An interview with Lewis and Erica Rubenstein conducted 1993 February 23, by Stephen Polcari, for the Archives of American Art.
Lewis Rubenstein discusses his early career as a fresco painter, including his training in Italy and friendship with Rico Lebrun. He talks specifically about commissioned murals at the Fogg Art Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and assisting Jose Clemente Orozco on "portable murals" for the Museum of Modern Art. He talks of his move away from realism and the themes that interested him in the 1950s and 1960s. He remembers spending summers in Provincetown and taking classes with Hans Hofmann, his work teaching studio art at Vassar College, and briefly about the visiting artists program he ran there. Erica Rubenstein talks about the significance of 1930s mural paintings, the WPA movement, and government support of the arts in general.
Biographical / Historical:
Lewis W. Rubentstein (1908-2003) was a painter, printmaker, and teacher and teacher at Vassar College. He lived in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Erica Beckh Rubenstein (1914-2014) was an art historian, whose Ph.D. thesis at Harvard, "Taxpayers Murals," related to New Deal murals.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 56 min.
Side B of Tape 1 is blank.
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:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire audio recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- Poughkeepsie -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American Search this
Rubenstein, Lewis W. (Lewis William), 1908-2003 Search this
Creator:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Names:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
8 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Date:
1964 December 7
Scope and Contents:
A summary of an interview of Lewis Mumford conducted 1964 December 7, by Lewis and Erica Rubenstein, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) was an art administrator for the WPA in New York, New York.
Provenance:
The interview was 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. It is unclear why no actual transcript or tape exists for the interview; Mumford may have not wanted to be recorded.
Rubenstein, Lewis W. (Lewis William), 1908-2003 Search this
Creator:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Names:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
8 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Date:
1964 November 9
Scope and Contents:
A summary of an interview of Henry Morgenthau conducted 1964 November 9, by Erica and Lewis Rubenstein, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Henry Morgenthau (1891-1967) was a cabinet member in Roosevelt's administration in Washington, D.C.
General:
No tape exists; Morgenthau did not wish to be recorded. Summary is from notes taken by the interviewers.
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.
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.
