Morton C. Bradley, Jr. was a great-grandson of Theophilus A. and Rebecca D. Wylie of Bloomington, Indiana. He was born and lived his whole life in Arlington, MA and went to Europe on a Bacon Scholarship in 1834 to study art. Later in life, he became a well-respected paintings conservator, sculptor, and collector of 19th century paintings. The bulk of this collection consists of the letters he wrote home to his family while in Europe (1934-1936).