The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:          Charles Oscar Haag (1867-1933)                               

Title:               Glass plate negatives

Dates:             ca.1905-1915

Call No.:         Col. 700

Acc. No.:         03x78

Quantity:        123 items

Location:        19 J 3

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Charles Oscar Haag was a native of Sweden who eventually settled in the New York City area and later in Illinois, where he died.  Early in life, he apprenticed in a faience factory, but maintained an interest in sculpture, which he studied at night school.  He worked in several European countries, supporting himself by designing bronze ornaments for clock cases, before coming to the U.S. in 1902.  Haag showed his work at the New Gallery in New York during the winter of 1905-06 and at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1916 and 1925.  An article in the July 1906 issue of The Craftsman offers an appreciation of his work.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

The collection consists of glass plate negatives depicting Haag, his family, and his sculptures.  None of the photos are identified; a couple are dated.  Several of the photos show the interior of Haag’s studio.  Others show the inside of a house, presumably that of Haag.  The women and children are probably family and friends; one photo is of a nude woman, who was probably a model for his sculptures.  There are also photos of the outside of a house, several pictures of a cat, and photos of Haag himself.  In several photos, a man is dressed in an “Asiatic” costume.  A Native American appears in costume in a couple of photos; he may have been the model for some of the busts.

 

The sculptures are of men, women, and children, along with a few animals.  Two of the works show people at work: fishermen in their boat, and a man and woman pulling a plow.  Abraham Lincoln is the subject of a couple of statues, and Native Americans the subject of several others.  A few items appear to be decorated clock cases.  There are some portrait bas-reliefs, and one portrait statue may have been used to decorate a grave.  One sculpture depicts a skyscraper.  Another is a model for a fountain; it includes a seal on a rock in the middle of the pool, with a frog and a duck decorating the basin.  Many of the sculptures are of men or women, either nude or clothed.  In addition to the glass plate negatives, there is one photo of a sculpture.

           

 

ORGANIZATION

 

The images are divided by size (small, medium, large), and then arranged by accession number.  Broken negatives are in a separate box.   

 

 

PROVENANCE

 

Gift of Russell Maylone and Northwestern University Library.   

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

            People:

                        Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 - Statues.

 

Topics:

                        Animal sculpture.

Artists’ models.

Artists’ studios - Photographs.

Bas-relief.

Buildings in art.

Busts - Photographs.

Cats - Pictorial works.

Children in art.

Farmers in art.

Fishers in art.

Indians of North America in art.

Men in art.

Nude in art.

Photography of interiors.

Photography of sculpture.

Sculpture - 20th century - United States.

Women in art.

Glass plate negatives.

Sculptors.

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 19 J 3

 

Box 1: (small negatives)

 

.2         cat on a log railing, basket hanging below

 

.3         model for clock case in Art nouveau style

 

.14       close-up of a cat

 

.25       sculpture of geese(?)

 

.33       sculpture of bearded male nude at a fancy wheel (see also .107)

 

.42       photo of bearded man (Haag?)

 

.50       sculpture of seated man, head bent, in prayer(?)

 

.56       sculpture of standing man, bent at waist

 

.59       live female nude model standing in studio, small female nude sculpture in background

 

.75       cat licking itself

 

.103     photo of Haag

 

.104     bas-relief of bearded man wearing glasses

 

.106     photo of Haag

           

.108     photo of man, woman, two children (see also .109)

 

 

Box 2:

 

.4         statue of Abraham Lincoln, sitting (see also .22 and .31)

 

.6         sculpture of standing female need, slightly bent at waist

 

.7         stylized sculpture of family group: mother father, 2 older children, 1 small child

 

.8         sculpture (wood?) of bearded old man with pack on back

 

.9         sculpture of man carrying something

 

.10       sculpture of a man (image much damaged)

 

.11       sculpture of man carrying a log

 

.12       portrait bas-relief of a man with mustache and glasses

 

.13       Native American man in costume, with child, photo taken in studio?  (see also .26)

 

.15       sculpture of a family: man, woman, child, in immigrant costume

 

.16       clock case in Art nouveau style, decorate with woman and rising sun (see also .88)

 

 

Box 3:

 

.17       sculpture of man in hat and coat

 

.18       triangular sculpture, with man in middle, he has a very long beard and carries a bowl

 

.19       clay model of bust of a Native American (much emulsion lost)

 

.20       ceramic serving dish with lid, decorated with flowers

 

.21       sculpture of man in hat pulling something

 

.23       sculpture of man using hatchet (one corner broken off and missing)

 

.24       bas-relief plaque of ducks and flowers

 

.26       young child looking up at Native American in costume, taken in studio (see also .13)

 

.27       sculpture of woodsman carrying axe over shoulder

 

.28       photo of a house, with a log raid fence and a stone wall

 

.29       photo of a man inside a house

 

 

Box 4:

 

.30       two sculptures: female nude; man in winter cap

 

.31       sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, standing (other items in background; see also .4 and .22)

 

.32       sculpture of man in medieval dress, cat at his feet

 

.34       group portrait, badly damaged and only two women are visible

 

.35       bust of Native American man

 

.36       outdoor scene

 

.37       sculpture: figure leaning on a sphere

 

.38       family portrait, with girl holding a cat (6 people are visible but some emulsion is gone)

 

.39       bench or wall with plaque depicting buffalo

 

.40       sculpture of person bowing

 

.41       photo of a bearded man (Haag?)

 

 

Box 5:

 

.43       bas-relief plaque: Native American drinking from a stream

 

.44       woman standing next to statue of a woman and child

 

.45       bas-relief plaque: female nude with long hair that has flowers in it

 

.46       designs for clock cases, one with Cupid and the other with flowers

 

.47       bas-relief plaque: standing female nude holding brush and palette (see also .84)

 

.48       sculpture of nude family group: man with shovel, boy, woman

 

.49       sculptures of two standing figures (emulsion gone from top half of negative)

 

.51       bust of woman, head leaning on hand

 

.52       sculpture of stylized female nude with hair flung over top of head

 

.53       photo of woman in profile (with braids on top of her head)

 

.54       sculpture of standing figure of a woman, holding basket

 

 

Box 6:

 

.55       sculpture of a skyscraper, signed Ch. Haag, 1915

 

.57       man in “Asiatic” attire, standing in front of a folding screen in a house (see also .58 and .86)

 

.58       man in “Asiatic” attire, standing in front of a folding screen in a house (see also .57 and .86)

 

.60       bas-relief of bearded man reading newspaper

 

.61       sculpture of bearded man holding huge club

 

.62       sculpture (perhaps incomplete) of seated nude

 

.63       bas-relief of girl in hat and coat holding snowball (see also .67)

 

.64       domed sculpture with fish swimming around base (see also .65)

 

.65       domed sculpture with fish swimming around base , labeled copyright Ch. Haag (see also .64)

 

.66       bas-relief: standing female nude with very long hair

 

.67       bas-relief: child in winter hat and coat, probably a companion to .63

 

.68       sculpture of family group: man, woman, child

 

 

Box 7:

 

.69       model for clock case in Art nouveau style, with female figure

 

.70       photo of bearded man

 

.71       bas-relief: standing nude (emulsion at top is gone)

 

.72       sculpture: family group (man, woman, child), from side

 

.73       sculpture of standing female nude, slightly bent at waist

 

.74       man and woman (perhaps the Haags) standing in front of a small sculpture (see also .76)

 

.76       two men, woman, and girl posed around a sculpture (see also .74)

 

.77       photo of a house

 

.78       bas-relief of a bearded man, marked Ch. Haag, 1905(?)

 

.79       model for clock case with floral decoration

 

.80       sculpture of standing man with long beard, children at base

 

.81       sculpture of standing man holding arm of prone woman

 

.82       sculpture of clothed man

 

.83       sculpture of woman with bent head, child holding onto her skirt

 

 

Box 8:

 

.84       two bas-reliefs of women and sculpture of man (man statue also in .82; bas-relief of woman with palette also in .47) (one corner broken off and missing)

 

.85       woman playing violin, wall behind her displays bas-reliefs, photos, small sculpture

 

.86       man in “Asiatic” attire (see also .57 and .58)

 

.87       sculpture of two men in boat, identified in July 1906 issue of The Craftsman as “Fishermen”

 

.88       design for clock case with woman and rising sun (see also .16)

 

.89       stylized sculptures of two female nudes with long hair

 

.90       sculpture of seated bearded man, one arm propped on tree trunk

 

.91       sculpture of clothed man, one had on hip

 

.92       sculpture of clothed woman with geese

 

.93       sculpture, unidentified

 

.94       photo of sculptor’s studio or gallery

 

.95       photo of woman seated at a table watching another woman play violin

 

.96       photo of woman playing violin, sitting in front of hearth

 

.97       four women in meadow (one seated), house in background

 

 

Box 9:

 

.98       house interior (Haag’s house?), woman seen through doorway

 

.99       two women, on boat dock(?)

 

.100     woman reading in sculptor’s studio

 

.101     two women in a meadow

 

.102     sculpture of man in winter coat

 

.105     sculpture of kneeling man holding large dish with tower of human figures;

the July 1906 issue of The Craftsman identifies the tower of figures as “The Struggle for Money”’ the kneeling man with bowl is not part of the piece illustrated in that magazine

 

.107     sculpture of man with decorated wheel, in studio (other works can also be seen) (one corner broken off and missing) (see also .33)

 

.116     sculpture of two standing female nudes

 

.117     bust of Native American elder

 

.118     sculpture of horses (negative is damaged and horses’ heads are not visible)

 

 

Box 10: (large negatives, and print)

 

.110     sculpture of seated man huddled in a coat (top of negative broken off and missing)

 

.111     sculpture of man and woman pulling something, dated 4-11 (one edge is damaged and what is being pulled is not visible);

            the July 1906 issue of The Craftsman describes a sculpture entitled “Accord”: “Swedish peasant and his wife pulling a primitive wooden plow” (p. 436); this is probably a photo of that work

 

.112     sculpture of seated bearded man reading, may have been intended for a grave marker

 

.119     sculpture of standing female nude, dated 4-11

 

.120     sculpture of seated male nude, dated 4-23-14

 

.121     sculpture of female nude holding braid of hair (see also .113)

 

.122     sculpture, perhaps model for a fountain, with seal on rock in water pool, with duck and frog decorations on side of pool

 

.123     photo of sculpture of man seated on a rock (note: this is not a negative)

 

 

Box 11: broken and cracked negatives

 

.1         photo of Charles Haag

 

.5         photo of seated girl

 

.22       statue of Abraham Lincoln, with figures at feet (see also .4 and .21)

 

.109     photo of man, woman, two children (see also .108)

 

.113     sculpture of female nude, bent at waist with long braid (see also .121)

 

.114     bas-relief of seated man

 

.115     bas-relief of female nude with hair in a halo around her head.