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Interviewee:

Arient, James, 1946-  Search this

Arient, Beth, 1946-  Search this

Interviewer:

Blum, Betty  Search this

Names:

Camp, Jeffrey Thomas, 1944-  Search this

Dawson, William, 1901-1990  Search this

Finster, Howard, 1916-2001  Search this

Webster, Derek, 1934 - 2009  Search this

Extent:

213 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1988 April 27-29

Scope and Contents:

An interview of James and Beth Arient conducted 1988 April 27-29, by Betty Blum, for the Archives of American Art.

The Arients describe their backgrounds and talk about their initial interest in art and early collecting, their philosophy of collecting, their discovery of Eskimo sculpture and their first awareness of folk art. They comment on meeting Howard Finster and their subsequent relationship with him, Finster's relationship with collector Jeff Camp, the marketability of folk art, a 1987 exhibition of part of their collection at Northern Illinois University Art Gallery, and folk art patronage. They recall William Dawson and Derek Webster.

Biographical / Historical:

James Arient (1946-) and Beth Arient (1946-) are folk art collectors from Chicago, Illinois. James Arient is a dentist.

General:

Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 29 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.

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this

Folk art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Identifier:

AAA.arient88

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw968c3fe7c-62d8-4d33-98fd-dac6182baffa

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-arient88

Creator:

Arient, Beth, 1946-  Search this

Arient, James, 1946-  Search this

Subject:

Finster, Howard  Search this

Citation:

Beth and James Arient papers, 1979-1988. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Folk art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Theme:

Patronage  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9613

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211820

AAA_collcode_ariebeth

Theme:

Patronage

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211820

Creator:

Turner, John F.  Search this

Names:

Arient, Beth, 1946-  Search this

Arient, James, 1946-  Search this

Camp, Jeffrey Thomas, 1944-  Search this

Dickinson, Eleanor, 1931-  Search this

Esman, Rosa  Search this

Finster, Beverly  Search this

Finster, Howard, 1916-2001  Search this

Finster, Pauline  Search this

Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-  Search this

Hartigan, Lynda Roscoe  Search this

Hemphill, Herbert Waide  Search this

Jabbour, Alan  Search this

Kind, Phyllis, 1933-2018  Search this

Kirwin, Liza  Search this

Lancaster, Clay  Search this

Nasisse, Andy S., 1946-  Search this

Nutt, Jim, 1938-  Search this

Volkersz, Willem  Search this

Extent:

6.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Sound recordings

Photographs

Transcriptions

Video recordings

Date:

circa 1928-2015

bulk 1978-1990

Summary:

The John F. Turner collection of research material on visionary self-taught artist Howard Finster measures 6.9 linear feet and dates from circa 1928 to 2015, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1978 to 1990. John Turner is a California-based curator who compiled this collection in preparation for his book Howard Finster: Man of Visions (1989). Found within the collection are correspondence; numerous interviews with Finster and Finster family members, curators and historians, collectors, and artists; draft manuscripts and research notes; compiled research files on other topics; printed materials and commercial broadcast video recordings; and photographic material, including polaroids annotated by Finster. There is also one series of Howard Finster's papers that include writings by Finster, sound and video recordings of Finster exhibitions and talks by Finster related to those exhibitions, recordings of other speaking engagements, sermons, and other events, a scattering of personal business records that includes a ledger and price list of artwork, and artwork.

Scope and Contents:

The John F. Turner collection of research material on visionary self-taught artist Howard Finster measures 6.9 linear feet and dates from circa 1928 to 2015, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1978 to 1990. John Turner is a California-based curator who compiled this collection in preparation for his book Howard Finster: Man of Visions (1989). Found within the collection are correspondence; numerous interviews with Finster and Finster family members, curators and historians, collectors, and artists; draft manuscripts and research notes; compiled research files on other topics; printed materials and commercial broadcast video recordings; and photographic material, including polaroids annotated by Finster. There is also one series of Howard Finster's papers that include writings by Finster, sound and video recordings of Finster exhibitions and talks by Finster related to those exhibitions, recordings of other speaking engagements, sermons, and other events, a scattering of personal business records that includes a ledger and price list of artwork, and artwork.

Correspondence mostly consists of letters to John Turner from Howard Finster and Finster family members, folklorist Alan Jabbour, Clay Lancaster, Andy Nasisse, and others. There are also letters to Howard Finster from miscellaneous correspondents.

Numerous interviews with and about Howard Finster are found on 47 sound cassettes, and one partial transcript. In addition to interviews conducted by Turner, there are interviews with Finster conducted by Liza Kirwin and Willem Volkerz. Most of the interviews are with others about Finster, including family members, collectors, curators and art historians, and other artists. Interviewees include Jim and Beth Arient, Jeffrey Camp, Eleanor Dickinson, Rosa Esman, Beverly and Pauline Finster, Allen Ginsberg, Lynda Hartigan, Herbert Waide Hemphill, Alan Jabbour, Phyllis Kind, Jim Nutt, and others.

Writings consist of Turner's research notebooks and a typescript draft for his book Howard Finster: Man of Visions. There are some curator's statements and loose notes possibly written by others. Research files include printed material compiled by John Turner on various artists and subjects not directly related to Finster, except for bibliographies.

Papers and other materials created by Howard Finster are arranged into one separate series. These include writings; exhibition files, including video and sound recordings; personal business records; artwork, including album covers and posters; and sound recordings of Finster's public and private talks, sermons, and events. Many of the sound recordings were recorded by Finster himself.

Printed material consists of newspaper and magazine clippings about Howard Finster, exhibition catalogs, announcements, magazines, and art periodicals. There are also 2 videocassettes of commercially released television appearances and music videos.

Photographic material includes photographs, slides, negatives, and transparencies of Howard Finster and his artwork. There are images of Finster and his family, artwork, exhibitions, openings, and events. Some of the images are annotated by Finster.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, 1967-2005 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Interviews, 1977-circa 1989 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1980-circa 1989 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)

Series 4: Research Files, circa 1971-2015 (0.5 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 5: Howard Finster Files and Sound and Video Recordings, circa 1970-2001 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 3-5, OV 9, 11)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1975-2010 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 5-6, OV 10)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1928-circa 2000 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)

Biographical / Historical:

John F. Turner is a writer and curator who lives in California. Turner has written books on photography and folk art and is an adjunct curator at the San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum. He has also worked for NBC news and documented the lives of folk artists for many years.

Turner befriended visionary, self-taught artist and Baptist minister Howard Finster sometime in the late 1970s. The research material in this collection was compiled over a decade for Turner's book Howard Finster: Man of Vision (Alfred A. Knopf, 1989).

Related Materials:

The Archives of American Art also has the Barbara Shissler Nosanow materials relating to Howard Finster, circa 1981; an oral history interview with Howard Finster conducted on June 11, 1984 by Liza Kirwin; and an interview with Howard Finster conducted by James Arient and Howard Finster's own sound recordings of himself from 1981-1982.

Provenance:

The John F. Turner research material on Howard Finster was donated by John F. Turner in 1987 and 2016.

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.

Use of archival visual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

U-matic videocassette recording Howard Finster exhibition opening: Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from John Turner. 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.

Occupation:

Folk artists -- California  Search this

Painters -- Georgia  Search this

Museum curators -- California  Search this

Topic:

Authors -- California  Search this

Folk art  Search this

Self-taught artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Photographs

Transcriptions

Video recordings

Citation:

John F. Turner research material on Howard Finster, circa 1928-2015, bulk dates 1978-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.turnjohn

See more items in:

John F. Turner research material on Howard Finster

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9369b50b3-a26c-4e8d-bf75-e17a90f122ce

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-turnjohn

Interviewee:

Arient, James, 1946-  Search this

Interviewer:

Blum, Betty  Search this

Subject:

Arient, Beth, 1946-  Search this

Camp, Jeffrey Thomas  Search this

Dawson, William  Search this

Finster, Howard  Search this

Webster, Derek  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with James and Beth Arient, 1988 April 27-29. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews  Search this

Folk art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States  Search this

Theme:

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12114

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212161

AAA_collcode_arient88

Theme:

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212161

Creator:

Arient, Beth, 1946-  Search this

Arient, James, 1946-  Search this

Names:

Finster, Howard, 1916-2001  Search this

Extent:

1 Microfilm reel (147 items on 1 partial microfilm reel)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilm reels

Date:

1979-1988

Scope and Contents:

The microfilmed Beth and James Arient papers contain 23 letters from self-taught painter Howard Finster and Pauline Finster to the Arients (1979-1987); and photographs of folk artists, some with the Arients, and their work (1980-1988). Among the artists photographed are Elijah Pierce, Mary Borkowski, Jesse Howard, Joe "The Welder" Janosik, Eunice McCloskey, Dow Pugh, Howard Finster, Minnie Black, Nellie Mae Rowe, Lanier Meaders, B.C. Craig, William Dawson, Carl McKenzie, Denzil Goodpaster, S.L. Jones, Carlton Garrett, Frank Pickle, Sam Doyle, David Butler, Luster Willis, "Daddy Boy" Williams, Kid Mertz, Dilmus Hall, James "Son" Thomas, Derek Webster, Raymond Coins, James Harold Jennings, Sarah Mary Taylor, Mary T. Smith, and Clyde "Jungle Boy" Jones.

Biographical / Historical:

Beth Arient (1946- ) and James "Jim" Arient (1946- ) are folk art collectors in Naperville, Illinois.

Related Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds the oral history interview with James and Beth Arient, 1988 April 27-29.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming 1988 by the Arients.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Occupation:

Collectors -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Topic:

Folk art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.ariebeth

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96bb63d60-c213-48e0-8d71-031e6a8ff236

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-ariebeth