Bertha Honoré Palmer Correspondence Collection

Bertha M. Palmer, wife of the famed hotelier Potter Palmer, was both a social leader in Chicago and an astute art patron. As President of the Board of Lady Managers of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, she was instrumental in organizing the exhibits in the Woman’s Building and took particular interest in the fine art exhibition. In addition to correspondence about the world’s fair exhibition, the collection contains letters concerning the acquisition of European paintings for her personal art collection—much of which was bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago—including correspondence with Mary Cassatt, Camille Claudel, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Sarah Hallowell, Mary Fairchild MacMonnies, and Augustus Saint Gaudens. View finding aid.View selected images from this collection. Collection access:Collections may be accessed in the Franke Reading Room of the Research Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, by appointment only. For further information, consult the FAQ. Finding aids by subjectBrowse all finding aidsBrowse images and mediaOral histories Contact the Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives:archives@artic.edu