An interview with Bill and Peggy Foote conducted 2014 February 16-17, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Viola Frey Oral History Project at Bill's office and home in San Francisco, California.
Bill and Peggy Foote speak of their early days growing up and their introduction to art; their meeting in Stockton; the beginnings of the Lincoln Square Gallery; their introduction to Viola Frey; their increasing involvement as art dealers in the Bay Area in the '60s and '70s; Peggy Foote's time at the California College of Arts and Crafts; their collection of Viola Frey's work and other artists' work; their interactions with Charles Fiske and Viola Frey; Frey's early years in Lodi; Frey's love of collecting jewelry and small ceramic figurines; and Frey's work in relation to gender issues. They also discuss Frey and Fiske's health issues; Frey's time at CCAC; Frey's relationship with Fiske; Frey's work as it related to Robert Arneson and Peter Voulkos and other Bay Area artists; Peggy Foote's gallery Conway Antiques in the 70's and 80's; Bill Foote's remembrances at Frey's memorial. They also recall Shirley Hanson, Rena Bransten, Squeak Carnwath, Gary Knecht, Leslie Wenger, Nancy Hoffman, Richard McDonald, Maryanne Schulz, the Wiebe twins, Robert Arneson, Vernon Coykendall, Noni Eccles Treadwell, Sam Perry, Jackie Maybeck, Gloria Champion, Jack Laycox, and others.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Bill and Peggy Foote, 2014 February 16-17. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Funding:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Artists' Legacy Foundation.
Biography Note:
Bill Foote (1937-2023) and Peggy (1935-2023) were art collectors and retired art and antique dealers in San Francisco, California who collected Viola Frey's works of art. Bill worked as a psychiatrist. Peggy worked as a psychiactic nurse before opening her shop, Conway's Antiques. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California -- San Francisco Search this
