Search results for: Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988, page 1 | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution

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Ruth Bowman papers

Creator:: Bowman, Ruth, 1923- Search this

Names:: American Association of Museums Search this; American Federation of Arts Search this; Brooklyn Museum Search this; Canadian Museums Association Search this; Craft and Folk Art Museum Search this; KUSC (Radio station : Los Angeles, Calif.) Search this; Long Beach Museum of Art Search this; Los Angeles County Museum of Art Search this; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Search this; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) Search this; Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) Search this; New York University Search this; Newark Museum Search this; WNYC (Radio station : New York, N.Y.) Search this; Albers, Josef Search this; Anshutz, Thomas Pollock, 1851-1912 Search this; Bengelsdorf, Rosalind, 1916-1979 Search this; Bolotowsky, Ilya, 1907-1981 Search this; Burkhardt, Hans Gustav, 1904-1994 Search this; Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906 Search this; Diller, Burgoyne, 1906-1965 Search this; Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916 Search this; Ferren, John, 1905-1970 Search this; Holty, Carl, 1900-1973 Search this; Holtzman, Harry Search this; Lassaw, Ibram, 1913-2003 Search this; Levine, Les, 1935- Search this; Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973 Search this; MacDonald, Duncan (Broadcaster) Search this; Mason, Alice Trumbull, 1904-1971 Search this; McNeil, George, 1908-1995 Search this; Morris, George L. K., 1905-1975 Search this; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 Search this; Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973 Search this; Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967 Search this; Sloan, Helen Farr, 1911-2005 Search this; Wilfred, Thomas, 1889-1968 Search this

Extent:: 26.7 Linear feet; 21.99 Gigabytes

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Gigabytes; Photographs; Interviews; Sound recordings; Scripts (documents)

Date:: 1936-2006; bulk 1963-1999

Summary:: The papers of art historian and museum educator Ruth Bowman are dated 1936-2006, bulk 1963-1999, and measure 26.7 linear feet and 21.99 GB. Professional correspondence and subject files document Bowman's relationships with colleagues and reflect her interests, activities including curatorial work, and accomplishments as a museum educator. Writings and related research materials include her thesis,"Thomas Pollock Anshutz, 1851-1912" (M.A., Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 1971), and unfinished projects. Also found are interviews conducted by Bowman with a wide range of individuals for a variety of purposes.

Scope and Contents:: The papers of art historian and museum educator Ruth Bowman are dated 1936-2006, bulk 1963-1999, and measure 26.7 linear feet and 21.99 GB. Professional correspondence and subject files document Bowman's relationships with colleagues and reflect her interests, activities including curatorial work, and accomplishments as a museum educator. Writing and related research materials include her thesis, "Thomas Pollock Anshutz, 1851-1912" (M.A., Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 1971), and unfinished projects. Also found are interviews conducted by Bowman with a wide range of individuals for a variety of purposes.

Biographical materials consist of certificates, resumes, and a few photographs of Ruth Bowman. Correspondence concerns Bowman's professional activities and interests. Among the most frequent correspondents are: American Association of Museums, Craft and Folk Art Museum (Los Angeles), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Museum of Modern Art.

Writings by Ruth Bowman, published and unpublished, include a thesis and articles about Thomas Pollock Anshutz, catalogs for American Federation of Arts and The Newark Museum exhibitions, lectures, as well as articles about museum education and visual arts programs. Research relates to her writings about Anshutz, and to unrealized projects concerning Anshutz, Cézanne, Eakins, Picasso, and other subjects. Also found are two brief writings about Bowman.

Subject files--general subjects, artists' files, Ruth Bowman activities, and "Sunrise Semester"--contain the majority of Bowman's professional correspondence along with printed material, writings, photographs, and sound recordings. Among the most thoroughly documented general subjects are: The Brooklyn Museum's Trustees Retreat, Canadian Museums Association, a 1981 Craft Symposium, International Network for the Arts, Long Beach Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "Museum Directors' Forum", New York University Art Collection, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Council for the Arts. Artists' files are comprised mainly of printed material with a small amount of correspondence and some photographs. The Les Levine file consists of the first issue of Art-Rite featuring a brief article about Levine on its cover; Thomas Wilfred's file includes information about Lumia. Ruth Bowman activities include lectures, radio and television appearances, and participation in professional events. "Sunrise Semester," a collaboration between CBS television and New York University, offered early morning courses for college credit. Ruth Bowman was the instructor for "20th Century American Art," which is documented by general information, scripts, and sound recordings of all 46 classes.

Interviews conducted by Bowman are with English museum administrators and educators; people knowledgeable about a controversial proposal for an Annenberg Fine Arts Center at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; guests on KUSC radio shows "Sounds of Seeing" and "Live from Trump's"; and guests on the WNYC radio program "Views on Art." Interviews with miscellaneous individuals include Josef Albers, Hans Burkhardt, Carl Holty, Isamu Noguchi, and Helen Farr Sloan. Bowman interviewed a dozen American abstract artists, including Ilya Bolotowsky, Rosalind Bengelsdorf Browne, Burgoyne Diller, John Ferren, Carl Holty, Harry Holtzman, Ibram Lassaw, Jacques Lipchitz, Alice Mason, George McNeil, George L. K. Morris, and Ad Reinhardt for a thesis on the subject, but eventually wrote on a different topic. Two interviews with Bowman were conducted by Duncan MacDonald and an unidentified interviewer.

Arrangement:: This collection is arranged as 5 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1964-1984 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1963-1996 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings and Related Research, 1942-1999 (Boxes 1-3; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1936-2006 (Boxes 3-12, 26; 9.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Interviews, 1963-1989 (Boxes 12-25; 9.2 linear feet, ER01-ER70; 21.99 GB)

Biographical / Historical:: Ruth Bowman (b. 1923) is an art historian and museum educator who worked in New York City and Los Angeles. She is known for her interest in using new communications technology for museum education, discovering Arshile Gorky's long forgotten murals at Newark Airport, and expertise in the work of Thomas Anshutz.

A graduate of Bryn Mawr College (B.A. 1944), where she had studied art history and classical archaeology, Ruth Bowman began a museum career in New York as an assistant curator at the Jewish Museum in the early 1960s. From 1963-1974 Ruth Bowman served as curator of the York University Art Collection and was involved in its transition to the Grey Art Gallery and Study Center. Bowman wrote her master's thesis on Philadelphia artist Thomas Pollock Anshutz and received a degree from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University in 1971. During this same period, she was a staff lecturer at The Museum of Modern Art and taught art history in divisions of New York University. She was the instructor for a "Sunrise Semester" 20th century American art course broadcast nationally on CBS.

In 1974 Bowman and her family moved to California and she began an association with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as Director of Education. She attended summer courses in arts administration at Harvard University (1975) and similar training provided by the British Arts Council (1976). She taught at University of California Santa Barbara, as well as at California State University at Fullerton and Long Beach. Bowman was active in the Council of the American Association of Museums (vice president), the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles (vice president), and has served as a consultant to several museums and a corporate collection.

Ruth Bowman with her friend Harry Kahn (1916-1999) developed a collection of self-portraits by 20th century American artists, which she donated to the National Portrait Gallery in 2002. Mrs. Bowman is the widow of R. Wallace Bowman and currently resides in New York City.

Provenance:: Donated by Ruth Bowman in 2004.

Restrictions:: Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:: Research material including correspondence, writings and notes, photographs, and printed material on Cezanne, Thomas Eakins, and Picasso: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Ruth Bowman. Contact Reference Services for more information.; 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:: Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this; Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this

Topic:: Art -- Study and teaching Search this; Art, American -- 20th century Search this; Women art historians Search this; Women educators Search this

Genre/Form:: Photographs; Interviews; Sound recordings; Scripts (documents)

Citation:: Ruth Bowman papers, 1936-2006, bulk 1963-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:: AAA.bowmruth2

See more items in:: Ruth Bowman papers

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9199b569d-b2ba-4750-a774-41b9a20f8264

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-aaa-bowmruth2

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Dorothy C. Miller papers

Creator:: Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003 Search this

Names:: Betty Parsons Gallery Search this; Chase Manhattan Bank -- Art collections Search this; Federal Art Project Search this; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Search this; Mark Rothko Foundation Search this; Municipal Art Exhibition (1st : 1934 : New York, N.Y.) Search this; PepsiCo, Inc. Search this; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- Art collections Search this; Rockefeller University Search this; Smith College -- Students Search this; Smith College. Museum of Art Search this; World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.) -- Art collections Search this; Asher, Elise, 1914- Search this; Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981 Search this; Bontecou, Lee, 1931- Search this; Byars, James Lee Search this; Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960 Search this; Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976 Search this; Canady, John Search this; Charlton, Maryette Search this; Christo, 1935- Search this; Chryssa, 1933- Search this; Coggeshall, Calvert, 1907-1990 Search this; Copley, Alfred L. Search this; Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964 Search this; DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989 Search this; Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956 Search this; Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978 Search this; Gorky, Arshile, 1904-1948 Search this; Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898- Search this; Hartigan, Grace Search this; Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849 Search this; Horwitt, Will Search this; Johns, Jasper, 1930- Search this; Karpel, Bernard, 1911-1986 Search this; Levy, Julien Search this; Mather, Eleanore Price, 1910- Search this; Matisse, Pierre, 1900-1989 Search this; Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988 Search this; Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970 Search this; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 Search this; O'Keeffe, Georgia , 1887-1986 Search this; Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice), 1902-1971 Search this; Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973 Search this; Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008 Search this; Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967 Search this; Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 -- Art collections Search this; Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970 Search this; Sage, Kay Search this; Scharf, William, 1927- Search this; Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965 Search this; Sterne, Hedda, 1910-2011 Search this; Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980 Search this

Extent:: 34.6 Linear feet

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Photographs; Sketches; Christmas cards; Drawings

Date:: 1853-2013; bulk 1920-1996

Summary:: The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's private art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the World Trade Center, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Miller's work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files of her husband Holger Cahill about his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is a scattered documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Also found is Dorothy Miller's collection of artists' Christmas cards and photographs of Miller and others. An addition to the papers includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number professional files are included, the majority of the addition relates to her personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection.

Scope and Content Note:: The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York city. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Her work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files related to Miller's husband Holger Cahill and his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Artwork includes scattered sketches and drawings enclosed with correspondence and original Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists. Photographs of Miller date from 1926 - circa 1950.

Scattered biographical material mostly concerns Miller's education at Smith College and awards and honorary degrees that she received. Extensive correspondence and subject files document her professional and personal relationships with family, friends, colleagues, museums, art dealers and artists, as well as her research interests. Individual files may contain a mix of correspondence with, as well as about, the person or subject, compiled research documents, printed materials, and scattered photographs. Files are found for Lewin Alcopley, Alfred Barr, Betty Parsons Gallery, Cahill family members, Lee Bontecou, James Byars, Holger Cahill, Alexander Calder, Christo, Chryssa, Calvert Coggeshall, John Canaday, Maryette Charlton, Stuart Davis, Jay DeFeo, Lorser Feitelson, Arshile Gorky, Peggy Guggenheim, Grace Hartigan, Will Horwitt, Jasper Johns, Julien Levy, Pierre Matisse, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Isamu Nauchi, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Kay Sage, Charles Sheeler, Hedda Sterne, travel, Clyfford Still, William Scharf, among many others.

Detailed records of Miller's art consulting and advisory work for the Rockefeller family include correspondence with Nelson A. Rockefeller and David Rockefeller about building their personal collections of contemporary and folk art, meeting notes and minutes, research notes and writings, and printed materials. The largest group of records concerns the writing and publication of The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. Miller's curatorial work for David Rockefeller and the Rockefeller University's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall art collection is documented in Series 4 through curatorial files, correspondence, printed materials, photographs and slides, artists files, and design records.

Series 5 contains files relating to Miller's work as the first art consutant to the Chase Manhattan Bank and the building of the corporation's extensive collection of contemporary art. There is a draft of Miller's text for the bank's published catalog, Art At Work: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection. A smaller set of records is found in Series 6 documenting Miller's work on the Art Committee of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including files about selecting artwork for the World Trade Center during the early 1970s. Files concerning Miller's advisory work with additional public and private clients, boards, and commissions are arranged in Series 7 and 8 and concern the Amstar Corporation, Fidelity International Bank, First National Bank of Tampa, First National City Bank, Inmont Corporation, Pepsico, United Mutual Savings Bank, the Empire State Plaza Art Commission, the Hancock Shaker Village, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Mark Rothko Foundation, the Museum of American Folk Art, and the Smith College Museum of Art.

Miller's papers include a small group of files relating to the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP)created by her husband Holger Cahill when he was director of the FAP, Holger Cahill. A small series is devoted to Miller's work with Eleanore Price Mather researching and writing Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdom and Other Paintings. A series of general research files contain miscellaneous research notes and photographs related to Miller's interests in early American art and folk art. Series 12 contains important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center.

Works of art are primarily in the form of Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists including Elise Asher, Lyonel Feininger, Bernard Karpel, and Irene Rice Pereira. A small group of photographs includes photographs of Miller from 1926-circa 1950 and a few photographs of others.

The addition includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number of professional files are found here, the majority of material relates to Miller's personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection. Scattered correspondence, inventories, research, and notes created by curator and donor of the papers, Wendy Jeffers, are found throughout the collection. These materials date from the 1980s-2000s.

Arrangement:: The collection is arranged as 15 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1986 (Box 1; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence and Subject Files, circa 1912-1992 (Boxes 1-8, OV 27; 7.2 linear ft.)

Series 3: Rockefeller Family Art Collections, circa 1949-1985 (Boxes 8-12, 25; 3.9 linear ft.)

Series 4: Rockefeller University Collection, 1923-1984 (Boxes 12-13, OV 27; 1.0 linear ft.)

Series 5: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, 1959-circa 1985 (Boxes 13-14, 26; 1.4 linear ft.)

Series 6: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Art Committee, circa 1965-1987 (Boxes 14-15, OV 27; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 7: Other Corporate and Private Clients, 1968-1984 (Boxes 15-16; 1.3 linear ft.)

Series 8: Other Boards, Committees and Commissions, 1925, 1949-1985 (Boxes 16-20; 3.6 linear ft.)

Series 9: Works Project Administration Federal Art Project Files, 1935-1979 (Box 20, OV 27; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 10: Edward Hicks Catalog, 1934-1984 (Boxes 20-22; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 11: Research Files, 1930s-1980 (Boxes 22-23; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 12: Exhibition Files, 1932-1986 (Box 23; 0.6 linear ft.)

Series 13: Works of Art, circa 1924-circa 1982 (Boxes 23-25; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 14: Photographs, 1926-circa 1970s (Boxes 24-25; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 15: Addition to the Dorothy C. Miller Papers, 1853-2003, bulk 1920-1996 (Boxes 28-38, OVs 39-41; 9.9 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:: Dorothy Canning Miller (1904-2003) worked in New York City as a highly influential curator of contemporary and folk art at the Museum of Modern Art and as the first curator of the museum. Later, she was the primary art consultant for Nelson A. Rockefeller, the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Port Authority of and New Jersey. Dorothy Miller was also married to Holger Cahill, director of the WPA Federal Art Project.

Dorothy C. Miller was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts in 1904 and received her Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in 1925. She was first introduced to modern art through classes at the Newark Museum taught by John Cotton Dana and Holger Cahill. Miller joined the curatorial staff of the Newark Museum in 1926. The museum was one of the first to organize exhibitions of American folk art, American Primitives (1930-1931) and American Folk Sculpture (1931-1932). Miller worked with Cahill and others on the exhibition and developed a life-long interest in folk art.

After four years at the Newark Museum, Miller moved to New York city, hoping to get involved with the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and, likely, to be with Holger Cahill, with whom she lived with on 8th Street prior to their marriage in 1938. Between 1930 and 1932 she took odd jobs and worked with Mrs. Henry Lang cataloging, researching and installing Lang's collection of Native American art Lang donated to the Montclair Art Museum. At the same time, Holger Cahill was serving as Acting Director of the Museum of Modern Art during an absence of Director Alfred H. Barr. In 1932, Cahill asked Miller to assist him with curating the American Painting and Sculpture, 1862-1932 exhibition at MoMA, and together they also curated the First Municipal Art Exhibition, 1934 at the Rockefeller Center.

In 1934, Barr hired Miller as his assistant and one year later appointed her as MoMA's first curator. Miller spent the next 35 years organizing many of this country's most important exhibitions of contemporary art and building personal relationships with new artists and photographers, as well as the collections of MoMA. Miller retired from MOMA in 1969 and focused more on her art consulting work begun in the late 1950s.

Dorothy Miller's most notable client was Nelson A. Rockefeller. She assisted and advised Rockefeller as he acquired a vast personal collection of modern art - some of which was later donated to MoMA. Just prior to her retirement, Miller organized a large exhibition of Rockefeller's collection. The exhibition catalog written by Miller was the basis for the book she worked on with Rockefeller up until and following his death in 1979, ultimately published as The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. In the preface, Rockefeller credited Miller with being one of the four people to whom he was indebted "for the understanding and endless joy I have found in the collecting of modern art in all forms."

Miller also served as the primary art consultant for projects to furnish federal spaces, including Henry Kissinger's State Department office suite, and the official Vice-Presidential residence at the Admiral's House in Washington D.C.

In 1959 Miller was invited to join the art collection committee of the Chase Manhattan Bank and served on the committee until the mid-1980s, contributing her expertise to the development of one of this country's oldest and largest corporate collections of modern and contemporary art.

Miller was also an advisor to other members of the Rockefeller family, including David Rockefeller, and assisted with developing the art collections of Rockefeller Institute/University. From 1960 through the late 1980s Miller was a member of the art committee for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANJY) and was responsible for selecting much of the artwork for the World Trade Center in the 1970s. She served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Hancock Shaker Village, the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Empire State Plaza in Albany, Smith College Museum of Art, and the Museum of American Folk Art. She also became a member of the Mark Rothko Foundation Board of Directors after the litigation following Rothko's death between Rothko's executors and his daughter.

In the mid-1970s Miller assisted the Whitney Museum of American with planning an exhibition and supporting catalog of the work of folk artist Edward Hicks. Although the exhibition and catalog were only partially realized in 1980, Miller and Eleanore Price Mather compiled and published a book on Hicks, Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdoms and Other Paintings, published in 1983.

In 1982-1983 Miller received the Art Dealers Association Special Award, an honorary degree from Williams College, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture governor's award. In 1984 she was named honorary trustee of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1985 the Smith College Museum of Art honored her important contributions to museum connoisseurship with the exhibition Dorothy C. Miller: With An Eye to American Art.

Dorothy Miller died in 2003 at the age of 99 at her home in Greenwich, New York.

Related Material:: The Archives of American Art holds two oral history interviews with Dorothy C. Miller. The first was conducted by Paul Cummings between May 26, 1970 and September 28, 1971, and details Miller's life from childhood up to, and including, her years at the Museum of Modern Art. The second was conducted by Avis Berman on May 14, 1981 and covers Miller's relationships with Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still. Also found among the holdings of the Archives are the papers of Holger Cahill, Dorothy Miller's husband and colleague.

The Museum of Modern Art Achives holds Dorothy Miller's papers related to her curatorial work at the museum.

Provenance:: The collection was donated by Dorothy C. Miller via Wendy Jeffers between 1986 and 1997, and Reid White, Executor of Miller's estate, in 2004. Two subsequent additions were donated by Wendy Jeffers in 2014 and 2015.

Restrictions:: Use of original papers 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.

Occupation:: Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this

Topic:: Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this; Corporations -- Private collections Search this; Art -- Private collections Search this; Folk art Search this; Women museum curators Search this; Women art historians Search this

Genre/Form:: Photographs; Sketches; Christmas cards; Drawings

Citation:: Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:: Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:: AAA.milldoro

See more items in:: Dorothy C. Miller papers

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f1ed6cb6-f194-4b76-a8dd-fce3352c09b8

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-aaa-milldoro

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Oral history interview with Luchita Hurtado

Interviewee:: Hurtado, Luchita, 1920-2020 Search this

Interviewer:: Winter, Amy H. (Amy Harriet) Search this; Karlstrom, Paul J. Search this

Names:: Bloch, Lucienne, 1909-1999 Search this; D'Harnoncourt, Rene, 1901-1968 Search this; Kozloff, Joyce Search this; Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl, 1905- Search this; Mullican, Lee, 1919-1998 Search this; Mullican, Matt, 1951- Search this; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 Search this; Paalen, Wolfgang, 1907- Search this; Varda, Jean Search this; Wescher, Mary Search this; Wescher, Paul, 1894- Search this

Extent:: 4 Sound cassettes (Sound recording (4 hrs., 15 min.), analog); 120 Pages (Transcript)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Sound cassettes; Pages

Date:: 1994 May 1-1995 Apr. 13

Scope and Contents:: An interview of Venezuelan born American paitner, Luchita Hurtado, conducted 1994 May 1-1995 Apr. 13, by Amy Winter and Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project.; 1994 May 1 session: The interview focuses on Hurtado's family background; years with her second husband, artist and collector Wolfgang Paalen; the surrealist artist group, Dynaton, living and traveling in Mexico with Paalen, moving to San Francisco and her relationships with artists, collectors; influences on her painting; and Surrealism. Among those mentioned are Rufino and Olga Tamayo, Isamu Noguchi, Gordon Onslow Ford, Jacqueline Johnson, Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varos, Leonora Carrington, Edward James, Lucienne Bloch, Stephen Dimitroff, Grace McCann Morley, Sybil Moholy-Nagy, Jack and Frank Stauffacher, James Broughton, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Julius Karlebach, Herbert (Joe) Spinden, and Robert Motherwell.; April 13, 1995 session: Hurtado continues with a focus on the California years, discussing her reasons for settling there, the Dynaton group and her circle of friends; her third husband, Lee Mullican; the birth of her son Matthew Mullican; her work; California and Mexican imagery; importance of experience and senses, particularly smell, to her creativity and work; importance of her family; and difficulties of pursuing art as a career for a woman, wife and mother; and life in Taos, N.M. She recalls Jean Varda, Shiela and Giles Healey, Mary and Paul Wescher, and Joyce Kozloff.

Biographical / Historical:: Luchita Hurtado (1920-2020) was a painter from Santa Monica, Calif. and Arroyo Seco, N.M. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela.

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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.

Restrictions:: Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:: Painters -- California Search this; Painters -- New Mexico Search this

Topic:: Surrealism Search this; Latino and Latin American artists Search this; Women artists Search this; Women painters Search this

Sponsor:: The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

Identifier:: AAA.hurtad94

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw910b296f3-4547-441b-bfe3-61b8aa7c45e7

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-aaa-hurtad94

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No Image Available

Jacques Lipchitz papers

Creator:: Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973 Search this; Bassett, Bruce W. Search this

Names:: Buchholz Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Search this; Curt Valentin Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Search this; International Business Machines Corporation Search this; Marlborough Gallery Search this; Storm King Art Center Search this; Cortois, Jenny Search this; Frank, Mary, 1933- Search this; Fry, Annette Search this; Fry, Varian, 1907-1967 Search this; Gaspard, Leon, 1882-1964 Search this; Hay, Gyorgy Search this; Ingersoll, R. Sturgis (Robert Sturgis), b. 1891 Search this; Landau, Gregorio Search this; Larrea, Juan Search this; Larrea, Marianne Search this; Lipchitz, Yulla, 1911- Search this; Modigliani, Amedeo, 1884-1920 Search this; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 Search this; Rapoport, Nathan, 1911- Search this; Rodin, Auguste, 1840-1917 Search this; Soula, Camille, 1888- Search this; Starrels, Celeste Search this; Starrels, Joel Search this; Stott, Deborah Search this; Wilkinson, Alan G., 1941- Search this; Zorach, William, 1887-1966 Search this

Collection Creator:: Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973 Search this

Extent:: 9.5 Linear feet (Boxes 1-10, OV 11-12)

Type:: Archival materials; Interviews; Diaries; Motion pictures (visual works); Sound recordings; Scrapbooks; Sketches; Photographs; Video recordings

Date:: circa 1910-1999; bulk 1941-1999

Scope and Contents note:: The papers of sculptor Jacques Lipchitz measure 9.5 linear feet and are dated circa 1910-1999, with the bulk of the material from the period 1941-1999. Personal and professional correspondence comprises nearly half of the collection. It, along with biographical material, writings by and about Lipchitz, printed material, and photographs document Lipchitz's commissions, exhibitions, friendships, and interests. Also found are records relating to the compilation and production of The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné by Alan G. Wilkinson.

Biographical material includes an address book, biographical notes, membership cards, rent receipts and a lease, and a survey of Lipchitz's property in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

Correspondence is both professional and personal in nature. Approximately 20 percent is in foreign languages. French predominates, followed by Russian; German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Latvian, Hebrew, and Yiddish are also represented.

Professional correspondence documents business transactions with architects, potential clients, museum officials, art dealers, and others concerning commissions, exhibition plans, loans of artwork, jury service, etc. Art groups, Jewish organizations and charities wrote to solicit donations of artwork for fundraising events and issued invitations to speak or be a guest of honor. Scholars contacted Lipchitz about their research and requested information about specific works by him, items in his collection, and his opinions on a variety of subjects. Also found are fan letters from aspiring artists seeking advice, and from the general public asking for the opportunity to meet Lipchitz and visit his studio. After the 1952 studio fire, many friends and strangers sent letters of condolence and encouragement.

Among those with whom Lipchtz corresponded regarding commissions are: The Brazilian Embassy ( Prometheus Strangling the Vulture, Ministry of Health and Education, Rio de Janeiro), Vicomte Charles de Noailles ( The Joy of Life) [photocopies of letters from Lipchitz], Jean Devémy (Nôtre Dame de Liesse, Nôtre Dame de Toute Grace at Assy, France), Jane Blaffer Owen (ornamental gates and a cast of Nôtre Dame de Liesse for Philip Johnson's Roofless Church in New Harmony, IN), and the University of Minnesota, Duluth ( Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Luth). There are numerous letters from Fairmount Park Art Association, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and R. Sturgis Ingersoll regarding multiple projects in Philadelphia; from the Emory Memorial and Robert Taft, Jr. about a memorial to Senator Taft; and from Eloise Spaeth concerning a bust of John F. Kennedy. Also documenting commissions are letters from architects, among them: Eero Saarinen and Associates, Kenneth Franzheim, Philip L. Goodwin, I. M. Pei and Associates, Philip L. Goodwin, and Vincent G. Kling and Associates.

Art dealers, galleries, and museums were frequent correspondents. They include: The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Bezalel Museum, Brussels Universal and International Exposition, Buchholz Gallery, Cincinnati Art Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Curt Valentin Gallery, Fine Arts Associates (later Otto Gerson Gallery, Inc.), Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, Inc., Museé Bourdelle, Museé National d'Arte Moderne (Paris), Museum of Modern Art (New York), The Museum of Primitive Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Portland Art Museum (Oregon), Rijksmuseum Kröller Muller Otterlo, Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Worcester Art Museum.

Max N. Benoff, Bernard and Becky Reis, and Alan and Janet Wurtzburger were among the collectors who corresponded with Lipchitz. French artist Pierre Dubaut wrote over an extended period about his collection of Géricault paintings and plans for its eventual disposition. Other individuals who wrote frequently include: critic and writer, Waldemar George; Irene Patai, author of Encounters: The Life of Jacques Lipchitz; and Bert Van Bork, documentary filmmaker and author of Jacques Lipchitz, The Artist at Work; and art historian, Henry R. Hope, a professor active in the College Art Association. The America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Inc. and the International Rescue Committee were also frequent correspondents.

Of particular note is a lengthy letter (with drafts) to Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler in which Lipchitz explained in detail how the art dealer's writings about Cubist sculpture failed to adequately recognize his contributions to the genre. Extensive correspondence with Rabbi Schneerson includes thoughts about "graven images" in sculpture and contains lengthy religious discussions. Letters from Juan Gris and Josette Gris consist mainly of general news and pleasantries; they do, however, mention Juan Gris's health, and in one letter Gris states he is afraid of working too much and tiring himself out. While basically illegible, Gertrude Stein's letters seem to be short, quick notes about meetings.

Correspondence with wife Yulla, nephew Gyorgy Hay, and close friends recounts personal and family news, activities, and sometimes touches on future plans. Among these correspondents are: Jenny Courtois, Varian and Annette Fry, Leo Gaspard, R. Sturgis Ingersoll, Gregorio Landau, Juan and Marianne Larrea, Camille Soula, and Joel and Celeste Starrels.

Eleven small pocket diaries, 1940-1965, contain brief, often sporadic entries noting appointments, events, addresses and phone numbers, notes of expenses, and include some sketches. Among the other writings by Lipchitz are: a notebook containing random notes on sculpture; a list of sculpture destroyed in the 1952 studio fire; short pieces and fragments of writings about sculptors Mary Frank, Natan Rapoport, Auguste Rodin, and William Zorach; a memoir of Amedeo Modigliani; and articles and reflections on contemporary art and the church.

Catalogue raisonné records concern the compilation and production of The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné by Alan G. Wilkinson, sponsored by Marlborough Gallery, Inc.

Among the financial records are statements of the sculptor's accounts with Buchholz Gallery and Curt Valentin Gallery, and receipts for Lipchitz Collection purchases. Also found are insurance and tax records, as well as receipts for routine professional expenses and miscellaneous personal expenses.

Artwork consists of a few rough sketches by Lipchitz and several geometric designs by an unidentified artist. Two scrapbooks, 1945-1946, consist of newspaper clippings and a few items from other periodicals that mention Lipchitz or contain reproductions of his work. Volume 2 includes typescripts of an interview and remarks delivered by Lipchitz, both very brief.

Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, articles, press releases, books, programs, and reproductions concerning Lipchitz's exhibitions, sculpture, commissions, and events honoring him. Of particular interest are architectural prints showing sites and project details of several commissions. Also found are a variety of printed items about general art topics.

Photographs document people, artwork, project sites and models, exhibition installations, events, and places. People include Jacques Lipchitz, family members, and other individuals. Artwork represented is by Lipchitz and other artists. Views of Lipchitz exhibition installations mainly document solo shows. Photographs of events record a variety of occasions, among them: the opening of Lipchitz's studio at Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; a dedication ceremony for Philip Johnson's Roofless Church in New Harmony, IN, with ornamental gates and a sculpture by Lipchitz; and Lipchitz addressing an anatomy class at Albert Einstein Medical College. Among the pictures of places are Lipchitz's studios in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, and Pietrasanta, Italy, and a view of Picasso's Paris studio.

Collection Restrictions:: Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual materials with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection 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' studios -- Photographs Search this; Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this

Genre/Form:: Interviews; Diaries; Motion pictures (visual works); Sound recordings; Scrapbooks; Sketches; Photographs; Video recordings

Collection Citation:: Jacques Lipchitz papers and Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz, circa 1910-2001, bulk 1941-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:: Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Jacques and Yulla Lipchitz Foundation, Inc.

Identifier:: AAA.lipcjacq2, Series 1

See more items in:: Jacques Lipchitz papers and Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d9633b8a-e008-4cae-aa4e-80cfdb22757b

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-aaa-lipcjacq2-ref14

Thomas Hess papers

Creator:: Hess, Thomas B. Search this

Names:: Mark Rothko Foundation Search this; Bess, Forrest, 1911-1977 Search this; Campbell, Lawrence Search this; De Kooning, Elaine Search this; De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997 Search this; Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011 Search this; Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974 Search this; Guston, Philip, 1913-1980 Search this; Kline, Franz, 1910-1962 Search this; Milles, Carl, 1875-1955 Search this; Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970 Search this; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 Search this; Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967 Search this; Rivers, Larry, 1925-2002 Search this; Rosenberg, Harold, 1906-1978 Search this; Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970 Search this; Schapiro, Meyer, 1904- Search this; Schuyler, James Search this; Smith, David, 1906-1965 Search this; Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980 Search this

Extent:: 10.01 Linear feet

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Sound recordings; Drawings; Greeting cards; Illustrated letters; Paintings; Cartoons (humorous images); Photographs; Collages

Date:: 1939-1978

Summary:: The papers of New York editor and art critic Thomas Hess measure 10.01 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1978. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, extensive writings and notes, artists and subject files that also include recorded conversations with artists and others, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.

There is a .01 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes a six page typed manuscript, "Think, American Painting," undated, by Thomas Hess and the book American Realists and Magic Realists, The Museum of Modern Art, 1943, signed by Hess.

Scope and Contents:: The papers of New York editor and art critic Thomas Hess measure 10.01 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1978. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, extensive writings and notes, artists and subject files that also include recorded conversations with artists and others, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.

Biographical material includes a certificate, architectural plans, investment information, invoices, publisher and loan agreements, will for Paul Stamm, and resumes. Correspondence is with members of Hess' family including his wife and children, Philip Guston, Meyer Schapiro, David Smith, James Schuyler, Forrest Bess, Elaine de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Larry Rivers, Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, and others.

Writings and notes consist of manuscripts and drafts by Hess for Art News, Le Monde, Vogue, New York magazine, and other publications; Hess' senior essay and class notes; notes on Ingres, Italian artists, and travels abroad; notebooks on art and literature; and scattered writings by others.

Artists and subject files contain primarily photographs of artwork, artists, and colleaguesare mostly photographs of artwork, artists, and colleagues. Some of the files also contain printed materials, writings, notes, and other documentation. The file on Willem de Kooning includes a sound recording of a conversation between Hess, de Kooning, and Harold Rosenberg. There are also significant files on Elaine de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Carl Milles, Barnett Newman, Isamu Noguchi, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko and the Mark Rothko Foundation Inc.

Printed materials include brochures and flyers, clippings, magazines and newspapers, press releases, travel memorabilia, and a printed scarf. Photographs are of of Hess, his wife Audrey, other family members, works of art, travel, Larry Rivers and Ad Reinhardt, and other artists and colleagues. Artwork includes drawings, paintings, collages, cartoons, and holiday cards made by Hess and his children, along with artwork by others including Audrey and Lawrence Campbell, Ad Reinhardt, and unidentified artists.

There is a .01 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes a six page typed manuscript, "Think, American Painting," undated, by Thomas Hess and the book American Realists and Magic Realists, The Museum of Modern Art, 1943, signed by Hess.

Arrangement:: The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1945-1977 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 15)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1945-1978 (1.0 linear feet; Box 1-2, OV 11)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1940-1978 (2.5 linear feet; Box 2-5, OV 12)

Series 4: Artists and Subject Files, circa 1946-1978 (4.5 linear feet; Box 5-9, OVs 13, 15-16)

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1943-1978 (0.5 linear feet; Box 9, OV 11)

Series 6: Photographic Materials, 1949-circa 1960s (0.8 linear feet; Box 9-10, OV14)

Series 7: Artwork, 1939-1978 (0.4 linear feet; Box 10, OV 11)

Series 8: Unprocessed Addition, 1943 and undated (0.01 linear feet; Folder 17)

Biographical / Historical:: Thomas B. Hess (1920-1978) was an editor, art critic, and curator who worked in New York City. He was on the staff at Art News for 26 years (1946-72). Starting as an editorial associate, he was named managing editor in 1948, then executive editor in 1954; he assumed the top editorial post in 1965 upon the death of long-time editor Alfred Frankfurter. In his critical writing from the late 1940s on, he was an influential supporter of the Abstract Expressionists. He wrote widely on other topics as well. In 1972 he left Art News after an ownership change. He then became the art critic for New York magazine (1972-78), a large-circulation weekly reaching a much larger public. (He was also, in the late '60s, a correspondent for the French daily newspaper Le Monde.)

Over the years he undertook several major curatorial projects including traveling retrospectives for Willem de Kooning (1968-69) and Barnett Newman (1971), which he organized for the Museum of Modern Art. His "New York School Painting and Sculpture" appeared at the New York State Museum in Albany in 1977. Both MoMA exhibitions were accompanied by comprehensive monograph/catalogues: Willem de Kooning (1968) and Barnett Newman (1971). Hess's other books include Abstract Painting: Background and American Phase (1951, Viking); Willem de Kooning (1959, Braziller); De Kooning, Recent Paintings (1967, Walker & Co.); Barnett Newman (1969, Walker & Co.); De Kooning: Drawings (1972, New York Graphic); and The Art Comics and Satires of Ad Reinhardt (1975, De Luca Editore, Rome).

Hess became consultative chairman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of 20th-Century Art a few months before his death from a heart attack in July 1978, age 57. Already under way were a Clyfford Still retrospective and a smaller show of recent paintings and sculptures by Ellsworth Kelly. Both exhibitions, completed by Philippe de Montebello (the Met's then new director) and Lowery S. Sims (the Met's then acting 20th-century curator) respectively, took place the year after Hess's death.

Thomas Hess was born in Rye, New York, to Gabriel Lorie Hess, a lawyer, and Helen Baer. He attended school in the United States and Switzerland. He continued his education at Yale University majoring in French 17th-century art history and literature. After graduating in 1942, Hess worked for a short period at the Museum of Modern Art under Alfred H. Barr and Dorothy Miller, before entering World War II as a pilot. In 1944 he married Audrey Stern with whom he had three children, William, Philip, and Anne Helen.

Separated Materials:: Materials on legacy microfilm reel 5028 related to Barnett Newman are photocopies. The originals are located at the Barnett New Foundation in New York City.

Provenance:: The Thomas Hess papers were donated in multiple increments from 1985 to 1987 by Hess' children, Anne Helen, William, and Philip Hess, except for a file on Barnett Newman donated by Newman's widow, who presumably had borrowed it from Hess. In 2014, additional correspondence, writings, photographs, printed material, and cartoons, including some by Ad Reinhardt, were donated by Elizabeth Wolff, Hess' sister. A small addition was donated in 2022 by Anne Hess, Thomas Hess' daughter.

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:: Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this; Artists -- Italy Search this; Editors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this

Genre/Form:: Sound recordings; Drawings; Greeting cards; Illustrated letters; Paintings; Cartoons (humorous images); Photographs; Collages

Citation:: Thomas Hess papers, 1939-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:: Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Identifier:: AAA.hessthom

See more items in:: Thomas Hess papers

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cfd2536a-b35e-4030-9768-bfa094d6db9e

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-aaa-hessthom

Online Media:

Oral history interview with Harold O'Connor

Interviewee:: O'Connor, Harold, 1941- Search this

Interviewer:: Zeiger, Dinah Search this

Creator:: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this

Names:: Alberta College of Art + Design -- Faculty Search this; Instituto Allende -- Student Search this; Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this; Penland School of Handicrafts -- Faculty Search this; University of New Mexico -- Student Search this; Western State College of Colorado -- Student Search this; Brancusi, Constantin, 1876-1957 Search this; Calò, Aldo, 1910-1983 Search this; Chillida, Eduardo, 1924-2002 Search this; Jensen, Georg Arthur, 1866-1935 Search this; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 Search this; Reiling, Reinhold, 1922- Search this; Ulrich, Klaus Search this

Extent:: 63 Pages (Transcript)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Pages; Sound recordings; Interviews

Date:: 2007 October 11-31

Scope and Contents:: An interview of Harold O'Connor conducted 2007 October 11 and 31, by Dinah Zeiger, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at O'Conner's studio, Dunconor Workshops, in Salida, Colorado.; O'Connor speaks of his childhood in New York; his father, who was a doctor, and his mother, who was a craft artist; an early exposure to the craft field; attending Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado and studying psychology for one year before returning to Rochester, N.Y.; working in occupational therapy and making commercial apple-peeling machines; returning to WSU, becoming interested in anthropology and transferring to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque; taking classes in metalwork during his senior year; being inspired by Georg Jensen; attending international schools to learn metalsmithing and goldsmithing, including the National Arts and Crafts School in Copenhagen, Denmark, the National Arts School in Helsinki, Finland, and Kunst und Werkschule in Pforzheim, Germany; the differences between apprenticeship programs and technical schools; working as the first resident metal craftsman at Penland School of Crafts in Penland, N.C.; moving with his wife to Crested Butte, Colorado and setting up a small studio in an alley; returning to UNM to complete his undergraduate degree before attending Instituto Allende in San Miguel Allende, Mexico and receiving his M.F.A.; teaching jewelry for four years at Alberta College of Art and Design at Calgary, Canada and designing workshops; returning to Crested Butte and running his own private school and two-week workshops; identifying as an international artist; his exhibition and show history; his relationship with galleries; self-publishing jewelry and metalsmithing technique books; working in series; finding inspiration through various means and the great diversity in his work over the past 30 years; the materials he has worked in over the years, including labradorite, silver, copper, titanium, and gold; his use of traditional hand tools; his studio space; working intuitively without drawings; the creative stimulation found in Taos, N.M.; his admiration of the work of Eduardo Chillida, Aldo Calò, Constantin Brancusi and Isamu Noguchi; traveling and teaching experiences in the Czech Republic, Austria, the Arctic, South Korea, and other locations; and plans for future travel. O'Connor recalls Klaus Ulrich, Reinhold Reiling, and others.

Biographical / Historical:: Harold O'Connor (1941- ) is a goldsmith in Salida, Colorado. Dinah Zeiger (1947- ) is an art historian from Denver, Colorado.

General:: Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 5 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:: Goldsmiths -- Colorado -- Interviews Search this; Metal-workers -- Colorado -- Interviews Search this; Decorative arts Search this; Metal-work Search this

Genre/Form:: Sound recordings; Interviews

Sponsor:: Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.

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.

Identifier:: AAA.oconno07

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw942e6bb7e-d6cc-4ccc-8e1f-5a3cbb9d7dc0

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-aaa-oconno07

Online Media:

Oral history interview with Edith Gregor Halpert

Interviewee:: Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970 Search this

Interviewer:: Phillips, Harlan B. (Harlan Buddington), 1920- Search this

Names:: C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries Search this; Daniel Gallery Search this; Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Search this; Ferargil Galleries Search this; Grand Central Art Galleries Search this; M. Knoedler & Co. Search this; Montross Gallery Search this; New Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Search this; Bacon, Peggy, 1895-1987 Search this; Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981 Search this; Barrie, Erwin S., 1886-1983 Search this; Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975 Search this; Brackman, Robert, 1898- Search this; Bridgman, George Brant, 1864-1943 Search this; Brixey, Richard de Wolfe Search this; Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960 Search this; Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976 Search this; Cary, Elisabeth Luther, 1867-1936 Search this; Chase, William Merritt, 1849-1916 Search this; Coleman, Glenn O., 1887-1932 Search this; Crowninshield, Frank, 1872-1947 Search this; Daniel, Charles, 1878-1971 Search this; Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964 Search this; Demuth, Charles, 1883-1935 Search this; Deskey, Donald, 1894- Search this; Dove, Arthur Garfield, 1880-1946 Search this; Dudensing, F. Valentine, 1892-1967 Search this; Fergusson, John Duncan, 1874-1961 Search this; Field, Hamilton Easter Search this; Force, Juliana, 1876-1948 Search this; Ford, Ford Madox, 1873-1939 Search this; Frost, Robert, 1874-1963 Search this; Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-1983 Search this; Goodyear, A. Conger (Anson Conger), 1877-1964 Search this; Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994 Search this; Halpert, Samuel, 1884-1930 Search this; Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943 Search this; Hirsch, Stefan, 1899-1964 Search this; Hopkinson, Charles, 1869-1962 Search this; Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967 Search this; Johns, Jasper, 1930- Search this; Kline, Franz, 1910-1962 Search this; Knox, Seymour H., 1898-1990 Search this; Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974 Search this; Kuhn, Walt, 1877-1949 Search this; Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953 Search this; Laurent, Robert, 1890-1970 Search this; Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-2000 Search this; Levine, Jack, 1915-2010 Search this; Levy, Julien Search this; Locke, Charles, 1899- Search this; Luks, George Benjamin, 1867-1933 Search this; Léger, Fernand, 1881-1955 Search this; Marin, John, Jr., 1915?-1988 Search this; McBride, Henry, 1867-1962 Search this; Mellon, Paul Search this; Mercer, Henry Chapman Search this; Montross, N. E. (Newman E), 1849-1932 Search this; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 Search this; O'Keeffe, Georgia , 1887-1986 Search this; Pascin, Jules, 1885-1930 Search this; Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973 Search this; Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956 Search this; Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972 Search this; Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957 Search this; Robinson, Edward G., 1893-1973 Search this; Rockefeller, Abby Aldrich Search this; Saarinen, Aline B. (Aline Bernstein), 1914-1972 Search this; Saklatwalla, Beram K. Search this; Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967 Search this; Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969 Search this; Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965 Search this; Siporin, Mitchell, 1910-1976 Search this; Soutine, Chaim, 1893-1943 Search this; Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973 Search this; Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946 Search this; Stella, Frank Search this; Stern, Louis E., 1886-1962 Search this; Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946 Search this; Tannahill, Robert Hudson Search this; Vollard, Ambroise, 1867-1939 Search this; Weber, Max, 1881-1961 Search this; Whitney, Gertrude Vanderbilt, 1875-1942 Search this; Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963 Search this; Wittenberg, Philip, 1895-1987 Search this; Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972 Search this; Zorach, Marguerite, 1887-1968 Search this; Zorach, William, 1887-1966 Search this

Extent:: 436 Pages (Transcript)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Pages

Date:: 1962-1963

Scope and Contents:: An interview of Edith Halpert conducted 1962-1963, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.; Halpert speaks of her childhood in Russia and growing up in New York City; working at Bloomindale's, Macy's, Stern Brothers, and Cohen Goldman; her marriage to artist Sam Halpert, his health, and living in Paris in 1925; becoming an art student at the Academy of Design and feeling that Leon Kroll was an excellent art teacher until he began to correct her drawings; when George Bridgman thought she was ruining his class; the Lincoln Square Arcade, when she and Ernest Fiener and Robert Brackman would rent Conan's studio evenings and bring in instructors; how Newman Montross influenced her more than anybody about showing her art that she loved; burning all of her work because Kroll said she had no talent; receiving a painting from John Marin; her friendship and working relationship with Abby Rockefeller and other family members.; She recalls opening the Downtown Gallery, in Greenwich Village, in 1926; a brief history of modern art; many artists helping decorate the new Daylight Gallery in 1930 and the first show being called "Practical Manifestations of Art"; meeting Robert and Sonia Delaunay in France; when she refused to allow Ezra Pound to speak at one of the gallery lectures because of his anti-Semite remarks and William Carlos Williams and Ford Madox Ford argued with her over it; experiencing jealousy and professional attacks from other dealers; the successful "Pop" Hart show and book in 1929; the "Thirty-three Moderns" show in 1930 at the Grand Central Galleries; the Jules Pascin show in 1930; in America, most of the art buyers supporters of culture were women, until the WPA and World War II, when it became fashionable for men to be involved; Ambroise Vollard's advice on selling art; handling the frustrations of working in the art field; friendships with Stuart Davis,Charles Sheeler, and Ben Shahn; how artists work through dry periods in their creativity and the "Recurrent Image" show; a discussion on modern art galleries of New York City, such as Daniel, Knoedler, Ferargil, the New Gallery, 291, the Grand Central, Kraushaar, and Montross; her travels through Pennsylvania and Maine for good examples of folk art for the gallery; the "The Artist Looks at Music" show; the non-competitive spirit of the early modern American artists; of being saved financially in 1940 by selling a William Harnett painting to the Boston Museum and then renting new space for the gallery.; Also, Mitchell Siporin bringing Halpert and Edmund Gurry to Mitchell Field during World War II for a camouflage show and consequently Downtown Gallery artists and others were enlisted in the camouflage corps for the U.S. Air Force; Charles Sheeler and his wife find Halpert a house in Newtown, Conn.; her decision in 1933 to push folk art for acquisition by the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri; her great concern about what to do with her folk art literature collection; dismay and that no one writes about the history of folk art and those responsible for its creation and popularity; Louis Stern hiring her to organize a municipal exhibit in Atlantic City, N.J., with Donald Deskey designing the furniture and Holger Cahill managing the publicity; Joe Lillie helping her meet Fiorello La Guardia and Joe McGoldrick in 1934 about a municipal show in New York City, but it is moved to Radio City Music Hall through Nelson Rockefeller; the "Salons of America" show; wanting articles written about art for love rather than art for investment; working with Aline Saarinen on her book, "Proud Possessors;" letters from Stuart Davis, William Zorach and others that hurt her feelings; enjoying giving educational lectures and considering retirement because of ill health; the desire to write a book on the history of trade signs in folk art; feeling that the young artists are being ruined by too much support without working for it; planning to write a book entitled, "Unsung Heroes," about artists brave enough to experiment; organizing a show in Russia at her own expense; later representing the U.S. in art at the "American National Exposition"; the agitators and success of the exposition; Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe.; Halpert also recalls Juliana Force, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Buckminster Fuller, George Luks, Edsel Ford, Max Weber, Danny Diefenbacker, Hamilton Easter Field, Frank Stella, Glenn Coleman, Margaret Zorach, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Henry Mercer, Romany Marie, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Mellon, Charles Pollet, Alex Brook, Lunca Curass, Dorothy Lambert, Duncan Candler, Frank Rhen, Louis Rittman, Bea Goldsmith, Arthur Craven, Robert Frost, Philip Wittenberg, Caesar de Hoke, Richard deWolfe Brixey, Seymour Knox, Walt Kuhn, Elisabeth Luther Cary, Charles Locke, Duncan Fergusson, Mrs. Solomon Guggenheim, Bob Tannahill, David Thompson, Marsden Hartley, Erwin Barrie, Robert Laurent, Conger Goodyear, Henry McBride, Edward Hopper, Charles Daniel, William Merritt Chase, Charles Hopkinson, Thomas Hart Benton, Frank Crowninshield, Alfred Barr, Lord Duveen, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin Jr., Karl Zerbe, Franz Kline, Arthur Dove, Julian Levy, Jack Levine, Valentine Dudensing, Peggy Bacon, Stefan Hirsch, Gertrude Stein, Isamu Noguchi, Jasper Johns, Chaim Soutine, B. K. Saklatwalla; Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, Ben Shahn, Charles Demuth, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Edward Steichen, Carl Sandburg, Clement Greenberg, and others.

Biographical / Historical:: Edith Halpert (1900-1970) was an art dealer from New York, N.Y.

General:: Originally recorded on 7 tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 27 digital wav files. Duration is 32 hrs., 27 min.

Provenance:: This interview is part of the Archives of American Art 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. The transcript was microfilmed in 1996.

Occupation:: Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this

Topic:: Art -- Economic aspects Search this; Camouflage Search this; Folk art -- Collectors and collecting Search this; Women art dealers Search this

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.