An interview of Charles Alston conducted 1965 September 28, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project.
Alston speaks of his work as an art director of a community camp and as director of a boys' club in Harlem; the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and his involvement; the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and his involvement in it; his membership in the Harlem Artists Guild; his contribution to WPA Federal Art Project murals at Harlem Hospital; mural versus easel painting; problems with the Artists Union; and camaraderie among FAP artists. He recalls Lou Block, Stuart Davis, Burgoyne Diller, Edith Halpert, Jacob Lawrence, Ernest Pachano, Aaron Ben Schmoo, and others, and describes his associations with musicians including Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington and Chick Webb.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Henry Alston (1907-1977) was an African American painter and mural painter in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 24 minutes.
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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
A collection of interview transcripts conducted 1967-1968 by Anne Bowen Parsons. The interviews are with artists, educators, art administrators, and dealers. Topics covered include the Federal Art Project, the Artists' Union, the Club, the influence of French emigre artists, and political activism among artists. The transcripts range from 1 to 4 pages in length.
Interviewees include: Mildred Baker, Will Barnet, Emanuel Benson, James Brooks, Paul Burlin, Giorgio Cavallon, Willem de Kooning, Jimmy Ernst, Sidney Geist, Adolph Gottlieb, Balcomb Greene, Robert Gwathmey, Seymour Hacker, Carl Holty, Harry Holtzman, Reuben Kadish, Lee Krasner, Joe Lasker, Ibram Lassaw, Jack Levine, Conrad Marca-Relli, George McNeil, Dorothy Canning Miller, George L.K. Morris, Reuben Nakian, Phillip Pavia, Louis Schanker, Ben Shahn, Theodoros Stamos, Eugene Victor Thaw, Jack Tworkov, and Esteban Vincente.
Biographical / Historical:
Anne Bowen Parsons (c.1930-1971) was working in the Housing and Development Administration in New York City at the time of her death.
Provenance:
Donated in 1985 by Anne Bowen Parsons' son, Randall T. Parsons.
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.
Papers relating to Block's involvement as a supervisor in the WPA Federal Art Project New York City office and as a member of the Artists Congress.
Frames 825-889: Photographs of murals in New York City, many unidentified, and photographs of strike and picketing by Artists' Union [microfilm title WPA-FAP, New York].
Frames 1013-1300: Correspondence and memoranda regarding rejection of murals for the Harlem Hospital by black artists, and charges of racism and segregation in the FAP; memos and reports by Block on the Index of American Design in New York City, including a roster of master artists on the Index; memos relating to cutbacks and quotas on the FAP; memos from the Supervisors Association of the FAP; Artists Congress report to membership, November 1936; issues of AMERICAN ARTIST; Index of American Design exhibition catalogs; and other printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Administrator, Federal Art Project; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1965 by Louis Block.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
1.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1902-1972
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; material relating to government support for the arts and to artists' unions and international organizations; cartoons and illustrations; writings; notes; legal documents; clippings; and printed material.
REEL N70-40: Correspondence, 1939-ca. 1948, mostly about alleged government suppression of the arts. Included are 5 letters from Rockwell Kent and 2 from Morris Watson. In addition, there are printed items such as newsletters and bulletins.
REEL 1337: Letters, notes, minutes, address lists, speeches, manuscripts, and printed matter regarding dismissals of WPA-FAP artists, the Woodrum relief bill, support for the Federal Arts Bill (1937-1938), Artists' Union, United American Artists, Artists League of America (and in particular its disaffiliation from the United Office and Professional Workers of America), Artists' Conference of the Americas (1939), and the International Artists Organization (1946-1948). Correspondents include Norman Barr, Lewis Merrill, and Rockwell Kent.
UNMICROFILMED: Original cartoons and illustrations; correspondence; legal documents; writings; notes; clippings; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Cartoonist, painter; New York, N.Y. Also known as Danotto.
Provenance:
Material on reels N70-40 & 1337 donated 1970-1975 by Daniel Koerner. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1978 by Natalie Nolan and Dr. Cassandra L. Smith, long time friends of Koerner.
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:
Cartoonists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Biographical material, correspondence, writings, business records, printed material, photographs, sketches and notebooks.
REEL D343: Files kept by Gottlieb on the Works Progress Administration, 3rd Woodstock Art Conference, American Artists' Congress, American Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers and the Artists Union, N.Y.; newsletters, correspondence and minutes from Artists Equity Association; issues of "Art Front", "Art Project Reporter" and "ALA News" of the Artists League of America; correspondence, 1928-1951; clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements; silk screen prints; notes and an autobiographical sketch. Photographs include: one of Gottlieb and Joseph Solomon, ca. 1950; one of Gottlieb in his studio, 1939; 4 of the Carnegie Institute International exhibit, 1931, showing Gottlieb's work; and a group photograph of the Artists Equity Testimonial Dinner honoring Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 1948.
REEL 3889-3890: Biographical information; correspondence, including letters from Rockwell Kent; records of the Summit Gallery, business records and price lists for art work; 1 charcoal drawing, 2 ink drawings and 3 sketches; notes, layouts and a contract for Gottlieb's book, THE ART OF HARRY GOTTLIEB; notebooks; material on the Artists Equity Association, the Artists Union, N.Y., Public Art Preservation Committee, and New York WPA Artists, Inc.; exhibition announcements, catalogs, clippings and press releases; and photographs, 1935-1953, of Gottlieb and his art work.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, printmaker; New York, N.Y. b. 1895; d. 1992. Born in Bucharest, Romania. Member of N.Y. Artists' Union, American Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, and the American Artists Congress. Served as a WPA artist. Pioneer in the development of silk screen process as a fine art form.
Provenance:
Material donated by Harry Gottlieb, 1968 and 1982.
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:
Serigraphers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
0.4 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
[ca. 1930-1971]
Scope and Contents:
American Artists' Congress documentation includes photographs, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material. The Artists' Union materials include six photographs by Irving Marantz of members (some identified) of the Artists' Union participating in a demonstration advocating unionization for all artists. WPA material includes photographs and a brochure.
Biographical / Historical:
Monroe is a painter, educator, art historian; New York, N.Y.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives is a microfilm reel (reel 1044) donated by Monroe containing his 1971 thesis, The Artists' Union of New York," done for New York University.
Provenance:
Donated 1971-1976 by Gerald M. Monroe.
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.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Political aspects Search this
Trade unions and the arts -- United States Search this
The collection of Art Front magazines includes one bound volume containing the 25 issues of Art Front: November 1934 (vol. 1, no. 1), through December 1937 (vol. 3, no. 8). Also found are loose issues of Art Front including November 1934, January- February 1935, April- May 1935, July 1935, November 1935- June 1936, September/October 1936, December 1936- March 1937, June/July 1937, October 1937, and December 1937. Several loose issues have multiple copies.
Biographical / Historical:
Art Front was a magazine published by the Artists Union in New York in collaboration with the Artists Committee of Action. Twenty-five issues were published between November 1934 and December 1937. Herbert Baron, director of the American Contemporary Art (ACA) gallery was managing editor.The editorial committee was composed of sixteen people, eight from each of the partner groups. From the Artists Committee of Action were Hilda Abel, Harold Baumbach, Stuart Davis, Hugo Gellert, Abraham Harriton, Zoltan Hecht, Rosa Pringle and Jennings Tofel, and from the Artists' Union were Boris Gorelick, Katherine Gridley, Ethel Olenikov, Robert Jonas, Herbert Kruckman, Michael Loew, C. Mactarian and Max Spivak.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives, on microfilm reel LA 1, are duplicate issues, December 1935, June 1936, and an incomplete issue, 1937 (reel LA 1) lent for microfilming by Leon Saulter, and on microfilm reel LA 7, duplicate issues for April 1936, and June 1936, lent by Boris Gorelick.
Provenance:
Donated by Dewey Albinson, an administrator for the WPA in Minnesota. Some issues of Art Front in the Archives' possession were combined with Albinson's gift to form a complete series.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
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; photographs of Gotcliffe and his work; exhibition catalogs and announcements. In addition, there is a scrapbook page of photographs and clippings concerning the Artists' Union of New York.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; born England, died New York, N.Y. Gotcliffe was largely self-taught, and his work for the W.P.A. was primitive in style.
Provenance:
The lender, Lionel Gotcliffe, is the son of Sid Gotcliffe.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
An interview of Edward Landon conducted 1975 Apr. 17-May 28, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Landon speaks of working with the local theater in high school; leaving Hartford at age 17 or 18 for Greenwich Village in New York and the Art Students League; studying figure drawing with George Bridgman; getting married and moving to Springfield, Mass.; exhibiting with the Springfield Art League; the Artist Union and the Artist Congress in the 1930s; spending a summer with Georgia O'Keeffe and Paul Strand in Taos, N.M.; the cooperation amongst artists that lasted into the 1950s to establish serigraphs as an American fine art print medium; when he received the Solomon Guggenheim Scholarship for Non-objective Art in 1939; when he made furniture and picture frames and the publishing of his book on making picture frames in 1946; when he began working as an easel painter in the Massachusetts Federal Art Project of the WPA in 1933; becoming president of the Western Chapter of the Artists Union in 1934; when he corresponded and visited Arthur Dove; his friendship with Elizabeth McCausland; his introduction to Harry Gottlieb and silk screen printing; the love of color and currently trying for emotional effects in his work; initiating silk screen exhibitions in the Springfield Museum; the beginning of the National Serigraph Society and his work as the exhibition secretary; his teaching approach; the first class held in his garage with fellow artists; more on his relationship with Elizabeth McCausland; Arthur Dove's influence on a recent painting Landon finished; his trip to Taos in 1930 and the importance of artist colonies for him early on; the feeling of not having roots, but being comfortable with the idea; the purpose of the National Serigraph Society; his feelings about printmakers moving away from traditional printing; organized exhibitions for the United States Information Service; his enjoyment in organizing things; the commercialization of creating "prints;" how photo-realism does not translate well in the print medium; the importance of trying to convey an idea in his work; his success in covering small boxes, address books and other items, as well as book binding; his preference for printing small editions of 25 to 35 prints; of a description of his method of printing; his Fulbright Fellowship in 1950 to travel to Norway and lecture; an interest in early Scandinavian art; publishing a silkscreen portfolio of pre-Viking art for the American Scandinavian Foundation; traveling through Europe; his influence as an innovator in France and Scandinavia; meeting with silk screen artists in Oslo; art forms in his work at this time; his inclusion in "Who's Who in American Art;" the avoidance of art movements; how by the 1950s the reason for the National Serigraph Society no longer existed because the medium was popular by that time; his move to Vermont in 1957 or 1958; work as a color mixer, book binder, and returning to framing because of health reasons; his second illness changing what he found important in his life; and how the content of his work became more emotional. Landon also recalls Louie Lozowick, Gertrude Stein, Marian Hughes, Elizabeth Olds, John Marin, Alfred Stieglitz, Berenice Abbott, Marvo Perry, Hilla Rebay, Sir William T. Rogers, Max Weber, Dennis Hartley, Alfred Maurer, Bernie Sabbath, and Henry Mark.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Landon (1911-1984) was a printmaker from Weston, Vt.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 39 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
An interview of Boris Gorelick conducted 1964 May 20, by Betty Hoag for the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project.
Gorelick speaks of his background in Russia and New York; attending the Art Students League; the formation of the Artists' Union; working on murals and stained glass for the WPA Federal Art Project; the influence of the Mexican muralists on FAP murals; Art Front magazine, and the American Artists' Congress. He recalls Ben Shahn and Arshile Gorky.
Biographical / Historical:
Designer, mural painter; Los Angeles, Calif.
General:
Sound quality is poor.
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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Muralists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Bernarda Bryson conducted 1983 April 29, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
Bryson speaks of her family background and education; writing for the Ohio State Journal; teaching etching and lithography; meeting Diego Rivera and Ben Shahn; the formation of the Unemployed Artists Group and her role as secretary, 1933; the Gibson Committee, the John Reed Club, and the Artists' Union in New York City; founding Art Front magazine; pressure from the Communist Party; demonstrating at the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1934; lithography under Adrian Dornbush; assisting Ben Shahn; her work as an illustrator; and her painting since 1971.
Biographical / Historical:
Bernarda Bryson (1903-2004) was a printmaker and painter from Roosevelt, New Jersey. She is the widow of artist Ben Shahn.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 26 min.
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 others.
An interview of Isamu Noguchi conducted 1973 Nov. 7-Dec. 26, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
NOVEMBER 7, 1973 session: Noguchi discusses his family background; growing up in Japan; returning to the United States in 1917; his identity as an artist; Gutzon Borglum; Columbia University and studying pre-med; attending Leonardo da Vinci Art School; apprenticing to Onorio Ruotolo; quitting Columbia to become a sculptor; Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927; J.B. Neumann; Alfred Stieglitz; George Grey Barnard; James Earle Fraser; Brummer and the Brummer Gallery; studying at Chaumiere and Collarosi; working with Brancusi; meeting Sandy Calder in Paris; Stuart Davis; Morris Kantor; Andrée Ruellan; his work, "Sphere"; reacting against Brancusi; Eugene Schoen's; his Carnegie Hall studio; Michio Ito; Martha Graham; Buckminster Fuller; traveling in China and Japan; meeting Chi Pai Shi; John Becker; his works, "Play Mountain," "Monument to the Plow," "Monument to Ben Franklin," and "Orpheus" for Balanchine; designing for the stage; Audrey McMahon; Harry Hopkins; Holger Cahill; Mexico; Diego Rivera; Miguel Covarrubias; and the Artists Union.
DECEMBER 10, 1973 Session: His reaction to the Spanish Civil War- avoided direct involvement; Stuart Davis; Gorky; Andre Breton; David Hare; Marcel Duchamp; John Graham; Julien Levy; his artist friends dying at the peak of their success; Leger; Stirling Calder; associating himself with the laboring class; Buckminster Fuller; being American; expanding the possibilities of sculpture; his Associated Press Building project in Rockefeller Center, it being done in stainless steel instead of bronze; John Collier; Japanese-American Citizens League; organizing Nisei Artists and Writers Mobilization for Democracy; Jeanne Reynal; going to Poston, Ariz. to assist with American Indian Service camp under John Collier and becoming an internee there; returning to New York in 1942; Bollingen Foundation; trip around the world in 1949; and Philip Guston.
DECEMBER 18, 1973 session: Best work in studio; reaction against expressionism; artists protesting against the Establishment; his objection to the WPA, influenced by William Zorach; exhibiting in group show called, "Fourteen Americans at the Museum of Modern Art"; show at Egan Gallery in 1949; accepting art in its most aesthetically pure form without reference to social issues; movement in Japan since war to get away from refinement of Japan; Yoshiro Hiro responsible for Gutai and the happenings; his work, "Monument to Heroes," using bones; his work takes years to do; materials used in his work; his work, "Cronos"; doing theater stage sets for the Library of Congress including, "Appalachian Spring" and "Herodiade"; wants a given space which he can call his own and do something with it, has to be a work of art.
DECEMBER 26, 1973 Session: Show with Charles Egan in 1948 arranged by de Kooning; applying to the Bollingen Foundation to write a book on leisure, which was never written; traveling to Italy, Egypt, and India for two years; being removed from the New York scene with Franz Kline and de Kooning; his light objects; sculpture as environment; respect for material; Mondrian and his art deriving from nature; his time in Japan in 1931; visiting Japan in 1951; working in stone; projects in Japan; Taniguchi; Antonin Raymond; designing Japanese gardens; discovery of Zen; Hasegawa Saburo; Skidmore; Hans Knoll; Edison Price; Italy in the 1960s; Peter Gregory; Henry Moore; Louis Kahn; UNESCO; Noguchi Foundation and Plaza Company; Shoji; Eleanor Ward; and his autobiography, "A Sculptor's World."
Biographical / Historical:
Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was a Japanese American sculptor based in Long Island City, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hrs., 25 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of John Opper conducted 1968 Sept. 9-1969 Jan 3, by Irving Sandler, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
John Opper (1908-1994) was a painter from Amagansett, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 17 min.
Location of the first of the three tapes is unknown.
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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.). Art Front magazine, 1935 December. Balcomb and Gertrude Greene papers, circa 1880s-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
