137

(1860-1940)

Family Papers and Photos Related to Artist Emma Kaan [Barbizon School - Arts & Crafts]

Group of family papers related to Emma Kaan (1860-1949), the American painter, illustrator, printmaker, and designer associated with the Arts & Crafts movement. Of particular interest is a printed photograph of Kaan and a group of nine cards produced from her woodcut designs, including a Psalms card bearing a signed note from Kaan to her sister.

The remainder of the material comprises dozens of family photographs, notes, letters, and newspaper clippings relating to Kaan's parents and siblings, along with genealogical notes concerning the Dunbar, Willis, and Carden branches of the family. Also included are copper calling-card printing plates for John Carden; Mayflower Society documents and notes relating to the Howland family; original artwork and custom Christmas cards prepared for Kaan's sister Marie (Kaan) Carden and her husband John Carden of Sharon, Massachusetts; two Civil War military appointments for Captain Charles Dunbar as Quartermaster of the Massachusetts Militia, dated 1864; and two nineteenth-century family Bibles.

Emma Kaan was an American painter, illustrator, printmaker, and designer associated with the Arts & Crafts movement. She studied at the Massachusetts Normal Art School and later in Paris at the Académie Colarossi, Académie Delécluse, and the Académie Julian. Kaan began her career as a drawing instructor in the Boston public schools before establishing herself as a professional artist. Influenced by the Barbizon School, her landscapes were noted for their tonal subtlety and were favorably compared with those of Charles-François Daubigny.

From the late 1890s onward, Kaan lived and worked in Buffalo, New York, where she shared a studio and long artistic partnership with the painter Annie I. Crawford. Together they produced prints and paintings, taught art classes, and delivered lectures, becoming prominent figures in Buffalo's artistic community. Kaan exhibited in regional and national exhibitions and was a member of organizations including the Buffalo Society of Artists and the Society of Arts & Crafts in Boston. After Crawford's death in 1942, Kaan eventually returned to Boston, where she died in 1949.

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April 25, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Portsmouth, NH, US

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