington, MA and went to Europe on a Bacon Scholarship in 1934 to study art. Later in life, he became a well-respected paintings conservator, sculptor, and collector of 19th century paintings. The bulk of this collection consists of the letters he wrote home to his family while in Europe (1934-1936).
- Extent:
- 1 linear foot
- Language:
- Materials are in English
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Morton C. Bradley, Jr. Correspondence Collection, Wylie House Museum, Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Morton C. Bradley, Jr. (1912 - 2004) was the only son of Morton C. Bradley and his wife Marie Louise (Boisen) Bradley. He was born and raised in Arlington, MA, but always spoke of himself as a Hoosier due to his grandparents' and parents' long association with Bloomington, Indiana. Known as Bob to his family and friends, Bradley graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1933 where he studied fine arts. He spent the next six years in further independent study and research, the first two in Europe. From there, he wrote long, chatty letters home to his mother, father and sister in Arlington. In 1944, he began working at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum in their paintings conservation lab and by 1950, he had gone into private practice as a paintings conservator. Interested in color theory and geometric forms and the relationship between those forms and color sequences, he began creating geometric sculptures in 1966. For more information on that body of work, see:http://www.iub.edu/~iuam/online_modules/bradley/index.html. Mr. Bradley never married and lived in the family home with his parents and unmarried sister, then by himself after their deaths.
Morton Clark Bradley (1878 – 1954) was born in Oxford, Indiana. While studying mathematics at Indiana University in the 1890s, he met his future wife, Marie Louise Boisen, who was also an undergraduate student. He graduated in 1899 and the couple married in 1900. They moved to New York City, then Boston where he sold insurance and then became a controller for the Boston and Maine Railroad Company.
Marie Louise (Boisen) Bradley (1879 – 1965) was the grand-daughter of Theophilus A. and Rebecca D. Wylie of Bloomington, Indiana. Her mother, Louisa (Wylie) Boisen, was widowed in January 1884 and brought her children, Marie and Anton, back home to Bloomington to live with her parents. Marie graduated from Indiana University in 1900 and that summer married Morton C. Bradley who had graduated the previous year. The couple had two children, Louise and Morton. Marie accompanied her son when he first went to Europe in 1934, and traveled with him for three months and returned in 1935 to travel with him in England.
Louise Bradley (1908 – 1979) was the only daughter of Morton C. and Marie Bradley. She attended Indiana University for one year, then transferred to and graduated from Radcliff College. She worked for Raytheon Corporation and travelled widely. She never married and lived her whole life in her parents' home.
- Scope and Content:
This collection of personal correspondence was bequeathed to Wylie House Museum, Indiana University by Morton C. Bradley, Jr., a great-grandson of Theophilus A. and Rebecca D. Wylie, upon his death in September 2004. The collection is arranged chronologically with no sub-series. The bulk of the collection consists of letters written by Mr. Bradley and his mother from Europe, 1934-1936, but there are also a few charming letters written between Mr. Bradley and his parents when he was a young boy away at summer camp and some miscellaneous letters written after 1940. A few random letters from people outside of the family are included in the collection but are not described in this finding aid; among those are a letter to Mr. Bradley from Larry Majewski, of NYU Conservation Institute, as well as one from Carroll Wales, of the Worcester Art Museum.
- Acquisition information:
- Bequeathed to Wylie House Museum by Morton C. Bradley, Jr., great-grandson of Theophilus Adam Wylie.
- Processing information:
Processed by Molly Biehn
Completed in 2011
- Arrangement:
The collection is arranged chronologically, regardless of the sender.
Indexed Terms
- Subjects:
- Art students --Travel --History --20th century --Sources.
Travel --Anecdotes. - Names:
- Bradley, Morton C., Jr. (Morton Clark), 1912-2004
Bradley, Morton C., Jr. (Morton Clark), 1912-2004 --Travel.
Bradley, Morton Clark, 1878-1954
Bradley, Marie Louise, 1879-1965
Bradley, Marie Louise, 1879-1965 --Correspondence.
Bradley, Louise, 1908-1979
Bradley, Louise, 1908-1979 --Correspondence. - Places:
- Europe --Description and travel
Online content
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research. Advance notice is required.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
For reproduction and use policy, contact Wylie House Museum Director.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Morton C. Bradley, Jr. Correspondence Collection, Wylie House Museum, Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
317 East 2nd StreetBloomington, Indiana 47401, United States
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
812-855-6224libwylie@iu.edu