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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Blackburn, Robert Hamilton, 1920-  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Names:
Barnet, Will, 1911-2012  Search this
Francis, Sam, 1923-1994  Search this
Grosman, Tatyana, 1904-1982  Search this
Harrison, Wallace, 1900-  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-2000  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Vytlacil, Vaclav, 1892-1984  Search this
Extent:
52 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1970 December 4
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Robert Blackburn conducted 1970 December 4, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Blackburn speaks of his early life in Jamaica and New York; the influences of his youth including school, gangs, religion, art, music, and culture; the Harlem Community Art Center; studying with Charles Alston; the difficulties suffered by Black artists trying to gain recognition in a white-dominated art world; attending the Art Students League and studying under Vaclav Vytlacil and Will Barnet; his work with children; his film work at the Harmon Foundation; financial problems; the Printmaking Workshop; attending New York University's School of Visual Arts and the Cooper Union School; Black people in the arts; and the influence of music on his paintings. He recalls Jacob Lawrence, Will Barnet, Vaclav Vytlacil, Wallace Harrison, Tatyana Grosman, Grace Hartigan, Sam Francis, and Robert Rauschenberg.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Blackburn (1920-) was a printmaker from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 28 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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.
Occupation:
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Prints -- Technique  Search this
Art and race  Search this
African American artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.blackb70
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95587be3c-ce7a-47a4-ae63-91dec62e6a45
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-blackb70