An interview of Harold Rosenberg conducted 1970 December 17-1973 January 28, by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art over nine sessions.
Rosenberg speaks on a wide variety of topics including Marxism and Communism; art criticism; teaching and the philosopy of art; how his interest in art developed over the years; getting his writings published and starting a magazine; what intrigues him about the avant-garde; when and why he started painting; action painting; the inaccuracies in art history about Avant-gardism and Surrealism; working as a mural painter for the College Art Association; moving from the WPA's art project to the writer's project, and becoming an art editor; what happened to the works of art done under the WPA after it ended; and moving to the Hamptons.
He speaks in detail on the New York art scene during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s; The Club; writing about art; politics and art; Shakespeare and literature's influence on art and vice versa; the various economic aspects of art; how the Depression affected him and the people he knew; the projects he worked on in the WPA; and working for the OWI after the WPA disbanded.
He recalls Mark Rothko, Harold Baumbach, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Peter Blume, Helen Lundberg, André Breton, Arshile Gorky, Roberto Matta, Jackson Pollock, David Smith, Lee Krasner, Fernand Léger, Joan Miró, Jim Leshay, Stuart Davis, Bruce Inverarity, Barney Newman, Mark Tobey, Gregorio Prestopino, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Harold Rosenberg (1906-1978) was a writer and educator from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound tapes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 10 hr., 4 min.
Interview transcript is not in chronological order; arrangement designated by the interviewer Paul Cummings.
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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Corrected and annotated mss. by Graham "Art History" with related notes (ca. 350 p. total); an autobiographical sketch, entitled "Autoportrait" (3 p. typescript); and an 8 p. summary by Angus Deming of an interview she conducted with Graham, Sept. 1960 in Paris.
Biographical / Historical:
Jack Mayer was an art dealer and owner of Gallery Mayer, New York, which handled the work of painter John Graham. Graham, born Ivan Gratsianovitch Dombrovski in Kiev, Russia in 1886 (baptised in 1881, hence the use of that year on many authoritative sources), came to N.Y. in 1920 and was a central figure among American avant-garde artists, especially from the late 1920s to 1940s. Graham was also a collector of African art which inspired an interest in primitivism in his work. Graham moved to Mexico in 1936. In 1937 he published Systems and Dialectics of Art, stimulating American artists interest in primitive art.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by Jack Mayer, 1971.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The scattered papers of French Dada painter Jean Crotti measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1913-1973, with the bulk of the material dated 1913-1961. Found within the papers are autobiographical notes and essays; correspondence with family and colleagues, among them Jean Cocteau, Andre Crotti, Suzanne Duchamp, Marcel Duchamp, Albert Gleizes, Christian a.k.a. Georges Herbiet, Henri Matisse, Francis Picabia, and Jacques Villon; notes and writings by Crotti and others; art work by Crotti and Paul Guillaume; a scrapbook; and additional printed material. Photographs are of Crotti, Suzanne Duchamp, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, and other family and friends; and of Crotti's art work. There are audio recordings on phonograph records of three interviews with Crotti and one with Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blancpain.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of French Dada painter Jean Crotti measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1973, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1913-1961. Among the papers are autobiographical essays, correspondence with friends and family, including many letters from Marcel Duchamp, notes and writings by and about Crotti, printed materials, one scrapbook, drawings by Crotti and others, photographs of Crotti and his family and friends, photographs of artwork, and three audio recordings of interviews with Crotti.
Biographical material consists of autobiographical notes and an autobiographical manuscript Ma Vie.
Art work includes seven folders of drawings and an etching plate by Crotti, 83 drawings by Paul Guillaume, and portrait drawings of Crotti by Henri Coudour and Francis Picabia.
A scrapbook contains clippings, a letter from Paul Guillaume and a letter to Elizabeth Crotti from a friend describing a 1932 Jean Crotti exhibition in the Balzac Galleries in New York City, and a typescript "Una Collezione a Parigi" by Gino Severini.
Photographs are of Crotti, his family, friends, colleagues, and art work by Crotti and by Suzanne Duchamp. Of particular interest are photographs of composer Edgard Var?¨se and his wife Louise with Suzanne Duchamp, Jean Crotti, and art advocate Mary Reynolds in 1924, photographs of Crotti and Georges Braque examining a gemmail art work, and photographs of Crotti and Suzanne Duchamp talking with Pablo Picasso at Cannes and at the home of Bertrande Blancpain in 1957.
Sound recordings include two phonograph records of interviews with Jean Crotti, including topics "Assignment Switzerland" and "Assignment World." A third phonograph record contains an instantatneous disk recording of correspondence between Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blancpain as well as an additional interview with Crotti.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1954-1955 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1916-1961 (Box 1; 43 folders)
Series 3: Notes and Writings, 1924-1958 (Box 1; 27 folders)
Series 4: Art Work, 1913-1925 (Box 1, 3; 12 folders)
Series 5: Scrapbook, 1931-1935 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1921-1973 (Box 1, 2, 3; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographs, 1920-1957 (Box 2; 25 folders)
Series 8: Sound Recordings, 1955 (Box 3; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Jean Crotti (1870-1958) was a Dadist painter who worked primarily in Paris, France and New York. He was married to Suzanne Duchamp, Marcel Duchamp's sister, and friends with notable avant-garde and Dada European and American painters of the period. He is also known for creating the "Gemmail" technique of layering colored glass that produced unique color combinations when illuminated.
Jean Crotti was born April 24, 1878 in Bulle, near Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a painting contractor. The family moved to Fribourg in 1887.
To escape from wartime Paris in 1914, Crotti and his first wife, Yvonne Chastel, moved to New York City where Crotti had his first solo exhibition at the Bourgeois Gallery. In 1915, Crotti met Francis Picabia and also shared a studio with Marcel Duchamp who was a major influence. Crotti began his Dada period and was included in an exhibition of French paintings at the Montross Gallery in New York, with Duchamp, Albert Gleizes, and Jean Metzinger.
Crotti separated from his first wife, Yvonne Chastel, in 1916 and returned to Paris alone. By 1917, Crotti's marriage had dissolved and he married Suzanne Duchamp in 1919. Crotti met Suzanne Duchamp, also a painter, through his friendship with her brother Marcel Duchamp. During this time, Crotti completed and exhibited paintings associated with the Dada movement. One of his more notable works was entitled Explacatif, bearing the word "Tabu" that expressed Crotti's concepts of mystery and infinity with spiritual overtones.
In 1935 Crotti began to research a new technique using layers of colored glass, referred to as "gemmail." The term is a contraction of "gem" referring to the colored glass and "enamel" referring to the method of affixing the pieces of glass to each other. After much experimentation, an "enamel" fixative was found that would permanently hold the glass pieces in place while still allowing light to shine through all the layers. Several prominent artists including Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso became interested in using this medium. Crotti had the process patented, but in 1955 ceded the rights to Roger Malherbe who adapted it to commercial uses.
Jean Crotti died on January 30, 1958 in Paris, France.
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:
Painters -- France -- Paris -- Interviews Search this
6.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1938-1980
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, writings, notes, forms, printed material, exhibition records, research material and photographs.
REEL 2814: frames 561-576: Photocopies of letters from George Barker to Homer, 1961-1965, regarding Thomas Eakins.
UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence with dealers, patrons and museum curators concerning an exhibition of the sculpture of Carl Walters, 1956-1958, including some notes and a few photographs of Walter's sculpture; letters, mainly from artists; and a photocopy of Shinn's "Everett Shinn Treatment, #1 and #2, 1945-1978. Among the correspondents are: Ansel Adams, Peggy Bacon, Saul Baizerman, Maurice Becker, Thomas H. Benton, Charles Burchfield, Faber Birren, Mrs. Homer Boss, Imogen Cunningham, Nell Daniel, Andrew Dasburg, Randall Davey, Stuart Davis, Theodore Lux Feininger, Lyonel Feininger, Laura Gilpin, Edith Halpert, Jay Hambidge, Emil Holzhauer, Lotte Jacobi, Mrs. William Sargent Kendall, Leon Kroll, Julien Levy, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Lewis Mumford, Georgia O'Keeffe, John H. Rhoades, Margery Ryerson, David Smith, Carl Sprinchorn, Edward Steichen, Mrs. Allen Tucker, and Carl Zigrosser. Also included are writings, notes, and printed material concerning the "Index of Dissertations and Theses in American Art" section of the Arts in America: A Bibliography (1979), edited by Bernard Karpel, covering years ca. 1930-1975.
Records of the 1975 exhibition "Avant-garde Painting and Sculpture in America, 1910-1925," organized by the Department of Art History and Division of Museum Studies, University of Delaware, in cooperation with the Delaware Art Museum. Included are correspondence regarding research, loans to the exhibition, and publicity; a grant proposal; photographs of artists, works of art, and installations of the exhibition; and an outline for the catalog.
Notebooks, 9 v. containing citations to dissertations and theses relating to American art, 1980-1997, compiled under Homer's direction, as a follow up to his "Index of Dissertations and Theses in American Art" section of the Bibliography of the Arts in America From Colonial Times to Modern Times (1979).
Homer's research material on Georges Seurat, ca. 1956-1980, including correspondence; essays, notes and draft writings; photocopies and microfilms of rare printed material; responses to questionnaires regarding ownership of paintings; bibliographies; biographical material on scientists and others who influenced Seurat; photographs and color transparencies of works by Seurat and his colleagues; and miscellany. Also included are correspondence and research notes on other Neo-Impressionists.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, educator; Newark, Del.; b. 1929. William Innes Homer is an art historian whose areas of expertise include European and American painting from 1865 to 1925 and American art after World War II. He has taught at Princeton University and Cornell University, but is most closely associated with the University of Delaware, where he is Professor Emeritus. He taught there from 1966 until his retirement in 1999.
Related Materials:
William Inned Homer papers are located at Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Michael S. Engl Family Foundation Library and Archive.
Provenance:
Donated 1980-2004 by William Homer. Photocopies of letters from Barker to Homer were discarded after microfilming.
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.
Journal, ca. 1944-1946, containing notes and quotations on art, religion, love, some of it in French; and sketches, executed in an account book formerly kept by a William Hawkins, which has an entry as early as 1846. It was either purchased by or given to Graham and used as a sketchbook.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, collector; New York and Mexico. Born Ivan Gratsianovitch Dombrovski in Kiev, Russia. His birthday is listed as 27 December, 1886 but after 1917 Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar changing the date to 7 January, 1887. He moved to New York in 1920, changing his name to John Dabrowsky Graham. He was a central figure among American avant-garde artists, especially from the late 1920's-1940's.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1970 by Mrs. Gertrude Stein, owner of the Gertrude Stein Gallery, 998 Madison Ave., NYC. Presumably Stein acquired the notebooks in her work as an art dealer. Additional notebooks in the John Graham papers on microfilm at the Archives of American Art.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Secession : it's a better world : Russischer Aktionismus und sein Kontext = Russian Actionism and its context / curated by Joseph Backstein & Johanna Kandl ; Alexander Brener ... [et al.]