New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Richard Ayer, 1964 September 26. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview of Ralph Chessé, 1964 October 22. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Coit Memorial Tower (San Francisco, Calif.) Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with George Gaethke, 1964 Sept. 26. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John Emmett Gerrity, 1965 Jan. 20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Marcelle Labaudt, 1964 Sept. 16. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ernest Lenshaw, 1964 May 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ben Cunningham, 1964 October 24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Charles Mattox, 1964 Apr. 9. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ray Strong, 1993 September 14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
Muralists -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
An interview of George Gaethke conducted 1964 Sept 26 by Mary McChesney for the Archives of American Art.
Gaethke speaks of his background and art training in California and Chicago; his work on the Coit Tower murals; working on a mosaic under the Federal Art Project; printmaking under the FAP; his post-FAP career. He recalls Maxine Albro and Ray Bertrand.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, printmaker, mosaicist, mural painter; San Francisco, Calif.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
An interview of Ben Cunningham conducted 1964 October 24, by Harlan Phillips for the Archives of American Art.
Cunningham speaks of his early career in San Francisco during the Depression; the art market there; working as a muralist in the Federal Art Project; political and media problems encountered by the project, including strikes by workers; the work of the Index of American Design in California; working on naval architecture during Work War II; and his philosophies about painting. He recalls Joseph Danysh, William Gaskin, and Hilaire Hiler.
Biographical / Historical:
Ben Cunningham (1904-1975) was a painter, educator, and mural painter in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 8 min.
Sound quality is poor.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
A transcript of an interview of Edith Hamlin conducted by Donald J. Hagerty for the American Studies Program at the University of California at Davis, November 29, 1979 - March 4, 1980. Hamlin discusses her career and the life and works of her husband Maynard Dixon. Also included are photographs of Hamlin and her works of art.
Biographical / Historical:
Hamlin: mural painter; b. 1902. Active in California and Southwestern U.S. during the period from 1920-1946. She was a major figure in the San Francisco art scene in the 20's and worked for the WPA and the PWAP during the Depression.
Provenance:
Donated 1982 by Donald J. Hagerty.
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.
Topic:
Muralists -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Marcelle Labaudt conducted 1964 Sept. 16, by Mary McChesney, for the Archives of American Art.
The interview concerns Marcelle Labaudt's husband, the painter, muralist and educator Lucien Labaudt.
Biographical / Historical:
Marcelle Labaudt (1892-1987) was a gallery owner in San Francisco, Calif. Widow of Lucien Labaudt. She founded the Lucien Labaudt Gallery after his death in 1943.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav files. Duration is 50 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Names:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
29 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1964 May 19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Ernest Lenshaw conducted 1964 May 19, by Mary McChesney, for the Archives of American Art.
Interview was conducted at the artist's home in San Francisco, Calif.
Biographical / Historical:
Ernest Lenshaw (1892- ) was a muralist in San Francisco, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 1 min.
Sound quality is good, but the repair of frequent splices has caused lost words and broken sentences throughout the interview.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Ray Strong conducted 1993 September 14, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's studio, in Santa Barbara, California. Strong discusses his family background and early art education; his move to San Francisco and contact with Jimmy Swinnerton, Maynard Dixon, and Frank Van Sloun; studying at California School of Fine Arts; his feeling of responsibility for art and nature; his murals at the Bohemian Club in San Francisco, 1934; and his involvement with socialist causes.
Biographical / Historical:
Ray Strong (1905-2006) was a painter and mural painter from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 30 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:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
Muralists -- California -- San Francisco -- 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 of Ralph Chessé conducted 1964 October 22, by Mary McChesney for the Archives of American Art.
Chessé speaks of his background and early interest in art; experimenting in puppetry; his first involvement with the WPA mural project; working on frescos for Coit Tower; technical aspects of the work; subject matter for frescos and how it was chosen; the importance of the Federal Art Project in that period in art history; political problems with the Federal Art Project; switching to the Federal Theater Project; some of the work he did for the Federal Theater Project; building and operating marionettes; his work in silkscreen; the WPA's value and contribution. He recalls Lucien Labaudt.
Biographical / Historical:
Ralph Chessé (1900-1991) was a mural painter and puppeteer, in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 11 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This transcript is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Coit Memorial Tower (San Francisco, Calif.) Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
1 Sound tape reel (Sound recordings, 5 in.)
24 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tape reels
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1965 Jan. 20
Scope and Contents:
An interview of John Emmett Gerrity conducted 1965 Jan. 20, by Mary McChesney, for the Archives of American Art. Gerrity speaks of his background and education; working as a watercolorist and a mural painter for the WPA Federal Art Project; his work methods; the effect of the FAP on him and on other artists of the San Francisco Bay area; and the influence of the Mexican muralists.
Biographical / Historical:
John Emmett Gerrity (1895-1980) was a painter and mural painter from Berkeley, Calif.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Charles Mattox conducted 1964 Apr. 9, by Lewis Ferbraché, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Mattox (1910-1996) was a muralist in San Francisco, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav files. Duration is 59 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Richard Ayer conducted 1964 September 26, by Mary McChesney, for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project.
Ayer speaks of his "haphazard" education, including study with Hilaire Hiler; his work assisting Victor Mikhail Arnautoff on frescos in the Presidio Chapel; the WPA easel painting project in San Francisco; and the Aquatic Park Building mural program, 1934. He recalls some of the artists associated with the Aquatic Park project. He also discusses the Ostwald and Hiler color theories and Herman Volz's mural for the Treasure Island Federal Building.
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Ayer (1909-1967) was a mural painter from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 52 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
