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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Dawson, William, 1901-1990  Search this
Interviewer:
Blum, Betty  Search this
Names:
Brown, Roger, 1941-1997  Search this
Kind, Phyllis, 1933-2018  Search this
Extent:
173 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1990 April 11-23
Scope and Contents:
An interview of William Dawson conducted 1990 April 11-23, by Betty Blum, for the Archives of American Art.
Dawson speaks of his childhood in Alabama; coming to Chicago in 1923; working as a porter and janitor; the beginnings of his art career after retiring in 1965; making carvings from found objects; the process of discovering and creating forms; his first exhibition at the Lincoln Park Public Library; his first sales to collectors, including Phyllis Kind and Roger Brown; gaining exposure through collectors and eventually getting discovered; the beginning of his work in painting; his exhibition at the Corcoran in 1982; work methods; and inspirations and ideas.
Biographical / Historical:
William Dawson (1901-1990) was a self-taught painter and sculptor from Chicago, Illinois. Dawson was born in 1901 in Huntsville, Alabama, came to Chicago in 1923, and after retiring from a career as a janitor and porter, he began sculpting and painting. He died July 1, 1990.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 58 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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:
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this
Folk artists -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
African American artists  Search this
Sculptors -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this
Self-taught artists -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.dawson90
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b5681b44-bbab-435a-a52d-e816026b7eac
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-dawson90