An interview of Louis Kaufman conducted 1985 Feb. 15, by Ruth Howard Cloudman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Kaufman, a great friend and patron of Milton Avery, recalls introducing Mark Rothko to Avery. He describes his memories of Rothko, including a discussion of Rothko's knowledge of art history and his interest in the French avant-garde. Much of the interview concerns Milton Avery, including Kaufman's interest in his work as a collector, the group of artists surrounding Avery, and Avery's influence upon Kaufman as a musician. He also recalls visits to Louis Eilshemius. Kaufman recalls Mary Kumpt, Aaron Berkman, Sally Avery, David Burliuk, John Graham, Zborowski, Adolf Gottlieb, Louis Elishemius, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Louis Kaufman (1905-1994) was an art collector and musician.
Provenance:
This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Jack Kufeld, Katharine Kuh, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Interviews 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.
Funding for the interview was provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Louis Kaufman, 1985 Feb. 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Interviews Search this
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers, 1906-2016, bulk 1920-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by Stephen Diamond, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
