Smedley, Agnes (1892-1950)
Archive of Correspondence with Thorborg Brundin Ellison and Other Material.

Including:

1) Approximately thirty typed letters signed from the 1930s-1940s, the majority sent while Smedley was at the Yaddo artist's retreat in Saratoga Springs, NY; others from New York City; on a train en route to the west coast; Ojai, CA; and one from China; all undated, most consisting of a densely-typed single page.

2) Approximately sixteen autograph letters signed, from a similar period and locations as listed above; including two letters written while Smedley was in China in 1934 & 1935, detailing her work there; in one she describes arriving sick on a steamer and being met at the ship by Mrs. Sun Yat Sen, and taken away to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.

3) A small group of signed postcards and holograph envelopes addressed to Ellison by Smedley.

4) A small group of pamphlets with articles by Smedley or related to her work in China, some signed and inscribed.

5) Two black-and-white photos of Smedley.

6) Together with Ellison's archives related to Smedley, including notices of her death; correspondence addressed to Smedley from others; clippings from the press related to her; a file of paperwork compiled in defense of charges of espionage against Smedley, and more, including some letters written by Ellison.

The letters in the collection, a testament to her lifelong friendship with Thorborg, are rich in good content. In China she writes, "I'm glad to be back, Dead or alive, I'd rather be here. Here I feel at peace and at home even when bullets sing. [...] I passed through Shanghai coming here and the streets I know so well, the atmosphere of the city with my bitter memories of all that happens there, settled upon me heavily. I felt sick just to pass through its streets. When I'm better again, they will mean renewed struggle for me, though it is now very dangerous for me, and Mrs. Sun and others fear very much for me. The terror has intensified a hundred fold since I left and there are now wholesale arrests & killings. I may be unable to work here."

From Yaddo she writes, the day after her first arrival there, "There are 16 people so far, writers and painters chiefly. Langston Hughes is here. [...] Langston Hughes has no smile and does not talk about himself at all. He's modest and retiring. He's writing the second volume of his autobiography. [...] If I don't write here, there is something organically wrong with me."

Condition
For inquiries about condition, please contact:
Devon Eastland, Senior Specialist: deastland@swanngalleries.com
Grace Meschery-McCormack, Cataloguer: gmccormack@swanngalleries.com