Interview of Karl Schrag conducted 1970 October 14-20, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Schrag speaks of his childhood in Germany; how his parents were nervous about him becoming an artist; going to various art schools; studying with Bissiere; his first exhibition in Brussels; moving to America because of the political situation in Europe; enrolling in the Art Students League; getting involved with Atelier 17; how the mid-1940s were crucial in his development; American artists he found interesting; his thoughts on the Abstract Expressionists; how he started teaching; joining Tamarind workshop; his first retrospective, the Ford Foundation-A.F.A Show; being on the Fulbright jury; how his pictures relate to each other; his technique; and becoming the Director of Atelier 17. He recalls Andre L'Hote, Roger Bissiere, Harry Sternberg, Anton Refregier, William Kienbusch, Fred Farr, Carroll Cloar, John Sloan, Maurice Becker, Stanley William Hayter, Yves Tanguy, Bohuslav Horak, Robert Broner, Margaret Lowenbraun, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Karl Schrag (1912-1995) was a painter and printmaker from New York, N.Y.
General:
Tape 2 is mostly blank.
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 25 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
The collection documents the career of Bolivian born painter and illustrator, Antonio Sotomayor, his interest in Latin American art and artists, and his association with the San Francisco arts community. Materials found in the collection include letters, writings, sketches and sketchbooks, printed material and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection documents the career of Bolivian born painter and illustrator, Antonio Sotomayor, his interest in Latin American art and artists, and his association with the San Francisco arts community.
The collection consists primarily of correspondence, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs documenting Sotomayor's career, his interest in Latin American art and artists, and his association with the San Francisco arts community.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1931-1988, undated (box 1, 21 folders)
Series 2: Writings, 1932-1946, undated (box 1, 11 folders)
Series 3: Artwork, 1935, undated (box 1, 23 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1935-1987 (boxes 1-2, 12 folders)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1920-1984, undated (box 2, 13 folders)
Series 6: Oversized Material, 1941, 1958, undated (2 OV folders)
Biographical Note:
Antonio Sotomayor was born in Bolvia and came to San Francisco in 1923. He was educated at the Escuela de Belleas Arts in La Paz and the Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco. Primarily known for his murals and paintings, Sotomayor was also an illustrator, caricaturist, designer, ceramicist, and educator. Over the course of his career his work was exhibited in the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and South America and he became known as the popular "artist laureate" of San Francisco where he lived with his wife, Grace. He died of cancer in 1985 at the age of 82.
Provenance:
The Antonio Sotomayor papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Grace Sotomayor in 1998.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Cartoonists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Muralists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
