The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Lars Gustaf Sellstedt (1819-1911)

Title: Collection

Dates: [ca. 1848-ca. 1906]

Call No.: Col. 177

Acc. No.: 83x11

Quantity: 36 items

Location: 13 E 6

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Lars Gustaf Sellstedt was a portrait, landscape, and marine painter. He was born in Sundsvall, Sweden, on April 30, 1819. At the age of 11, Sellstedt became a cabin-boy on a Swedish trading vessel and worked as a merchant seaman until 1845, when he settled in Buffalo, New York. Sellstedt took a studio and began his career as a portrait painter. In 1850, he married Louise Lovejoy and they lived in New York City for a brief period of time; she died a few years later in Buffalo. In 1853, Sellstedt visited Stockholm, but returned to Buffalo and married Caroline Scott in 1856. Their home became a center of artistic activity.

Sellstedt helped to arrange an art exhibition in 1861 that led to the establishment of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy; he served as its president in 1876 and 1877. In 1872, Sellstedt sent his self-portrait to the National Academy of Design; it won a commendation from Daniel Huntington and led to his election as an associate. In 1875, he became a National Academician. Sellstedt was active in the Saturn and Liberal Clubs of Buffalo. In 1904, he published his autobiography From Forecastle to Academy: Sailor and Artist and in 1910, Art in Buffalo. Sellstedt died on June 4, 1911.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The collection consists of 28 photographs of Sellstedt, family members, friends, and house interiors. Interior shots feature ornate Victorian furniture, a piano, oriental rugs, and fireplaces. Several of the photographs of family and friends show the exterior of Sellstedt's home in the background. Two of the shots show Sellstedt and three friends playing cards; another features Sellstedt and a woman (his wife?) playing chess. There is a tintype of a young man and three women. In another photo, three men are cooking or drying fish over an open fire. Also included is a postcard from the Peabody Institute Library acknowledging a gift made by Sellstedt, and a print of a crucifixion scene painted by Sellstedt, with a note on the back. As well, the collection contains six Valentine greetings in the form of verse addressed to Caroline Scott; one is dated 1848.

ORGANIZATION

The items are arranged in accession number order.

PROVENANCE

Purchased from Craig Ross.

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Sellstedt, Caroline Scott.

Topics:

Furniture - Photographs.

Interior decoration - Photographs.

House furnishings - Photographs.

Dwellings - Photographs.

Valentines.

Photoprints.

Tintypes.

Artists.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 13 E 6

Folder 1: .1-.2 Studio portraits of Lars Sellstedt, one taken by Simson & Beach, Buffalo, the other by Dodge, New Brunswick, New Jersey

.3-.4 Lars Sellstedt sitting in a chair outdoors, both taken in the same sitting (in one he wears a hat, in the other he holds his hat); on the back of one is written “May 1898, L. G. Sellstedts’s weight 188 lbs.”

.5-.6 Lars Sellstedt standing at a table, which is placed outdoors; in .6 it is seen that the table is next to a porch on which swings a hammock

.7 Lars Sellstedt and a woman (his wife?) looking at a chess game; several fishing rods are hanging on the wall above the table on which the game is placed

Folder 2: .8-.9 Lars Sellstedt talking to Albert Closter (two versions of same photo, one has been cropped and mounted)

.10-.11 Samuel Welch, John Marshall, Lars Sellstedt, and Mr. Allen playing cards, in the background may be seen several paintings, a sculpture, and a shelf clock

.12 three men around a pile of rocks (on which a fire seems to have been built), one holding a fish and another holding a board on which a fish has been split open for cooking or drying

.13 photo portrait of DeLancey Redwater(?), Charles Ferguson, and Frank H. Porter (or Potter), taken in 1885 in Germany

.14 tintype of a man and three young women, taken in a studio

.15 Lars Sellstedt wearing a checked suit and a tam

Folder 3: .16 Irving Snow as a young boy wearing a colonial costume, studio portrait taken by Upson & Simson, Buffalo

.17 Dr. Eastham, 1862, carte de visite photo by J. T. Upson, Buffalo

.18 Judge N. K. Hall of Buffalo, studio portrait by W. J. Baker

.19 exterior of a house

.20-.22 interior shots of a house, two of a parlor show a piano, artwork (including sculpture), and a highly-decorated mantel; the third shows a stair hall, with a sofa, other furniture, and artwork

Folder 4: .23 Harris(?) fireplace in Genesee St., showing a light fixture, sculpture and other artwork, furniture, and fireplace equipment

.24 interior view of a parlor and dining room, showing furniture, a book case, artwork, lamps, and an elaborately decorated doorway

.25 interior view of a dining room, with a Moroccan-style chandelier, a tribal rug on the table, trays and plates hung on the wall, and another rug draped over the railing of a gallery that overlooks the room

.26 interior view of a dining room, showing a stained-class chandelier, and cups and saucers decorating the walls

.27 a man reading a newspaper and a woman knitting next to a fireplace, the photo shows furniture, bookcases, and artwork

.28 a woman sitting in a corner, beyond a grand piano and in front of a tall case clock, with artwork hanging on the wall

Folder 5: .29 print of a crucifixion scene painted by Lars Sellstedt, with a note on the back about the size, the colors used, and how long it took to paint

.30 postcard from the Peabody Institute, Baltimore, addressed to Sellstedt, thanking him for the donation of a copy of his autobiography to its library

.31-.35 five Valentine poems addressed to Miss Caroline Scott (later Mrs. Lars Sellstedt), none of which are signed, two of which are dated 1848

.36 a love poem cut from a newspaper, June 11, 1853