Five letters, 1925-1926, to "Odette" (Mrs. Helena Marguerita Da Rosa). Oldfield describes his work at the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts and daily activities as an artist. Also included is a photograph of Oldfield, 1913.
Biographical / Historical:
Otis Oldfield (1890-1969) was a painter and teacher from San Francisco, Calif.
Provenance:
Donated 1982 by Mrs. Betty Chidlaw.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Primarily records of the San Francisco Art Association (1871-1920), but also of the California School of Design (1873-1905) (briefly called the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in 1893), the Palace of Fine Arts (1915-1945), The Western Round Table on Modern Art (1949), the San Francisco Art Institute (1911-1978), the San Francisco Museum of Art (1921-1970), and the Douglas MacAgy papers (1944-1950).
REELS 1288-1289: 3 vol. containing minutes of board of trustees meetings of the Association and Institute, 1871-1915, and minutes of the meetings of the board of directors of the California School of Design, 1873-1905.
REELS 2429-2433: Historical data contains material relating to the museum. San Francisco Art Association records include correspondence; photographs; membership records; organizational and registrarial records; reports; printed material; and materials regarding the Palace of Fine Arts. San Francisco Museum of Art section includes correspondence; minutes of board meetings; reports; legal documents; clippings; and printed materials. "Western Round Table on Modern Art" conference sponsored by SFAA, April 8-10, 1949, includes letters to organizer Douglas MacAgy regarding arrangements, publicity, and comments, including several from participants Gregory Bateson, Kenneth Burke, George Boas, Marcel Duchamp, Alfred Frankenstein, Norman Bel Geddes, Robert Goldwater, Darius Milhaud, Andrew Ritchie, Arnold Schoenberg, Mark Tobey, and Frank Lloyd Wright; Abstract of Proceedings; transcripts of the meeting edited by participants; clippings; and photographs. The microfilm also includes papers of Douglas MacAgy; and correspondence, clippings, and photographs of artists' models for the San Francisco Art Institute.
REELS 4962-4963: Files, primarily correspondence, from the director, J. Nilsen Laurvik, from the 43rd (1919) and 44th (1920) San Francisco Art Association Annual Art Exhibition of the Works of American Artists, pertaining to its organization, promotion and administration; and additional material relating to the "Western Round Table on Modern Art," including transcripts from the Apr. 8th session edited by participants, some with notes and letters, and a final draft of an edited version; a scrapbook of publicity clippings on the Round Table; and 30 photographs taken during the conference.
Also included are 9 audio cassettes (copied from original Webcor wire recordings) of the entire proceedings of the "Western Roundtable."
Biographical / Historical:
The San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) was founded in 1871 and incorporated in 1889. The California School of Design was established under the auspices of SFAA in 1874, changing its name to the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in 1893 after the Mark Hopkins mansion was given to SFAA. It became the San Francisco Institute of Art in 1907, and the California School of Fine Arts in 1917. From 1916-1924, SFAA retained the Palace of Fine Arts, which had been part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. In 1921, SFAA incorporated the San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMA) into its administration although each retained autonomy. In 1961, SFAA merged with the School and was renamed the San Francisco Art Institute. A change in the constitutional by-laws officially dissolved the SFAA in 1966, leaving the SFAI and the SFMA. In 1976, SFMA changed its name to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
On April 8-10, 1949, the SFAA sponsored the Western Round Table of Modern Art, organized by Douglas MacAgy for the purpose of bringing together a representation of the best informed opinion to discuss questions about art of the day.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1977-1987 by the San Francisco Art Institute. The sound recordings were borrowed from the San Francisco Art Institute, recorded on cassette in 1987 and then the orginal wire tapes were subsequently returned to the San Francisco Art Institute.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- San Francisco Search this
An interview of Richard Diebenkorn conducted 1985 May 1-1987 December 15, by Susan Larsen, for the Archives of American Art.
Diebenkorn speaks of his family background and early life; his education and his service in the Marine Corps; his introduction to modernism; his early abstract work; the formation of the Bay Area figurative school and the relationship between art in New York and in the Bay Area; teaching; critical and public reaction to his work; important exhibitions of his work; vacillating between the figurative and the abstract in his painting; his working methods. He recalls Daniel Mendelowitz, Erle Loran, Raymond Jonson, David Park, and Elmer Bischoff.
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) was a painter from California.
General:
Originally recorded on 10 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 16 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 43 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. [Another interview of Diebenkorn was donated by Larsen, 1977].
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Painting, Abstract -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Painting -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area -- 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.
Business correspondence; manuscript material; 2 financial log books kept by Oldfield and his widow, 1927-1974; 3 photo albums, one with photos of Oldfield, Ralph Stackpole and Homer Groninger, and 2 albums of works, 1924-1948; loose photos of works, of Oldfield, Yun Gee, Ralph Stackpole, Rinaldo Cuneo, Helen Oldfield, Marcel Roche and others, 1921-1957; 3 scrapbooks, 1910-1940, including catalogs and announcements, manuscript and printed material, clippings, and correspondence with Beatrice Judd Ryan, Mildred Taylor, Alice Chittenden, Lucien Labaudt and Maynard Dixon; clippings; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, teacher; San Francisco, California. Oldfield went to Paris in 1909 where he studied briefly at the Academie Julian. He remained in France until 1924, serving in the French army during World War I, and after the war was exhibiting at the Salon des Independents and the Salon d' Automne. He taught at the California School of Fine Arts, 1925-1942, and became known for his talents as a bookbinder as well as painter. He taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts, 1945-1951 and privately until his death.
Provenance:
Material lent for microfilming 1975 by Helen Oldfield, widow of Oldfield.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- San Francisco Search this
