Geoffrey Clements. Installation of Invitational, 1966. Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. records and Paula Cooper Gallery records, 1961-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Rockne Krebs, 1990 Jan. 27-Feb. 3. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Rockne Krebs, born Kansas City, MO 1938-died Washington, DC 2011 Search this
Medium:
silver dye bleach print
Dimensions:
sheet: 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm) image: 14 in. × 9 1/4 in. (35.6 × 23.5 cm)
Type:
Photography
Date:
1980
Credit Line:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Museum purchase with the aid of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C., a Federal Agency, and The Polaroid Corporation)
The papers of painter Thomas Downing measure 1.4 linear feet and date from circa 1946 to 1995. The papers document his career as an artist in Washington, D.C. and Provincetown, Massachusetts through biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material, photographic material and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Thomas Downing measure 1.4 linear feet and date from circa 1946 to 1995. The papers document his career as an artist in Washington, D.C. and Provincetown, Massachusetts through biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material, photographic material and artwork.
Biographical material consists of Downing's college diploma, resume, biographical outlines, birth and death certificates, travel documents, passports and other miscellaneous documents.
Correspondence is between Thomas Downing and his family, friends, and colleagues. Notable correspondents include Phillip Romero, Osuna Galleries and Sidney Wordell.
Writings include notes, notebooks, annotated calendars and essays. There are a few writings by others such as poems by Sidney Wordell and Philip Romero's essay about Thomas Downing.
Personal business records consist of a few legal records, shipping and transportation invoices, and professional certificates.
Printed material includes clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, two books and an auction catalog.
Photographic material depict Thomas Downing, friends, family, travel, and artwork.
Artwork consists of sketchbooks and drawings by Thomas Downing, plus some drawings by the artist's son, Aaron Downing.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1949-1995 (Box 1; 7 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1948-circa 1987 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1969-1986 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1950-1986 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1946-1987 (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1950-1988 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1950-1984 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas Downing (1928-1985) was a painter based in Washington, D.C., and Provincetown, Massachusetts, who was associated with the Washington Color School.
Thomas Downing was born in Suffolk, Virginia, in 1928. He received his undergraduate degree from Randolph Macon College in Virginia in 1948, then attended Pratt Institute in New York from 1948 to 1950. He traveled to Europe for one year in 1950 to 1951 on a grant from Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
After serving in the military, Downing moved to Washington, D.C., for a teaching job in 1953. He enrolled in a course at Catholic University and studied art under Kenneth Noland, who was a major influence on his work. Downing later shared a studio with Howard Mehring, with whom he founded the Origo, a cooperative gallery that operated from early 1959 to roughly mid-1960. During the 1960s, Downing also taught at the Corcoran School, numbering among his students Sam Gilliam, Rockne Krebs, and Michael Clark. Although he mostly resided in D.C., the last ten years of his life were spent in Provincetown, Massaschusetts, where he died in 1985.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel 4058) including eleven letters from Thomas Downing to his son Aaron and seven photographs of Thomas Downing and others. Lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Material was first lent to the Archives of American Art for microfilming in 1988 by Downing's son, Aaron Downing, and then returned to the lender. His widow, Louise Downing, donated additional papers in 1988.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Byron Gallery records, circa 1950s-1991, bulk 1960-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Byron Gallery records, circa 1950s-1991, bulk 1960-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian American Art Museum. Curatorial Office Search this
Container:
Box 2 of 12
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Rights:
Restricted for 15 years, until Jan-01-2033. Records may contain personally identifiable information (PII) that is permanently restricted. Transferring office; 3/22/2019 memorandum, Johnstone to Laura Augustin; Contact reference staff for details.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 19-136, Smithsonian American Art Museum. Curatorial Office, Acquisition Records (Declined)
An interview of Rockne Krebs conducted 1990 Jan. 27-Feb.3, by Benjamin Forgey, for the Archives of American Art.
Krebs discusses growing up in Kansas City; his early interest in art; childhood art classes at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; his family and their home; studying sculpture at the University of Kansas; influential teachers; attending Naval Officer's Training School; his U.S. Navy service and art education while in the Navy; working in Washington, D.C. as the Public Affairs Officer for Vice-Admiral Frost in the 1960s; his wife Denise and their daughter Heather; meeting Anthony Caro, Kenneth Noland, and Jules Olitski; his "Chevron" series; his interest in planes, light, space, and "dematerializing" sculpture; the influence of Walter Hopps; working with laser specialists and Hewlett Packard equipment; his outdoor city-scale laser sculpture; and his early principal patrons Mr. and Mrs. Philip M. Stern and works created for them. Krebs also describes in detail his laser sculptures for the New Orleans Museum of Art (1971) and St. Petersburg (1975-1976) and comments on economic, political and social aspects of the art world.
Biographical / Historical:
Rockne Krebs (1938-2011) was a sculptor from Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 27 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others. Funding for these interviews provided by the Lannan Foundation.
