Sneha Girap (Editor)

Frances Carpenter

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Name
  
Frances Carpenter

Role
  
Author

Parents
  
Frank G. Carpenter


Full Name
  
Frances Aretta Carpenter

Born
  
April 30, 1890 (
1890-04-30
)
Washington, D.C.

Resting place
  
Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Known for
  
Children's books; illustrating her father's works on travel and world geography

Board member of
  
Board of Trustees, Smith College; Vice President, International Society of Woman Geographers; member of the Sulgrave Club, the Cosmos Club, the Chevy Chase Club and the Cosmopolitan Club

Spouse(s)
  
William Chapin Huntington

Children
  
Joanna Huntington Noel and Edith Chapin Huntington Williams

Died
  
1972, Washington, D.C., United States

Books
  
Tales of a Korean Grandmother, Tales of a Chinese Grandmother, Tales of a Basque grandmother, Tales of a Russian grandmother, Pocahontas and her world

Frances Aretta Carpenter (April 30, 1890 – November 2, 1972) was an American photographer and author. She was the daughter of, and worked closely with, Frank G. Carpenter.

Contents

Early life

Frances Aretta Carpenter was born in Washington, D.C. in 1890. Her mother was Joanna Condict. Her father was Frank G. Carpenter. In 1912 she graduated from Smith College.

Photography, writing, and a life of travel

She photographed subjects for her father's books. She traveled with him from 1908 until 1915. They traveled throughout the world. On April 6, 1920, Carpenter married William Chapin Huntington. He worked at the Embassy of the United States, Paris and the United States Foreign Service from 1920 until 1961. Carpenter traveled with Huntington. W. Chapin Huntington died in 1958. The couple had two children: Joanna Huntington Noel and Edith Chapin Huntington Williams.

In the early 1960s, she visited Canada and the Mediterranean. In 1964 she visited Africa and traveled throughout the continent by car. In 1966 they visited Japan and Korea. She edited work for her father, including Carp's Washington, a memoir of his about working in Washington, D.C. It was published in 1960. She wrote children's books and work about women artists. Carpenter was a fellow for the Royal Geographical Society. She was president of the Smith College Alumnae Association. She was also on their Board of Trustees from 1936 until 1944. From 1960 until 1930 she was on the Board of Counselors. She also served as vice president of the International Society of Woman Geographers from 1939 until 1942. She was also a member of the Sulgrave Club, the Cosmos Club, the Chevy Chase Club and the Cosmopolitan Club.

Death and legacy

She died on November 2, 1972. Carpenter is interred at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C. The Frances Carpenter Papers are held in the collection of the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. The Library of Congress has a collection of approximately 7,000 negatives and 16,800 photographs taken by Carpenter to document her fathers writing.

Additional Information

  • Frances Carpenter (Huntington) Papers, 1890-1972, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.
  • References

    Frances Carpenter Wikipedia