An interview of Alexander Brook conducted 1977 July 7-8, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Brook speaks of his childhood and family; his early interest in painting; studying at the Art Students League with Dmitri Romanowsky and Kenneth Hayes Miller; women at the Art Students League; his first wife, Peggy Bacon; his travels in Europe; the Penguin Club; the Whitney Studio Club; working as a "talent scout" for Juliana Reiser Force; sharing a studio with Alexander Calder and Reuben Nakian; art sales in the 1930s; women as subjects; his portraits of Katharine Hepburn; and his painting technique. He recalls William Murrell Fisher, Lloyd Goodrich, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Alexander Brook (1898-1980) was a painter from Sag Harbor, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 11 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
Interview of Paul Burlin, conducted on December 5-6, 1962, by Dorothy Gees Seckler, for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Burlin speaks of his childhood education in England; working for the magazine Delineator; his education at the National Academy of Design; his travels in the American Southwest; his early exhibitions in New York; his first wife's writings on folk music; visiting Europe before the first World War; discovering Cubism and Fauvism; working on the WPA under the Whitney Museum; joining and then leaving the American Artists' Congress in protest; his thoughts on overtly political art; exhibiting at the Downtown Gallery; his image-making process; and his critique of Pop art. Burlin also recalls James Huneker, Franz Boas, Albert Gleizes, Henri Matisse, Edith Halpert, Georgia O'Keeffe, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Paul Burlin (1886-1969) was a painter in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 39 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.
An interview of Ludwig Sander conducted 1969 February 4-12, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Sander speaks of his early exposure to art and music in New York; his travels in Europe; studying with Alexander Archipenko at the Art Students League; studying with Hans Hofmann in Munich and Positano; painting and teaching in Woodstock; his U.S. Army service; The Club and its factions; his experiences with the Whitney and with the Museum of Modern Art; his painting techniques; his exhibitions.
Biographical / Historical:
Ludwig Sander (1906-1975) was a painter from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 16 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 -- New York (State) -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Jack Kufeld conducted 1981 Oct. 5, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Kufeld discusses his acquaintance with Mark Rothko and the artists of The Ten. He speaks briefly about Gallery Secession and its owner, Robert Godsoe, and the Gallery's role in the formation of The Ten. Kufeld and Rothko lived together for a short time after Rothko's separation from his first wife, Edith. Kufeld remembers Edith, with whom he remained friends for many years even though he stopped associating with painters when he abruptly stopped painting in the late 1930s. He talks about the Design Laboratory, where he was a teacher. Kufeld recalls Robert Godsoe, Milton Avery, Max Yavno, J.B. Neumann, Adolf Gottlieb, Lou Harris, Max Weber, I. Rice Pereira, Chaim Gross, Vladimir Jaffe, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Jack Kufeld (1907-1990) was a painter from New York, N.Y. Member of the painters' group The Ten which included Mark Rothko, Ilya Bolotowsky, Joseph Solman, Adolph Gottlieb and others.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hrs., 44 min.
Provenance:
This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Katharine Kuh, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
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 Bena Frank Mayer and Ralph Mayer, circa 1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Phillips, Harlan B. (Harlan Buddington), 1920- Search this
Names:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
76 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
circa 1964
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Ralph and Bena Frank Mayer conducted circa 1964, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Bena Frank Mayer (1898-1991) and her husband, Ralph (1895-1979) were painters and educators in New York, N.Y. Bena Frank Mayer was also a printmaker.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 8 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 interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
An interview of Norman Lewis conducted 1968 July 14, by Henri Ghent, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Norman Lewis (1909-1979) was a painter and instructor from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 5 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.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Interview of Calvin Douglass conducted 1968 July 24, by Henri Ghent, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Calvin Douglass (1931- ) was a painter in New York, New York. Douglass currently resides in Mils, Florida.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 31 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 others.
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 49 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 others.
