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Parmelee, James (1855-1931)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1855 - 1931

Biography

A member of the CMA’s first Advisory Council from 1914 until his death, James Parmelee was an avid art collector and successful business executive. The terms of his will provided that upon the death of his wife, Alice Maury Parmelee, his art library and collections, excepting paintings and sculptures by American-born artists, were to go to the CMA. Parmelee was a trustee of the Corcoran Gallery from 1916, and in 1927 he was elected its first vice president. American works from Parmelee’s collection were left to the Corcoran.

James Parmelee was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated from Cornell University in 1876, after which his family moved to Cleveland. He studied law and was admitted to the bar but did not practice. In about 1885 Parmelee became associated with Myron T. Herrick (see Herrick, Myron T.) in business ventures, including Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., National Carbon Co., Cleveland Hardware Co., and Quaker Oats Co. Herrick, his lifelong friend, was also a member of CMA’s Advisory Board. In 1900 Parmelee was elected the first president of the Cleveland Stock Exchange, and in 1903 he was elected a trustee of The Society for Savings.

Parmelee married Alice Maury of Washington, D.C. in 1900; they moved there in 1905, spending summers at their farm in Painesville, Ohio. James Parmelee died in Washington in 1931. After Alice’s death in 1940, the CMA came into possession of 524 items from James Parmelee’s estate. These included eleven paintings; nineteen watercolors; twenty-one drawings; 189 prints; Asian ceramics, bronzes and prints; sculptures; Egyptian bronzes and faience; and velvets and embroideries. Artists represented in the collection include Durer, Rembrandt, Constable, Turner, Whistler, Rodin, Veneto (“Portrait of a Youth”) and Pennell.

Sources

Ingalls Library clipping file

“The Bequest of James Parmelee,” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 28, no. 2 (February 1941): 15-27, 31, JSTOR.

-Biography by Anne Cuyler Salsich, 2025

Occupations

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

224. James Parmelee, 1914-1928

 File — Box: 21, Folder: 6
Scope and Contents note From the Series: This is the largest series of records documenting Whiting's tenure as director of The Cleveland Museum of Art. Most of the series dates from 1913 to 1930, the years that Whiting was director, although a small percentage predates his arrival in Cleveland (see, for example, Henry Kent's correspondence with the building committee from 1912-1913, located in box 1). These records reflect a time when museum functions and departments were not yet fully delineated. Together, they...
Dates: 1914-1928
Found in: Cleveland Museum of Art Archives / 1111.071, Frederic Allen Whiting records / Numbered Administrative Correspondence

Parmelee, Alice M. (Mrs. James), 1931-1940

 File — Box: 33, Folder: 10
Scope and Contents note From the Series: This is the central correspondence file from Milliken's tenure as director, dating from 1930-1958. When Milliken became director, he apparently continued Whiting's numerical filing scheme for awhile, but at some point he (or someone on his support staff) decided to establish a new central file of director's correspondence in an alphabetical sequence by correspondent names and subject terms. Materials in each file are usually arranged chronologically, although general files, such as those...
Dates: 1931-1940
Found in: Cleveland Museum of Art Archives / 1111.072, William Mathewson Milliken records / Alphabetical Administrative Correspondence

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