The Career of Francis Davis Millet

H. Barbara Weinberg’s  1977 article for  the Archives of American Art Journal (by way of the University of Chicago Press) was a seminal review of the life and work of the The Career of Francis Davis Millet.  It came at a time when there was little to no scholarship around the life, artwork and contributions Millet had made to America’s cultural foundations as the country moved through the 19th century and into the 20th century as we know it. Unfortunately, Millet’s untimely death on the Titanic had subsumed his artistic and cultural legacy; allowing others to take credit for his work and cultural institutions to forget his crucial contributions to their foundations.

To name only a few American institutions who owe a major debt to Millet are:  The American Federation of the Arts, where he was a founder; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he was a Trustee and had influence in the establishment of its American art collection; World’s Columbian Exposition, where with Daniel Burnham who named him Director of Decorations and Exhibitions, Millet made the “Great White City” the pivotal event in ushering in the coming century of industrial and influential expansion of America on the world stage; The  Commission of Fine Arts, as Vice-Chair with Daniel Burnham, again together were responsible for the creation of the Washington Mall, DC and the placement of the Lincoln Memorial as we know it today. Finally though not complete, Millet was instrumental in the creation of the American Academy of Art in Rome, where he was the Executive Secretary in charge of the academy. It was from Rome where he left to rush home, at the request of President Taft, in his role on the Commission of Fine Arts to finalize the creation of the Washington Mall and Lincoln Memorial.

So it is with thanks that Millet scholars look to the renewed interest in Francis Davis Millet brought about by H. Barbara Weinberg, Ph.D.
Curator Emerita, The American Wing, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Professor Emerita of Art History, The City University of New York.

The Career of Francis Davis Millet:   https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/aaa.17.1.1556881

H. Barbara Weinberg, “The Career of Francis Davis Millet,” Archives of American Art Journal 17, no. 1 (1977): 2-18.

Plaque in profile of Francis Davis Millet by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, dated  March, MDCCCXXIX [1829], bronze 10 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches, (26.67 cm x 17.15 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. F. W Adlard, 1910.  This plaque was apparently a gift from Saint-Gaudens to the Millet’s upon their wedding, where Saint-Gaudens,  along with Mark Twain were close friends and witnesses. The plaque was given to the museum by Millet’s daughter.