The Museum of Contemporary Art Interviews measure 8 linear feet and contain video interviews with 35 artists, curators, and an art collector, conducted by the staff of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago between 1979 and 1986, on 107 U-Matic videocassettes.
Scope and Contents:
The Museum of Contemporary Art Interviews measure 8 linear feet and contain video interviews with 35 artists, curators, and an art collector, conducted by the staff of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago between 1979 and 1986, on 107 U-Matic videocassettes.
The first set of interviews are with contemporary artists who had solo exhibitions at the museum between 1979 and 1985, including Chuck Close, Roger Brown, Eric Fischl, Peter and Ritzi Jacobi, Steve Keister, Sol Le Witt, and collector Dennis Adrian, whose Chicago art collection was exhibited in 1982. The remainder of the series contains four sets of interviews and other footage relating to exhibitions and programming, including the 1979 exhibition Wall Painting - Ryman, Hafif, Pozzi, Jackson, Yasuda; the 1981 exhibition Kick out the jams: Detroit's Cass Corridor 1963-1977; and the 1983 exhibition and educational program Eleven Chicago Artists, created with Chicago's N.A.M.E. gallery, which traveled to area high schools featuring short video documentaries about each artist that were created from the footage on the tapes in this collection. The last set includes interviews with architects Dirk Lohan and George Danforth and historian Franz Schulze, created for the 1986 program "Mies van der Rohe Remembered," celebrating the centennial of the architect's birth.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged as one series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Interviews with Artists, Collectors, and Curators (Boxes 1-8)
Biographical / Historical:
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago was founded in 1967 with Jan van der Marck as its first Director. The period from 1979 to 1986, represented in the videorecordings in this collection, was a period of physical expansion for the Museum, as well as a period when audiovisual components of artworks and exhibition design were increasingly incorporated into exhibitions and other programming. In 1979, a physical expansion of the museum begun in 1977 was unveiled with the opening of four new galleries, signaling an increased capacity for showing local and emerging contemporary artists and engaging the community.
The museum's education department began using video to create a rich record of solo and group exhibitions mounted at the museum, and created short video programs to reach out to new audiences. For their 1979 Wall Paintings exhibition, artists were interviewed while making their work in the museum, creating a visual record of the ephemeral works on display and the process of their creation. Video interviews with Detroit artists were created in preparation for a 1981 exhibition showing contemporary artists in the Cass Corridor community of that city. In 1983, Museum staff collaborated with Chicago's N.A.M.E. gallery to create the traveling exhibition Eleven Chicago Artists, which combined artwork with video documentaries showing artists at work and talking about their creative process. The exhibition traveled to city and suburban schools around Chicago. And on the centenary of the birth of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1986, interviews were conducted with Mies' grandson, Dirk Lohan, also an architect, as well as architectural historians George Danforth and Franz Schulze.
Provenance:
Donated 1986 by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois. 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.
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Interviews Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews Search this
Museum of Contemporary Art interviews, 1979-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program.
The papers of New York artist Philip Pearlstein measure 31.8 linear feet and 16.68 GB and date from circa 1940 to 2008. The collection is comprised of biographical material, correspondence, interviews and transcripts, writing projects and lectures, personal business records, printed material, three scrapbooks, photographs and moving images, documentary production material, digital records, sound and video recordings, and motion picture film that documents Pearlstein's career as a painter and educator.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York artist Philip Pearlstein measure 31.8 linear feet and 16.68 GB and date from circa 1940 to 2008. The collection is comprised of biographical material, correspondence, interviews and transcripts, writing projects and lectures, personal business records, printed material, three scrapbooks, photographs and moving images, documentary production material, digital records, sound and video recordings, and motion picture film that documents Pearlstein's career as a painter and educator.
Biographical material includes appointment books, several awards, annotated calendars, a catalogue raisonné working list, identification card, membership files, resumes, and one sound recording. Correspondence is with Will Barnet, Chuck Close, Rackstraw Downes, Richard Haas, Jack Levine, Robert Storr, John Updike, Leland Wallin, Jerome Witkin, family, galleries and museums, students, colleagues, artists, arts organizations, and includes a digital recording.
Also found are sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with Pearlstein by Vivian Tsao, Michael Blaine, Sanford Sivitz Shaman, David McCarthy, and broadcast stations WRFM and WBAI. Writing projects and lectures by Pearlstein consist of student work, numerous articles and essays, sound and video recordings of lectures and speeches, letters, memorials, miscellaneous manuscripts and notes, and a U.S. and U.S.S.R. Workshop Exchange project proposal. Writings by others about Pearlstein are by W.J. Kelly, Alexander Dückers, Richard Field, John Ward, Jerome Viola, Robert Storr, and David Yezzi.
Personal business records contain agreements, consignment and loan documents, donations, financial material, exhibition files, insurance and inventories, recommendations written by Pearlstein, reproduction permissions, digital recordings, and teaching files for various institutions. Art reproductions, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for exhibitions of artwork by Pearlstein and others, magazines and journals, newsletters, postcards, and publicity files that include one digital recording are in printed materials.
Two scrapbooks are of Egyptian and Roman architecture and objects accompanied by notes and a small amount of sketches, and one scrapbook is printed material regarding Pearlstein's work and exhibitions. Artwork is by Jean Hampleman, Fernando Tamburini, and unidentified artists. Photographs and moving images that include video recordings and motion picture film of Pearlstein in the studio, portraits, and candids; personal photographs of family, travel, and classmates including Andy Warhol and Dorothy Cantor; artist's models; events and exhibitions; and works of art.
Completed and unedited video and sound recordings, computer graphics footage, soundtrack material, and administrative records for the 1985 documentary video production Philip Pearlstein Draws the Artist's Model are also in this collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1964-2008 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 1, 36, OV42)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1955-2008 (8.5 linear Feet; Boxes 1-10, OVs 42-43, 0.168 GB; ER01)
Series 3: Interviews and Transcripts, 1957-2003 (0.5 linear Feet; Box 10)
Series 4: Writing Projects and Lectures, circa 1945-2008 (2.5 linear Feet; Boxes 10-13, 37-38, 8.26 GB: ER02-ER13)
Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1955-2007 (1 linear Feet; Boxes 13-14, 3.77 GB: ER14-ER15)
Series 6: Printed Materials, 1946-2008 (3.0 linear Feet; Boxes 14-21, 36, OVs 42-43)
Series 7: Scrapbooks, circa 1953-1970s (0.4 linear Feet; Box 22)
Series 8: Artwork, undated, 1967-2004 (0.2 linear Feet; Box 22, OV 42)
Series 9: Photographs and Moving Images, 1940s-2008 (3.3 linear Feet; Boxes 22, 37, 39-41, 4.18 GB; ER16-ER18)
Series 10: Philip Pearlstein Draws the Artist's Model, Documentary Production Material, 1983-1991 (8.5 linear Feet; Boxes 23-30, SAV 31-35)
Biographical / Historical:
Philip Pearlstein (1924- ) is a painter and educator based in New York, N.Y.
Pearlstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he attended classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art as a child. While still in high school, his paintings were reproduced in Life magazine after winning Scholastic magazine's high school art competition. After graduating from high school Pearlstein enrolled in the Carnegie Institute of Technology's (CIT) art school, but left after a year to serve in the Army during World War II. He gained knowledge of printing, drafting, and sign painting while stationed in Florida and Italy. After the war he returned to CIT as a student and became art editor of the engineering school's Carnegie Technical magazine. During this time Pearlstein met his wife, Dorothy Cantor, and became close friends with Andy Warhol, both classmates at CIT. Pearlstein moved to New York City with Warhol after receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1949. In 1955, he completed his thesis on Francis Picabia and received a Master of Arts in art history from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts.
As Pearlstein's career evolved, he became known for his realistic nudes and landscapes. Many of Pearlstein's paintings were inspired by his travels to the western United States, Peru, Egypt, and to Italy as a 1958 Fulbright Grant recipient. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally, and he has worked closely with the Tanager and Alan Frumkin Galleries in New York. In addition to his painting career, Pearlstein was an instructor at Pratt Institute from 1959 to 1963 and at Brooklyn College from 1963 to 1988. He is also a member of the National Academy of Design and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, serving as president from 2003 to 2006.
Pearlstein continues to work and live in New York, N.Y.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Philip Pearlstein conducted by Paul Cumming, June 8 to August 10, 1972.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in multiple installments by Philip Pearlstein from 1975 to 2009.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Rights:
Audio visual material "Philip Pearlstein Draws the Artists' Model": Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposese of publication requires written permission from Pearlstein or his heirs. 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.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
United States of America -- New York -- Suffolk County -- East Hampton
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheet and site plans.
General:
The property was covered in blacktop from the road to the studio in 1975. The paving was removed and borders around the pool fence were double-dug and planned predominantly as perennial gardens with some shrubs, vines, and annuals. After a trip to Williamsburg, former owners planted boxwood at the front steps and wisteria over the door. A "kitchen garden," and shade garden were also added.
Persons and firms associated with the garden include: Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Close (former owners, late 1970s); Ms. Jill Keefe and John Klos (former owners, ?-mid. 1980s); and Francis Fleetwood (architect, ca. 1985).
Related Materials:
Dubose-Eliel Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (16 35 mm. slides)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorizatin to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Lenore Seroka. 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.
Occupation:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- Great Neck Search this
An interview of Janet Fish conducted 1988 Jan. 30-Mar. 2, by Barbara Shikler, for the Archives of American Art. Fish discusses her family background, her education at Yale Art School, her techniques, the evolution of her work, feminism, and discrimination in the art world. She recalls Richard Serra, Chuck Close, Jill Kornblee, Alex Katz, and Esteban Vicente.
Biographical / Historical:
Janet I. Fish (1938-) is a painter from New York, N.Y.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview with Jon Shirley conducted 2018 August 7-8, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art and the Center for the History of Collecting in America at the Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection, at Shirley's home in Medina, Washington.
Mr. Shirley recalls hiring architect George Suyama to design a 23,000-square-foot home to house the art collection Shirley was assembling with his wife, Mary; growing up in Honolulu, Philadelphia, and Puerto Rico as his father was in the military; an influential humanities class at the Hill School; discovering Alexander Calder while still in high school; studying at MIT; his 25-year tenure with Radio Shack and Tandy International Electronics stores; a five-year period in Brussels that expanded his knowledge of art; his and Mary's move to Seattle and subsequent engagement with art glass and Pilchuck; becoming president of Microsoft and taking the company public; the evolution of his Alexander Calder collection to 40+ works (what has been called the best privately held Calder collection in the U.S.); his 30+ year friendship with Chuck Close, collecting more than 30 of his works, and financing "The Portrait Speaks;" his long-term engagement with the Seattle Art Museum and in particular the founding and endowing of the Olympic Sculpture Park; Mary's death in 2013 and Shirley's subsequent remarriage to Kim Richter; and endeavoring to restore Calder's only posthumously made work, "Mountain and Clouds," in the Hart Senate Office Building. Shirley also recalls working with Robert Mnuchin, Anthony Grant, Sandy Rower, Tobias Meyer, Robert Storr, Patterson Sims, Arne Glimcher, Jinny Wright, Barney Ebsworth and the Pace Gallery; acquiring works by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Jesús Moroles, Marino Marini, Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter, Mark di Suvero, Claes Oldenburg, David Smith, Joan Mitchell, Korean Dansaekhwa artists, Constantin Brancusi ("Bird in Space") and Alberto Giacometti ("Dog"); and building a collection of 350+ works of sculpture and post-WWI paintings.
Biographical / Historical:
Jon Shirley (1938- ) is a retired president, chief operating officer, and director of the Microsoft corporation, and a collector of Modern art, in Medina, Washington. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a writer and editor in San Francisco, California.
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.
Restrictions:
The transcript and recording are open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
An interview with Chuck Close conducted 2017 July 20, by Christopher Lyon, for the Archives of American Art, at Close's home and studio in Long Beach, New York.
Close speaks of his friendships with Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, and other artists; his decision to explore the genre of portraiture; different methods of printmaking, photography, and painting that he employs; his friendship with Philip Glass; problems with his memory; his painting techniques since "The Event" (a spinal artery collapse which led to partial paralysis); his favorite early paintings; organizing his exhibition Head-On/The Modern Portrait; and his involvement with Turnaround Arts. Close also recalls Brice Marden, Vija Celmins, Janet Fish, Nancy Graves, Rackstraw Downes, Sol Lewitt, Paul Simon, Mark Greenwold, Debbie Wye, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Chuck Close (1940- ) is a painter and photographer, in New York, New York. Christopher Lyon (1949- ) is a writer in Brooklyn, New York.
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.
Restrictions:
Audio: ACCESS RESTRICTED; use requires an appointment.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.
Yevtushenko, Yevgeny Aleksandrovich, 1933- Search this
Extent:
3.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Student drawings
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Drawings
Date:
1923-1999
Summary:
The papers of New York social realist painter and printmaker Jack Levine date from 1923-1999, and measure 3.2 linear feet. Levine's career is documented through biographical material, scattered letters, notes and a speech, writings, student drawings, three scrapbooks, printed material and nearly one linear foot of photographs of Levine, his family, and his colleagues.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York social realist painter and printmaker Jack Levine date from 1923-1999, and measure 3.2 linear feet. Levine's career is documented through biographical material, scattered letters, notes and a speech, writings, student drawings, three scrapbooks, printed material and nearly one linear foot of photographs of Levine, his family, and his colleagues.
Found within the papers are two driver's licenses and several biographical accounts, and scattered letters from colleagues including one each from John Taylor Arms, Hyman Bloom, Leonard Bocour, René d'Harnoncourt, Lloyd Goodrich, Jacob Lawrence, and Homer Saint-Gaudens discussing various art-related events. There is only one carbon copy of a letter written by Levine. The correspondence includes oversized photographs of the members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Additional photographs of the members are found in the Photograph series.
Notes and writings are primarily typescripts about Jack Levine written by others. There is also a transcript of one speech, "Jack Levine Speaks Regarding the Donation of 108 of his Drawings to the Archives" delivered by Levine at the Fogg Art Museum.
Artwork consists entirely of Levine's student drawings including anatomical studies, neighborhood genre scenes, copies of Old Masters, and a series of images of symphony musicians. Some of the drawings display themes that are reflected in his later paintings.
Three scrapbooks contain clippings that document Levine's career and reflect his political interests. Additional printed material consists of a comprehensive collection of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs. There is also an announcement for a lecture by Levine, press releases, calendars of events, reproductions of artwork, programs, brochures including one for Facing East, a portfolio of Levine's prints, and three books.
Photographs include numerous photographs of Levine throughout his artistic career, including images of his wife, painter Ruth Gikow, their daughter Susanna, and colleagues including Hyman Bloom, Leonard Bocour, Alexander Dobkin, Joachim Probst, and Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Especially notable is a series of photographs of Levine printmaking with Emiliano Sorini and Ruth Gikow.
There are photographs of Levine serving on art juries and panels with Eleanor Coen, Joseph Hirsch, Gabor Peterdi, Studs Terkel, and Max Weber, and attending events with Lawrence Fleischman, Betty Friedan, Edith Halpert, Mauricio Lasansky, Gypsy Rose Lee, Pope Paul VI, and Raphael Soyer. A small album contains photographs of Levine and various buildings in Boston. There are also photographs of miscellaneous exhibition installations including Levine's retrospective at the Jewish Museum, and of artwork by Levine and others.
Group photographs of the members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters are found here, and include Will Barnet, Paul Cadmus, Chuck Close, David Levine, George Tooker, and John Updike. Additional group photographs of the members that were originally enclosed with letters are found in the correspondence series.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1953-1955 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Letters, 1946-1996 (Boxes 1, 5; 12 folders)
Series 3: Notes and Writings, 1961-1974 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 4: Artwork, 1923-1931 (Boxes 1, 5, OV 6; 11 folders)
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1936-1962 (Boxes 1, 5; 16 folders)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1938-1999 (Boxes 1-3, 5, OV 6; 1.9 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographs, 1940-1998 (Boxes 3-5, OV 6; 52 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Jack Levine (1915-2010) was born in Boston, Massachusetts and worked as painter and printmaker primarily in New York City. Levine was one of the leading painters and advocates of the Social Realism School of the late 1930s.
Jack Levine was the youngest of the eight children of Lithuanian Jewish parents, Mary Grinker and Samuel Levine. After the family moved from the South End of Boston to Roxbury in 1923, Levine began to study drawing under Harold Zimmerman at the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. By 1929, Levine was studying painting under Denman Ross of the Fogg Art Museum.
From 1935-1940, Levine received U.S. government support from the federal Works Progress Administration. His first exhibition of paintings in New York City was at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1937, he painted The Feast of Pure Reason, a satire of Boston political power. Together with Ben Shahn, Levine became a leading exponent of the Social Realism School of the late 1930s. His first one-man show was held at the Downtown Gallery in New York City in 1938.
After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Levine was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1945, and a grant from the American Academy of Arts and Letters the following year. Also in 1946, Levine married painter Ruth Gikow and moved to New York City. Between 1950 and 1951, he was a Fulbright Fellow working in Rome where he was inspired by Old Master paintings. In the 1960s Levine's interest in printmaking intensified and he was instructed in creating intaglio prints by Emiliano Sorini, and was introduced to Abe Lublin who was associated with the New York Graphic Society.
Levine taught at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the American Art School in New York, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Fogg Art Museum. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters from 1956 on.
The D.C. Moore Gallery in New York City currently represents the Estate of Jack Levine.
Provenance:
Jack Levine donated his papers to the Archives in 1962, 1978, and 1999.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and limited to the Washington, D.C. Reference 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.
An interview of Robert Cottingham conducted 1998 July 27, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art, in Cottingham's studio, Newtown, Connecticut.
Cottingham speaks of being raised in Brooklyn; drawing from an early age; the New York World's Fair, 1939-1940, and the tremendous impact it had on him, as did buildings, signs, and great bustle of Times Square; lasting impact of Edward Hopper's "Sunday Morning," which he saw at the Whitney Museum; his love of using a T-square and triangle in industrial design courses at Brooklyn Technical High School and the influence on his work; working in a Manhattan advertising agency for 2 1/2 years; army service in Orleans, France as a mapmaker; working as an art director at Young and Rubicam advertising agency in Manhattan (1959-1964) which exposed him to great variety of print and graphic media; work in Young and Rubicam's Los Angeles office; first painting in NYC in 1963; painting steadily in L.A. which led to first shows (1968-1970) at Molly Barnes Gallery; use of photographs and sketches to produce paintings; avoidance of narrative, just suggestions of places, and incorporation of advertising signs beginning in the mid-1960s; living entirely on his paintings by 1970; breakthrough in 1969 to greater use of color, bolder design, and 3-D illusion; adoption of square format and depiction of fragmentary glimpses of things which led to leap of quality; and sticking with this mode ever since. Cottingham also recalls John Rawlings, Emerson Woelffer, Robert Irwin, Chuck and Leslie Close, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Cottingham (1935- ) is a painter and printmaker from Newtown, Connecticut.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 8 min.
Tape 2 (Side A) also contains last part of 4/7/98 interview with Harold Tovish.
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.
Chuck Close and Dodie Kazanjian. Interviews about Elizabeth Murray with Chuck Close, Paula Cooper and Douglas Baxter, 2005 July 25. Dodie Kazanjian papers, 1949-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Chuck Close and Dodie Kazanjian. Interview with Chuck Close, 2006 December 14. Dodie Kazanjian papers, 1949-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Chuck Close and Dodie Kazanjian. Interview with Chuck Close, 2008 July 8. Dodie Kazanjian papers, 1949-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Chuck Close and Dodie Kazanjian. Interview with Chuck Close and Interview with an unnamed woman, 2006 June 17-2007 March 30. Dodie Kazanjian papers, 1949-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Chuck Close, 1987 May 14-September 30. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Chuck Close conducted 1987 May 14-September 30, by Judd Tully, for the Archives of American Art.
Close speaks of his childhood; his art education in the Pacific Northwest and at Yale; the art scene in SoHo in the 1960s; his work methods; his work in portraiture. He recalls Al Held, Richard Serra, Klaus Kertess, Arnold Glimcher, and his affiliations with the Bykert Gallery and the Pace Gallery.
Biographical / Historical:
Chuck Close (1940- ) is a painter and photographer in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 38 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.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- 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.
The Louis K. Meisel Gallery selected records measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1964-2003. The records of this New York gallery consist of correspondence with artists and other individuals, writings by Louis K. Meisel, subject files on Gregory Battcock and Jason Seley, and photographs. Correspondence documents the gallery's dealings with its artists.
Scope and Contents note:
The Louis K. Meisel Gallery selected records measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1964-2003. The records of this New York gallery consist of correspondence with artists and other individuals, writings by Louis K. Meisel, subject files on Gregory Battcock and Jason Seley, and photographs. Correspondence documents the gallery's dealings with its artists.
Among the correspondents are John Baeder, Chuck Close, Don Eddy, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Ralph Goings, Richard McClean, Theodoros Stamos, and others. Also found are letters from Larry Rivers, Anwar el-Sadat, Robert Hughes, and Tom Messer.
Writings include a typescript by Louis K. Meisel on becoming an art dealer. A subject file on art historian Gregory Battcock contains several reviews, scattered materials including letters, clippings, lists, press releases, and a photograph of Battcock with David Bourdon, Hilton Kramer, Rosalind Krauss, Barbara Rose, and others attending an International Art Association of Art Critics conference. There are subject files on Jason Seley containing photographs, correspondence, and printed materials.
Photographs include a photograph of Louis K. Meisel and his wife, Susan Meisel with Photorealists artists at a book party. Also found are photographs of John Baldesarri with Herbert and Dorothy Vogel; and Andy Warhol and Elizabeth Taylor.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 4 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1964-2003 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Writings, circa 1970s (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 3: Subject Files, 1974-1981 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 4: Photographs, circa 1980s-1993 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Louis K. Meisel (1942- ) opened the Louis K. Meisel Gallery on Prince Street in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City in 1966. The gallery has promoted the work of realist painters, sculptors, and photographers. Louis K. Meisel Gallery has also championed another genre of American realism, the Pin-up; the gallery has an extensive collection of vintage and contemporary Pin-ups. Artists represented include: John Baeder, Robert Bechtle, Charles Bell, Chuck Close, Audrey Flack, Ronald Kleemann, Mel Ramos, and Theodoros Stamos, among others.
Born in 1942 in Brooklyn, Louis K. Meisel has had a varied career as an art dealer, writer, and collector. Meisel attended Columbia University, 1964 and the New School for Social Research in New York, 1963-1965. Credited with coining the phrase, Photorealism in the late 1960s, Meisel defined the qualities of the Photorealist artist.
Louis K. Meisel has written numerous books and articles on Photorealism, the American Pin-Up, and other art-related topics. He has also lectured at academic and art-related institutions, including the Arts and Crafts Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1978; Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1980, 2002; the Natural History Museum, Smithsonian Institution, 1993; and the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, 2002. His collecting interests have been wide-ranging. In addition to his extensive collection of Photorealist paintings and Pin-up illustrations, Meisel is a collector of 1940s Moderne, tin toys, Art Deco statues, and naturalia.
Since 2000, Louis K. Meisel, in partnership with Frank Bernarducci, has operated the Bernarducci. Meisel. Gallery on 57th Street in New York as a venue for established and emerging artists.
Provenance:
The Louis K. Meisel Gallery selected records were donated by Louis K. Meisel in 1990 and 2009.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
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Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Louis K. Meisel Gallery selected records, 1973-2003. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Chuck Close. Chuck Close, New York, N.Y. letter to Honor? Desmond Sharrer, Charlottesville, Va., 2000 Mar. 24. Honoré Sharrer papers, circa 1920-2007. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Chuck Close, 2017 July 20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Chuck Close : editions : a catalog raisonné and exhibition : The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, September 17th-November 26th, 1989
