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Heath Ceramics and American Pottery

Creator:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this
Type:
Lectures
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2011-04-24T03:17:26.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Design  Search this
See more by:
cooperhewitt
Data Source:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
YouTube Channel:
cooperhewitt
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_ZwIyNerA_cQ

Laura Andreson papers, 1932-1991

Creator:
Andreson, Laura F., 1902-1999  Search this
Subject:
Black, Harding  Search this
Cunningham, Imogen  Search this
Heino, Otto  Search this
Heino, Vivika  Search this
King, Albert Henry  Search this
Maloof, Sam  Search this
Natzler, Gail  Search this
Wood, Beatrice  Search this
University of California, Los Angeles  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Sketches
Citation:
Laura Andreson papers, 1932-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women ceramicists  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)5576
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214324
AAA_collcode_andrlaur
Theme:
Craft
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_214324
Online Media:

Laura Andreson papers

Creator:
Andreson, Laura  Search this
Names:
University of California, Los Angeles  Search this
Black, Harding, 1912-  Search this
Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976  Search this
Heino, Otto, 1915-2009  Search this
Heino, Vivika, 1910-1995  Search this
King, Albert Henry, 1900-1982  Search this
Maloof, Sam  Search this
Natzler, Gail  Search this
Wood, Beatrice  Search this
Extent:
1.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Sketches
Date:
1932-1991
Summary:
The papers of ceramicist and educator Laura Andreson measure 1.9 linear feet and date from 1932 to 1991. The collection is comprised of correspondence, professional files, gallery records, writings and notes, artwork, and photographic materials that document her pioneering work in ceramics.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of ceramicist and educator Laura Andreson measure 1.9 linear feet and date from 1932 to 1991. The collection is comprised of correspondence, professional files, gallery records, writings and notes, artwork, and photographic materials that document her pioneering work in ceramics.

Correspondence is with clients, colleagues, artists Vivika and Otto Heino, Gail Natzler, Harding Black, Albert Henry King, Beatrice Wood, Imogen Cunningham, Sam Maloof, and others.

Professional files include curriculum vitae, employment records, a portfolio, publicity files, material from UCLA, and scrapbook. Gallery records document Andreson's personal business with galleries and museums. Andreson's writings consist of artist's statements, notes on ceramic history, nine glaze formula notebooks, and a sabbatical report.

Artwork includes sketches of pottery and case diagrams for an unidentified exhibition. Photographic materials consist of photographs and negatives of Andreson, family and colleagues, exhibitions, and works of art by Andreson's students.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1935-1988 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Professional Files, 1932-1989 (Box 1, OV 4; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Gallery Records, 1940-1991 (Box 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1940-1986 (Box 2-3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Artwork, circa 1960-1970s (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographic Materials, circa 1940-1986 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Laura Andreson (1902-1999) was a ceramicist and educator in Los Angeles, California. She received a bachelor's degree in education at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1932 and a master's degree in painting from Columbia University in 1937. She began her career in ceramics studying under the influential ceramicist Glen Lukens. In 1933 she founded the ceramics department at UCLA where she taught from 1933 to 1970.

Andreson was a pioneer in ceramics, experimenting and developing glaze and clay techniques during a time when equipment was limited and only a few books were available on ceramics. Her work has been widely exhibited, primarily after her retirement from UCLA in 1970. Andreson died in Los Angeles, C.A. in 1999.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an interview of Laura Andreson conducted May 20, 1981 by Ruth Bowman, for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Laura Andreson and her companion Pauline Blank in 1991 and 1996.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Educators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women ceramicists  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Sketches
Citation:
Laura Andreson Papers, 1932-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.andrlaur
See more items in:
Laura Andreson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f359f0a5-0579-421a-aae7-c1defa45ed35
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-andrlaur

Beatrice Wood papers, 1894-1998, bulk 1930-1990

Creator:
Wood, Beatrice, 1893-1998  Search this
Subject:
Arensberg, Walter  Search this
Arensberg, Louise S. (Louise Stevenson)  Search this
Duchamp, Marcel  Search this
Hoag, Stephen Asa  Search this
John Waller, Fine Ceramics (Firm : Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Zachary Waller Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Garth Clark Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Diaries
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Citation:
Beatrice Wood papers, 1894-1998, bulk 1930-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women ceramicists  Search this
Scrapbooks  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9363
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211559
AAA_collcode_woodbeat
Theme:
Diaries
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211559
Online Media:

Grace Kwami Sculpture

Maker:
Atta Kwami, born 1956, Ghana  Search this
Medium:
Paper, millboard, cloth
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 7.5 x 27 x 37.5 cm (2 15/16 x 10 5/8 x 14 3/4 in.)
Type:
Book and Manuscript
Geography:
Ghana
Date:
1993
Credit Line:
Purchase funds donated by Brian and Diane Leyden
Object number:
93-17-1
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© 1993 Atta Kwami
See more items in:
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source:
National Museum of African Art
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7ef0a3920-47c3-416a-b6df-63f074171913
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmafa_93-17-1

Marguerite Wildenhain papers

Creator:
Wildenhain, Marguerite  Search this
Names:
Anderson, Eugene Newton  Search this
Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965  Search this
Marcks, Gerhard  Search this
Wildenhain, Frans, 1905-1980  Search this
Extent:
3.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Motion pictures (visual works)
Video recordings
Date:
1930-1982
Summary:
The papers of California ceramicist and educator Marguerite Wildenhain measure 3.7 linear feet and date from 1930 to 1982. Found within the papers are biographical sketches; correspondence with patrons, students, and colleagues, including Eugene Anderson, T. S. Eliot, and Gerhard Marcks; writings by Wildenhain and others; designs for pottery and other artwork; one scrapbook; news clippings, exhibition catalogs, and scattered printed material. Also found are photographs of Marguerite and Frans Wildenhain, Pond Farm, workshops, exhibitions,and artwork, as well as two film reels depicting Wildenhain lecturing and in her studio. There is a 0.3 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes photographs and negatives of Wildenhain's works of art, circa 1960-1970, (many in the collection of Forrest L. Merrill or Luther College) taken by David Stone and photographs at Pond Farm, circa 1980. Additional photographs are of Wildenhain and her works of art, circa 1950 (possibly taken by Otto Hagel).
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of California ceramicist and educator Marguerite Wildenhain measure 3.7 linear feet and date from 1930 to 1982. Found within the papers are biographical sketches; correspondence with patrons, students, and colleagues, including Eugene Anderson, T. S. Eliot, and Gerhard Marcks; writings by Wildenhain and others; designs for pottery and other artwork; one scrapbook; news clippings, exhibition catalogs, and scattered printed material. Also found are photographs of Marguerite and Frans Wildenhain, Pond Farm, workshops, exhibitions,and artwork, as well as two film reels depicting Wildenhain lecturing and in her studio. There is a 0.3 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes photographs and negatives of Wildenhain's works of art, circa 1960-1970, (many in the collection of Forrest L. Merrill or Luther College) taken by David Stone and photographs at Pond Farm, circa 1980. Additional photographs are of Wildenhain and her works of art, circa 1950 (possibly taken by Otto Hagel).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1943 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1981 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1940-1980 (Box 1-2; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 4: Artwork, circa 1961-1969, 1975 (Box 2, OV 5; 4 folders)

Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1934-1963 (Box 2; 3 folders)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1932-1982 (Box 2, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographs, 1930-1976 (Box 2-3, OV 4; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Audio-Visual Recordings, 1954, circa 1965 (Box 3, FC 6-7; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1950-1980 (Box 8, OV 9; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Marguerite Wildenhain (1896-1985) was a ceramicist and educator in Guerneville, California. Born Marguerite Friedlaender in Lyon, France, Wildenhain received training in sculpture at the Berlin School of Applied Arts. She later worked as a designer for the Royal Berlin Porcelain Factory, leaving in 1919 to apprentice in pottery at the Bauhaus, under Max Krehan and Gerhard Marcks. After receiving her degree as master-potter, she was employed at the Municipal School for Arts and Crafts in Halle Saale, Germany. Fleeing the Nazis in 1933, she and her husband, potter Frans Wildenhain, operated a workshop in Holland before immigrating to the United States in 1940. In 1942 she settled near Guerneville, California, and established an artist colony known as Pond Farm. Following her divorce, she remained at Pond Farm and operated a summer school which lasted until 1980, training approximately 25 students each summer.
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are the Marguerite Wildenhain exhibition records, 1977-1981, donated by the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art; an oral history interview of Marguerite Wildenhain conducted 1982 Mar. 14, by Hazel Bray; and the Frans Wildenhain papers, 1890-1986. Additional Marguerite Wildenhain letters to Gerhard Marcks are located at the Archiv fur Buldende Kunst of the Germanisches Museum, Nurnberg, Germany.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Marguerite Wildenhain in 1973-1981. Additional material was donated in 2020 by David Stone, a student of Wildenhain.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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:
Ceramicists -- California  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women ceramicists  Search this
Function:
Artists' studios -- California
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Motion pictures (visual works)
Video recordings
Citation:
Marguerite Wildenhain papers, 1930-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.wildmarg
See more items in:
Marguerite Wildenhain papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95670c906-044e-4231-8338-34b9e41a131a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wildmarg
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Paula Colton Winokur

Interviewee:
Winokur, Paula, 1935-  Search this
Interviewer:
Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this
Creator:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Names:
Beaver College -- Faculty  Search this
Graphic Sketch Club (Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this
Helen Drutt Gallery  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (U.S.)  Search this
Philadelphia Museum of Art  Search this
Temple University. -- Students  Search this
Tyler School of Art -- Students  Search this
Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this
Blai, Boris, 1893-1985  Search this
Bobrowicz, Yvonne  Search this
Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976  Search this
Cushing, Val M.  Search this
De Staebler, Stephen, 1933-2011  Search this
Ferguson, Ken, 1928-2004  Search this
Heizer, Michael, 1944-  Search this
Higby, Wayne  Search this
Leon, Dennis, 1933-  Search this
Long, Richard, 1945-  Search this
Love, Arlene, 1953-  Search this
Marks, Graham, 1951-  Search this
McKinnell, James  Search this
Mestre, Enrique, 1936-  Search this
Minter, Myrna  Search this
Moran, Lois  Search this
Natzler, Gertrud  Search this
Natzler, Otto  Search this
Nesbitt, Lowell, 1933-1993  Search this
Notkin, Richard  Search this
Randall, Theodore, 1914-1985  Search this
Schulman, Norman, 1924-  Search this
Sedestrom, Carol  Search this
Serra, Richard, 1938-  Search this
Shores, Kenneth, 1928-  Search this
Simon, Sandy  Search this
Slivka, Rose  Search this
Staffel, Rudolf, 1911-2002  Search this
Takaezu, Toshiko  Search this
Vavrek, Ken  Search this
Winokur, Robert, 1933-  Search this
Ólafur Elíasson, 1967-  Search this
Extent:
9 Items (Sound recording: 9 sound files (6 hr., 24 min.))
171 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place:
Alaska
Hungary
Iceland
Mesa Verde (Calif.)
Rocky Mountains
Stonehenge (England)
Date:
2011 July 21-22
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Paula Colton Winokur conducted 2011 July 21-22, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Winokur's home and studio, in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
Paula speaks of taking drawing and painting classes at the Graphic Sketch Club (now the Fleischer Art Memorial) in Philadelphia at age 11; her first experience handling clay at 13 or 14 when taking a class at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; when her family agreed to send her to college, providing she became a teacher, and she attended the Tyler School of Art at Temple University as a painting major; the influence of her teacher Rudolf Staffel in her sophomore year when she took a ceramics class and fell in love with working in clay; meeting her husband Robert Winokur when they were students at Tyler, getting married in 1958, eventually having two sons; glaze testing to find a palette of glazes to use; moving to Massachusetts and starting Cape Street Pottery for their production pottery; her involvement with NCECA [National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts] and other professional organizations; when she began a 30-year teaching career at Beaver College in 1973 (more recently known as Arcadia University), building their ceramics department; changing from using stoneware to porcelain in 1970; making boxes and architectural forms; how she stopped making functional items when her first child was born and began creating the things she wanted to; the decision in 1982 to make landscapes and how geology, the Artic, and threats to the environment influence her work; the process she uses when creating texture; selling exclusively through the Helen Drutt Gallery beginning in 1973 until the gallery closed in 2011; the important influences in her work of artists such as Michael Heizer, Carl Andre, Richard Long, Richard Serra, Olafur Eliasson, and Steven De Staebler and others; the immense the geologic formations of Mesa Verde, the Rocky Mountains, Stonehenge, Alaska and Iceland are inspiring; various lecturing opportunities and exhibits through the years, as well as a working residency she took advantage of in Hungary in 1994; slowly moving away from glazes and instead using metallic sulfates for color; that her intention is to express the relationship between the internal part of herself and the external world for other people to experience and find something in common; the importance of a liberal arts education for art students; her gelatin and clay prints; the concern over collectors of clay art dying off and no new ones taking their places; that galleries are closing and Internet galleries are the norm; meeting photographer, Imogen Cunningham, and seeing her as a wonderful role model; and the feeling that the high cost of fuel and the invention of newer materials may end ceramic classes. Paula also recalls Lowell Nesbitt, Myrna Minter, Arlene Love, Dennis Leon, Boris Blai, Ted Randall, Val Cushing, Norm Schulman, Jim McKinnel, Gertrud Natzler, Otto Natzler, Ken Ferguson, Rose Slivka, Enrique Mestre, Sandy Simon, Wayne Higby, Richard Notkin, Graham Marks, Toshika Takaezu, Yvonne Bobrowicz, Ken Vavrek, Carol Sedestrom, Lois Moran, and Ken Shores and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Paula Colton Winokur (1935- ) is a ceramist in Horsham, Pennsylvania. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 9 sound files. Duration is 6 hr., 24 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.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Ceramics -- Study and teaching  Search this
Painting -- Study and teaching  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women ceramicists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.winoku11
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a7e4adc1-c020-4368-b3ef-02243200b6aa
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-winoku11
Online Media:

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:

Robert Arneson

Artist:
Abe Frajndlich, born 1946  Search this
Sitter:
Robert Carston Arneson, 1930 - 1992  Search this
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image: 24.6 x 24.7cm (9 11/16 x 9 3/4")
Sheet: 35.3 x 27.9cm (13 7/8 x 11")
Type:
Photograph
Place:
United States\California\Solano\Benicia
Date:
1986 (printed 1997)
Topic:
Interior  Search this
Artwork\Sculpture  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Visual Arts\Artist  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Male  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Crafts and Trades\Ceramicist  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\Art  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Paulette and Kurt Olden in memory of Lily E. Kay
Object number:
NPG.2000.74
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© 2000, Abe Frajndlich
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm40755e6b2-7a9c-4f8b-83fb-27529933ccc4
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2000.74

Peter Voulkos

Artist:
Abe Frajndlich, born 1946  Search this
Sitter:
Peter Voulkos, 1924 - 2002  Search this
Medium:
Chromogenic print
Dimensions:
Image: 38.1 x 38.1cm (15 x 15")
Sheet: 50.9 x 40.6cm (20 1/16 x 16")
Type:
Photograph
Place:
United States\California\Alameda\Berkeley
Date:
1986 (printed 2000)
Topic:
Interior  Search this
Equipment\Smoking Implements\Cigar  Search this
Artwork\Sculpture  Search this
Peter Voulkos: Male  Search this
Peter Voulkos: Visual Arts\Artist\Sculptor  Search this
Peter Voulkos: Crafts and Trades\Ceramicist  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Paulette and Kurt Olden in memory of Lily E. Kay
Object number:
NPG.2000.89
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© 2000, Abe Frajndlich
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4ef192592-b0f7-489c-be32-a8e078242fb4
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2000.89

California Brick

Artist:
Robert Carston Arneson, 1930 - 1992  Search this
Sitter:
Robert Carston Arneson, 1930 - 1992  Search this
Medium:
Etching on paper
Dimensions:
Sheet/Mount: 40.7 x 42 cm (16 x 16 9/16")
Mount: 44.3 × 45.6 cm (17 7/16 × 17 15/16")
Type:
Print
Date:
1975
Topic:
Self-portrait  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Visual Arts\Artist  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Male  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Crafts and Trades\Ceramicist  Search this
Robert Carston Arneson: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\Art  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; the Ruth Bowman and Harry Kahn Twentieth-Century American Self-Portrait Collection
Object number:
NPG.2002.190
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© Estate of Robert Arneson / Licensed by VAGA at ARS, New York, NY
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4a2f72560-7731-4405-b766-7bec8e8dc99c
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2002.190

Beatrice Wood

Artist:
Alice Matzkin, born 1939  Search this
Sitter:
Beatrice Wood, 1893 - 12 Mar 1998  Search this
Medium:
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions:
Frame: 108 x 108 x 4.4cm (42 1/2 x 42 1/2 x 1 3/4")
Type:
Painting
Place:
United States\California\Ventura\Ojai
Date:
1993
Topic:
Interior\Studio\Art  Search this
Costume\Smock  Search this
Art implements\Potter's wheel  Search this
Beatrice Wood: Female  Search this
Beatrice Wood: Crafts and Trades\Ceramicist\Potter  Search this
Beatrice Wood: Crafts and Trades\Ceramicist  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
S/NPG.94.127
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© 1993 Alice Matzkin
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm402e551e4-2179-4532-9a0d-1265094a1134
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_S_NPG.94.127

Arequipa Pottery Vase

Maker:
Arequipa Pottery Studio  Search this
Measurements:
overall: 41.1 cm x 29.7 cm; 16 3/16 in x 11 11/16 in
Object Name:
vase
Place made:
United States: California, Fairfax
Date made:
c.1913-1916
Subject:
Art Pottery  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Eri and Phyllis Richardson
ID Number:
1982.0806.01ab
Accession number:
1982.0806
Catalog number:
1982.0806.01ab
See more items in:
Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
Health & Medicine
Domestic Furnishings
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-3056-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_694816

Operation

Printer:
Kistler, Lynton R.  Search this
Physical Description:
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements:
image: 20 cm x 35.6 cm; 7 7/8 in x 14 in
sheet: 32.5 cm x 47.5 cm; 12 13/16 in x 18 11/16 in
Object Name:
Print
Other Terms:
Print; Lithograph
Place made:
United States: California, Los Angeles
Associated Place:
Mexico: Chiapas, Los Angeles
Date made:
1932
Subject:
[NO SUBJECT]  Search this
Medicine  Search this
Credit Line:
Kistler Collection
ID Number:
1978.0650.0958
Accession number:
1978.0650
Catalog number:
1978.0650.0958
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
Art
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-2734-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_800109

The Joy of Life

Printer:
Kistler, Lynton R.  Search this
Physical Description:
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements:
image: 28.6 cm x 36.1 cm; 11 1/4 in x 14 7/32 in
overall: 30.3 cm x 40.6 cm; 11 15/16 in x 15 31/32 in
Object Name:
Print
print
lithograph
Other Terms:
Print; Lithograph
Place made:
United States: California, Los Angeles
Associated Place:
Mexico: Chiapas, Los Angeles
Date made:
about 1940
March 1920
Date made:
circa 1940
Subject:
Travel  Search this
[NO SUBJECT]  Search this
Credit Line:
Kistler Collection
ID Number:
1978.0650.0954
Accession number:
1978.0650
Catalog number:
1978.0650.0954
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
Art
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-272e-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_800113
Online Media:

Henry Varnum Poor papers, 1873-2001, bulk 1904-1970

Creator:
Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970  Search this
Subject:
Burchfield, Charles Ephraim  Search this
Benton, William  Search this
Biddle, George  Search this
Ciardi, John  Search this
Caniff, Milton Arthur  Search this
Duchamp, Marcel  Search this
Dickson, Harold E.  Search this
Evergood, Philip  Search this
Esherick, Wharton  Search this
Marston, Muktuk  Search this
Garrett, Alice Warder  Search this
Meredith, Burgess  Search this
Czebotar, Theodore  Search this
Poor, Peter  Search this
Houseman, John  Search this
Watson, Ernest William  Search this
Padro, Isabel  Search this
Billing, Jules  Search this
Deming, MacDonald  Search this
Poor, Anne  Search this
Poor, Bessie Breuer  Search this
Poor, Eva  Search this
Poor, Josephine Graham  Search this
Sargent, Elizabeth S.  Search this
Poor, Josephine Lydia  Search this
Dorn, Marion  Search this
Steinbeck, John  Search this
Smith, David  Search this
Mumford, Lewis  Search this
Montross Gallery  Search this
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture  Search this
Type:
Motion pictures (visual works)
Diaries
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Henry Varnum Poor papers, 1873-2001, bulk 1904-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Architects -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Pottery -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Diaries  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13442
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210589
AAA_collcode_poorhenr
Theme:
Craft
Diaries
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210589
Online Media:

Otto and Gertrud Natzler letters to Hella Hammid, circa 1963-1973

Creator:
Hammid, Hella, 1921-  Search this
Natzler, Otto  Search this
Subject:
Natzler, Otto  Search this
Natzler, Gertrud  Search this
Natzler, Gail Reynolds  Search this
Citation:
Otto and Gertrud Natzler letters to Hella Hammid, circa 1963-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)22110
AAA_collcode_hammhell
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_22110

Otto and Gertrud Natzler papers, circa 1914-2013

Creator:
Natzler, Otto  Search this
Natzler, Gertrud  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Otto and Gertrud Natzler papers, circa 1914-2013. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Emigration and immigration  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)17517
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)390790
AAA_collcode_natzotto
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_390790

Interview with Otto and Gertrud Natzler

Creator:
Natzler, Otto  Search this
Saltman, Molly, 1915-2010  Search this
Subject:
Natzler, Gertrud  Search this
KPAL (Radio station : Palm Springs, California)  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1966-1967
Citation:
Otto Natzler and Molly Saltman. Interview with Otto and Gertrud Natzler, 1966-1967. Molly Saltman "Art and Artists" interviews, 1966-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Ceramicists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)20878
See more items in:
Molly Saltman "Art and Artists" interviews, 1966-1967
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_20878

Oral history interview with Otto Natzler, 1980 July 7-14

Interviewee:
Natzler, Otto  Search this
Interviewer:
Bowman, Ruth, 1923-  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Otto Natzler, 1980 July 7-14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Ceramics  Search this
Ceramicists -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13239
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212071
AAA_collcode_natzle80
Theme:
Craft
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212071

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