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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Weidner, Roswell, 1911-1999  Search this
Interviewer:
Pacini, Marina  Search this
Names:
Barnes Foundation  Search this
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this
United States. National Youth Administration  Search this
United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this
Curran, Mary  Search this
De Mazia, Violette, 1899-  Search this
Garber, Daniel, 1880-  Search this
Harding, George, 1882-1959  Search this
Laessle, Albert, 1877-1954  Search this
McCarter, Henry, 1866-1942  Search this
Nuse, Roy Cleveland, b. 1885  Search this
Pierson, Joseph  Search this
Pinto, Angelo, 1908-1994  Search this
Speight, Francis, 1896-1989  Search this
Thrash, Dox, 1892-1965  Search this
Weidner, Marilyn Kemp, 1928-  Search this
Extent:
134 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1989 July 20-27
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Roswell Weidner conducted 1989 July 20-27, by Marina Pacini, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project. Weidner discusses his early life, education, and art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, first at the school at Chester Springs, and later at the main school in Philadelphia. He discusses the programs at both schools, and recalls some of the faculty members, including Roy Nuse, Albert Laessle, George Harding, Joseph Pierson, Francis Speight, Daniel Garber, and Henry McCarter. He discusses the courses, exhibitions, and the competitions for traveling scholarships. He also discusses his study at the Barnes Foundation with Violette De Mazia and Angelo Pinto. After leaving the Academy, he joined the National Youth Administration and then transferred to the WPA with the Museum Extension, the Painting Project and the Print Project. He speaks of his work for each of these programs, their administration, and some of the individuals involved including Dox Thrash. He recalls Mary Curran and the efforts made by Albert Barnes to have her removed as head of the Painting Project. Weidner discusses his fifty years as a teacher at the Academy, beginning in 1939, and the changes in the institution since then, including the introduction of printmaking, the growth of abstraction, the hiring of women and black instructors, and other changes. He speaks of his wife, Marilyn Kemp Weidner, a paper conservator, and the development of her practice, as well as his own future work.
Biographical / Historical:
Roswell T. Weidner (1911-1999) was a painter and educator from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr.; 18 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews  Search this
Educators -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.weidne89
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d0c1ada8-2608-4b70-b8bd-f95469159f82
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-weidne89