Dox Thrash : an African American master printmaker rediscovered / John Ittmann ; with essays by David R. Brigham, Cindy Medley-Buckner, and Kymberly N. Pinder
1 Microfilm reel (2 pages on partial microfilm reel)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
circa 1960
Scope and Contents:
This microfilm collection contains 2 photocopy typescript pages of African American printer Dox Thrash's autobiography discussing his travels, education, and exhibition history.
Biographical / Historical:
Dox Thrash (1892-1965) was an African American printer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thrash joined the Works Progress Administration Federal Arts Project in 1937 and began working at the Fine Print Workshop of Philadelphia. While there he co-created the carborundum printmaking process.
Related Materials:
The Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library holds the Dox Thrash collection, 1920-1966
Provenance:
Microfilmed in 1990 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Photocopies donated to the Free Library of Philadelphia by Ruth Fine, who obtained them from Samuel Nowak for her entry on Thrash for "Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art," Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1976.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Printmakers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
An interview of Hugh Mesibov conducted 1990 June 23 by Linda Shopes for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project. Mesibov speaks of his early life and early art experiences including his attendance at the Graphic Sketch Club (now known as the Samuel Fleisher Art Memorial); financial difficulties in the 1930s and his subsequest successful application to the Federal Art Project; his experiences on the FAP print project, including reminiscences of fellow artists Dox Thrash and Michael Gallagher; the development of the carborundum print process and its subsequent promotion; how the project was run and work assigned; his experiences on the easel and mural projects; political problems with the state director, Mary Curran, and the Artists' Union; and his post-FAP career.
Biographical / Historical:
Hugh Mesibov (1916-2016) was an expressionist artist and printmaker associated with WPA Federal Art Project. He lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
An interview of Raymond Steth conducted 1990 April 28, by Marge Kline, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.
Steth discusses his early life and education in the South and in Philadelphia; his experiences in the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project (FAP); his fellow printmaker Dox Thrash and the development of the carborundum print; working in shipyards during World War II; opening up the Philographic Workshop in 1948; the instructors there; its eventual closing in 1953; and his career outside of the arts.
Biographical / Historical:
Raymond Steth (1917-1997) was a printmaker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 17 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:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Occupation:
Printmakers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
An interview of Roswell Weidner conducted 1989 July 20-27, by Marina Pacini, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project. Weidner discusses his early life, education, and art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, first at the school at Chester Springs, and later at the main school in Philadelphia. He discusses the programs at both schools, and recalls some of the faculty members, including Roy Nuse, Albert Laessle, George Harding, Joseph Pierson, Francis Speight, Daniel Garber, and Henry McCarter. He discusses the courses, exhibitions, and the competitions for traveling scholarships. He also discusses his study at the Barnes Foundation with Violette De Mazia and Angelo Pinto. After leaving the Academy, he joined the National Youth Administration and then transferred to the WPA with the Museum Extension, the Painting Project and the Print Project. He speaks of his work for each of these programs, their administration, and some of the individuals involved including Dox Thrash. He recalls Mary Curran and the efforts made by Albert Barnes to have her removed as head of the Painting Project. Weidner discusses his fifty years as a teacher at the Academy, beginning in 1939, and the changes in the institution since then, including the introduction of printmaking, the growth of abstraction, the hiring of women and black instructors, and other changes. He speaks of his wife, Marilyn Kemp Weidner, a paper conservator, and the development of her practice, as well as his own future work.
Biographical / Historical:
Roswell T. Weidner (1911-1999) was a painter and educator from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr.; 18 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.
An interview with painter Samuel Brown conducted by Shawn Aubitz of the National Archives, for an exhibition on the Work Projects Administration in Philadelphia. Brown discusses his work on the WPA; materials and techniques; some of his paintings, including "The Scrubwoman," and "The Lynching"; sharing a studio with Dox Thrash; and a visit from Eleanor Roosevelt.
Biographical / Historical:
Samuel Joseph Brown (1907-1994) was an African American painter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is thought to be the first African American artist hired by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and later worked for the Works Projects Administration (WPA) in Philadelphia as both a painter and a printmaker.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Philadelphia, Pa. : National Archives - Philadelphia Branch, 1985.
Provenance:
Donated 1990 by Samuel J. Brown, through the National Archives, as part of AAA's Philadelphia Art Documentation Project.
Occupation:
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
