1921/1922 Class Notebook
See/read pages from a notebook kept by Charlotte R. Cummings for Painting and Drawing Classes at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1921/1922.
Charlotte R. Cummings, Charlotte Porter, Charlotte Cummings Porter, UW-Madison, Painting class, Drawing class, Carolyn Porter, Class notes
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  • Binder with class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Label on front of binder says "Drawing and Painting notebook."
  • handwritten nameplate on class notebook: reads "Charlotte Cummings, Drawing & Painting, Notebook"
  • Binder with notes from Drawing and Painting classes, made by Charlotte R. Cummings in 1921/1922 while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page reads, "Class Notes, Sept. 27, 1921: Pigments and Materials"
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At top of page read the words "Oct. 4, 1921 Technical Notes on Painting."
  • Binder with typed class notes; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page says "Jan. 10, 1922, Class Notes, Question of Painting:"
  • Binder with typed class notes; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page says "5/11/22 Landscape Painting: Sir Alfred East. Chap. III. Sketching from Nature"
  • Binder with handwritten class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Notes were made during painting classes/lectures.
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Top of page reads, "Chap III - Color Mixture and Balance."
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Page outlines types of paint brushes, assigns Class A, B, C, or D, and explains what each class of brushes is ideal for.
  • Binder with typed class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Page includes recipes to mix paint colors.
  • Binder with typed and handwritten class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Left-hand page was written in shorthand, the right-hand pages shows the beginning of a section on "Drawing and Painting, Second semester."
  • Handwritten class notes from September 22, 1922. Top of page reads "Art Structure" and "Lecture 1"
  • Binder with handwritten class notes from Drawing and Painting classes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with handwritten class notes from Drawing and Painting classes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with rectangles of green watery paint swatches; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Binder with black chalk sketch of young boy sitting on stool; made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Binder with class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Interior page showing color study using blues, oranges and purples.
  • Binder with handwritten class notes, made in 1921/1922 by Charlotte Cummings while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Page shows reading list, which includes the Bible, Anatol France, John Burroughs, Fabre, Huxley, Tyndall and Arnold Bennett.

1921/1922 Class Notebook

My parents are engaged in the slow process of cleaning out the home they’ve lived in the last 35 years. Recently, for example, they cleared papers out of an old secretary my grandmother used (my dad’s mother). Inside the desk were unused sheets of stationery and other things that had no real value. But they also stumbled upon something precious: my grandmother’s notebook from painting and drawing classes in 1921/1922. At the time, Charlotte was a student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The book measures 7″ x 8.75.” The first sixty or so pages were carefully typed. We speculate she took notes in shorthand, then typed her notes when she had more time. Class lessons covered topics such as painting materials, styles, lighting, color theory, paint mixing techniques, setting up a paint palette, painting outdoors and much more. Later on in the notebook, pages were often handwritten rather than typed. Shorthand continued to make an appearance.

The lessons are not in strict chronological order. Nor do they seem to be in a clear order regarding materials or styles. Perhaps at some point in time Charlotte reordered the pages in a system that made sense to her.

Charlotte was a life-long painter. I remember her sitting on our deck in the late 1970s/early 1980s painting the oak-filled, rolling pasture land around our home. My brother has one of those landscape paintings hanging in his home. In my living room I have a portrait Charlotte painted while she was a student. Similar to the sketch of the boy sitting on the wooden stool, this painting is of a seated woman. The oil painting has lovely greens and blues, and the woman’s hair has a hint of auburn.

Charlotte was also known for detailed proofreading skills. I was amused to see that throughout her class notebook she made various corrections and edits to her own notes.