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Oral history interview with John Wilson

Interviewee:
Wilson, John, 1922-2015  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Boston University. School of Fine and Applied Arts  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Aronson, David, 1923-2015  Search this
Bengtz, Ture, 1907-1973  Search this
Gaither, Edmund B.  Search this
Hurwitz, Sidney, 1932-  Search this
Kay, Reed  Search this
Kramer, Jack  Search this
Lewis, Elma  Search this
Léger, Fernand, 1881-1955  Search this
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this
Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this
Extent:
497 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1993 March 11-1994 August 16
Scope and Contents:
An interview of John Woodrow Wilson conducted 1993 March-1994 August, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Wilson discusses his childhood as a member of a family of middle class Black people from British Guiana (now Guyana); his father's grave disappointments in the face of racial discrimination; his parents' push for their children to succeed; early urge to read and draw; encouragement by School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston students who taught at the Roxbury Boys Club; his secondary education; and friends.
He talks about his education at the MFA School, Boston, and comments on such teachers as Ture Bengtz and Karl Zerbe and compares their exacting methods with those of Fernand Leger, his teacher in Paris.
His work of the 1940s prior to going to Paris; the importance of early awards and sales received while still a student at the MFA School; the excitement of sharing a studio with fellow students, Francesco Carbone and Leo Prince; and encouragement to stay in school during WW II with the promise of a European study fellowship after the war.
The great impact of his years in Paris (1948-49); the lack of racial prejudice; the liberating effect of Leger's teaching; his awe of the work of Masaccio and Piero della Francesca during a trip to Italy; and the deep impression made on him by seeing tribal art in the Musee de l'Homme, Paris.
Continued discussion of Leger; his teaching methods; and influences on his work.
His first teaching position at the MFA School; his involvement in civil rights in Boston; his gregariousness and the use of his studio as a meeting place for artists and political activists; his involvement with socialism in Boston and New York; and working in a socialist children's camp. He remembers meeting Paul Robeson, Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, and Bob Blackburn, who was then setting up his printmaking atelier in New York; marriage to a fellow socialist (June 1950); move to Mexico on a fellowship to study with Jose Orozco on the advice of Leger, only to find that Orozco had died; terrors of travel as an interracial couple through the U.S.; and different racial attitudes in Mexico and the U.S.
Living in Mexico (1950-56) and anecdotes of David Alfaro Siqueiros and Diego Rivera; his wife's meeting with Frieda Kahlo and seeing her collection of folk art; their free and cosmopolitan, if impoverished, life in Mexico; his work in a printmaking atelier and on the production of frescoes, and a lengthy aside about his brilliant brother, Freddie, who because he was black was not allowed to pursue his first love, geology, for many years.
Continued discussion of his experiences in Mexico; the dreary year (1957) he spent doing commercial art for a meatpackers' union in Chicago, a city he disliked; his move to New York in 1958, taking on commercial work to support his family, and teaching anatomy at the Pratt Institute.
Teaching art at a junior high school in the Bronx, and his gaining respect of students through special projects; teaching drawing at Boston University (1965-86), his approach to teaching including his demanding standards, the seriousness of the students, his opposing rigid attendance and grading rules, and colleagues, such as David Aronson who had created the School, Reed Kay, Jack Kramer, Sidney Hurwitz, and the University president, John Silber.
Working with the black arts entrepreneur, Elma Lewis, in setting up a visual arts program for the Boston black community (late 1960s-1970s), including the selection of a curator, Edmund Barry Gaither, a young art historian, who eventually established a museum of African-American art; his participation in various black art exhibitions, despite his belief that art should be seen regardless of the ethnic origins of artists; his move toward sculpture, beginning in the early 1960s, as a medium most expressive of black persons, culminating in the 1980s in a series of colossal heads and a statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. for the U.S. Capitol (1985-86); and why he makes art and will so long as he is able.
Biographical / Historical:
John Wilson (1922- ) is an African American painter, sculptor, illustrator, printmaker, and educator from Boston, Massachusetts. Full name John Woodrow Wilson.
General:
Originally recorded on 11 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 22 digital wav files. Duration is 16 hr., 2 min.
Uneven transcription reflects Wilson's unusual speech pattern.
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 administrators. Funding for the transcription and microfilming of the interview provided by the Newland Foundation.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Educators -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Printmakers -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American printmakers  Search this
African American sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.wilson93
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f3601751-82e4-488d-b246-deda68bea613
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wilson93
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Jason Berger

Interviewee:
Berger, Jason, 1924-2010  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Art Institute of Boston -- Faculty  Search this
Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School -- Faculty  Search this
State University of New York at Buffalo -- Faculty  Search this
United States. Army  Search this
Benda, Clemens E. (Clemens Ernst), 1898-  Search this
Bengtz, Ture, 1907-1973  Search this
Bloom, Hyman, 1913-  Search this
Fiedler, Leslie A.  Search this
Levine, Jack, 1915-2010  Search this
Powers, Marilyn, 1925-1976  Search this
Swetzoff, Hyman Wulf, 1920-1968  Search this
Zadkine, Ossip  Search this
Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this
Extent:
2 Items (Sound recording: 2 sound files (2 hr., 5 min.), digital, wav file)
47 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place:
France -- description and travel
Date:
1979 January 12-1980 February 1
Scope and Contents:
Interview of Jason Berger, conducted 1979 January 12 and 1980 February 1, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Berger speaks of growing up in Massachusetts; serving in the Army during World War II; studying and teaching at the Museum School in Boston; marrying his wife, Marilyn Powers; studying sculpture in France; exhibiting at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston and other galleries; the art collective Direct Vision; being fired from the Museum School; and teaching at SUNY Buffalo and the Art Institute of Boston. Berger also recalls Karl Zerbe, Ture Bengtz, Hyman Bloom, Hyman Swetzoff, Jack Levine, Leslie Fiedler, Clemens Benda, Ossip Zadkine, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Jason Berger (1924-2010) is a painter and printmaker from Brookline, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 5 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Printmakers -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture -- Study and teaching  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.berger79
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9652d0b09-4b9e-4cbe-a848-52ae40aea227
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-berger79
Online Media:

Clemens Kalischer papers

Creator:
Kalischer, Clemens, 1921-  Search this
Names:
Bennington College  Search this
Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.)  Search this
MacDowell Colony  Search this
Abate, Peter  Search this
Abe, Kongō, 1900-1968  Search this
Abel, Cora-Beth  Search this
Adler, Samuel, 1898-  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Aschenbach, Paul, 1921-  Search this
Bengtz, Ture, 1907-1973  Search this
Borowski, Wiesław  Search this
Coonhan, Ms  Search this
Cox, Jan, 1919-1980  Search this
Cunningham, Merce  Search this
De Kooning, Elaine  Search this
Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994  Search this
Der Hovanesian, Garabed  Search this
Dombek, Blanche, 1914-  Search this
Doubrova, Jan, 1912-  Search this
Epping, Franc, 1910-  Search this
Fimple, Vernon  Search this
Forst, Miles, 1923-  Search this
Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this
Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-1983  Search this
Gil, David  Search this
Glickman, Maurice, 1906-  Search this
Granda, Julio  Search this
Grausman, Philip, 1935-  Search this
Gray, Cleve  Search this
Hayter, Stanley William, 1901-1988  Search this
Kilbourn, Victoria  Search this
Lieberman, Alexander  Search this
Mazur, Michael, 1935-2009  Search this
Meštrović, Ivan, 1883-1962  Search this
Morris, George L. K., 1905-1975  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Neel, Alice, 1900-1984  Search this
Noland, Kenneth, 1924-2010  Search this
Okubo, Miné  Search this
Prestopino, Gregorio  Search this
Rockwell, Norman, 1894-1978  Search this
Rosenberg, Jakob, 1893-  Search this
Smith, David, 1906-1965  Search this
Torres, John, 1939-  Search this
Tsʻai, Wen-ying, 1928-  Search this
Voulis, Asapia  Search this
Whitecross, Iain  Search this
Wildenhain, Marguerite  Search this
Extent:
276 Items ((on one microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
ca.1946-1966
Scope and Contents:
276 photographs, ca. 1946-1966, taken by Kalisher of artists teaching at Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont, Black Mountain College, North Carolina, and the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Artists include: Peter Abate, Kongo Abe, Cora-Beth Abel, Samuel M. Adler, Paul Aschenbach, Josef Albers, Ture Bengtz, Wieslaw Borowski, Ms. Coonhan, Jan Cox, Merce Cunningham, Dorothy Dehner, Elaine de Kooning, Garabed der Hovanesian, Blanche Dombek, Jan Doubrova, Franc Epping, Vernon Fimple, Miles Forst, Helen Frankenthaler, Buckminster Fuller, David Gil, Maurice Glickman, Julio Granda, Philip Grausman, Cleve Gray, Stanley William Hayter, Victoria Kilbourn, Oskar Kokoschka, Alexander Lieberman, Michael Mazur, ? McKenzie, Ivan Mestrovic, George L. K. Morris, Robert Motherwell, Alice Neel, Kenneth Noland, Mine Okubo, Gregorio Prestopino, Norman Rockwell, Jakob Rosenberg, David Smith, John Torres, Wen Ying Tsai, Asapia Voulis, Iain Whitecross, Marguerite Wildenhain, and ? Zhermansky.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1982 by Clemens Kalischer.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Photographers  Search this
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Photographs  Search this
Artist colonies -- Photographs  Search this
Function:
Artist colonies
Identifier:
AAA.kaliclem
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw955662f44-58c5-4a43-a039-3bf7013ee4c6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-kaliclem

Ture Bengtz papers

Creator:
Bengtz, Ture, 1907-1973  Search this
Names:
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Date:
1935-1978
Scope and Contents:
Sketchbooks, cassette recording, biographical information, photographs, writings and notes, correspondence, sketches, and printed material.
REELS 2541-2542: 37 sketchbooks, 1935-1973, containing ink and pencil sketches. Some of the sketchbooks are annotated.
UNMICROFILMED: A resume; letters; 2 photographs, one of Bengtz at work in his studio and one of a stained glass he designed; writings and notes, including annual reports of curriculum at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston School; watercolor studies for stained glass windows and drawings for a television program; business records concerning the Museum of Fine Arts School and the airing of the television program "The Art School of the Air in New England, Bengtz on Drawing" on WGBH Channel 2, 1956 and concerning the Jomala (Finland) Church stained glass window project; 2 catalogs; a book, THE LITHOGRAPHS OF TURE BENGTZ; a cassette of a lecture given by Bengtz at a school in Needham, Mass.; and miscellaneous printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Museum director, stained glass artist, lecturer; Boston, Mass. Born in Finland; studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School where he subsequently taught.
Provenance:
The unmicrofilmed material was donated 1980 by Lillian E. Bengtz, Ture Bengtz's widow. She lent the sketchbooks on reels 2541-2542 for microfilming in 1982 and subsequently donated them to the Boston Public Libary, print department.
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:
Stained glass artists -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.bengture
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99c01e7d1-7d51-4539-a0e8-a08f111dbd4f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bengture

Ture Bengtz papers, 1935-1978

Creator:
Bengtz, Ture, 1907-1973  Search this
Subject:
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Type:
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Citation:
Ture Bengtz papers, 1935-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Craft  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6723
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208848
AAA_collcode_bengture
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Craft
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208848

The lithographs of Ture Bengtz / an appraisal by Will Barnet and commentaries by Richard C. Bartlett ; recollections of my father by Lanci Valentine and tributes by his friends

Author:
Bengtz, Ture 1907-1973  Search this
Barnet, Will 1911-2012  Search this
Bartlett, Richard C  Search this
Valentine, Lanci  Search this
Art Complex Museum (Duxbury, Mass.)  Search this
Subject:
Bengtz, Ture 1907-1973  Search this
Physical description:
vi, 134 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 25 x 32 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1978
Call number:
N40.1.B4613y A77 1978
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_553026

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