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.
8 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 5 reels))
5.4 Linear feet (Addition)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1969-[ca. 1990]
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, photographs, slides, files, consigment of works of art to Cavin-Morris, Inc., and an account book for works of art by Howard Finster and Miles B. Carpenter, printed material concerning the Camp's interest and business in American folk art.
REELS 4067-4070: Correspondence with dealers, artists, and others, including Miles B. Carpenter, S.L. Jones, Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., Randall and Shari (Cavin) Morris, Phyllis Kind, Carl Hammer, Robert Bishop, Susan Hankla, Victor Musgrave, Roger Cardinal, Gregg Blasdel, Edwin Shelton, Elsa Weiner, and John Beardsley; files on artists Howard Finster, S.L. Jones, Carpenter, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Nellie Mae Rowe, Uncle Jack Dey, Lanier Meaders, Leslie J. Payne, Patsy Billups, and others; photographs of Miles Carpenter, his wood sculpture, and his family, and autobiographical writings by Carpenter; printed material on the American Folk Art Company; clippings, articles, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material about American folk art; and ca. 2,000 photographs of folk art.
REEL 4080: Ca. 50 letters from Howard Finster to Jeffrey Camp; writings by Finster; Camp's notes on Finster; price lists of works by Finster; receipts; and a letter from Camp's lawyer concerning Finster.
UNMICROFILMED: Slides, 1973-1983, of works of art and artists including Patsy Billups, Miles B. Carpenter, Howard Finster, Russell Gillespie, Charles T. Gleason, S.L. Jones, Sister Gertrude Morgan and Leslie J. Payne taken by Camp.
ADDITION: Papers, received in 1999, are primarily a donation of the material previously lent and microfilmed on reels 4067-4070, although some additional material was also donated. The addition most likely does not include material on reel 4080 relating to Howard Finster.
Biographical / Historical:
Folk art dealers, collectors; Richmond, Va. Owned and managed the American Folk Art Company, 1972-1976, Richmond and Tappahannock, Virginia, whose stock included paintings and sculpture by self-taught artists Howard Finster, Miles B. Carpenter, S.L. Jones, Leslie J. Payne, Russell Gillespie and others. The Camps are recognized as key figures in the folk art market of the 1970s.
Provenance:
Papers on reels 4067-4070, and 4080 were lent for microfilming 1987 by Jeffrey and C. Jane Camp. The collection of slides was copied by the Archives. In 1999, the Camps donated much of the material previously lent on reels 4067-4070, as well as some additional papers.
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.
An interview of C. Jane and Jeffrey Camp conducted 1987 Dec. 2-1988 Jan. 15, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
The Camps speak of their family backgrounds and education; Jeffrey's training in public relations; his first wife Emily; opening their store, the American Folk Art Company, in Richmond, Va., in 1972; their early inventory; Emily's role and personality as business partner; the ethics of art dealing; meeting and marrying his second wife, C. Jane Simpson; representing woodcarver Miles B. Carpenter; Jane's role in the American Folk Art Company; dealers, including Randall and Shari Morris, Phyllis Kind, and Jay Johnson in New York, Judith Alexander in Atlanta, and Carl Hammer in Chicago; emotions felt when acquiring objects; their private collection; advice received from Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., Michael Hall, and Phyllis Kind about working with artists; discovering and learning about folk art; collecting trips with Hemphill and others; dealings and falling out with Howard Finster; and publications of the American Folk Art Company; specific pieces of art collected and sold; and changing prices in the folk art market.
Biographical / Historical:
C. Jane Camp (1953- ) and Jeffrey Camp (1944- ) are folk art collectors from Richmond, Va. and Ross Shire, Scotland
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:
This interview is access restricted; written permission required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Virginia -- Richmond -- Interviews Search this
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.
The Marylin Zeitlin research material on artists dates from 1985 to 1991 and measures 0.2 linear feet. The material consists of interviews conducted by Marilyn Zeitlin of John Ahearn, his assistant Rigoberto Torres, his model Raymond Garcia, and his dealers Brooke and Carolyn Alexander; an interview of Miles Carpenter conducted by Chris Gregson; related printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The research material of Marylin Zeitlin date from 1985 to 1991 and measure 0.2 linear feet. The material consists of interviews conducted by Marilyn Zeitlin of John Ahearn, his assistant Rigoberto Torres, his model Raymond Garcia, and his dealers Brooke and Carolyn Alexander; an interview of Miles Carpenter conducted by Chris Gregson; related printed material.
Sound recordings related to Ahearn reflect research done by Zeitlin in preparation for a catalog essay on Ahearn and Torres for an exhibition of their work at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston entitled "South Bronx Hall of Fame". Interviews focus on Ahearn and his interaction with the residents of the South Bronx, who are his models and principal audience. A catalog of the exhibition is included.
Carpenter discusses his early carvings, his dealer Jeffrey T. Camp and selling his carvings locally; the development of his work and his use of tree limbs, roots, fur, enamel paint and other materials; life size constructions and subjects such as monkeys, kangaroos, devils, and snakes; and his exhibitions and performances. Also included is a brochure from his exhibition, "The Wood Carver from Waverly" at the Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia which includes an essay by Zeitlin.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series.
Series 1: Marylin Zeitlin Research Materials, 1985-1991 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Marilyn Zeitlin is an arts administrator, curator, gallery director. Zeitlin has been the director of the Washington Project for the Arts, director of the Anderson Gallery in Richmond, Virginia, and curator of the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas.
Provenance:
Donated 1991 by Marilyn Zeitlin.
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. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with C. Jane and Jeffrey Camp, 1987 December 2-1988 January 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Virginia -- Richmond -- Interviews Search this
