Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

William Graves Perry papers, Manuscript #MS 1999.15, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Acquisition Information

Gift, 1999

Biographical Information

William Graves Perry was born November 8, 1883 in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Newburyport. He was a descendent of an old Newburyport seafaring family. Perry graduated from Harvard in 1905, received his first degree in architecture from MIT in 1907, and another from Paris’ L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1913. He taught architecture at Harvard from 1915-1916. In 1908 he married Eleanor Gray Bodine. Together they had three children, two daughters and one son, but divorced in 1934. Perry served as a Captain in the Air Force from 1916-1919. In 1922 he founded the firm of Perry, Shaw, and Hepburn. Their firm continues to be known for university and commercial buildings, including several on the Harvard campus and Colonial Williamsburg’s John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library. Perry’s relationship with Williamsburg began informally in 1926 after a chance meeting with Reverend Goodwin, the originator of the plan to restore the capital. In 1927 Perry, Shaw and Hepburn submitted drawings and were officially hired as the project’s architects. The firm retained ties to the project until the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation created its own architecture department in 1953. Perry married Frances McElfresh Ames in 1945. She remained his wife until he died April 4, 1975 in Boston.

Scope and Content

A series within the 20th Century Collection, the William Graves Perry papers are organized into subseries: Art and architecture, Collections, Colonial Williamsburg, Correspondence, Family, Notes, and Photographs, prints, and other art.

Art and Architecture comprises items related to Perry's practice, including a certificate to practice in Maryland and an article about Sir Christopher Wren. An avid collector, the Collections series is a sampling of the items Perry acquired through the years. Evidence of Perry's contribution to the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg is available in the Colonial Williamsburg subseries. A small amount of Correspondence is contained in the subseries of the same name. Items within the Family subseries pertain to his wife, France, and son, William G. Perry, Jr. Notes taken by Perry in a variety of circumstances, including a Spanish language class, are found in the Notes subseries. Photographs is the largest of the subseries, and is a collection in its own right. Ranging from photographs of the American Embassy in London to prints of Benjamin Franklin and Japanese art, these items represent the range of Perry's interests.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in series.

Index Terms

Persons:

• Perry, France McElfresh
• Perry, William Graves
• Perry, William Graves, Jr.

Corporate Names:

• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
• Perry, Shaw, and Hepburn

Subjects:

• Architecture
• Correspondence - Perry, William Graves.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Black-and-white photographs