An interview of Duane Hanson conducted 1989 August 23-24, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
Hanson speaks of his years growing up in rural Minnesota; his Swedish ancestry; the influence of his wives and family on his art; his teaching career spanning sixteen to twenty years; his experiences at Cranbook; discussions of his place in the art world as a Realist, Hyperrealist, or New Realist; influence of contemporary sculptors of the time on his work; the importance of American art being able to break into the Russian art scene; his process and the pitfalls and advantages of different types of materials, including bronze and polyester resin; the schedule he follows when working and how the pace of his schedule and deadlines affect his art; whether the materials he employs contributed to his cancer; the discussion of his disease, subsequent treatment, and how it impacted his art; the change in focus from his earlier pieces centered around war or social upheaval to his newer, satirical work such as "Jogger" or "Sunbather with Black Bikini," which featured more athletic or trendy characterizations of people; his thought process in choosing what to sculpt; discussions of his exhibition at the Whitney Museum and various galleries in the United States, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, among others; and his ecological concerns. Duane Hanson also recalls Andy Warhol, John DeAndrea, Carl Milles, John Rood, Julius Schmidt, William McVey, Rodin, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Duane Hanson (1925-1996) was a sculptor from Davie, Florida. Hanson was best known for his life-size figures, often dressed in real clothes.
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 administrators. Funding for this interview provided by the Lannan Foundation.
Files relating to a series of traveling art exhibitions sponsored by the AAUW, 1949-1952, containing material on artists Walter Anderson, Marsden Hartley, Jacob Lawrence, John Rood, David Smith and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Based in Washington, D.C.
Related Materials:
American Association of University Women papers also at Syracuse University.
Provenance:
Donated 1960-1962 by the American Association of University Women.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Biographical materials, correspondence, files, notes, writings, art works, scrapbooks, photographs, and printed materials relating chiefly to Laurence E. Schmeckebier's academic career and to his publications.
Professional and personal correspondence with artists, publishers, art historians, museum curators, and students including Adolf Dehn, Philip Evergood, Walter Gropius, George Grosz, Rico Lebrun, Ivan Mestrovic, A. Henry Nordhausen, Jose Clemente Orozco, Anton Refregier, John Rood, Hudson Roysher, and Viktor Schreckengost. Extensive research files relating to published and unpublished writings on A. Henry Nordhausen, Ivan Mestrovic, Mexican art, urban art in Minnesota, German medieval art and other topics contain preparatory notes, drafts, correspondence and photographs of art. Additional files relate to Schmeckebier's academic career, and to the Syracuse University mural project. Also included are appraisals, royalty statements, undergraduate writings, a published Ph.D. dissertation, encyclopedia articles, book reviews, lecture notes, speeches, notes on wood sculpture, transcript of a Latin-American Studies Conference (1943), notes for a book on Boris Margo, and travel notebooks. Three scrapbooks, compiled by Mrs. Schmeckebier and Karen L. Bakke, contain correspondence, sketches, clippings and photographs dating back to Schmeckebier's childhood. There are also loose scrapbook pages from the 1930s; personal photographs; photographs of work; art work by students; and printed materials, including exhibition notices.
An addition of 0.2 linear feet donated 2016 includes an unpublished typescript (photocopy) circa 1982, of a new edition of Schmeckebier's book "John Steuart Curry's Pageant of America" (1943) and correspondence between Schmeckebier's daughter Xenia S. Sterling and Joseph S. Czestochowski, regarding the new edition, 1982-1988; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Laurence Eli Schmeckebier (1906-1984) was an art historian, educator, administrator, and sculptor in Syracure, New York and Cleveland, Ohio. Schmeckebier was Director and Professor of Art History at The Cleveland Institute of Art, 1946-1954 and Professor of Fine Arts, Dean of the School of Art, Syracuse University, 1954-1971. His publications include: "Handbook of Italian Renaissance Painting", "Modern Mexican Art", "John Steuart Curry's Pageant of America", "Art in Red Wing", "Ivan Mestrovic"' "Sculptor and Patriot", and "The Art of A. Henry Nordhausen".
Provenance:
Donated 1977 by Laurence Schmeckebier. The bulk of the collection was donated 1985-1986 by his children, Peter Schmeckebier, Nina S. Gardner, Xenia S. Sterling, and Marina S. Steinhouse. Additional material donated 2016 by Xenia Schmeckebier Sterling.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
