Papers of Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss, approximately 1860-1969
Overview
Robert Woods Bliss (1875-1962) and his wife, Mildred Barnes Bliss (1879-1969) were prominent art collectors and the founders of Dumbarton Oaks, an estate which they developed and conveyed in 1940 to Harvard University as the Center for Byzantine Studies. Contains personal, philanthropic and United States Foreign Service-related papers.
Dates
- Creation: 1860-1969
Creator
- Bliss, Robert Woods, 1875-1962 (Person)
Extent
58 cubic feet (174 boxes and portfolio folders)Although the collection includes the personal, philanthropic and foreign service-related papers of Robert and Mildred Bliss, the majority of correspondence and records were kept by Mrs. Bliss. The Blisses were prominent in the social, political and cultural circles and the collection richly reflects that importance.
The Bliss Archives contain much that casts light on, most prominently, American philanthropy in the twentieth century, American women's relief work during World War I, the development of a professional American foreign service, elite political society in Washington during the 1930's, the formation and early years of Dumbarton Oaks as a research center, and the evolution of American taste and connoisseurship as seen through the eyes of two prominent collectors. But the Bliss Archives also contain many unexpected riches: scrapbooks from Mr. Bliss's Harvard years, unique photographs of Puerto Rico around 1900 and of World War I battle zones, hundreds of photographs, many of them signed, of luminaries from Clemenceau to Stravinsky, and boxes containing the numerous decorations the Blisses received.
Biographical Information
Robert Woods Bliss was a graduate of Harvard College, Class of 1900. He began work as the Secretary to the Governor of Puerto Rico and entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1903 with a post in Venice. For the next thirty years he served in the diplomatic corps in St. Petersburg, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Paris, Washington, D.C., and Stockholm. He retired in 1933, but returned to the State Department for occasional special service.
Robert Woods Bliss married his stepsister, Mildred Barnes, in 1908. They had no children. She was a well-educated and well-travelled heir to the Castoria patent medicine fortune. Mildred Bliss was an active participant and leader in social and cultural circles at every diplomatic post to which Robert Bliss was assigned. She was an avid art collector as well as patron of musicians and visual artists in Europe, South America and the United States. She organized the American Distributing Service to transfer medical supplies to French hospitals and funded several vehicles for the Ambulance Corps. She was honored with numerous decorations for her war relief efforts in France during World War I.
In addition to extensive philanthropic work, the Blisses were recognized as important art collectors. In 1920 they purchased an estate in Georgetown called "The Oaks." They renamed it "Dumbarton Oaks" and spent the next several decades involved with the development of both the exterior landscape and the art and book collections within.
In 1940 Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss conveyed Dumbarton Oaks to Harvard University as the Center for Byzantine Studies. The Blisses resided nearby and maintained an active interest in the formation and funding of its garden, library, art collection, and musical program. Plans to build a gallery at Dumbarton Oaks to house Robert Bliss's collection of pre-Columbian art were underway when he died of lung cancer on April 19, 1962. The Robert Woods Bliss Collection of Pre-Columbian Art was opened to the public in 1963.
Mildred Bliss continued to travel and take part in Washington's cultural and philanthropic life until her death on January 17, 1969.
Family Relationships
- Philemon Bliss (b. 1813), father of William Bliss
- Demas Barnes (1827-1888), father of Mildred Barnes, first husband of Anna Dorinda Blaksley
- William Henry Bliss (1844-1932), father of Robert Woods Bliss, second husband of Anna Dorinda Blaksley
- Anna Louisa Woods (b. 1850), Mother of Robert Woods Bliss
- Anna Dorinda Blaksley Barnes Bliss (1851-1935), mother of Mildred Barnes, second wife of Demos Barnes, second wife of William Henry Bliss (married 1893)
- Kora (or Cora) Fanny Barnes (1858-1911), stepsister of Mildred Barnes, daughter of Demos Barnes and his first wife, Mary Hyde (1832-1875)
- Annie Louise Bliss Warren (d. 1964), sister of Robert Woods Bliss, wife of Charles Warren
- Charles Warren (1868-1954), husband of Annie Louise Bliss
Biographical / Historical
- 1875 August 5 Robert Woods Bliss born in St. Louis
- 1879 September 9 Mildred Barnes born in New York City
- 1896-1900 Robert Woods Bliss attends Harvard College
- 1900-1903 Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary to Governor of Puerto Rico (William Hunt)
- 1903-1904 Robert Woods Bliss joins Foreign Service, Consul at Venice
- 1904-1909 Robert Woods Bliss is Second Secretary of the Embassy, St. Petersburg
- 1907-1909 Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary of the Legation, Brussels
- 1908 April 14 Robert Woods Bliss marries Mildred Barnes
- 1909-1912 Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary of the Legation, Buenos Aires
- 1912-1916 Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary of the Embassy, Paris
- 1916-1920 Robert Woods Bliss is Counselor of the Embassy, Paris
- 1920 Blisses purchase "The Oaks;" rename it "Dumbarton Oaks"
- 1920-1923 Blisses reside at 1786 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D.C.
- 1921-1923 Robert Woods Bliss is Third Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D.C.
- 1921-1933 Blisses maintain an apartment at 4 rue Henri-Moisson, Paris
- 1923-1927 Robert Woods Bliss is Minister to Sweden, Stockholm
- 1927-1933 Robert Woods Bliss is Ambassador to Argentina, Buenos Aires
- 1933 Robert Woods Bliss retires from the Foreign Service
- 1933-1940 Blisses reside at Dumbarton Oaks
- 1939-1945 Robert Woods Bliss is a Member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University
- 1940 November 1 Dumbarton Oaks is conveyed to Harvard University
- 1940-1942 Blisses reside at Casa Dorinda, Santa Barbara, California (Mildred Barnes Bliss's mother's estate)
- 1942-1969 Blisses reside at 28th and Q Streets, NW, Washington, D.C.
- 1942 Robert Woods Bliss is Consultant to Division of Cultural Relations in Department of State
- 1944 Robert Woods Bliss is Special Assistant to the Secretary of State
- 1945 Robert Woods Bliss retires from government service
- 1951 Robert Woods Bliss receives honorary Art.D. degree from Harvard University
- 1962 April 19 Robert Woods Bliss dies
- 1969 January 17 Mildred Barnes Bliss dies
Chronology
- 1875 August 5
- Robert Woods Bliss born in St. Louis
- 1879 September 9
- Mildred Barnes born in New York City
- 1896-1900
- Robert Woods Bliss attends Harvard College
- 1900-1903
- Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary to Governor of Puerto Rico (William Hunt)
- 1903-1904
- Robert Woods Bliss joins Foreign Service, Consul at Venice
- 1904-1909
- Robert Woods Bliss is Second Secretary of the Embassy, St. Petersburg
- 1907-1909
- Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary of the Legation, Brussels
- 1908 April 14
- Robert Woods Bliss marries Mildred Barnes
- 1909-1912
- Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary of the Legation, Buenos Aires
- 1912-1916
- Robert Woods Bliss is Secretary of the Embassy, Paris
- 1916-1920
- Robert Woods Bliss is Counselor of the Embassy, Paris
- 1920
- Blisses purchase "The Oaks;" rename it "Dumbarton Oaks"
- 1920-1923
- Blisses reside at 1786 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D.C.
- 1921-1923
- Robert Woods Bliss is Third Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D.C.
- 1921-1933
- Blisses maintain an apartment at 4 rue Henri-Moisson, Paris
- 1923-1927
- Robert Woods Bliss is Minister to Sweden, Stockholm
- 1927-1933
- Robert Woods Bliss is Ambassador to Argentina, Buenos Aires
- 1933
- Robert Woods Bliss retires from the Foreign Service
- 1933-1940
- Blisses reside at Dumbarton Oaks
- 1939-1945
- Robert Woods Bliss is a Member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University
- 1940 November 1
- Dumbarton Oaks is conveyed to Harvard University
- 1940-1942
- Blisses reside at Casa Dorinda, Santa Barbara, California (Mildred Barnes Bliss's mother's estate)
- 1942-1969
- Blisses reside at 28th and Q Streets, NW, Washington, D.C.
- 1942
- Robert Woods Bliss is Consultant to Division of Cultural Relations in Department of State
- 1944
- Robert Woods Bliss is Special Assistant to the Secretary of State
- 1945
- Robert Woods Bliss retires from government service
- 1951
- Robert Woods Bliss receives honorary Art.D. degree from Harvard University
- 1962 April 19
- Robert Woods Bliss dies
- 1969 January 17
- Mildred Barnes Bliss dies
Arrangement
- Personal Papers, 1878-1967
- War Relief, Charities, and Patronage, 1905-1967
- Diplomatic Service, 1908-1960
- Dumbarton Oaks, 1924-1969
- Social Affairs, 1908-1968
- Photographs, 1860-1969
- Medals, Badges, Citations, 1900-1968
- World War I Memorabilia, 1913-1926
- Specifications for residence of Robert Woods Bliss, 3101 R Street, Washington, D.C.,1920
Acquisition Information and Custodial History
Gift of Dumbarton Oaks.
The Papers of Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss came to the Harvard University Archives from Dumbarton Oaks in 1982. They apparently were transferred to Dumbarton Oaks after Mrs. Bliss's death in 1969.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2017 January 11.
Processing Information
The collection had been preliminarily arranged at Dumbarton Oaks. It appears that due, in part, to the many moves made and homes maintained by the Blisses, the papers were not kept in an orderly fashion. Much of the arrangement, therefore, is necessarily artificial.
Due to the extremely poor condition of some of the paper, many items in the collection have been photocopied onto acid neutral paper. These were primarily news clippings and carbon copies of telegrams and letters.
The preliminary work at Dumbarton Oaks included weeding. The originals of the photocopied items were discarded.
Creator
- Bliss, Robert Woods, 1875-1962 (Person)
- Title
- Bliss, Robert Woods, 1875-1962. Papers of Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss : an inventory
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua26003
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu