Richard J. King Collection 1933-approximately 1952 (bulk 1934-1949) MS.2006.004 http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1015
Archives and Manuscripts Department John J. Burns Library Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill 02467 library.bc.edu/burns/contact URL: http://www.bc.edu/burns Table of Contents
Summary Information ...... 3 Administrative Information ...... 4 Biographical note ...... 5 Scope and Contents ...... 5 Arrangement ...... 6 Collection Inventory ...... 7 I: Illustrations ...... 7 II: Proofs ...... 8 III: Photographs ...... 8 IV: Printing plates ...... 9 V: Postage stamps ...... 9 VI: Christmas cards ...... 9 VII: Paintings ...... 10
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 2 - Summary Information
Creator: King, Richard J. Title: Richard J. King collection ID: MS.2006.004 Date [inclusive]: 1933-approximately 1952 Date [bulk]: 1934-1949 Physical Description 3.75 Linear Feet (2 boxes plus two framed artworks) Language of the English and Irish. Material: Abstract: This collection contains works on paper by early-twentieth-century Irish artist Richard J. King. It consists of proofs and prints of his illustrations for periodicals, Christmas cards, and Irish postage stamps, as well as photographs of his stained glass windows. Preferred Citation
Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, Richard J. King Collection, MS.2004.004, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 3 - Administrative Information
Publication Information Processed by David M. Tennant, 2005; and Rachael Young in 2019. This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace.
Restrictions on access Collection is open for research.
Provenance Because the current accessioning system was not used until January 1986, it is not possible to know exactly the dates of acquisition of materials received before that time. Correspondence on file indicates that portions were received as gifts from Richard King and the Eire Society of Boston.
Restrictions on use These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 4 - Biographical note
Richard J. King was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1907. King was educated by the Christian Brothers and then at the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, now the National College of Art and Design. After his education, King became the chief designer in the studio of Harry Clarke, one of Ireland's best-known stained glass artists.
Developing his artistic skills in many different mediums, King was named the staff artist for The Capuchin Annual where he published many paintings; pen and ink designs; and illustrations for articles. In 1943, The Capuchin Annual featured King's work in a full-length article also displaying both color and black and white samples from the range of his work which is largely religious in nature, although his work with secular subjects is substantial. Also nationalistic in theme, a portion of King's work ranges from portraits of various Irish saints to designs employed for a number of Irish postal stamps.
A prolific stained-glass designer, King's art decorates the windows of many Irish churches. His work has also been exhibited in New Zealand and the United States. In 1952, a set of three windows of King's design were permanently installed at the Boston College Library (now Bapst Library).
King died in Dublin on March 17, 1974, at the age of 64.
Sources:
Richard King: The Artist and His Work, Richard King Exhibition Pamphlet, March 9, 1952, Boston College Library.
"Tributes," The Capuchin Annual, pp. 174-195; quoted from contributor James Campbell, pp. 174-175.
Scope and Contents
The Richard J. King collection consists of reprints and proofs of a range of artwork, mostly created as article illustrations for The Capuchin Annual between 1940 and 1949. The artwork includes both religious and secular themes. The religious artwork comprises the Stations of the Cross, the Catholic Saints, and the Sacred Mysteries. The collection also includes a large sample of printed Christmas cards designed by King, as well as a small number of proofs and prints from the Irish postal stamps King designed. In addition to his works on paper, the collection contains copper printing plates for one of his images, and color photographs of the his stained glass windows in the James Jeffrey Roche Room of the Bapst Library at Boston College. Two of King's paintings are also part of this collection.
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 5 - Arrangement
The collection is arranged in seven series: I. Illustrations, II. Proofs, III. Photographs, IV. Printing plates, V. Postage stamps, VI. Christmas cards, and VII. Paintings.
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 6 - Collection Inventory
Series I: Illustrations, 1940-1949 Scope and Contents
This series consists of many illustrations by King in both color and black and white for articles and featured artwork in The Capuchin Annual. The artwork includes both secular and religious themes, with a series emphasis on Catholic saints.
"St. Brendan" frontispiece, 1945-1946 box 1 folder 1
"St. Brigid", 1946-1947 box 1 folder 1
"St. Columban", 1945-1946 box 1 folder 1
"St. Columcille", undated box 1 folder 1
"St. Declan", 1946-1947 box 1 folder 1
"St. Fiacre", 1948 box 1 folder 1
"St. Finbarr", 1946-1947 box 1 folder 1
"St. Kevin", 1948 box 1 folder 2
"St. Jarlath", 1946-1947 box 1 folder 2
"St. Lorcan", 1948 box 1 folder 2
"Blessed Timothy McCarthy", 1948 box 1 folder 2
"St. Malachy", 1946-1947 box 1 folder 2
"St. Patrick", undated box 1 folder 2
"St. Senan", 1948 box 1 folder 2
"St. Francis of Assisi", 1942 box 1 folder 3
"Queen of Ireland", 1949 box 1 folder 3
"May Morning", 1949 box 1 folder 3
"Our Lady of Fatima", 1949 box 1 folder 3
"Our Lady of Immaculate Conception", 1949 box 1 folder 3
"Mother of Christ", 1949 box 1 folder 3
"Our Lady of Sorrows", 1949 box 1 folder 3
"Dancing Stage at Carna Show", 1943 box 1 folder 4
"Salruck", 1943 box 1 folder 4
"St. Elizabeth of Hungary", 1942 box 1 folder 4
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 7 - "Jaun Zuria", 1946-1947 box 1 folder 4
"Parish Priest of the Pacific", 1948 box 1 folder 4
"St. Francis of Assisi", 1942 box 1 folder 4
"Twilight and Dawn", 1944 box 1 folder 4
"Tolerance", 1940 box 1 folder 4
"[Gabhalthas Breagh]""Tara was a woman's choice", undated box 1 folder 4
"Colm the Venerated" title page for "Three Sketches by Seamus box 1 folder 4 MacManus", 1949
Uncaptioned images, both sides,, 1943 box 1 folder 5
"...a nation can be created here...", undated box 1 folder 5
"ni mucfAr I nEIREnn [Gh]o deo e", undated box 1 folder 5
"Michilin and I", 1948 box 1 folder 5
"The Glen Rover", 1944 box 1 folder 5
"The Man Dun Curor", 1943 box 1 folder 5
"Hogskin Gloves", 1944 box 1 folder 5
"The Bishop", 1949 box 1 folder 5
"The Headman of Ules", 1949 box 1 folder 5
"Death Keeps No Calendar", 1943 box 1 folder 5
Series of Irish provinces: "Eire," Connacht," "Laighin," "Mumha," box 1 folder 6 and "Ulaidh", undated
"Morning Star", 1943 box 1 folder 6
Series II: Proofs, undated
Book plate for the John T. Hughes Memorial Collection, Boston box 1 folder 7 College, black and white, undated
Stations of the Cross, I-XIV, color on card stock, undated box 1 folder 8-9
Uncaptioned illustrations, probably for The Capuchin Annual, box 1 folder 10-12 undated
Series III: Photographs, undated Scope and Contents
This series consists of photographs of King's artwork. All are in black and white except those of the stained-glass at Boston College. Also included is one portrait of King.
"An Coronin Muire" ("The Sacred Mysteries"), fifteen images box 1 folder 13
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 8 - Stations of the Cross series (for the Capuchin Annual), fourteen box 1 folder 14-15 images, 1941
Richard J. King portrait by Adolph Morath, undated box 1 folder 15
Stained glass windows designed by King for the Boston College box 1 folder 16 Library, two color photographs, undated
Stained glass window designed by King for the Boston College box 1 folder 17 Library, one photo-mechanical print, undated
Series IV: Printing plates, circa 1951 box 2 folder 1-4 Scope and Contents
This series consists of four copper photomechanical printing plates for a multi-color image of the larger of the two stained- glass windows designed by King and installed at the Boston College Library. The four plates are respectively marked black, blue, yellow, and red.
Series V: Postage stamps, 1933-1949
2p Eire: 1884 Cumann 1934, green, 1934 box 1 folder 18
3p Eire: bunreAct nA herieAnn, blue, 1937 box 1 folder 18
2 1/2p Eire: 1846 Parnell/Davitt 1946, red, 1946 box 1 folder 18
3p Eire: 1846 Parnell/Davitt 1946, blue, 1946 box 1 folder 18
Canceled envelope with set of four first-day-of-issue air mail box 1 folder 18 stamps, and letter from King to Terence Connolly regarding the stamps, 1949 April 4
Enlargements of the 1937, 1944, and 1946 stamp designs, box 1 folder 18 1937-1946
Irish Press clippings regarding King stamps, 1933-1946 box 1 folder 18
Captions, from Boston College exhibit of King stamps, undated box 1 folder 18
Series VI: Christmas cards, circa 1952 Scope and Contents
Blank Christmas cards with illustrations by King. Many show examples of the same cover design issued with different interior text. The series also includes a few cards collected after they had been sent.
Published in Ireland by Tur Soluis (Irish Art Publications), series box 1 folder 19-25, numbered K 101 - K 512 (38 images), circa 1952 27-30
Published in the United States by Catechetical Guild Education box 1 folder 26 Society, series numbered 959-2 to 959-4 (four images), circa 1952
Cards sent, various publishers (3 cards), undated box 1 folder 31-32
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
- Page 9 - Series VII: Paintings, undated Scope and Contents
This series consists of two original paintings by King on display in the John J. Burns Library at Boston College
Mountmellick, Offalay, Ireland, birthpalce of James Jeffrey Roche, object watercolor, Gift of Eire Society of Boston, undated Watercolor
James Jeffery Roche, gift of Eire Society of Boston, undated object Painting
Richard J. King Collection MS.2006.004
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