Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Orlowsky, Lillian, 1914-2004  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
American Artists School (New York, N.Y.) -- Students  Search this
Educational Alliance Art School (New York, N.Y.) -- Students  Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this
Freed, William, 1904-  Search this
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this
Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984  Search this
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Refregier, Anton, 1905-  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro, 1896-1974  Search this
Soyer, Moses, 1899-1974  Search this
Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987  Search this
Extent:
2 Items (sound cassettes (2 hr., 30 min.))
52 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1996 Aug. 5-26
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Lillian Orlowsky conducted 1996 Aug. 5 and 26, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art, in Orlowsky's home, in Provincetown, Mass.
Orlowsky talks about her childhood in Manhattan, N.Y., including her interest in modern dance, attending art classes at the Educational Alliance in the Lower East Side where she met classmate Louise Nevelson (1932-33); her studies at the American Artists School with Raphael and Moses Soyer and Anton Refregier; creating watercolors with William Freed; her work in the mural and easel divisions of the WPA; Hans Hofmann's classes and her classmates, including Lee Krasner (1937); her return to Provincetown, Mass., in 1944, with husband William Freed; and Forum 49 in Provincetown. Orlowsky also recalls David Alfaro Siqueiros' method of painting.
Biographical / Historical:
Lillian Orlowsky (1914- 2004) was a painter in New York, N.Y. and Provincetown, Mass. Orlowsky was a WPA artist who studied under Hans Hofmann.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 12 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:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire audio recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Painting -- Technique  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.orlows96
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cf3b6950-fab6-4c97-89a2-e9131ae633ab
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-orlows96