Scofield Thayer (December 12, 1889 – July 9, 1982) was a wealthy American poet and publisher, best known for his art collection, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and as a publisher and editor of the literary magazine The Dial during the 1920s. He published many emerging American and European writers.
Early life and education
Thayer was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on December 12, 1889 to Edward D. Thayer and Florence () Thayer. The Thayers were a prominent and wealthy Massachusetts family. Scofield's father was the owner of several area woollen mills, a founding investor in the Crompton & Thayer Loom Company, and a director of the Worcester Trust Company. Scofield's uncle Ernest Thayer was the author of the well-known poem "Casey at the Bat".
Thayer was a Harvard University student. His Harvard years would prove formative; during them Thayer would serve on the staff of the Harvard Monthly. During these years Thayer would also meet many other young poets and authors, including E. E. Cummings, Alan Seeger, Lincoln MacVeagh, Arthur Wilson (later known as Winslow Wilson) and Gilbert Seldes. A large dormitory for freshmen at Harvard, in which Cummings once roomed (room 306), is named after the Thayer family. Thayer graduated from Harvard in 1913. After Harvard, Thayer went to Oxford for post-graduate studies at the same time as T. S. Eliot.
Career
Thayer's involvement with The Dial began in April 1918 when he purchased $600 USD worth of stock in the magazine. In late 1919, Thayer and his fellow Harvard alumnus Dr. James Sibley Watson, Jr. purchased The Dial from the owner, Martyn Johnson, who was suffering financial trouble. Dr. Watson became the magazine's president while Thayer took up the post of editor. The new team produced its first issue of Dial in January 1920. The issue featured works from E. E. Cummings, Gaston Lachaise, Arthur Wilson (Winslow Wilson) and Carl Sandburg.
He died on July 9, 1982 at the age of 93 in Edgartown, Massachusetts, leaving a bequest of 400 items from his art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He left his Aubrey Beardsley collection of drawings to the Fogg Art Museum.