Guide to the Mary Sophia and Harriet Sarah Walker Papers, 1850-1904, undated
Mary Sophia and Harriet Sarah Walker Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.
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Sisters Mary Sophia (d.1904) and Harriet Sarah (d.1898) Walker were the nieces of Theophilus Wheeler Walker who was cousin to Leonard Woods, Bowdoin College's fourth president, and benefactor of the art gallery in the Bowdoin Chapel (the Sophia Walker Gallery). Upon Theophilus Wheeler Walker's decease in 1890, his nieces became heirs of their uncle's estate and they approached Bowdoin in the spring of 1891 about donating a building that would be devoted "exclusively for art purposes" and given in their uncle's memory. The Walker sisters had no previous connection with the College aside from their knowledge of their uncle Theophilus's own interest in the College's art collections, but they were quick to honor his memory and his desire to see an art building established at Bowdoin, and they were actively engaged in the choice of architect, McKim, Mead, & White, and interested in the building design and progress; the Walker Art Building was dedicated in 1894.
The collection contains correspondence (1850-1904, n.d.), lists of Mary Sophia and Harriet Sarah Walkers' art collection, and a printed and annotated copy of the will of Mary Sophia Walker. Notable correspondents include Willam Northend, Henry Johnson, Bowdoin College president William De Witt Hyde, and the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. The correspondence documents the Walker sisters' gift to Bowdoin College and their interest in the design and construction of the Walker Art Building.
Chronological List of Correspondence. View online.
Correspondence, 1850 Sept. and 1852 Aug.
Correspondence, 1891 April-June
Correspondence, 1891 July-Aug.
Correspondence, 1891 Sept.
Correspondence, 1892
Correspondence, 1893
Correspondence, 1894 Jan-March
Correspondence, 1894 March-Nov.
Correspondence, 1896-1904, n.d.
Ephemera
Lists of Art Pieces
Manuscript: "The Heire of Linne: an Ancient Ballad," copied by hand in pen and ink from an illustrated edition of "Percy's Reliques" and illuminated with original designs by Harriet S. Walker, 1875
Wills and Codicils