An interview of Kenneth Callahan conducted 1982 October 27-1982 December 19, by Sue Ann Kendall, for the Archives of American Art's Northwest Oral History Project.
Callahan speaks of his childhood in Montana; his education; working as an illustrator; early shows of his work; mural commissions; the Northwest arts community, particularly Morris Graves, Guy Anderson and Mark Tobey; changes in his subject matter and interests; the increasing abstraction in his painting; the fire in his studio; his relationship with the Seattle Art Museum, where he worked as a curator for 20 years; collectors he has known; experimenting with other media; and contemporary art and its future.
Biographical / Historical:
Kenneth Callahan (1905-1986) was a painter, muralist, writer, and curator from Long Beach, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 27 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Northwest Oral History Project, begun in 1982 to document the Northwest artistic community through interviews with painters, sculptors, craftsmen, educators, curators, and others, in Oregon, Washington and Montana.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Artists -- Northwestern States -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Dorothy Malone conducted 1983 Jan. 27, by Suzanne Ragen, at the Seattle Art Museum in Seattle, Wash., for the Archives of American Art's Northwest Oral History Project. Malone speaks of her association with the Seattle Art Museum since its founding in 1933; working as Dr. Richard Fuller's secretary; Fuller's policies and administration; major shows at the Museum; the "Northwest School" and some of its members, including Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan, and Guy Anderson.
Biographical / Historical:
Dorothy Malone (1912- ) was a secretary from Seattle, Wash. She worked for Richard E. Fuller, director of the Seattle Art Museum.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 19 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Northwest Oral History Project, begun in 1982 to document the Northwest artistic community through interviews with painters, sculptors, craftsmen, educators, curators, and others, in Oregon, Washington and Montana.
An interview of Guy Anderson conducted 1983 February 1-8, by Martha Kingsbury, for the Archives of American Art's Northwest Oral History Project.
Anderson speaks of his education; his career; the Great Depression and its impact on art and on him; working in the Seattle Art Museum in the 1930s; murals in the 1930s; the Spokane Art Center; vegetarianism; his travels in Alaska, Mexico, and Japan; meeting Morris Graves; religious painting; and the importance of the human figure to art.
Biographical / Historical:
Guy Anderson (1906-1998) was a painter, from LaConner, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 27 minutes.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Northwest Oral History Project, begun in 1982 to document the Northwest artistic community through interviews with painters, sculptors, craftsmen, educators, curators, and others, in Oregon, Washington and Montana.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Edward B. Thomas conducted 1983 April 28-May 10, by John Olbrantz, at the artist's home in Seattle, Washington, for the Archives of American Art's Northwest Oral History Project. Thomas speaks of his family background and early art experiences; his education at the University of Washington; printmaking and its role in Northwest art; his role as education director at the Seattle Art Museum; the development of the museum under Richard E. Fuller; contributors to the museum; the impact of the 1962 World's Fair; the Northwest art scene; exhibitions at the museum; interaction with the Henry Gallery and other museums; and his future plans. He recalls Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, and Mark Tobey.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward B. Thomas (1920-1984) was an educator and museum curator from Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 6 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 9 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Northwest Oral History Project, begun in 1982 to document the Northwest artistic community through interviews with painters, sculptors, craftsmen, educators, curators, and others, in Oregon, Washington and Montana.
Topic:
Prints -- 20th century -- Northwestern States Search this
An interview of Opal R. Fleckenstein conducted 1965 Nov. 19 and 20, by Dorothy Bestor for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's home in Spokane, Wash. Speaks of her work at Spokane Art Center under the Federal Art Project; of the painting courses at the art center; exhibitions shown there; the lack of facilities in Spokane; benefits of the art center to her own development; and her photography, batik work, and painting; She recalls Mark Tobey, Kenneth Downer, and Guy Anderson.
Biographical / Historical:
Opal R. Fleckenstein (1911-1996) was a painter, ceramist from Seattle, Wash.
Provenance:
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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Letters, writings and notes, sketches and drawings, printed matter, and photographs regarding artists, mainly from the Pacific Northwest, with whom Wehr was associated.
Resume; letters to Wehr; writings by and about Wehr; exhibition announcements and catalogs; clippings; printed material; and photographs of Wehr. Also included are Wehr's files on American Northwest artists Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, Pehr Hallsten, Stanley William Hayter, Ray Hill, Helmi Juvonen, Mark Tobey, composer Ernest Bloch, and art administrator Richard E. Fuller, containing biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, printed material, and writings by Wehr.
Files kept by Francine Seders of the Otto Seligman Gallery, Seattle, Washington, on artists Camille Bryen, Frederick Franck, Morris Graves, Daniel Milhaud, Toni Olney, Arthur Hall Smith, Francois Stahly, and George Van Haardt.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, consultant, writer; Seattle, Wash.
Provenance:
Donated 1972 through 1980 by Wesley C. Wehr.
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.
Records from the production of a documentary featuring the work of several Pacific Northwest artists, including Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, Paul Horiuchi, Helmi Juvonen, Margaret Tomkins, and George Tsutakawa. Artists are interviewed in their studios. Features early film clips of Mark Tobey.
Records include sound recordings of interviews with 19 artists; partial transcripts of interviews and production notes; motion picture film outtakes of interviews, paintings, artists working, nature scenes, and Seattle; a sound recording labeled "Flute and piano compositions" by Mark Tobey; and video copies of the finished film.
Provenance:
Donated by Kenneth and Ivory Waterworth Levine, 1985-1987.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Kenneth and Ivory Levine, Iris Film and Video. 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.
Letters recieved, from Albert Einstein, Morris Graves, Edward W. Root, Otto Seligman, Mark Tobey, Wesley C. Wehr and others. Also includes handmade Christmas cards from Walter Isaacs (linocut) and Ambrose Patterson (woodcut).
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Seattle, Washington.
Provenance:
Donated 1979 by Wesley Wehr, a friend of Anderson.
Restrictions:
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
An interview of William Cumming conducted by Dorothy Bestor on 1965 April 3 for the Archives of American Art.
Cumming speaks of getting on the Federal Art Project; meeting Morris Graves; problems with the way the project was administered and supervised; destruction of some of the art work produced by the project; his feelings about federal support for the arts; his existential philosophy on life; and his views on current trends in painting. He recalls Jacob Elshin, Robert Bruce Inverarity, Mark Tobey, Denise Farwell, Guy Anderson.
Biographical / Historical:
William Cumming is a painter from Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 29 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.
