An interview with John Wilmerding conducted 2018 March 19-20, by Christopher Lyon, for the Archives of American Art, at Wilmerding's home in New York, New York.
Wilmerding speaks of the indirect influence of his grandmother Electra Webb; his initial exposure to art history as a freshman at Harvard; the stigma against specializing in American art history that he encountered at Harvard; his undergraduate thesis work on the marine paintings of Fitz Henry Lane; starting his art collection in the early 1960s; the generation of American art historians with whom he attended graduate school at Harvard; early teaching experiences at Dartmouth; composing the "Pelican History of American Art;" his decision to become a senior curator at the National Gallery; the beginning of his interdisciplinary scholarship in an American Studies context; early curatorial experiences; his work as deputy director of the National Gallery; his decision to take a professorship at Princeton; organizing the Andrew Wyeth "Helga" exhibition and catalogue for the National Gallery; developing relationships with collectors and lenders while at the National Gallery; composing "Compass and Clock" and "Signs of the Artist: Signatures and Self-Expression in American Painting" after affiliating with Princeton's American Studies program; organizing an exhibition and promised gift of his personal 19th-century collection for the National Gallery; beginning to collect Pop art; the beginnings of his writings on 20th-century American artists; organizing "The Pop Object: The Still Life Tradition in Pop Art" with Acquavella Gallery and Rizzoli; working with Alice Walton to create the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; and the personal meaning he has derived from teaching. Wilmerding also recalls Vincent Scully, John Coolidge, Seymour Slive, Benjamin Rowland, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Maxim Karolik, Alfred Mansfield Brooks, Theodore Stebbins, Barbara Novak, Charlie Childs, Stuart Feld, David Huntington, Jules Prown, Carter Brown, James Cox, Robert Rosenblum, Wanda Corn, Paul Gottlieb, Leonard Andrews, Paul and Bunny Mellon, Richard Estes, Allan Stone, Robert Indiana, Tom Wesselmann, Ralph Lerner, Moshe Safdie, Neil Rudenstine, Philippe de Montebello, Leon Black, Max Anderson, Kathy Foster, Rebecca Zurier, Franklin Kelly, Carter Cleveland
Biographical / Historical:
John Wilmerding (1938- ) is an art historian and curator in New York, New York. Christopher Lyon (1949- ) is a writer in Brooklyn, New York.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds Wilmerding's thesis (B.A.) "Fitz Hugh Lane: American marine painter, 1804-1865," Harvard University, 1960.
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.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview with David M. Solinger conducted 1977 May 6, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
David M. Solinger (1906-1996) was an art collector and patron from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 58 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.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art patronage -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art patrons -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
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.
An interview with Clifford Schorer conducted 2018 June 6-7, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art and the Center for the History of Collecting in America at the Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection, at the offices of the Archives of American Art in New York, New York.
Schorer discusses growing up in Massachusetts and Long Island, New York; his family and his Dutch and German heritage, and his grandparents' collecting endeavors, especially in the field of philately; his reluctance to complete a formal high school education and his subsequent enrollment in the University Professors Program at Boston University; his work as a self-taught computer programmer beginning at the age of 16; his first businesses as an entrepreneur; the beginnings of his collection of Chinese export and Imperial ceramics and his self-study in the field; his experiences at a young age at art auctions in the New England area; his travels to Montreal and Europe, especially to Eastern Europe, Paris, and London, and his interest in world history; his decision to exit the world of collecting Chinese porcelain and his subsequent interest in Old Master paintings, especially Italian Baroque. Schorer also describes his discovery of the Worcester Art Museum and his subsequent work there on the Museum's board and as president; his interest in paleontology and his current house by Walter Gropius in Provincetown, MA; his involvement with the purchase and support of Agnew's Gallery based in London, UK, and his work with its director, Anthony Crichton-Stuart; his thoughts on marketing at art shows and adapting Agnew's to the changing market for the collecting of Old Masters; the differences between galleries and auction houses in the art market today; and his expectations for his collection in the future. Schorer also recalls Anna Cunningham; George Abrams; Sydney Lewis; Chris Apostle; Nancy Ward Neilson; Jim Welu, as well as Rita Albertson; Tanya Paul; Maryan Ainsworth; Thomas Leysen; Johnny Van Haeften; Otto Naumann; and Konrad Bernheimer, among others.
Biographical / Historical:
Clifford Schorer (1966- ) is an art collector in Boston, Massachusetts and London, England. Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is former executive director of iCI in New York, New York.
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:
The transcript and recording are open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by Barbara Fleischman.
An interview of Rebecca Reis conducted in 1980, by William McNaught, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Reis speaks of her life in New York City. At their home in the city they entertained artists, art dealers, and other art lovers and had a great desire to provide a haven for people who loved art. Reis recalls many stories of the people they met and supported including Jacques Lipchitz, George Grosz, Jackson Pollock, Peggy Guggenheim, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, Larry Rivers, Philip Guston, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, William Baziotes, Franz Kline, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko, the legal case involving Rothko's estate, and Rothko's relationship with Rita Reinhardt. They were particular friends of Peggy Guggenheim. Bernard Reis gave financial advice to many people in the art world. The latter portion of the interviews concentrates on their great friend, Mark Rothko, his suicide, and subsequent court case brought by the family.
Biographical / Historical:
Rebecca Reis (1896-1988) was a collector, from New York, New York. She was married to Bernard Reis, one of the executors of Mark Rothko's will.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 20 min.
Provenance:
This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Jack Kufeld, Katharine Kuh, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Louise Nevelson conducted 1972 Jan. 30, by Arnold Glimcher, for the Archives of American Art.
Nevelson speaks of her childhood aspirations to become an artist; critics and patrons; the New York art world in the 1930s through the mid-1950s; the role of women in art; preconceptions of masculine versus feminine styles; her materials and tools; her choice to create sculpture rather than paintings; the influence of American Indian and African art; city construction forms in her sculpture; and collectors and collecting.
Biographical / Historical:
Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) was a sculptor from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 46 min.
Provenance:
This interview is 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 available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Sculpture -- Technique -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Si Newhouse, Jr. and Victoria Newhouse conducted 2012 January 4 and 18, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art and the Center for the History of Collecting in America at the Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection, New York, New York.
Biographical / Historical:
Si Newhouse (1927-2017) was the chairman and CEO of Advance Publications and was an art collector. Victoria Newhouse is an architectural historian, author, and art collector. Avis Berman is an art historian and writer.
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 interview is access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Architectural historians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Publishers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by Barbara Fleischman.
An interview of Abram Lerner conducted 1975 Dec. 9-1976 Jan. 27, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Lerner speaks of his childhood and youth in New York City; his education; going to museums and developing an interest in art; his painting career; getting on the WPA mural project; artists' unions and their importance; the gallery scene in New York City in the 1930s; going to work at the A.C.A. Gallery; meeting Joseph Hirshhorn, becoming friends and going to work for him; Hirshhorn's style of collecting; vainly trying to keep track of Hirshhorn's acquisitions; early exhibitions of Hirshhorn's collection, and their effect on the art market; Hirshhorn's involvement with the Smithsonian Institution and the beginning of the Hirshhorn Museum; the development of the Museum and its interaction with the Smithsonian; early exhibitions there; problems of museum administration and security; public response to the Hirshhorn Museum.
Lerner recalls Philip Evergood, Burgoyne Diller, Max Weber, and Douglas MacAgy.
Biographical / Historical:
Abram Lerner (1913-2007) was a museum director in Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 36 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.
Occupation:
Art museum directors -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
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.
An interview with Arnold Lehman, conducted 2015 March 30-April 20, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York.
Biographical / Historical:
Arnold Lehman (1944- ) was the director of the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York. James McElhinney (1952- ) is a painter and educator in New York, New York.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Ivan C. Karp conducted 1986 April 17-1988 October 18, by Ronny Cohen for the Archives of American Art.
Karp discusses his background, working at the Leo Castelli Gallery from 1959 to 1969; the process of opening the OK Harris Gallery in 1969 in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City; his perception of art collectors and the nature of art collecting; the New York art scene from the 1960s through the 1980s; how art work is priced; artists he considers to be overvalued; and how one knows which art works have value. He mentions Leo Castelli, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, David Salle, Mark Rothko, and Anselm Kiefer.
Paul Henry Brach (painter, New York, New York) joins the discussion on the third tape recorded on October 18, 1988.
Biographical / Historical:
Ivan C. Karp (1926-2012) was an art dealer and director of the OK Harris Gallery, New York, New York.
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.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Ivan C. Karp conducted 1969 March 12, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art at the Leo Castelli Gallery.
Karp discusses the invention of the names "OK Harris" and "Green Gallery"; his work for Leo Castelli including gallery exhibitions, expenses, collectors, critics and staff; the work of Richard Artschwager, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Cy Twombly, Gerry Vanderweil, Andy Warhol, and others; The Club; "soft art"; and the art market. He recalls Richard Bellamy, Ileana Sonnabend, Robert C. Scull, and others. Karp speaks of growing up in the boroughs of New York City, his reading and writing interests, commercial film making, his work for the Hansa Gallery and Martha Jackson, summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the art scene in New York City in the late 1950s.
Biographical / Historical:
Ivan C. Karp (1926- ) is an art dealer and director of the OK Harris Gallery in New York, New York.
Provenance:
This interview is 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 available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Gilbert H. Kinney conducted 2009 Mar. 9-17, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, at Kinney's home, in New York, N.Y.
Biographical / Historical:
Gilbert H. Kinney is an art collector and president of American Federation of Arts, New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 8 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.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Widgeon Point Charitable Foundation.
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.
An interview of Martha Jackson conducted 1969 May 23, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Jackson speaks of becoming interested in art while living in Baltimore; buying her first painting, a gouache by Marc Chagall; moving to New York City and getting active in collecting art; going to Hans Hofmann's school; opening her gallery in New York in 1953; art as an investment; early shows at her gallery; struggling financially; books and film and their relationship to art; politics and art and their relationship; the psychology of art buying and collecting; the European art market for American art; and her goals for her gallery.
Biographical / Historical:
Martha Kellogg Jackson (1907-1969) was an art dealer in New York, New York.
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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Joseph A. Helman conducted 2010 January 4, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, at Helman's home in New York, New York.
Helman recalls three major events from his early life--the exhibition "Masterpieces from the Berlin Museums: 1948-1949," the film "Lust for Life," and collecting--that led to his career as an art dealer; buying his first painting, which was a Jasper Johns work; meeting the art dealer Leo Castelli; opening his first gallery in St. Louis in 1969; selling his gallery to Ronald Greenberg and moving to Italy with his family; attending the Sotheby's auction of the Robert C. Scull Collection in 1973; teaming up with Irving Blum to open the Blum Helman Gallery in New York City; organizing exhibitions of established and emerging artists. Helman speaks about his relationship with Emily Rauh Pulitzer and the St. Louis Art Museum; his Happening with Allan Kaprow; the story behind Claes Oldenburg's drawing Tongue Cloud, over St. Louis, 1975; discovering the work of Ralston Crawford; introducing American art to Spain. In addition, Helman discusses the contemporary art market; collectors and the process of collecting; and the redefinition of Pop art to include British and American artists of the 1980s. Throughout the interview Helman mentions the various artists he has represented, exhibited or collected such as Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef Albers, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Ronald Davis, and Bryan Hunt.
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph A. Helman (1937- ) is an art dealer and collector in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound disc. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr.,19 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.
Topic:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Raymond Horowitz conducted 2004 Oct.20-Nov. 5, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art, in New York, N.Y.
Horowitz speaks of his privileged childhood in New York; the effects of the Depression on his family's finances; attending Columbia University for Law and the anti-Semitism he faced there; his ingratiation into art appreciation through Meyer Shapiro; employment under then-New York City comptroller Joseph McGoldrick; the formation of his law practice; and his marriage to his wife, Margaret Goldenberg. Horowitz also mentions his involvement in left-wing political movements; how he managed relationships with different dealers; his experiences with misattributed artworks and forgeries, particularly his luck in avoiding them; the hobbies of himself and his wife; how he avoids relationships with the artists of his works; sharing information with other collectors; the economics of donating artworks and the subsequent tax breaks; the importance of credit in art purchasing; how he and Margaret conferred on purchases; their affinity for Chase; his habits on lending to exhibitions; the differences between the management of the Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery; his summer homes in East Hampton and Provincetown; the problems with contemporary art scholarship; and the importance of dealers in affirming the interest in American art. Horowitz spends most of the interview reflecting upon others in the art world whom he has met. He recalls Ira Spanierman, Dan and Rita Fraad, Charles Merill Mount, Victor Spark, Abraham Adler, Nicolai Cikovsky, Phillipe de Montebello, Theodore Stebbins, Jack Levine, Daniel Terra, Joseph Hirshhorn, Norman Hirschl, John Canaday, Doris and Harry Rubin, Paul Mellon, Bill Gerdts, Paul Magriel, Bernard Meyers, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Raymond Horowitz (1916-2005) was a collector from New York, N.Y. Avis Berman is an art historian from New York, N.Y.
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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Lawyers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Leslie J. Garfield conducted 2012 Dec. 18-2013 Apr. 17, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art, at Garfield's home, in New York, N.Y.
Biographical / Historical:
Leslie J. Garfield (1932- ) is a collector in New York, N.Y. Judith Olch Richards (1952- ) is former director of iCI in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded as 4 sound digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 50 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:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Barbara Fleischman conducted 2011 Dec. 27 and 2012 Jan. 5, 20, and 23 by Avis Berman for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Barbara G. Fleischman (1924- ) is an art collector in New York and a member of the Archives of American Art's board of trustees. Interviewer Avis Berman (1949- ) is a writer in New York, N.Y.
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 audio is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Sound recording: Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from Barbara Fleischman. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Helen Williams Drutt English conducted 2018 January 8,9, and 26, by Jane Milosch, for the Archives of American Art, at Drutt's homes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York, New York.
Biographical / Historical:
Helen Williams Drutt English (1930- ) is a curatorial consultant and educator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York. Jane Milosch (1964- ) is a former curator with the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the papers of Helen Williams Drutt 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.
Restrictions:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews Search this
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Art dealers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Hester Diamond conducted 2017 October 4-5, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art and the Center for the History of Collecting in America at the Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection, at Diamond's home in New York, New York.
Ms. Diamond discusses the lives of her parents and grandparents in New Jersey as European immigrants; her life as a student during World War II attending Hunter College in Manhattan, and her exploration of the city's art museums, especially the Museum of Modern Art; her early interest in modern art and her friendship and subsequent marriage with Harold Diamond; her work as a social worker and Mr. Diamond's work as a school teacher, and their growing interest in the New York museum and gallery scene; their time working part-time for Martha Jackson at her gallery; their organization of a traveling exhibition in the United States for the British sculptor Barbara Hepworth; their first trip together to Europe in 1955 and their subsequent introduction to the business of art dealing; Mr. Diamond's illness and death and Ms. Diamond's transition out of the art dealing business. Ms. Diamond also describes her first work as an interior designer for J. Seward Johnson; her subsequent decision to leave the decorating business; her second husband Ralph Kaminsky and his daughter Rachel Kaminsky; the shift of her art collecting focus towards Renaissance paintings; her help founding the Medici Archive Project; her relationships with fellow collectors and curators; her new interest in Spanish sculpture; and her third husband, Dr. David Wilson. Ms. Diamond also recalls Ben Nicholson; Nan Roberts; E. L. Hodgkins; G. David Thompson; Joseph Hirshhorn; Alastair Stair; Eugene Thaw; Shepard and Birgitta Schreiber; as well as Dr. Jacques Koerfer; Thomas Ammann; Edward Goldberg; Robert Strassler; Maryan Ainsworth; Jon Landau; and Rose Fried, among others.
Biographical / Historical:
Hester Diamond (1928-2020) was an art collector in New York, New York. Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is former executive director of iCI in New York, New York.
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 recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by Barbara Fleischman.
An interview of Douglas S. Cramer conducted 2013 October 23-December 13, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art, at Cramer's homes in Miami Beach, Florida and New York, New York.
Cramer speaks of growing up in Kentucky and Cincinnati; his mother's career as a writer and interior designer; his interest in collecting objects as a young boy; growing up under his parents and his family history; racism and prejudices in society and Hollywood; the impact of the Depression on his family; his early interest in theater and art; his involvement with Hollywood and production work; his early art and real estate purchases; his friendship since high school with Jim Dine; reactions from dealers and artists when selling artwork; his belief in the importance of artists' drawings; his college career and his desire to go to Princeton; his desire to live in New York City; working for Proctor & Gamble; his early foray into collecting; his first collection of 20th century works on paper; meeting Leo Castelli and Jasper Johns; guidance of Dan Melnick in collecting; living and collecting in California; his desire to own a Joseph Cornell box; his divorce from Joyce Haber and their California collection; buying from Leo Castelli; getting to know and collecting Julian Schnabel; getting a protrait painted by Schnabel; donating works of art to museums; art dealers and customer service; working on the Love Boat (series); Andy Warhol's involvement with the Love Boat; his involvement with the MOCA board; the creation of the Douglas Cramer Foundation; Batman (series) and Roy Lichtenstein; meeting, collecting, and friendship with Roy Lichtenstein; meeting, collecting, and friendship with Ellsworth Kelly; Andy Warhol's persona. Cramer also recalls Larry Gagosian, Jeffrey Deitch, Eli Broad, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Margo Leavin, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Charles and Doris Saatchi, Paul Schimmel, Richard Serra, Marcia and Fred Weisman, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Douglas S. Cramer (1931- ) is an American television producer and contemporary art collector in New York, New York. Avis Berman (1949- ) is an art historian and author in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded as 4 sound files. Duration is 5 hr., 8 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:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Rights:
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An interview of wife and husband Dale and Doug Anderson conducted 2005 July 21-22, by Tina Oldknow, for the Archives of American Art, in their home.
The Andersons discuss their respective childhoods and growing up in Manhattan; their education and early experiences with art; their early collection of Native American art; their first art purchases, including a Richard Marquis Patchwork teapot, a Lowell Nesbitt painting, and a Carolyn Brady painting; their initial involvement with the American Craft Museum's Collector's Circle, as well as other craft organizations including Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, New Jersey, The Metropolitan Glass Group, Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, and the Friends of Contemporary Ceramics, among others; their involvement with, and support of, various museums, including the Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, the Seattle Art Museum, the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, and the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York; their involvement with, and support of, various art schools, including the Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, Maine, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine; their independent commissioning of works by various artists, including Dale Chihuly, Ginny Ruffner, Sandy Skoglund, Tom Patti, Paul Marioni and Ann Troutner, and Silas Kopf; their involvement in various large-scale glass exhibitions and expositions, including the annual Sculptural Objects and Functional Art expositions, "Glass Today by American Studio Artists," August 13, 1997-January 11, 1998, at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and palmbeach3, West Palm Beach, Florida, among others; their participation in, and support of, the publishing of various books on glass, including Martha Drexler Lynn's "Sculpture, Glass, and American Museums," Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005, and Tina Oldknow's "Pilchuck: A Glass School", Seattle: Pilchuck Glass School, in association with the University of Washington Press, 1996; their dealings with various galleries across the country, including Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan, Heller Gallery, New York, New York, UrbanGlass, Brooklyn, New York, Barry Friedman Ltd., New York, New York, browngrotta arts, Wilton, Connecticut, and Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, Massachusetts, among others.
The Andersons recall Christina Orr-Cahall, George and Dorothy Saxe, Ronald and Anita Wornick, Susan Steinhauser and Dan Greenberg, Jack and Rebecca Benaroya, Weston Naef, Daphne Farago, Dale Chihuly, Thomas and Marilyn Patti, Catherine Chalmers, Jeremy Flick, Zhuan Huang, William Warmus, Akio Takamori, Linda Schlenger, Bruce Pepich and Lisa Englander, Pike Powers, Parks Anderson, Sonny and Gloria Kamm, Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, Davira Taragin, Bill Morris, Sam and Eleanor Rosenfeld, Daganeet Schokauer, Albert Paley, John McQueen, Jeff Mermelstein, Jane Adlin, Henrietta Brunner, Mark Lyman, Charles and Andrea Bronfman, Norman and Elizabeth Sandler, Ferdinand Hampson, Dafna Kaffeman, Paul Stankard, Toots Zynsky, Marjorie Levy, Gregory Grenon, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Dale (1944- ) and Doug (1943- ) Anderson are glass collectors from New York, New York Tina Oldknow is a curator at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 19 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 6 minutes.
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.
Occupation:
Collectors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
