Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
29 documents - page 1 of 2

Billy Al Bengston papers

Creator:
Bengston, Billy Al  Search this
Names:
Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
James Corcoran Gallery  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this
Alexander, Peter, 1939-  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this
Chamberlain, John, 1927-2011  Search this
Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993  Search this
Flavin, Dan, 1933-  Search this
Goode, Joe, 1937-  Search this
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Plagens, Peter  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Extent:
10.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Photographs
Date:
circa 1940s-1989
bulk 1960-1988
Summary:
The papers of southern California Pop artist Billy Al Bengston measure 10.4 linear feet and date from circa 1940s to 1989, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960 to 1988. The collection documents the life and work of the artist through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, gallery and museum files, teaching files, project and commission files, scattered artwork, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Billy Al Bengston measure 10.4 linear feet and date from circa 1940s to 1989, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960 to 1988. The collection documents the life and work of the southern California artist through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, gallery and museum files, teaching files, project and commission files, scattered artwork, printed materials, and photographs.

Found within the biographical materials series are three feet of calendars which extensively document Bengston's personal and professional activities for fourteen years, and include ephemera related to these activities. This series also includes health records, wills, and passports.

Correspondence is with galleries, museums, universities, businesses, friends, and colleagues, and primarily concerns exhibitions, sales, consignments, commissions, and Bengston's personal finances. Bengston's relationship with the James Corcoran Gallery, Janie C. Lee Gallery, John Berggruen Gallery, Martha Jackson Gallery, and Texas Gallery are well-documented here, as well as in the Museum and Gallery Files series. Also found is a limited amount of personal correspondence with collectors, researchers, and friends. A few letters from other artists, including Peter Plagens and a letter from Richard Diebenkorn are interfiled here.

Bengston's professional relationships with galleries, museums, and universities are well-documented in the gallery and museum files, including the galleries mentioned above, Ferus Gallery, and others. Lists of consignments and prices, invoices, records of sales, loan agreement forms, shipping receipts, exhibition checklists, and exhibition floor plans provide information about sales, exhibitions, and loans. A few files provide further information about Bengston teaching activities. His personal business records include art sales records, price lists, lists of purchases, records of investment, and personal finance records. Project files include correspondence, notes, and printed materials related to Bengston's commissions for artwork and personal projects, including a book he worked on with Ed Ruscha, Business Cards.

Writings by Bengston include responses to exhibitions of West Coast art and his thoughts on his career, art, the artistic community, motorcycles, as well as a recollection of John Altoon. Also found are questionnaires sent out by Bengston for an art survey, with responses from Peter Alexander, Carl Andre, John Chamberlain, Dan Flavin, Joe Goode, Robert Graham, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, Ed Ruscha, and others. Writings by others consist primarily of exhibition catalog essays, manuscripts of interviews with Bengston, and other writings about Bengston. Also found is an essay by Walter Hopps. Photographs of Bengston include a family picture from the 1940s, Bengston at work on projects in Los Angeles and Syracuse, New York, and Bengston at social events. Other photographs consist of pictures of friends and artists, Bengston's artwork, documentary evidence of damaged artwork, and of commission sites.

Printed materials from the 1960s - 1980s include clippings, full articles, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and posters. They document exhibitions, art in southern California, and society and art events. The collection houses limited amounts of artwork including sketches, cut-outs, doodles and drawings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 10 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1958-1987 (Boxes 1-4, 11; 3.7 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1966-1989 (Boxes 4-6; 1.75 linear feet)

Series 3: Gallery and Museum Files, 1961-1989 (Boxes 6-7; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Teaching Records, 1968-1982 (Box 7; 7 folders)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1960-1987 (Boxes 7-8; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 6: Project Files, 1968-1987 (Boxes 8-9; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 7: Writings, 1967-circa 1988 (Box 9, OV 12; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork, 1960s-1987 (Box 9; 7 folders)

Series 9: Printed Materials, 1958-1988 (Boxes 9-10, OV 12-13; 1.25 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1940s-1987 (Box 10; 0.5 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Billy Al Bengston was born in Dodge City, Kansas on June 7, 1934. After moving back and forth from Kansas to California multiple times, he and his family settled in Los Angeles in 1948. While attending the Manual Arts High School, Bengston became interested in art, especially ceramics. After a brief stint at Los Angeles Junior College, Bengston worked as a beach attendant at Doheny State Beach. While working there he met fellow surfer and future ceramicist Kenneth Price, who became one of Bengston's closest friends. In 1953, he reenrolled in Los Angeles Junior College to study ceramics. For the next four years he attended both the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Los Angeles County Art Institute (now the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design). At these institutions he studied with Richard Diebenkorn, Sabro Hasegawa, Nathan Oliveira, and Peter Voulkos.

Around 1957, Bengston shifted his emphasis from ceramics to painting, and became affiliated with the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, founded that same year by Edward Kienholz and Walter Hopps. Bengston's first solo exhibition was held at the Ferus Gallery in 1958, and a second followed in 1960. At this time Bengston began to work with Pop icons combined with Color Field abstractions. His early bold paintings often featured symmetrical strong color compositions with a central image of a valentine, star, cross, chevron, or iris. The irises he called "draculas," after Kenneth Price remarked that they resembled Dracula flying through a window. He first showed his chevron paintings in 1962 at the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York. In the early 1960s, Bengston extended his imagery to the California subculture and created paintings of leisure time activities, focusing on motorcycles, racing, and scuba diving - his own interests as well.

Throughout his career, Bengston experimented with technique and materials. He experimented with automobile lacquer and spray painting techniques associated with car customization. He also used non-traditional surfaces, such as masonite and aluminum. In 1965, Bengston began creating paintings on sheets of aluminum into which he hammered dents and sometimes bent and buckled; these subsequently came to be known as "dentos." Along with painting, Bengston has also created watercolors, ceramics, and furniture. He was also one of the artists selected by Carol and Roy Doumani to design their home.

Bengston first visited Hawaii in 1974, and after several subsequent trips, established a second studio there in 1979. The work Bengston created in the following years was characterized by the use of tropical colors and representational images of running figures, airplanes, and the moon. In 1988, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston organized a retrospective entitled "Billy Al Bengston: Paintings of Three Decades," which traveled to the Oakland Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Museum of Art, Honolulu. Bengston also completed several years as an art instructor and lecturer at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and The University of California at Los Angeles. Bengston continues to create and exhibit new work.
Related Material:
Found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Bengston conducted by Susan Larsen, September 9, 1980, and Susan Ford Morgan, August 2-October 7, 2002. Also found are portraits of Bengston in the Photographs of artists taken by Mimi Jacobs collection, and a rare copy of the book Business Cards by Bengston and Ed Ruscha in the Wallace Berman papers.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Billy Al Bengston in 1990.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- California  Search this
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- Economic aspects  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Billy Al Bengston papers, circa 1940s-1989 (bulk 1960-1988). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.bengbill
See more items in:
Billy Al Bengston papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9100ab903-2685-4182-8e65-3886c54e0d7f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bengbill
Online Media:

Fischbach Gallery records

Creator:
Fischbach Gallery  Search this
Names:
Thiabaut Galley  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Antonakos, Stephen, 1926-2013  Search this
Bladen, Ronald, 1918-1988  Search this
Chamberlain, Wynn  Search this
D'Arcangelo, Allan, 1930-  Search this
Davis, Gene, 1920-1985  Search this
Dunn, Anne  Search this
Gilardi, Piero, 1942-  Search this
Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970  Search this
Katz, Alex, 1927-  Search this
Krushenick, Nicholas, 1929-1999  Search this
Levine, Les, 1935-  Search this
Mangold, Robert, 1937-  Search this
Ohlson, Douglas Dean, 1936-  Search this
Ryan, Anne, 1889-1954  Search this
Ryman, Robert, 1930-  Search this
Slavin, Arlene, 1942-  Search this
Smith, Tony, 1912-  Search this
Sugarman, George, 1912-1999  Search this
Swain, Robert, 1940-  Search this
Extent:
39.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gallery records
Photographs
Date:
1937-2015
bulk 1963-1977
Summary:
The records of New York City Fischbach Gallery measure 39.5 linear feet and date from 1937 to 2015, with the bulk of materials dating from 1963 to 1977. The majority of the collection consists of artists files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the gallery's relationship with its stable of modern and avant garde artists, as well as gallery exhibitions. Files include biographical materials, correspondence, printed materials, and photographs. Gallery records also include general business correspondence, access-restricted financial records; and additional printed materials. The 2015 addition of 14 linear feet consists of inventory and client sales records in the form of card indexes. The 2019 addition consists of material related to Marilyn Fischbach's art collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of New York City Fischbach Gallery measure 39.5 linear feet and date from 1937 to 2015, with the bulk of materials dating from 1963 to 1977. The majority of the collection consists of artists files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the gallery's relationship with its stable of modern and avant garde artists, as well as gallery exhibitions. Files include biographical materials, correspondence, printed materials, and photographs. Gallery records also include general business correspondence, access-restricted financial records; and additional printed materials.

Artists and Exhibition Files contain information on over one hundred Fischbach Gallery artists and measure 18 linear feet. The contents of each file varies, but typically may include biographical information; correspondence between the artist, museums, and other galleries; scattered consignment information; printed materials including articles, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and press releases; photographs of the artist, installations, constructions, and works of art; and negatives, slides, and transparencies. Substantial files are found for John Altoon, Stephen Antonakos, Ronald Bladen, Wynn Chamberlain, Allan D'Arcangelo, Gene Davis, Anne Dunn, Piero Gilardi, Eva Hesse, Alex Katz, Nicholas Krushenick, Les Levine, Robert Mangold, Doug Ohlson, Anne Ryan, Robert Ryman, Arlene Slavin, Tony Smith, George Sugarman, and Robert Swain, among others. Also included are files pertaining to group exhibitions including "According to the Letter" (1963), "Hard Center" (1963), "Six Women" (1965), "Game Without Rules" (1966), "Direct Representation" (1969), and "Eccentric Abstraction" (1966) which was organized by Lucy Lippard.

General gallery correspondence is business correspondence between the gallery and companies, individuals, museums, galleries, dealers, new or non-Fischbach artists, and institutions. Additional business records consist of an address book, lists of Fischbach artists, gallery plans, a notebook, as well as guest lists, mailing lists, and press lists.

Financial records are access restricted and require written permission from the donor's representative for use. The files document financial transactions for many of the artists represented in the artists files and includes sales records, invoices, artists' payments, and correspondence about sales and possible sales. The alphabetical financial files document routine gallery business, such as framing, shipping, insurance, messenger, publicity, etc. and are organized by name of business. General financial files consist of accounting ledgers, banking documents, insurance claims, and travel accounts.

Printed materials consist of various business cards, clippings concerning the Fischbach Gallery, and a pamphlet by Ron Williams as a guide to New York galleries. The bulk of printed materials are found in the Artists and Exhibition Files.

A small series of photographs include those from the Thiabaut Gallery, and unidentified photos of landscapes. It is likely that Fischbach Gallery occupied the space previously used by the Thiabaut Gallery and some materials were included in the collection for that reason. The bulk of photographic materials are found in the Artists and Exhibition Files.

In 2015, 14 feet of records were added to the collection. The addition consists of inventory and client sales records in the form of card indexes. The addition is access-restricted until 2065.

A 2019 addition of 0.2 linear feet, consisting of material related to Marilyn Fischbach's art collection, was processed in 2020.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Artists and Exhibitions Files, 1937-1977 (Boxes 1-18, 28; 18 linear feet)

Series 2: Gallery Correspondence, 1962-1974 (Boxes 18-19; 1.75 linear feet)

Series 3: Business Records, 1969-1971 (Box 27; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 4: Financial Records, 1963-1975 (Boxes 20-25; 4.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1963-1972 (Box 26; 6 folders)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1960s (Box 26; 2 folders)

Series 7: Inventory Card Indexes, circa 1960s-2015 (12.1 linear feet; Box 29-41)

Series 8: Client Sales Card Index, circa 1970s-2000s (1.9 linear feet; Box 41-42)

Series 9: Marilyn Fischbach Collection Records, circa 1975-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 43)
Historical Note:
The Fischbach Gallery was founded in 1960 by Marilyn Cole Fischbach at 799 Madison Avenue in New York City. The gallery was noted for its stable of minimalist young artists in the 1960s, and the work of the painterly realists in the 1970s. The gallery remains open today.

During its early years, the gallery was among the first to focus on 1960s avant-garde and minimalist artists. Marilyn possessed a talent for discovering young artists and for helping them advance their careers. Many of these young artists became well-known, including Ronald Bladen, Eva Hesse, and Alex Katz. Other artists represented by the gallery include Allan D'Arcangelo, Les Levine, Robert Mangold, Robert Ryman, George Sugarman, and Robert Swain.

The gallery also had an active exhibition schedule and organized and hosted group exhibitions of modern art, including "According to the Letter" (1963), "Hard Center" (1963), and "Direct Representation" (1969). Additionally, the Fishbach Gallery hosted "Eccentric Abstraction" in 1966, an exhibition organized by Lucy Lippard.

Later, the gallery moved to W. 57th Street in Manhattan. Fischbach hired A. Aladar Marberger as director of the gallery. Under his direction, the Fischbach Gallery shifted from the avant-garde to contemporary American realism and minimalist sculpture. In the 1980s, Marilyn Fischbach brought three investors into the gallery. She remined a co-owner, but lived in Paris, France for many years prior to her death at the age of seventy-two. The Fischbach Gallery remains open at 210 West 11th Street at 25th Street in New York City.
Provenance:
Gallery founder Marilyn C. Fischbach and director A. Aladar Marberger donated the majority of the Fischbach Gallery records in 1978. Additional records were donated in 2001 by Maureen Dawley on behalf of the Carnegie Mellon University and in 2015 and in 2019 by John Fischbach, Marilyn C. Fischbach's son.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Written permission from the donor is also required to view the series of financial records and the 2015 addition of card indexes. Contact the Reference Services Department for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Minimal art -- United States  Search this
Artists -- United States  Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Gallery records
Photographs
Citation:
The Fischbach Gallery records, 1937-2015, bulk 1963-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.fiscgall
See more items in:
Fischbach Gallery records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9250bd192-6986-4fdd-bec0-08a93a98e4ed
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-fiscgall
Online Media:

Artists' Gallery records

Creator:
Artists' Gallery (New York, N.Y)  Search this
Names:
Albers, Josef  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Baizerman, Eugenie, 1899-1949  Search this
Baizerman, Saul, 1889-1957  Search this
Barrer-Russell, Gertrude  Search this
Beer-Monti, Friederike, 1891-1980  Search this
Bowden, Harry, 1907-1965  Search this
Chafetz, Sidney  Search this
Feldman, Walter, 1925-2017  Search this
Fromboluti, Sideo, 1921-  Search this
Giobbi, Edward  Search this
Golub, Leon, 1922-2004  Search this
Grillo, John, 1917-  Search this
Johnson, Lester, 1919-2010  Search this
Kaldis, Aristodimos, 1899-1979  Search this
Kruger, Louise, 1924-  Search this
Leepa, Allen, 1919-2009  Search this
Loberg, Robert Warren, 1927-1999  Search this
Margo, Boris, 1902-1995  Search this
Margules, De Hirsh, 1899-1965  Search this
Meert, Joseph, 1905-1989  Search this
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Stix, Hugh  Search this
Tofel, Jennings, 1891-1959  Search this
Weissauer, Rudolf, 1924-  Search this
Extent:
6.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1929-1967
Summary:
The Artists' Gallery records measure 6.6 linear feet and date from 1929 to 1967. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through adminstrative records, artist files, exhibition files, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The Artists' Gallery records measure 6.6 linear feet and date from 1929 to 1967. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through adminstrative records, artist files, exhibition files, and printed material.

Administrative records include correspondence, gallery daybooks, inventories, meeting minutes of the gallery's board of directors, and two essay drafts; financial records consist of accounting books, sales records, receipts, invoices, payments, and a ledger; and museum and gallery files include papers and correspondence related to exhibitions, loans of artwork, and shipments of artwork. Several photographs of staff, artists, and the gallery interior are found here as well.

Artist files include biographical information and correspondence between artists, Federica Beer-Monti, and Hugh Stix concerning exhibitions, artwork shipments, prices, and some personal matters. Some files also include photographs, exhibition catalogs and announcements, newspaper clippings, artist books, and price lists.

Exhibition files include price lists, correspondence, drafts of publicity material, visitor guestbooks, and lists of exhibitions and exhibiting artists. Printed material includes Artists' Gallery's brochures, flyers, and other mailings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, as well as gallery scrapbooks comprised of exhibition ephemera, newspaper clippings, and some photographs; an essay published by gallery founder Hugh Stix; exhibition material, newsletters, and miscellaneous publications from other museums and galleries; and books on artists Henri Gaudier and Beauford Delaney.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.

Series 1: Administrative Records, 1936-1965 (Box 1-2, 7; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Artist Files, 1929-1967, bulk 1936-1962 (Box 2-4, 7-8; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1936-1962 (Box 4, 7, OV 9; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1931-1967 (Box 5-7; 2.1 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
The Artists' Gallery was established by Hugh Stix in 1936 in New York City. The goal of this non-profit gallery was to provide unknown or little-known artists a space to exhibit their work to gain public notoriety or be taken up by a commercial gallery. Stix hired Federica Beer-Monti, an Austrian socialite who was friends and acquaintances with many European artists, as director of the gallery. The painters and sculptors exhibited by the Artists' Gallery were voted on and selected by a rotating committee. Exhibitions were given without charge to the artist, and artists received the entire sale price of their work if sold. Some notable artists who exhibited at the Artists' Gallery included Josef Albers, Saul and Eugenie Baizerman, Byron Browne, Louis Eilshemius, Ben-Zion, Aristodemos Kaldis, De Hirsh Margules, and Hans Boehler. The gallery discontinued operations in the summer of 1962.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reel N737. Included are six letters, 1938-1939, from artist Louis M. Eilshemius to gallery director Federica Beer-Monti. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Artists' Gallery records were donated and lent for microfilming in several installments from 1967 to 1998. Material on reels D313 and 79 were donated from 1967 to 1968 by Federica Beer-Monti; and she lent the Louis M. Eilshemius letters on reel N737 in 1968. The unmicrofilmed portion was donated in 1974 by Beer-Monti's niece, Greta Shapiro, who also lent the logbooks on reel 1042 for microfilming in 1976. In 1998, Shapiro's widower, Aaron, donated the material lent on reel 1042.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Artists -- United States  Search this
Gallery directors  Search this
Topic:
Art -- United States -- Exhibitions  Search this
Function:
Art galleries -- New York (State) -- New York
Citation:
Artists' Gallery Records, 1929-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.artigall
See more items in:
Artists' Gallery records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw950d5668a-2076-4aaa-9769-3b5e9bbb7093
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-artigall

John Altoon art work and papers, circa 1940-1969

Creator:
Altoon, John, 1925-1969  Search this
Subject:
Tyler, Kenneth E.  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Citation:
John Altoon art work and papers, circa 1940-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Prints -- Technique -- Study and teaching  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6134
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216350
AAA_collcode_altojohn
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216350

Dorothy Goldeen Gallery records

Creator:
Dorothy Goldeen Gallery (Santa Monica, Calif.)  Search this
Names:
Abakanowicz, Magdalena  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Ben Tré, Howard, 1949-  Search this
Benton, Fletcher, 1931-  Search this
Bergman, Ciel, 1938-  Search this
Carnwath, Squeak, 1947-  Search this
Chihuly, Dale, 1941-  Search this
Cho, Tŏk-hyŏn, 1957-  Search this
De Forest, Roy, 1930-2007  Search this
Fasnacht, Heide, 1951-  Search this
Hudson, Robert, 1938-  Search this
La Noue, Terence  Search this
Lipski, Donald, 1947-  Search this
Paik, Nam June, 1932-2006  Search this
Paschke, Ed  Search this
Rath, Alan, 1959-  Search this
Raymond, Zizi, 1960-  Search this
Reinoso, Pablo, 1955-  Search this
Extent:
18.9 Linear feet
2.52 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Interviews
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
1960-circa 2014
bulk 1987-1996
Summary:
The records of Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, based in Southern California, measure 18.9 linear feet and 2.52 GB and date from 1960 to circa 2014, with the bulk of the items dating from 1987 to 1996. The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, operated from 1986-1996 and featured the work of prominent contemporary artists, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, John Altoon, Fletcher Benton, Howard Ben Tre, Ciel Bergman, Squeak Carnwatch, Dale Chihuly, Duck-Hyun Cho, Roy De Forest, Heidi Fasnacht, Robert Hudson, Terence La Noue, Donald Lipski, Nam June Paik, Ed Paschke, Alan Rath, Zizi Raymond, Pablo Reinoso, among many others. The collection includes correspondence, scattered administration records, exhibition files, extensive artists' files that also include many video recordings, financial and legal records, printed and digital materials, and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, based in Southern California, measure 18.9 linear feet and 2.52 GB and date from 1960 to circa 2014, with the bulk of the items dating from 1987 to 1996. The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, operated from 1986-1996 and featured the work of prominent contemporary artists, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, John Altoon, Fletcher Benton, Howard Ben Tre, Ciel Bergman, Squeak Carnwatch, Dale Chihuly, Duck-Hyun Cho, Roy De Forest, Heidi Fasnacht, Robert Hudson, Terence La Noue, Donald Lipski, Nam June Paik, Ed Paschke, Alan Rath, Zizi Raymond, Pablo Reinoso, among many others. The collection includes correspondence, scattered administration records, exhibition files, extensive artists' files that also include many video recordings, financial and legal records, printed and digital materials, and photographic materials.

Correspondence is with artists, museums, galleries, and collectors regarding exhibitions, sales, and acquisitions of artwork. Administration records include appraisals, mailing lists, materials related to gallery events, a rolodex, and a list of artist contracts. Exhibition files are found for only a few of the gallery's exhibitions, including American Artists in Jewelry (1987), Private Reserve (1988), Fresh Visions 1 (1989), Fresh Visions 2 (1989), and Multiple Parts (1994).

There are extensive artists' files containing correspondence, printed and digital material, resumes, slides, and photographs documenting the gallery's relationship with and exhibitions of many prominent artists. These files also contain numerous audio and video recordings of interviews with artists, exhibitions, documentaries, and video art.

Financial and legal records mostly consist of sales records of artwork by various artists, in addition to materials on a lawsuit, a sublease for exhibition space, and a few invoices.

Printed materials include Dorothy Goldeen Gallery press releases, exhibition announcements, press reviews, newsletters, clippings, and one videocassette of a broadcast news program.

Photographic materials mostly consist of slides and transparencies of artwork by artists represented by the gallery. There are a few images of the gallery building.

Dorothy Goldeen papers include travel notebooks, itineraries, receipts, and other ephemera from domestic and international trips taken by Goldeen; lecture notes; personal correspondence with artists, associates, and others; and files for several exhibitions from after the Goldeen Gallery closed. Also present are blog posts and a contact list from the art advisory business Goldeen started after closing her gallery.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1979-2012 (1.3 linear feet; Box 1-2, 19)

Series 2: Administration Records, circa 1987-circa 2010 (1.2 linear feet; Box 2, 19)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1987-1995 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)

Series 4: Artists' Files, 1961-2007 (12.3 linear feet; Boxes 3-14, 19-20, OV 17-18, 2.52 GB; ER01-ER02)

Series 5: Financial and Legal Records, 1987-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Box 15)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1986-2014 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 15-16, 20, 22)

Series 7: Photographic Material, 1960-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Box 16, 20)

Series 8: Dorothy Goldeen Papers, 1976-2013 (1 linear feet; Box 20-21)
Biographical / Historical:
The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery (1987-1996) was an art gallery in Santa Monica, California, founded by Dorothy Goldeen.

Dorothy Goldeen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied sculpture and textile design. In 1973, Goldeen began her career in the arts working in San Francisco, California at the Hansen Fuller Gallery which later became Fuller Goldeen Gallery.

In 1987, Goldeen moved to Los Angeles and founded the Dorothy Goldeen Gallery. Historically significant artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz and Nam June Paik were represented by her gallery as well as influential, emerging Los Angeles artists. Other notable artists include Robert Arneson, Paul Kos, Ed Paschke, and Alan Rath.

In 1996, Goldeen closed her gallery and launched the Dorothy Goldeen Art Advisory in Santa Monica. Goldeen often travels internationally as an art consultant for private and institutional clients, advising them on the acquisition and resale of art.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has an oral history interview with Dorothy Goldeen conducted by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp in 2014.
Provenance:
The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery records were donated by Dorothy Goldeen to the Archives of American Art in 2003, 2014, and 2021.
Restrictions:
Boxes 19-22 are access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
All correspondence: Permission to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Dorothy Goldeen. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Dorothy Goldeen Gallery Records, 1960-circa 2014, bulk 1987-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.dorogolg
See more items in:
Dorothy Goldeen Gallery records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cb98cfb9-219a-4751-a22f-9ab3a05343ab
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-dorogolg
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Allan Sekula

Interviewee:
Sekula, Allan  Search this
Interviewer:
Panzer, Mary  Search this
Names:
Artforum  Search this
California Institute of the Arts  Search this
Rhode Island School of Design  Search this
Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)  Search this
The Ohio State University -- Faculty  Search this
University of California, San Diego  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Antin, David  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Ascott, Roy  Search this
Baldessari, John, 1931-  Search this
Barthes, Roland  Search this
Becker, Howard  Search this
Bercovitch, Sacvan  Search this
Beveridge, Karl  Search this
Bo Diddley, 1928-2008  Search this
Brach, Paul, 1924-  Search this
Braderman, Joan  Search this
Burch, Noël, 1932-  Search this
Burn, Ian, 1939-1993  Search this
Captain Beefheart  Search this
Charlesworth, Sarah, 1947-2013  Search this
Chayefsky, Paddy, 1923-1981  Search this
Conde, Carol  Search this
Connell, Brian  Search this
Evans, Walker, 1903-1975  Search this
Farber, Manny  Search this
Feldman, Ronald, 1938-  Search this
Folks, Homer, 1867-1963  Search this
Fox, Terry, 1943-  Search this
Fried, Howard, 1946-  Search this
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997  Search this
Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this
Graves, Michael, 1934-2015  Search this
Halleck, DeeDee  Search this
Hanhardt, John G.  Search this
Hassan, Ihab, 1925-2015  Search this
Hayes, Woody, 1913-1987  Search this
Heinecken, Robert, 1931-  Search this
Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998  Search this
Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940  Search this
Kienholz, Edward, 1927-  Search this
Kirschenbaum, Baruch David, 1931-  Search this
Knowles, Alison, 1933-  Search this
Kosuth, Joseph.  Search this
Kozloff, Max  Search this
Kramer, Hilton  Search this
Krauss, Rosalind E.  Search this
König, Kasper  Search this
Liebling, Jerome  Search this
Lifson, Ben  Search this
Little Richard, 1932-  Search this
Lonidier, Fred  Search this
Lord, Catherine, 1949-  Search this
Lunn, Harry, 1933-1998  Search this
Mac Low, Jackson  Search this
Mandel, Mike  Search this
Matta, 1912-2002  Search this
Mayer, Grace M.  Search this
Michelson, Annette  Search this
O'Doherty, Brian  Search this
Pommer, Richard  Search this
Ramsden, Mel  Search this
Raskin, Jef  Search this
Reagan, Ronald  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Ross, David A., 1949-  Search this
Ruby, Jay  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Salle, David, 1952-  Search this
Salvesen, Britt  Search this
Schimmel, Paul  Search this
Segalove, Ilene, 1950-  Search this
Stein, Sally  Search this
Steinmetz, Philip  Search this
Sultan, Larry  Search this
Van Riper, Peter  Search this
Wakoski, Diane  Search this
Wall, Jeff, 1946-  Search this
Extent:
12 Items (Sound recording: 12 sound files (6 hr.,14 min.), digital, wav)
143 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2011 August 20-2012 February 14
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Allan Sekula conducted 2011 August 20-2012 February 14, by Mary Panzer, for the Archives of American Art at Sekula's studio and home in Los Angeles, California and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York.
Sekula speaks of his career and some of the mediums he works in; language and contemporary art; Roland Barthes; his relation to contemporary art; west coast conceptualism; genre switches; realism; documentary photography; Belgium and the industrial revolution; Meunier; minor figures; art history and marginalism; Roberto Matta; World War I; Homer Folks; Fish Story; historic cinema; economic factors of art shows and publication; galleries and the art world; growing up and his family; his father and moving; Ohio; his brothers and sisters; San Pedro; demographics of students at school; sports at school; Vietnam; protests; cross country and swimming; California; fishing; college; U.C. system; declaring a major; John Altoon; Ed Kienholz; exposure to art; visiting museums; Marcuse's classes; Baldessari's classes; course work and student life; student demonstrations; working in a library and exposure to books; father losing his job; science and working as a chemical technician; politics; his uncle committing suicide; moving away from his father; the draft; John Birch; Students for a Democratic Society; his mother; politics of his parents; Aerospace Folk Tales, autodidacts and scholarship; San Diego and Mexico; obtaining a camera and starting to use it; art school; CalArts; UCSD; Meditations on a Triptych; David Salle; Fred Lonidier; Phel Steinmetz; MFA and art training; poets; story of Allen Ginsberg and one of Sekula's sculptures; production and the audience; A Photograph is Worth a Thousand Questions, photography and the burden of tradition; pictorialism; moving to New York; Artforum; October; New York music scene; Captain Beefheart; Bo Diddley; Little Richard; Steichen and aerial photography; origins of October; New Criterion; Art Critic's Grant; teaching at Ohio State; television; technological historians; New York subway and getting a ticket for using French money; RISD lectures; Long Beach; photography; collages; Metro Pictures; New Topographics; School as a Factory; moral choice and the viewer; work method and the audience; Social Criticism and Art Practice; east and west coasts; Ed Ruscha; documentary; film, Los Angeles; cinema and social history; Ohio State Department of Photography and Cinema; Los Angeles Plays Itself; Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador; Ohio State campus, anti-Semitism; Ronald Reagan and protest; influences and colleagues; intellectual genealogy; Michael Graves and Ohio State architecture; Bad Ohio; tenure; University Exposed; AIDS issue of October; The Body and the Archive; making film; Korean War; collectors and images. Sekula also recalls Eleanor Antin, Jeff Wall, Terry Fox, Lewis Hine, Walker Evans, Paul Saltman, Marcuse, Baldessari, Sacvan Bercovitch, Stanley Miller, Jef Raskin, Paul Brach, David Antin, Howard Fried, Peter Van Riper, Alison Knowles, Dick Higgins, Manny Farber, Ihab Hassan, Diane Wakoski, Jackson Mac Low, Martha Rosler, Lenny Neufeld, Joshua Neufeld, David Wing, Brian Connell, Max Kozloff, Ian Burn, Mel Ramsden, Carole Conde, Karl Beveridge, Barry Rosens, Tom Crow, John Copeland, Harry Lunn, Hilton Kramer, Grace Mayer, Carol Duncan, Eva Cockroft, Richard Pommer, Rosalind Krauss, Sally Stein, Paddy Chayefsky, John Hanhardt, Mel Ramsden, Sarah Charlesworth, Jospeh Kosuth, Baruch Kirschenbaum, Robert Heinecken, Brian O'Doherty, Howard Becker, Jay Ruby, Jerry Liebling, Anna Wilkie, Ronald Feldman, John Gibson, David Ross, Britt Salvesen, Larry Sultan, Mike Mandel, Roy Ascott, Ilene Segalove, Paul Schimmel, DeeDee Halleck, Noel Burch, Joan Braderman, Woody Hayes, Thom Andersen, John Quigley, Ron Green, Kasper Koenig, Dan Graham, Jonathan Green, Christa Wolf, Catherine Lord, Ben Lifson, and Annette Michelson.
Biographical / Historical:
Allan Sekula (1951-2013) was a photographer, filmmaker, and writer, based at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Mary Panzer (1955- ) is a historian from New York, New York.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Photographers -- California  Search this
Filmmakers -- California  Search this
Authors -- California  Search this
Topic:
Activism  Search this
Antisemitism  Search this
Architecture  Search this
Art -- Exhibitions -- Economic aspects  Search this
Art -- History  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Documentary photography  Search this
Korean War, 1950-1953  Search this
Music -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Photography  Search this
Realism  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.sekula11
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d657e5da-cd1b-4366-9fe9-1852a4c5be81
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sekula11
Online Media:

John Altoon art work and papers

Creator:
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Names:
Tyler, Kenneth E.  Search this
Extent:
2.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Date:
circa 1940-1969
Scope and Contents:
Over 300 pencil and pencil and ink drawings, circa 1950s-1960s, mostly contained in sketchbooks and tablets, as well as numerous loose sketches and several mixed-media works on board. Also found are Altoon's letters and a ship's log dating from his years of WWII Navy service in the Pacific.
An addition of 0.6 linear feet donated 2017 included approximately 100 sketches by John Altoon, 1956-1966 and undated, created in printmaker Kenneth Tyler's Los Angeles workshop.
Biographical / Historical:
John Altoon (1925-1969) was a painter in Los Angeles, Calif. Altoon (born Altoonian), was a major figure in the Los Angeles art scene from the 1950s until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He began painting in the abstract-expressionist style, but by the mid-1960s his works turned to the figure, characterized by skillful draftsmanship and sexual imagery.
Provenance:
Donated 1998 by Roberta L. Thompson, John Altoon's widow and in 2017 by printmaker Kenneth E. Tyler who collaborated on projects with John Altoon.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Prints -- Technique -- Study and teaching  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Identifier:
AAA.altojohn
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9388402b6-1e44-41a0-a874-c7d7bd94fef7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-altojohn

Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery announcements

Creator:
Irving Blum Gallery  Search this
Names:
Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Bachardy, Don, 1934-  Search this
Bell, Larry, 1939-  Search this
Bengston, Billy Al  Search this
Irwin, Robert, 1928-  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Judd, Donald, 1928-  Search this
Kauffman, Craig, 1932-2010  Search this
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this
Moses, Ed, 1926-  Search this
Noland, Kenneth, 1924-  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Stella, Frank  Search this
Warhol, Andy, 1928-  Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1961-1972
Summary:
The Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery announcements consist of 32 announcements for exhibitions at the Los Angeles Ferus Gallery (1957-1966) and its successor the Irving Blum Gallery (1966-circa 1972). Exhibition announcements are for many exhibitions of southern California contemporary and pop artists, as well as New York artists. Artists represented by announcements include John Altoon, Don Bachardy, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Robert Irwin, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Craig Kauffman, Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Moses, Kenneth Noland, Ad Reinhardt, Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol, among others.
Scope and Content Note:
The Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery announcements consist of 32 announcements for exhibitions at the Los Angeles Ferus Gallery (1957-1966) and its successor the Irving Blum Gallery (1966-circa 1972). Exhibition announcements are for many exhibitions of southern California contemporary and pop artists, as well as New York artists. Artists represented by announcements include John Altoon, Don Bachardy, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Robert Irwin, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Craig Kauffman, Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Moses, Kenneth Noland, Ad Reinhardt, Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol, among others.

Although these announcements are scattered, they provide insight to and documentation of the southern California LA art scene and the Beat era. The exhibition announcements themselves are quite unique.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Ferus Gallery Announcements, 1961-1965 (Box 1; 20 folders)

Series 2: Irving Blum Gallery Announcements, 1969-1972 (Box 1; 12 folders)
Historical Note:
In 1957, Walter Hopps (1932-2005) and Edward Kienholz (1927-1994) opened the contemporary art Ferus Gallery on North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Kienholz sold his share to Irving Blum (b. 1930) one year later. Hopps left in 1962 to become curator and, later, director of the Pasadena Art Museum. Ferus Gallery closed in 1966 and Irving Blum maintained sole ownership and changed the gallery's name to Irving Blum Gallery.

Ferus Gallery was the first gallery in the Los Angeles area to show contemporary American art, and focused heavily on contemporary Southern California artists, such as John Altoon, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Wallace Berman, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, Ed Kienholz, Ed Moses, Richard Ruben, among many others. Likewise, Ferus Gallery helped to solidify the reputations of many established New York artists, including Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Richard Diebenkorn, Andy Warhol, and others.

The inaugural exhibition at the Ferus Gallery was "Objects on the New Landscape Demanding of the Eye" (March 15 - April 11, 1957), a group show including the work of Frank Lobdell, Jay DeFeo, Craig Kauffman, Richard Diebenkorn, John Altoon and Clyfford Still. Los Angeles artists who had their first solo shows at the gallery included: Wallace Berman (1957), Billy Al Bengston (1958), Ed Moses (1958), Robert Irwin (1959), John Mason (1959), Kenneth Price (1960), Llyn Foulkes (1962), Larry Bell (1962) and Ed Ruscha (1963).

In 1957 the gallery was temporarily closed after LAPD officers arrested and charged Wallace Berman with obscenity over work in his exhibition. It was his first and last solo show.

In 1962 "Andy Warhol: Campbell's Soup Cans" was Andy Warhol's first solo pop art exhibition and the first exhibition of the Soup Cans. Five of the canvases sold for $100 each, but Blum bought them back to keep the set intact.

Irving Blum designed many of the exhibition announcements for the gallery with a graphic aesthetic.

In 2007, "The Cool School" was released, a documentary film about the Ferus Gallery and its eccentric artists.
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Irving Blum conducted by Paul Cummings on May 31-June 23, 1977.
Provenance:
Mrs. Rochella Orchard donated the Ferus Gallery and Irving Blum Gallery announcements on February 22, 1979.
Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California
Citation:
Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery and announcements, 1961-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.irviblum
See more items in:
Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery announcements
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9306c8492-decd-4ce2-b08f-de4c998e3a42
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-irviblum
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Clinton Adams

Interviewee:
Adams, Clinton, 1918-2002  Search this
Interviewer:
Karlstrom, Paul J.  Search this
Names:
Tamarind Institute  Search this
Tamarind Lithography Workshop  Search this
University of California, Los Angeles -- Faculty  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Delano, Annita, 1894-  Search this
Edmondson, Leonard, 1916-  Search this
Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this
Johnston, Ynez, 1920-  Search this
Kistler, Lynton R., , 1897-1993  Search this
Langsner, Jules, 1911-1967  Search this
Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964  Search this
Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973  Search this
Price, Vincent, 1911-1993  Search this
Scholder, Fritz, 1937-2005  Search this
Extent:
149 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1995 August 2-3
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Clinton Adams conducted 1995 August 2-3, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, at his home, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Adams discusses his family background; involvement in Hollywood "industry"; teaching at University of California, Los Angeles; service during WWII; first contact with New York's Museum of Modern Art; his decision to return to California; teaching painting at UCLA from 1946-1954, and friends and colleagues at that time including Lorser Feitelson, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Lynton R. Kistler and Annita Delano; the difficult political situation at UCLA and the "modernist" conflicts; his views on modernist and conservative groups; Stanton Macdonald-Wright; Adams' own work; his relationship to the ideas and nature of modernism; the Sanity in Art group and other art groups in Los Angeles; his opinion on which artists should have been included in the exhibition/catalogue "Turning the Tide: Early Los Angeles Modernists"; his observations on art historical constructs; the history of New Mexican art; the idea of regionalism; the mythology of Santa Fe, New Mexico.; Southwestern art; the Tamarind Lithography Workshop during its New Mexico phase, its background and changes after the move from Los Angeles to the University of New Mexico, his fifteen years as director, major artists involved, and his desire to publish overlooked artists. Adams recalls Fritz Scholder, John Altoon, Leonard Edmondson, Ynez Johnston, Vincent Price, Jules Langsner, and Rico Lebrun.
Biographical / Historical:
Clinton Adams (1918-2002) was a printmaker, painter, and art administrator of Los Angeles, California and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 16 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 28 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. Funding for the transcription provided by the Pasadena Art Alliance.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- New Mexico -- Albuquerque -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Modernism (Art)  Search this
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews  Search this
Printmakers -- New Mexico -- Albuquerque -- Interviews  Search this
Prints -- Technique  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.adams95
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a4f3f80a-765d-4b7d-a804-2a859e14d459
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-adams95
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Ed Moses

Interviewee:
Moses, Ed, 1926-  Search this
Interviewer:
Figoten, Sheldon  Search this
Names:
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Bengston, Billy Al  Search this
Castelli, Leo  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Extent:
142 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1980 July 10-12
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Ed Moses conducted 1980 July 10-12, by Sheldon Figoten, for the Archives of American Art.
Moses speaks of his family background and early education; his childhood and its impact on him and his work; his U.S. Navy service; his education at Long Beach City College and at the University of California, Los Angeles; studying under Rico Lebrun; his friendships with Billy Al Bengston and John Altoon; the Ferus Gallery; environmental projects; living in Spain; the impact of the old masters; and his exhibitions. He recalls Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Leo Castelli.
Biographical / Historical:
Ed Moses (1926- ) is a painter from Venice, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hrs., 52 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviSews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript: Use requires an appointment.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.moses80
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99dbf08a3-038b-42d9-9e32-378243447a60
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-moses80
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Norton Wisdom

Interviewee:
Wisdom, Norton, 1947-  Search this
Interviewer:
Karlstrom, Paul J.  Search this
Names:
Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Students  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Extent:
19 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2000 April 27
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Norton Wisdom conducted 2000 April 27, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, in a restaurant in Beverly Hills, California.
Wisdom discusses his art school experiences, including the life class he took as a teenager at Chouinard Art Institute from John Altoon.
Biographical / Historical:
Norton Wisdom (1947- )is a painter and performance artist of Malibu, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 48 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Artists' models  Search this
Topic:
Performance art  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.wisdom00
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99229a353-f995-46f9-a149-386084ae4502
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wisdom00
Online Media:

(No Title Given) [art work] / (photographed by Peter A. Juley & Son)

Artist:
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
Type:
Photograph
Date:
1953
Image number:
JUL J0081958
See more items in:
Photograph Study Collection
Data Source:
Photograph Study Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_jul_81959

(No Title Given) [art work] / (photographed by Peter A. Juley & Son)

Artist:
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
Type:
Photograph
Date:
1953
Image number:
JUL J0081978
See more items in:
Photograph Study Collection
Data Source:
Photograph Study Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_jul_81979

John Altoon sketchbook

Creator:
Altoon, John, 1925-1969  Search this
Type:
Artworks
Date:
1966?
Citation:
John Altoon. John Altoon sketchbook, 1966?. John Altoon art work and papers, circa 1940-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, Abstract  Search this
Portrait drawing  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)16166
See more items in:
John Altoon art work and papers, circa 1940-1969
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_16166

Nicholas Wilder Gallery records

Creator:
Nicholas Wilder Gallery  Search this
Names:
James Corcoran Gallery  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Avedisian, Edward, 1936-2007  Search this
Bengston, Billy Al  Search this
Davis, Ron, 1937-  Search this
Francis, Sam, 1923-  Search this
Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this
Goode, Joe, 1937-  Search this
Graham, Robert, 1938-  Search this
Hockney, David  Search this
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this
Holland, Tom, 1936-  Search this
Martin, Agnes, 1912-2004  Search this
McCracken, John, 1934-2011  Search this
Moses, Ed, 1926-  Search this
Nauman, Bruce, 1941-  Search this
Noland, Kenneth, 1924-  Search this
Olitski, Jules, 1922-  Search this
Price, Kenneth, 1935-2012  Search this
Twombly, Cy, 1928-  Search this
Wilder, Nicholas  Search this
Yokomi, Richard  Search this
Extent:
2.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1944-1984
bulk 1968-1979
Summary:
The records of the Nicholas Wilder Gallery of Los Angeles measure 2.4 linear feet and date from 1944 through 1984, with the bulk of materials dating from 1968-1979. Scattered documentation of the contemporary art gallery's fourteen years of operation include artists' inventory cards, photographic transparencies, letters and correspondence, invitations, notes, business and financial documents, and printed materials.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the Nicholas Wilder Gallery of Los Angeles measure 2.4 linear feet and date from 1944 through 1984, with the bulk of materials dating from 1968 to 1979. Scattered documentation of the contemporary art gallery's fourteen years of operation include artists' inventory cards (the bulk of the collection), photographic transparencies, letters and correspondence, invitations, notes, business and financial documents, and printed materials.

The majority of records date from the period after the gallery moved to La Cienega Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Very few records pertaining to specific exhibitions or openings are included in this collection. However, there is one exhibition catalog and scattered gallery invitations which were used as scrap paper. Other materials include business records that contain financial materials and notes. Printed Materials contain popular newspapers and magazines that reflect Wilder's interests, invitations to other galleries, auction catalogs, and business cards. Correspondence includes scattered gallery correspondence, Wilder's personal correspondence and documents, and holiday cards.

The bulk of the collection consists of artist files which include inventory cards and transparencies of works of art. Information on the inventory cards and transparencies may specify: date of creation, date of accession, potential collectors, purchase records, and titles. Notable artists include: Joe Goode, Tom Holland, Robert Graham, Billy Al Bengston, Cy Twombly, Ken Price, Ed Moses, Ron Davis, John McCracken, Kenneth Noland, Helen Frankenthaler, Jules Olitski, Agnes Martin, Edward Avedisian, John Altoon, Richard Yokomi, Sam Francis, Bruce Nauman, Hans Hofmann, and David Hockney. The majority of inventory cards reflect business at the gallery in the mid-late 1970s.

Financial records originating from the James Corcoran Gallery are included in this collection. The relationship between the two establishments is unclear although it seems that the James Corcoran Gallery moved into the space previously occupied by the Nicholas Wilder Gallery.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Business Records, 1968-1978, 1980-1984, circa 1970s (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1974-1981, circa 1970s (Box 1; 4 folders)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1976-1980, circa 1970s (Box 1; 9 folders)

Series 4: Artist Files, 1944-1984, circa 1960s-1970s (Box 1-3; 2 linear feet)
Historical Note:
In April 1965, Nicholas Wilder (1937-1989) founded his contemporary art gallery at 814 North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. His interest in art started at Amherst College where he worked for the art department as a slide technician. While in graduate school at Stanford University, he worked at the Lanyon Gallery in Palo Alto, California. An initial offer of financial backing to open a gallery inspired a move to Los Angeles. Although that offer fell through, Wilder remained determined. In late 1964, Wilder sold shares of his future gallery to friends in order to secure funds. He bought the shares back shortly after opening.

The Nicholas Wilder Gallery's first show featured Edward Avedisian. The gallery expanded and featured artists from New York and California, including: Joe Goode, John McCracken, Kenneth Noland, Helen Frankenthaler, Jules Olitski, Cy Twombly, Ed Moses, Ken Price, Agnes Martin, John Altoon, Sam Francis, Billy Al Bengston, and Hans Hofmann. The gallery helped start the careers of American artists such as Robert Graham, Tom Holland, Ron Davis, and Bruce Nauman. In 1970, the gallery moved to 8225 ½ Santa Monica Boulevard. Through its fourteen years of operation, the gallery held a new show every month. Wilder's openings represented a large source of pride and he ensured that every opening reception included a stocked bar for his clients.

Initially, the gallery succeeded through Wilder's talents and passion for art. At its peak, the Nicholas Wilder Gallery sold two million dollars worth of art per year. However, in the mid-1970s a change in attitude within the art world affected sales. According to Wilder, many artists no longer painted for expression but as a viable business venture. Furthermore, he claimed that buyers would not risk collecting works from a younger or less well-known artist. In addition to these factors, Wilder attributed the decline of his gallery to his extravagance and lack of business sensibilities. Eventually, the gallery faced financial problems and Wilder recognized the need to leave the business.

The Nicholas Wilder Gallery closed on December 31, 1979. Wilder informed his employees that he would close a year in advance and ensured that all of his artists found a new gallery for representation. He moved to New York after leaving his gallery and became an artist. Nicholas Wilder passed away in 1989 from AIDS-related causes.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Nicholas Wilder conducted by Ruth Bowman on July 18, 1988.

Nicholas Wilder Gallery records, 1927-1980, are also located at the Getty Research Institute.
Provenance:
The Nicholas Wilder Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1998 by Matthew Curtis Klebaum, a friend of Wilder's and a former employee of the James Corcoran Gallery.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Art dealers -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Artists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California
Citation:
Nicholas Wilder Gallery records, 1944-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.nichwild
See more items in:
Nicholas Wilder Gallery records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw963a0e6a3-c933-4524-a4e6-baab3fc87c68
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-nichwild
Online Media:

John Altoon / by Brigid S. Barton

Author:
Barton, Brigid S  Search this
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
De Saisset Museum  Search this
Subject:
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
Physical description:
44 p. : chiefly ill. (some col.), ports. ; 26 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
1980
C1980
Call number:
N40.1.A46 B29 1980
N40.1.A46B29 1980
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_390437

John Altoon. Exhibition, organized by San Francisco Museum of Art

Author:
San Francisco Museum of Art  Search this
Pasadena Art Museum  Search this
University of California, San Diego Art Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
Physical description:
30 p. illus. (part col.) 25 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1967
1967]
Call number:
N40.1.A46 S2
N40.1.A46S2
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_41811

The astonishing works of John Altoon / with contributions by Tim Nye, Robert Creeley, Walter Hopps, Klaus Kertess, Milton Wexler

Contributor:
Nye, Tim  Search this
Creeley, Robert 1926-2005  Search this
Hopps, Walter  Search this
Kertess, Klaus  Search this
Wexler, Milton  Search this
Subject:
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
Physical description:
224 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 27 x 36 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
2013
20th century
Topic:
Painting, American  Search this
Drawing, American  Search this
Call number:
N6537.A468 A4 2013
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1021605

Ocean Park Series #11, (painting)

Painter:
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Type:
Paintings
Owner/Location:
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art 151 Third Street San Francisco California 94103
Date:
1962
Topic:
Abstract  Search this
Control number:
IAP 8G220007
Data Source:
Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_ari_479153

John Altoon / edited by Carol S. Eliel ; with contributions by Carol S. Eliel, Monica Majoli, Paul McCarthy, Laura Owens, Monique Prieto, Barbara T. Smith

Editor of compilation:
Eliel, Carol S. 1955-  Search this
Author:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art  Search this
Subject:
Altoon, John 1925-1969  Search this
Physical description:
135 pages cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
2014
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1025577

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By