Lucy Olcott

Lucy Olcott (1877–1922) was an American art historian and dealer who specialized in the art of Siena as well as Egyptian antiquities, working for both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She was co-author (with historian William Heywood) of the widely-read Guide to Siena, published in 1903.

Early life and family

Lucy May Olcott was born 1 May 1877 in Manhattan, the daughter of Emmet Robinson Olcott, a member of the New York bar, and Mary Gardner Olcott (nee Clapp).[1] She was raised in New York and graduated from the Normal School (Hunter College) in 1897.[2] After graduation she traveled to Italy with her mother, where she met the art historian Frederick Mason Perkins, her future husband.[3]

Adult life

Marriage and work in Italy

Olcott married Perkins in 1900,[4] after which the couple settled in Siena, forming part of a network of historians and connoisseurs that included Robert Langton Douglas and Robert H. Hobart Cust.[3] Olcott collaborated with historian William Heywood on Guide to Siena, which was published in 1903[3] and positively received.[5] Her contribution shed new light on Sienese art history, as well as proposing a number of new artistic attributions.[6] The popularity of the book resulted in the production of multiple editions.[7] Olcott also collaborated with Bernard Berenson and his wife Mary Berenson, publishing articles in Burlington Magazine and Italian art journals.[8] Olcott was also involved with the curation of a major Sienese art exhibition in 1904.[9] Her expertise in Sienese art was demonstrated through her contributions in Bryan’s Dictionary of Painters and Engravers,[10] providing several artists' biographies.[11] G. C. Williamson particularly noted her superior efforts on the biographies of Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Pietro Lorenzetti, Vechietta and Simone Martini.[12] The marriage broke down during her time in Siena, and she then moved to the US.[13]

Work in the United States

Olcott found a position at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, working with the library collection to augment its collection of photographs[14] as well drawing upon her expertise to publish articles on more-obscure works of the Italian Renaissance in the museum's collection.[14] She later served as the first Museum Instructor for the Met, responsible for the education of both teachers as well as the general public.[15] She left the Met in 1909 when her affair with curator Bryson Burroughs was brought to light and transitioned to work as a private secretary for Bernard Berenson in 1909.[16] She left Berenson's employ in 1911 and connected with Rita de Acosta Lydig,[17] working for her and other clients as a private dealer.[18]

Earlier in her career, Olcott had studied with Theodore Davis, being present during his archaeological work in Egypt in 1905.[15] When the soon-to-be-opened Cleveland Museum of Art was looking to develop a collection of Egyptian art, Henry Kent of the Met recommended Olcott for the role.[19] She served as an acquisition agent for both the Cleveland Museum of Art as well as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, filling 24 crates of antiquities to create their collections.[19] She also acquired a number of ancient Egyptian textiles[20][21] and carved panels[22][23] for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Death and legacy

Olcott had struggled with mental illness during her life and in 1913 was placed in an asylum in London.[18] She was brought back to the US by her brother Herman and was placed in the Ward's Island hospital, where she died in 1922.[18] However her contributions to the understanding of Siena's art and history were considered crucial for both scholars as well as the general public. [24]

References
  1. Clapp 2018, p. 261.
  2. Kozloff 1999, p. 3.
  3. Tedbury 2019a.
  4. Patrick 2003.
  5. Tedbury 2019b, p. 3.
  6. Tedbury 2019b, p. 4-5.
  7. Tedbury 2019b, p. 6.
  8. Tedbury 2019b, p. 7.
  9. Ricci 1904, p. 77.
  10. Bryan & Williamson 1903.
  11. Tedbury 2019b, p. 8.
  12. Bryan & Williamson 1903, p. III.v.
  13. Tedbury 2019b, p. 9-10.
  14. Tedbury 2019b, p. 11.
  15. Tedbury 2019b, p. 13.
  16. Berenson 1987, p. 42.
  17. Berenson 1987, p. 493.
  18. Kozloff 1999, p. 5.
  19. Cade 2016.
  20. "Textile Fragment, 12th century". The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  21. "Textile Fragment, 11th century". The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  22. "Panel, 11th century". The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  23. "Panel, 9th-10th century". The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  24. Tedbury 2019b, p. 14.

Sources


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