Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 42 min.
Access Note / Rights:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Summary:
An interview of Michael St. Clair conducted 1994 March 14- 1994 April 28, by Gail Stavitsky and John Driscoll, for the Archives of American Art.
St. Clair briefly discusses his art training at the Kansas City Institute of Art and at the Art Students League and compares the teaching styles of Thomas Hart Benton and George Grosz. He talks about his work as the director of the Oklahoma (City) Art Center and designing window displays for Macy's and other department stores in New York City. Finally, he reviews his career at Babcock Galleries, focusing his discussion on his acquisition of the work of Marsden Hartley, Childe Hassam, John Kensett, and Thomas Eakins, among others.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Michael St. Clair, 1994 March 14 and April 28. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript available online.
Funding:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Biography Note:
Michael St. Clair (1912-1999) was an art dealer of New York, N.Y.
Language Note:
English .
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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Art Dealers Association of America.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
