Title: Anna Catherine Wiley Sketches Collection

Date/Date Range :   undated

Extent: 2.0 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection is composed of approximately 150 sketches by Anna Catherine Wiley drawn during the early 20th Century.

Call number: MS-1287

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

The Anna Katherine Wiley Collection was a gift from Eleanor Wiley's heirs.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Anna Catherine Wiley Sketches Collection, MS-1287. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of six series:

1. Series I: Portrait Studies in Pencil and in Charcoal
2. Series II: Figure Drawings in Pencil and in Charcoal
3. Series III: Other types of Drawings in Various Media
4. Series IV: Yearbook Illustrations in Ink
5. Series V: Miscellaneous Oversize Sketches
6. Series VI: Materials Related to the Collection

Though never gaining the experience necessary to bring wide recognition and lasting fame, Catherine Wiley's career is now regarded as that of an important early 20th century painter. After completing her studies at the University of Tennessee, Miss Wiley left Knoxville to study at the Art Students League in New York, and spent several summers in New England painting with Robert Reid and other prominent artists. The experience in a thriving art center, and the exposure to the work of artists like Claude Monet and Mary Cassatt, must have been responsible for the new impressionistic quality her style began to reflect. Subsequently returning to her hometown of Knoxville, Miss Wiley joined the University of Tennessee faculty as an art instructor, and continued to paint with an international flavor that lead her to be grouped with a body of artists referred to as American Impressionists.

Prior to her formal training in New York, "Kate" Wiley, as a student at the University of Tennessee, was responsible for rendering many illustrations for the university's yearbook, the Volunteer. This collection is mostly comprised of pieces from the early stages of her career while a student at the University of Tennessee. Most of these appear rough, but a few are endowed with deftly controlled, expressive strokes that capture the vitality of the artist's subjects, and reveal Miss Wiley's considerable talent.

The pieces in this collection are from the early stages of Anna Catherine Wiley's career. Along with a few original ink yearbook illustrations, there are numerous preliminary drawings and pencil sketches. The majority of the sketches were drawn by Catherine Wiley, but a small number are the work of Eleanor Wiley and Mary Grainger. The collection is arranged by topic and numbered sequentially. Researchers should note that there are many pieces with sketches on both sides of the paper.

• Art -- American -- 20th Century.
• Sports in Art.
• Drawing -- 20th Century.
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville -- Students -- Periodicals.