An interview of Herbert Palmer conducted 2004 Dec. 6 and 22, by Susan Ehrlich, for the Archives of American Art, in West Hollywood, Calif.
Palmer discusses his family background and childhood in New York City; early exposure to art exhibitions; music appreciation; attending New York University; taking classes with Winhold Reiss, Meyer Shapiro, Richard Offner, and Heinrich Wolfflin; his master's thesis on Paul Cezanne's paintings of Mount Saint Victoire; moving to California; learning to fly; meeting Lillian, his wife; founding Feigen-Palmer Gallery with Richard Feigen; other galleries in the area, including Irving Blum, David Stuart, Felix Landau, Charles Garabedian, and Joan Ankrum; Monday Night Art Walks; John Cage and David Tudor performance pieces; the many artists he's exhibited; Andy Warhol's "The Kiss"; 1968 split with Richard Feigen to become the Herbert Palmer Gallery; the theft of a Picasso sculpture in Dec. 1981 and the ensuing legal case, which involved numerous galleries and collectors; his longstanding friendships with Gordon Onslow Ford, Lee Mullican, and Wolfgang Paalen; membership to the Art Dealers Association of California; and his enjoyment of discovering art, old and new. Palmer also recalls Henriette Riess, Harold Stevenson, Lucienne Bloch, Bridget Riley, Vasa Mihich, Maillol, Red Grooms, Norman Bluhm, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Herbert Palmer (1915-2006) owned the Herbert Palmer Gallery of West Hollywood, Calif. Interviewer Susan Ehrlich is an art historian from Beverly Hills, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 mini discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 35 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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Patricia Faure, 2004 Nov. 17-24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Irving Blum Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.) Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert Palmer, 2004 Dec. 6-22. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
1 Item (Sound recording, master: 6 sound discs (5 hrs. and 20 min.) : digital ; 2 5/8 in)
104 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2004 Nov. 17-24
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Patricia Faure conducted 2004 Nov. 17-24, by Susan Ehrlich, for the Archives of American Art, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Faure spoke about her early childhood in Wisconsin and the family's move to California; attending Hollywood High and meeting young stars; modeling; working for Vincent Price on Saturday's during high school; moving to New York for her modeling career; her first husband Philip Peyton; classes at the New School of Social Research, New York; meeting Joseph Cornell; her return to Los Angeles in the early 1950s; Riko Mizuno and other galleries in operation before she opened Asher-Faure;photography; her marriage to Jacques Faure and living in France; her daughter Zazu, born 1965; working for Nick Wilder, and the numerous artists and actors she met through his gallery; opening Asher-Faure with Betty Asher; the growth of galleries and art museums in Southern California; collectors; art writers, including Christopher Knight, Suzanne Muchnic, David Pagel, Leah Ollman, and Holly Meyers; her shows that combine a New York gallery and an artist from that gallery, for example the André Emmerich Gallery and Franz Kline or Philip Guston; the other businesses in Bergamont Station; her enjoyment of putting up a show; dogs bringing their owners into her gallery space; the independence of the art market from the stock market; and how she has profited in many ways from this journey. Faure also recalls Man Ray, Rico Lebrun, Frank Sinatra, Larry Rivers, Ed Moses, Billy Al Bengston, John Altoon, Sam Francis, Irving Blum, Peggy Moffit, Bill Claxton, Felix Landau, Everett Ellin, Maurice Tuchman, Rona Pondick, Jo Baer, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Patricia Faure (1928-2008) was a gallery owner from Los Angeles, Calif. Interviewer Susan Ehrlich: Art historian, Beverly Hills, Calif.
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.
A recording on two audio cassettes of "An Evening with the Los Angeles Modernists," November 7, 1990, held in conjunction with the exhibit "Turning the Tide: Early Los Angeles Moderns 1920-1950," organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California. Speakers include Susan Ehrlich, Paul Karlstrom, and artists Karl Benjamin, Jules Engel, Frederick Hammersley, June Wayne, and Lee Mullican.
Biographical / Historical:
Santa Barbara Museum of Art (established 1941) is an art museum in Santa Barbara, California.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Recordings of an interdisciplinary conference co-sponsored by Humanities West and the Archives of American Art, held in San Francisco, California, 1985 March 29-31, at the Asian Art Museum. The participants speak about the environment for the arts in Los Angeles during the 1940s. They include: architectural historian Reyner Banham, actor Claudia Barr, columnist Digby Diehl, art historian Susan Ehrlich, writer William Fadiman, actor Hal Haswell, coordinator Paul Karlstrom, professor Edward Kaufmann, actor Douglas Leach, choreographer Bella Lewitzky, architectural historian Esther McCoy, music historian Michael Meyer, dancer Iris Pell, film critic Robert Rosen, historian Kevin Starr, and music historians Leonard Stein and Michael Steinberg.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes.
Provenance:
Donated 1985 by Humanities West.
Collection Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Arts -- California -- Los Angeles -- History Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Sponsor:
Funding for the digital preservation of these recordings was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
