The Ann W. Heymann interviews with artists measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1974 to 1985. Heymann conducted interviews with 47 artists from the San Francisco Bay Area, Miami area, Arkansas, and New Orleans. The interviews were done in preparation for articles and writings published in or submitted to Art Voices/South and other publications; the Miami interviews were live radio broadcasts. Most of the interviews contain biographical information, artists' statements, and political and social attitudes.
Scope and Contents:
The Ann W. Heymann interviews with artists measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1974 to 1985. Heymann conducted interviews with 47 artists from the San Francisco Bay Area, Miami area, Arkansas, and New Orleans. The interviews were done in preparation for articles and writings published in or submitted to Art Voices/South and other publications; the Miami interviews were live radio broadcasts. Most of the interviews contain biographical information, artists' statements, and political and social attitudes.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the items are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Ann W. Heymann interviewed artists in San Francisco, California and Miami, Florida, Arkansas, and Louisiana in preparation for articles and writings published in or submitted to Art Voices/South and other publications.
Provenance:
Donated in 1993 by Ann W. Heymann.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Archival audiovisual recordings must be digitized for research access. Researchers may access digitized audiovisual materials in the Archives' Washington, D.C. or New York, N.Y. Research Centers by appointment. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
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.
Topic:
Artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area -- Interviews Search this
Artists -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Ann W. Heymann interviews of artists, 1974-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The papers of Cuban born painter, sculptor, cartoonist, and illustrator Enrique Riverón measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1918-1990s. The collection contains correspondence, writings, diary entries, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs documenting Riverón's career as an illustrator, cartoonist, painter and sculptor in the United States and Cuba and, to a lesser extent, Riverón's teaching career at Wichita University in Kansas.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Cuban born painter, sculptor, cartoonist, and illustrator Enrique Riverón measure 3.3 linear feet, date from 1918-1990s and document Riverón's career as an illustrator, cartoonist, painter and sculptor in the United States and Cuba and, to a lesser extent, his teaching career at Wichita University in Kansas. The collection includes correspondence, the majority of which concerns Riverón's exhibitions; writings, primarily Riverón's recollections of his trips to Paris and Madrid and his memories of people he met in Latin America, Europe, and the United States; printed material documenting exhibitions and Riverón's work for magazines such as Cine-Mudial and Bally-Hoo; and photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into eight series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1929-1960 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1918-1991 (box 1, 0.6 ft.)
Series 3: Writings, 1923-1980s, undated (box 1, 0.2 ft.)
Series 4: Scrapbooks, 1920s-1990s, undated (boxes 1, 3, and 4, 0.7 ft.)
Series 5: Artwork, 1958-1983, undated (boxes 1 and 5, 0.4 ft.)
Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1930-1992 (boxes 2 and 5, 0.7 ft.)
Series 7: Photographs, 1918-1992, undated (boxes 2, 5 and 6, 0.6 ft.)
Series 8: Miscellany, 1927-1989, undated (box 6, 7 folders)
Biographical Note:
Painter, sculptor, cartoonist, and illustrator Enrique Riverón was born in 1902 in Cienfuegos, Cuba and belonged to the first generation of Cuban modernists, experimenting with Cubism and pursuing abstraction from very early on in his career. During his early twenties Riverón traveled to France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain to study under scholarships and attend the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid. In 1926 Riverón's first major one-man exhibition took place at the Association Paris Amerique Latine where the catalog introduction was written by noted Mexican writer Alfonso Reyes.
In 1927 Riverón returned to Havana and had a one-man show of his European work at the Asociación de Pintores y Escultores, as well as several other shows in Havana and New York. He moved to the United States in 1930 and became a United States citizen in 1943.
In addition to being known for his naturalistic drawings of street life in Paris and Cuba, Riverón began working with collage in the 1930s and was, for a number of years, a cartoonist for newspapers in Havana and other publications such as The New Yorker and Cine Mundial which was published in New York and widely circulated in Latin America. He also worked in Hollywood for a time as an illustrator for Walt Disney Pictures.
From 1940 on, Riverón focused on painting and sculpture. He moved to Miami from Wichita, Kansas, in 1964. Enrique Riverón died in 1998.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art also has a collection of Enrique Riverón letters to Mario Carreño, 1981-1990, in which Riverón writes of their mutual friends, his memories of Cuba, health issues, politics, pricing paintings, collages, and his longings for Paris and New York.
Provenance:
The Enrique Riverón papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Patricia Riverón Lee, daughter of Riverón, in 1996.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
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.
The Felix Gonzalez-Torres letters to Maria Martinez-Cañas date from circa 1988 to 1992, and measure 0.01 linear feet. The collection consists of three letters artist Gonzalez-Torres wrote to his close friend Martinez-Canas, providing a glimpse into their friendship.
Biographical / Historical:
Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996) was a Cuban American conceptual artist who worked mostly in New York city and Miami, Florida. Maria Martinez-Cañas is a photographer and was Gonzalez-Torres's friend and colleague.
Provenance:
Donated in 2023 by Maria Martinez-Cañas.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
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.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Conceptual artists -- Florida -- Miami Search this
The records of the Frances Wolfson Art Gallery measure 5 linear feet and date from 1973 to 1994. The Gallery was established in 1976 on the Mitchell Wolfson New World Center Campus of the Miami-Dade Community College. It focused on the art of the local Latino community in addition to serving the needs of the College's arts and humanities students. Materials document exhibitions held at the Gallery and the general administration of the Gallery through correspondence, business records and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the Frances Wolfson Art Gallery comprise 5 linear feet of material dating from 1973 to 1994. The collection contains correspondence, routine business records, exhibition files, notes, printed material, and photographs of artists, installations, and works of art, and is arranged into seven series according to material type. The bulk of the material relates to exhibitions held at the Gallery from 1977 to 1992 in exhibition files measuring 4.5 linear feet. The general administration of the Gallery is also partially documented through business records and correspondence files.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series according to material type. Records are arranged chronologically unless otherwise noted.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1976-1994 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Business Records, 1981-1993 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Notes, 1973-1987 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1992, undated (Boxes 1-5; 4.5 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1974-1994 (Box 5; 5 folders)
Series 6: Color Transparencies of Artwork, 1983-1990 (Box 5; 10 items)
Biographical / Historical:
The Frances Wolfson Art Gallery was established in 1976 on the Mitchell Wolfson New World Center Campus of the Miami-Dade Community College. It focused on the art of the local Latino community in addition to serving the needs of the College's arts and humanities students. Exhibitions and lectures reflected four major areas of emphasis: the Latino community, the Black community, the relationship of art, architecture and culture to the quality of contemporary urban civilization, and the best of new artists presented in solo or cohesive group exhibitions.
Director from 1978 to 1981, Roberta Griffin was followed in that position by Sheldon Lurie in September 1981 until his death in October 1990.
In the spring of 1987, the Frances Wolfson Art Gallery implemented an active exhibition program at the InterAmerican Center in the form of the InterAmerican Art Gallery. Located in the Little Havana section of Miami, the major thrust of this gallery is Hispanic art, reflecting the interests and needs of the surrounding community.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by the Miami-Dade Community College in 1997
Restrictions:
Use of unmicrofilmed material in the holdings of the Archives of American Art requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C., facility.
Rights:
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.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Florida -- Miami -- Exhibitions Search this
The papers of Miami art critic Helen Kohen date from 1978 through 1996 and contain letters, postcards, exhibition announcements and invitations, seventy-six untranscribed interviews of artists, dealers, and collectors in the Miami area, and two event recordings.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historian and critic Helen L. Kohen measure one linear foot and date from 1976 through 1996. They consist primarily of letters, postcards, exhibition announcements and invitations from artists in the Miami area. Also found are eighty-two mini cassette tapes of seventy-six interviews Kohen conducted with art dealers, collectors, contemporary artists, and others in the Miami area as research and background for her newspaper column and other articles. Also included are two event recordings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1954, 1984-1993, undated (Box 1, 10 folders)
Series 2: Printed Material, 1979-1996, undated (Box 1, 3 folders)
Series 3: Photographs, 1969, 1974, 1980-1994 (Box 1, 1 folder)
Series 4: Miscellany, 1983-1992, undated (Box 1 , 1 folder)
Series 5: Taped Interviews, 1986-1996, undated (Box 1, 1 folder and 82 micro-cassettes)
Biographical Note:
Art historian and critic Helen L. Kohen has authored numerous articles on contemporary art focusing on the formation of the art culture in Miami since the early 1980s. Helen L. Kohen is art critic emeritus for the The Miami Herald newspaper in Miami, Florida.
Provenance:
Helen L. Kohen donated her papers to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution in 1997.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
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.
The Hernán García papers measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1981 through 1996. Found are letters, a résumé, printed material, and a photograph that provide information about the life and career of this Cuban-born Miami artist.
Scope and Content Note:
This small collection consists primarily of letters concerning both personal and professional affairs. Correspondents include Anthony A. Ardavin, Agustín Eschevarria, Antonia Eiriz, Guido Llinás, Adolfo V. Nodal, and others. A number of letters concern biennials and upcoming exhibitions. Of special interest is a 1995 letter sent to García from the creators of the Memoria project, funded by The Getty, to document the work of Cuban artists living in the United States. Also found is one letter by Hernán García to the Kreisler Art Gallery in Madrid regarding his artwork. This small collection also contains scattered exhibition announcements and catalogs, including ones for the exhibitions Obra Puertorriqueña de Artistas Cubanos and Artistes Cubains en Amérique du Nord. Clippings, a résumé, and one black and white photograph of Hernán García are also found.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, undated (Box 1, 1 folder)
Series 2: Letters, 1987-1996 (Box 1, 10 folders)
Series 3: Printed Materials, 1981-1996, undated (Box 1, 2 folders)
Series 4: Photograph, undated (Box 1, 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Born in 1935 in Havana, García graduated from the Escuela de Publicidad de la Habana as a graphic designer. The artist was exiled in Spain and Puerto Rico where he studied illustration and painting before settling in Miami, Florida.
Provenance:
Hernán García donated his papers in 1997 to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
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.
The papers of Cuban born American painter Humberto Dionisio measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1919 to 1990. The collection primarily documents Dionisio's relationships with his family, particularly his mother, through letters, photographs, financial records, printed material, and family memorabilia collected by Dionisio himself and by his mother, Zaida Ortega Dominguez.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection measures 2.7 linear feet, dates from 1919 to 1990, and includes letters, photographs, financial records, printed material, and family memorabilia. The papers of Dionisio primarily document his relationships with other family members and friends through photographs and letters received from his mother, Zaida Ortega Dominguez, and others. The collection also contains papers, photographs and original sketches (by Dominguez) collected by Dominguez herself which were in Dionisio's care. Papers relating specifically to Dionisio's work as an artist are represented to a lesser degree in this collection and consist primarily of printed material and photographs of Dionisio at work and at an exhibition of his work. There is also one original watercolor by Dionisio from 1985.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series. Each series is arranged into subseries according to record type.
Missing Title
Series 1: Humberto Dionisio Papers, 1926-1990, undated (Boxes 1-3; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 2: Zaida Ortega Dominguez Papers, 1919-circa 1980s, undated (Boxes 4-6; 0.9 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Humberto Dionisio was born in Cuba in 1950. During the 1970s he became a noted poster artist and completed his studies in Graphic Design at the Consejo Nacional de Cultura in Cuba in 1975. He arrived in Miami, Florida, via the Mariel boat lift in 1980, and achieved success in Miami as a painter from the mid to late 1980s. He died in March 1987 at the age of thirty-six.
Provenance:
The Humberto Dionisio papers were donated by Jim Kitchens, a friend of Dionisio, in 1996.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
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.
Margarita Cano's papers measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1983-1985. The collection primarily concerns the 1983 exhibition The Miami Generation, 9 Cuban-American Artists, an exhibition organized by The Cuban Museum of Art in Culture in cooperation with the Miami-Dade Public Library System and for which Cano served as Project Director. Curated by Guilio V. Blanc, the exhibition included work by Mario Bencomo, Maria Brito-Avellana, Humberto Calzada, Pablo Cano, Emilio Falero, Fernando Garcia, Juan Gonzalez, Carlos Macia, and Cesar Trasobares. The exhibition traveled to Meridian House International in Washington, DC and later to Philadelphia at the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies in 1985. Found are two files of correspondence, exhibition planning and publicity files, a catalog, checklist, and photocopied news clippings. Most of the documents are photocopies. There is also one folder of slides and photographs of works of art in the exhibition.
Scope and Content Note:
Margarita Cano's papers measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1983-1985. The collection primarily concerns the 1983 exhibition The Miami Generation, 9 Cuban-American Artists; an exhibition organized by The Cuban Museum of Art in Culture in cooperation with the Miami-Dade Public Library System for which Cano served as Project Director. Curated by Guilio V. Blanc, the exhibition included work by Mario Bencomo, Maria Brito-Avellana, Humberto Calzada, Pablo Cano, Emilio Falero, Fernando Garcia, Juan Gonzalez, Carlos Macia, and Cesar Trasobares. The exhibition traveled to Meridian House International in Washington, DC and, later, to Philadelphia at the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies in 1985. Found are two files of correspondence, exhibition planning and publicity files, a catalog, checklist, and photocopied news clippings. Most of the documents are photocopies. There is also one folder of slides and photographs of works of art in the exhibition.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Exhibition Files, 1983-1985 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Born in 1932 in Havana, Cuba, Margarita Cano began her studies at the University of Havana. She left Cuba in 1962 to settle in Miami and later became director of arts for the Miami-Dade County Public Library. The arts programs she initiated focused on the work of African-American and Cuban-American artists and eventually led to the establishment of a permanent collection at the library. An artist herself, Cano's artwork focuses on Cuban scenes painted on wood in a miniature style. In 1983 she served as project director for the exhibition The Miami Generation: Nine Cuban-American Artists (La Generacion de Miami: Nueve Artistas Cubano Americanos), curated by Latin American curator and scholar, Guilio Blanc.
Provenance:
Margarita Cano donated her papers in 1997 to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
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.
An interview of Arturo Rodríguez conducted 1997 November 14, by Juan A. Martínez, in Rodriquez's home/studio, Miami, Fla., for the Archives of American Art.
Rodriguez speaks of his birthplace, Ranchuelo, Cuba, his early interest in drawing, his move to Madrid at 16, and his self-directed art education. He discusses the intertwined relationship of literature, poetry, and music. He comments on Spanish realists such as Antonio Lopez Quintanilla and American expressionists Willem de Kooning and others. He also recalls his exhibitions and art collectors, particularly Judith and William Ladner. He describes his paintings as a combination of expressionism, realism, surrealism, abstraction, and a pessimistic vision of the human condition.
Biographical / Historical:
Arturo Rodríguez (1956- ) is a painter from Miami, Fla. Rodriguez is a self-taught artist born in Cuba. His wife is the painter, Demi.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 17 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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Expatriate artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Florida -- Miami Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Arturo Rodríguez, 1997 November 14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Expatriate artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Cundo Bermúdez conducted 1997 December 13, by Juan A. Martínez, in Bermudez's home/studio, Miami, Florida, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Cundo Bermúdez (1914-2008) was a Cuban American painter. Born in Havana, 1914.
General:
Originally recorded 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 45 min.
Poor sound quality.
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:
Painters -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Expatriate artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Florida -- Miami Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Cundo Bermúdez, 1997 December 13. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Expatriate artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
