The records of Galerie Darthea Speyer measure 17.2 linear feet and 1.58 GB and date from 1953 to 2010. The majority of the collection consists of artists' files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the Paris gallery's relationship with American and European artists, as well as gallery exhibitions. Also found are scattered financial records, guestbooks, documentation on the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome art collection, exhibition announcements, posters, and additional photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of Galerie Darthea Speyer measure 17.2 linear feet and 1.58 GB and date from 1953 to 2010. The majority of the collection consists of artists' files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the Paris gallery's relationship with American and European artists, as well as gallery exhibitions. Also found are scattered financial records, guestbooks, documentation on the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome art collection, exhibition announcements, posters, and additional photographs.
Artists' files are varied but may contain biographical materials, correspondence and business records, printed materials, photographs, digital photographs, and slides. Correspondence is with artists and others primarily concerning the exhibition or sale of the artists' work. Also filed with the correspondence are other scattered business records regarding the artists' dealing with the gallery including exhibition documents and sales records. Photographs depict artists, artwork, exhibition installations and exhibition openings at Galerie Darthea Speyer. Printed material includes exhibition announcements, catalogs, and extensive press clippings. Files for prominent American artists such as Roy De Forest, Beauford Delaney, Llyn Foulkes, Leon Golub, Sam Gilliam, Richard Luboski, Ed Paschke, Peter Saul, Deborah Remington, and others, document a long relationship between the artist and the gallery.
This collection also includes scattered financial records from 2000 to 2002. Eight gallery guestbooks, and documentation on the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome art collection, which was organized by Darthea Speyer.
Printed material consists of posters and Galerie Darthea Speyer exhibition announcements. Included with the exhibition announcements are lists of exhibitions by year. Many of the posters advertise exhibitions organized by Darthea Speyer at the Musee National D'Art Moderne and Centre Culturel Americain, including 12 Modern American Painters and Sculptors (1953). Additional posters advertize exhibitions at Galerie Darthea Speyer and elsewhere for artists such as Leon Golub, Beauford Delaney, Ed Paschke, Peter Saul, Hugh Weiss, and several others.
Photographs include an unidentified exhibition opening, exhibition installations at Galerie Darthea Speyer, and artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Series 1: Artists' Files, 1955-2010 (Boxes 1-15; 14.8 linear feet, ER01-ER07; 1.58 GB)
Series 2: Financial Records, 2000-2002 (Box 15; 6 folders)
Series 3: Guestbooks, 1997-2009 (Box 16; 8 folders)
Series 4: Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome Art Collection, circa 1980s-2009 (Box 16; 4 folders)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1953-2008 (Boxes 16, 17, OV 19-22; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1960s-1970s (Boxes 17-18; 0.7 linear feet)
Historical Note:
Galerie Darthea Speyer was founded in 1968 by Darthea Speyer at 6, rue Jacques Callot, Paris, France. The gallery was notable for promoting American painting and sculpture in France until it closed in 2009.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Darthea Speyer began collecting art at the age of 15. She studied art history at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and in 1950 went to Paris as a cultural attaché for the United States Information Services (USIS). In 1953 she helped organize the exhibition 12 Modern American Painters and Sculptors at the Musee National D'Art Moderne, a show that initiated a change in the way Europeans viewed American Art. While working for the USIS, Speyer founded the Centre Culturel Americain where she gave many American artists their first European exhibition. She continued to work for the USIS until 1965.
Speyer opened Galerie Darthea Speyer during the May 1968 riots in Paris with an inaugural show of works by Deborah Remington. The gallery was designed by her brother, A. James Speyer, and primarily exhibited sculpture and paintings by Americans, as well as works by some European artists. Over the next 40 years Darthea Speyer remained a powerful advocate for American artists in the European market.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Darthea Speyer conducted by Paul Cummings, June 28, 1976.
Provenance:
Records were donated in 2010 by Emmanuelle Gelzer, owner of Galerie Darthea Speyer.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
Topic:
Art galleries, Commercial -- France -- Paris Search this
Genre/Form:
Visitors' books
Photographs
Citation:
Galerie Darthea Speyer records, 1953-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Support provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
An interview of Roy De Forest conducted 2004 April 7-June 30, by Lynn Robert Matteson, for the Archives of American Art, in Port Costa, California.
De Forest speaks of an early interest in painting and drawing; acceptance to California School of Fine Arts; his time spent in San Francisco; working at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; studying and teaching at Junior College in Yakima, California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco State, and the University of California, Davis; his relationship with other artists including Allan Stone, Allan Frumkin, Jim Newman; gallery shows at Dilexi Gallery, King Ubu Gallery, Six Gallery; time spent in the army; teaching at San Quentin State Prison; his opinions on and influence of Abstract Expressionism in his work; the influence of Paolo Uccello, Guieseppe Acrimboldo, and Piet Mondrian in his work; having a traveling show through the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City; West Coast versus East Coast artists; artists' interest in history of art; techniques in art; types of paint and motives of use, specifically between water-based paint over oil; paint technology; the durability of pieces as a result of using particular types of paint; art restoration; sculpture and frame constructions; the history of his casting period; pieces he was working on at the time of the interview; his work with tile and ceramics; his book, "Journey to the Canine Territory"; his period in scroll painting; references and iconography in his work and influences from previous artists, pieces, and periods; opinions on artists including Agnes Martin, Eva Hesse, Cy Twombly, and Joan Brown; poetical influences and his poetic preferences; Surrealist elements in pieces; his use of animals in paintings; philosophical influences; the influences of technology such as television and computers; his printmaking career; scale and size in his pieces; painting "streaks"; the creation of characters and figures in his paintings; the influence of travel on his art; the nature and attitude of contemporary artists; modern architecture and museum spaces; architects including Frank Gehry and Richard Meier; his hobbies of model creation and woodworking; and his perception of himself. De Forest recalls Hassel Smith, Richard Crozier, Robert Duncan, John Guttman, George Adams, Robert Arneson, Lucian Pompili, John Humphrey, Peter Saul, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Roy De Forest (1930-2007) was a painter and sculptor from Port Costa, California. Interviewer Lynn Robert Matteson (1939- ) is an art historian from Santa Barbara, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs and 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 17 min.
Microphone was not working during last session, 2004 June 30. Interview equipment was replaced with an analog recorder and the sound for the last forty-five minutes is not as clear as the rest of the interview. It is difficult to hear the interviewer during this session.
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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Wayne Thiebaud conducted 2001 May 17-18, by Susan Larsen, for the Archives of American Art, in New York.
Thiebaud discusses his childhood in Long Beach, California and his evolving interest in art; his long time friendship with sculptor Robert Mallary who encouraged Thiebaud to become a painter; his career as an artist and teacher; and the creations of his paintings of food, objects arranged in display counters and paintings of contemporary people in plain abstracted space. Thiebaud recalls Richard Diebenkorn, William Wiley, and Roy de Forest.
Biographical / Historical:
Wayne Thiebaud (1920- ) is a painter and art teacher from Sacramento, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 53 min.
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.
The Barbara Rose papers date from 1962 to circa 1969 and measure 1.4 linear feet. Papers include letters, writings, printed material, interviews with artists, panel discussions, and lectures relating to Barbara Rose's research as an art historian.
Scope and Contents:
The Barbara Rose papers date from 1962 to circa 1969 and measure 1.4 linear feet. Papers include letters, interviews with artists, panel discussions, lectures, writings, and printed material relating to Barbara Rose's work as an art historian and critic.
Letters consist of responses to queries and questionnaires Rose and Irving Sandler sent to contemporary artists as research for writing projects. Questionnaires were sesnt in preparation for an article in Art in America on artists' sensibility of the 1960s, with responses from Robert Motherwell, Robert Craig Kauffman, Len Lye, Robert Morris, George Segal, David Hare, and others. A separate query asked sculptors for their assessment of contemporary sculptor's needs and the potential for patronage, and responses are found from Carl Andre, Charles Frazier, Robert Murray, Anthony Padovano, Ron Bladen, Roy Lichtenstein, Len Lye, Sol LeWitt, Heinz Mack, Otto Peine, Dan Flavin, and Donald Judd.
Interviews conducted by Rose between 1965 and circa 1969 are found with Richard Bellamy, Leo Castelli, James E. Davis, Henry Geldzahler, Ivan Karp, Lee Krasner, John Lefebre, John Myers, Donald Judd with Frank Stella, and Tom Wesselmann. All interviews include original sound recordings, and the Judd and Stella, Krasner, and Myers interviews include transcripts. Panel discussions and lectures include sound recordings and transcripts of seven events on a variety of contemporary art and architecture subjects held between 1962 and 1968. Sound recordings are present for five of the events on 10 sound tape reels, and transcripts are present for all events. Participants in the panel discussions and lectures include Barbara Rose, Ronald Davis, Dan Flavin, Robert Kauffman, John Harvey McCracken, Friedel Dzubas, Ansel Adams, Arthur Bierman, Kenneth Rexroth, Edward Taylor, Ernst Karl Mundt, John Bowles, Roy Dean De Forest, Seymour Locks, Walter Hopps, Mark Di Suvero, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Kynaston McShine, Walter Darby Bannard, Donald Judd, Larry Poons, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Meier, Paul Rudolph, Claes Oldenburg, and Robert Murray.
Writings include photocopied typescripts of "Myth, Symbol, or Me," by Emily Wasserman and "Excerpts from a Work Journal on Flying Sculpture," by Charles Frazier. Printed material consists of two copies of the premiere issue of the 57th Street Review, from Nov. 15, 1966.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 4 series.
Series 1: Letters (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Interviews (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Panel Discussions and Lectures (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 4: Writings and Printed Material (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
Barbara Rose is an American art historian and critic who has published widely in the field of modern American art. Born in 1938 in Washington, DC, Rose studied at the Sorbonne, Smith College, Barnard, and finally, Columbia University under Meyer Shapiro. Rose became immersed in the New York-based circle of modernist artists and curators in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and made her substantial contribution to the discourse on contemporary art with the insider's perspective this afforded her. In 1961, she married the painter Frank Stella and they had two children before their divorce in 1969.
Rose taught at Yale University, Sarah Lawrence, University of California at Irvine and San Diego, and the American University Art in Italy program, and was senior curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from 1981-1985. A prolific writer, Rose is the author of American Art Since 1900 (1967), The Golden Age of Dutch Painting (1969), American Painting: The 20th Century (Skira, 1969), and monographs on the artists Magdalena Abankawicz, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Rauschenberg, Alexander Liberman, Larry Rivers, and others, as well as dozens of exhibition catalog essays. She held editorial positions at Art in America, Vogue, Artforum, Partisan Review, and Journal of Art, and her writing has also appeared in Art International, Studio International, Arts Magazine, and ARTnews, among many others.
Related Materials:
Barbara Rose papers, 1940-1993 (bulk 1960-1985) are located at The Getty Research Institute Special Collections.
Separated Materials:
Additional papers of Barbara Rose are held by The Getty Research Institute.
Provenance:
Donated 1971-1977 by Barbara Rose.
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.
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.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographs of artists, many from the San Francisco Bay Area, taken by Mimi Jacobs.
Artists photographed: Ansel Adams, Robert Arneson, Ruth Asawa, Billy Al Bengston, Fletcher Benton, Robert Bechtle, J. B. Blunk, William Brice, Joan Brown, Imogen Cunningham, Jay De Feo, Eleanor Dickinson, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Archeliat Esherick, Sam Francis, David Gilhooly, Joseph Goldyne, Robert Graham, Henry Hopkins, Robert B. Howard, John Ihle, Robert Irwin, Allen Jones, Alvin Light, Lee Mullican, Isamu Noguchi, Howard Paris, Joseph Raffael, Fred Reichman, Ed Ruscha, Betye Saar, Raymond Saunders, Richard Shaw, Louis Siegriest, Nell Sinton, Wayne Thiebaud, DeWain Valentine, Leo Valledor, Carlos Villa, Peter Voulkos, William T. Wiley, Emerson Woelffer.
Photographs of Mark Adams, William Allan, Jeremy Anderson, Ruth Armer, Charles Arnoldi, Dennis Beall, Bruce Beasley, Tony Berlant, Elmer Bischoff, Vija Celmins, Judy Chicago, Bruce Conner, Roy de Forest, Tony DeLap, Guy Dill, Claire Falkenstein, Gerald Gooch, Russell Gordon, Wally Hedrick, Tom Holland, Robert Hudson, Robert Emory Johnson, Frank Lobdell, Robert Craig Kaufman, Richard McLean, Bill Martin, Manuel Neri, Bruce Nauman, Nathan Oliveira, Mel Ramos, Sam Richardson, Michael Todd, Julius Wasserstein, Paul Wonner and Norman Zammitt.
In 1999, additional photographs were donated including many duplicates of the previous donations. These include 50 mounted photographs of West Coast artists, twenty-four of which were exhibited in 1980 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and published in 50 West Coast Artists: A Critical Selection of Painters and Sculptors (1981, Chronicle Books). Photographs are of Ansel Adams, Robert Arneson, Billy Al Bengston, Robert Bechtle, Fletcher Benton, J. B. Blunk, William Brice, Joan Brown, Imogen Cunningham, Jay De Feo, Eleanor Dickinson, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Archeliat Esherick, Sam Francis, David Gilhooly, Joseph Goldyne, Robert Graham, Henry Hopkins, Robert Howard, John Ihle, Robert Irwin, Allen Jones, Alvin Light, Lee Mullican, Isamu Noguchi, Howard Paris, Joseph Raffael, Fred Reichman, Ed Ruscha, Betye Saar, Richard Shaw, Louis Siegrist, Nell Sinton, Wayne Thiebaud, De Wain Valentine, Leo Valledor, Carlos Villa, Peter Voulkos, William Wiley, and Emerson Woeffer.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer; Kentfield, Calif.; b. 1911; d. April 1, 1999. Known in the San Francisco Bay Area for her portraits of prominent local figures, many of whom were artists. She eventually expanded her scope beyond Northern California to included artists in the Los Angeles region as well. These images were widely reproduced in books and in exhibitions and in many cases became the portraits by which the individuals were best known. Among her subjects were Ed Ruscha, Robert Graham, Peter Voulkos, Joan Brown, Isamu Noguchi, Jay DeFeo, Wayne Thiebaud, Imogen Cunningham, and Richard Diebenkorn. Several exhibitions were devoted to the photographs as independent works of art, an acknowledgement of their pictorial qualities as well as their value as documents.
Provenance:
Donated 1976-1992 by Mimi Jacobs. Additional photos, many of them duplicates of previous donations, were donated in 1999 by Leslie Fleming, Jacobs' daughter, for the Estate.
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 Robert David Brady conducted 2008 March 10-12, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Berkeley, California.
Brady speaks of growing up in Reno, Nevada and developing a fondness for the desert and mountain environment around him; his first discovery and fascination with clay during junior high; a deep interest in symbols and the abstraction of language and how he has incorporated that into his work; studying art at California College of Arts and Crafts; continuing on to Mills College for graduate school; being drafted into the war and having to postpone his attendance to Mills College; finishing a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Davis; wanting to become a college professor; teaching at California State University in Sacramento; wanting to depart from dependency on the vessel; exploring with figurative objects; abandoning the vessel and adapting an interest in object making and mixed media; the influence of Mexico, in particular, the imagery of the Day of the Dead, on his work; firing techniques he learned in Mexico; the influence from Hal Riegger toward his education and development; specific works and the inspiration and process behind them; his departure from clay and experimenting with wood; various shows and his experiences working with different galleries and curators; his trip to Guatemala and the emergence of angels and other religious motif in his work; other traveling experiences and the influence each had on his work; his desire to return to clay and continue making pots; the craft community; the influence of Japanese pots; his personal beliefs toward academically trained and non-academically trained artists; and his opinion toward various art and craft magazines. Brady also recalls Vernon Coykendall, Robert Arneson, William Wiley, Manuel Neri, Debbie Butterfield, John Buck, Dick Notkin, Nancy Rubins, Roy de Forest, Hal Riegger, Dale Chihuly, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert David Brady (1946- ) is a sculptor of wood and ceramics and a teacher from Berkeley, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 47 min.
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.
The records of Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, based in Southern California, measure 16.2 linear feet and 2.52 GB and date from 1960 to circa 2014, with the bulk of the items dating from 1987 to 1996. The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, operated from 1986-1996 and featured the work of prominent contemporary artists, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, John Altoon, Fletcher Benton, Howard Ben Tre, Ciel Bergman, Squeak Carnwatch, Dale Chihuly, Duck-Hyun Cho, Roy De Forest, Heidi Fasnacht, Robert Hudson, Terence La Noue, Donald Lipski, Nam June Paik, Ed Paschke, Alan Rath, Zizi Raymond, Pablo Reinoso, among many others. The collection includes correspondence, scattered administration records, exhibition files, extensive artists' files that also include many video recordings, financial and legal records, printed and digital materials, and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, based in Southern California, measure 16.2 linear feet and 2.52 GB and date from 1960 to circa 2014, with the bulk of the items dating from 1987 to 1996. The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, operated from 1986-1996 and featured the work of prominent contemporary artists, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, John Altoon, Fletcher Benton, Howard Ben Tre, Ciel Bergman, Squeak Carnwatch, Dale Chihuly, Duck-Hyun Cho, Roy De Forest, Heidi Fasnacht, Robert Hudson, Terence La Noue, Donald Lipski, Nam June Paik, Ed Paschke, Alan Rath, Zizi Raymond, Pablo Reinoso, among many others. The collection includes correspondence, scattered administration records, exhibition files, extensive artists' files that also include many video recordings, financial and legal records, printed and digital materials, and photographic materials.
Correspondence is with artists, museums, galleries, and collectors regarding exhibitions, sales, and acquisitions of artwork. Administration records include appraisals, mailing lists, materials related to gallery events, a rolodex, and a list of artist contracts. Exhibition files are found for only a few of the gallery's exhibitions, including American Artists in Jewelry (1987), Private Reserve (1988), Fresh Visions 1 (1989), Fresh Visions 2 (1989), and Multiple Parts (1994).
There are extensive artists' files containing correspondence, printed and digital material, resumes, slides, and photographs documenting the gallery's relationship with and exhibitions of many prominent artists. These files also contain numerous audio and video recordings of interviews with artists, exhibitions, documentaries, and video art.
Financial and legal records mostly consist of sales records of artwork by various artists, in addition to materials on a lawsuit, a sublease for exhibition space, and a few invoices.
Printed materials include Dorothy Goldeen Gallery press releases, exhibition announcements, press reviews, newsletters, clippings, and one videocassette of a broadcast news program.
Photographic materials mostly consist of slides and transparencies of artwork by artists represented by the gallery. There are a few images of the gallery building.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1979-2012 (1.1 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 2: Administration Records, circa 1987-circa 2010 (0.6 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1987-1995 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 4: Artists' Files, 1961-2007 (12.1 linear feet; Boxes 3-14, OV 17-18, 2.52 GB; ER01-ER02)
Series 5: Financial and Legal Records, 1987-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Box 15)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1986-2014 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 15-16)
Series 7: Photographic Material, 1960-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Box 16)
Biographical / Historical:
The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery (1987-1996) was an art gallery in Santa Monica, California, founded by Dorothy Goldeen.
Dorothy Goldeen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied sculpture and textile design. In 1973, Goldeen began her career in the arts working in San Francisco, California at the Hansen Fuller Gallery which later became Fuller Goldeen Gallery.
In 1987, Goldeen moved to Los Angeles and founded the Dorothy Goldeen Gallery. Historically significant artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz and Nam June Paik were represented by her gallery as well as influential, emerging Los Angeles artists. Other notable artists include Robert Arneson, Paul Kos, Ed Paschke, and Alan Rath.
In 1996, Goldeen closed her gallery and launched the Dorothy Goldeen Art Advisory in Santa Monica. Goldeen often travels internationally as an art consultant for private and institutional clients, advising them on the acquisition and resale of art.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has an oral history interview with Dorothy Goldeen conducted by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp in 2014.
Provenance:
The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery records were donated by Dorothy Goldeen to the Archives of American Art in 2 installments in 2003 and 2014.
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 audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Permission to publish, quote or reproduce all correspondence must be obtained from Dorothy Goldeen.
Rights:
All correspondence: Permission to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Dorothy Goldeen. 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:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California -- Santa Monica Search this
Eight illustrated letters to Wall, including 3 from Roy De Forest and 5 from Sumner G. Miller, undated and 1956-1957; and printed material mainly relating to San Francisco artists. In one letter, De Forest writes to Wall in Paris, and sends news of mutual friends and activities. The other two are large sheets written while De Forest was stationed at Fort Ord, including one "folded like an army blanket," which contain rambling observations. Miller's letters describe his experiences in Paris while studying at the Academie Julian and his travels in Europe. He mentions San Francisco artists Hayward King, Ernest Mundt and others, who were also temporarily abroad. Also included are De Forest exhibition announcements; and exhibition catalogs, mainly for various San Francisco artists.
Biographical / Historical:
Wall was a friend of many Bay Area artists.
Provenance:
Donated anonymously, 1988.
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.
Occupation:
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
The papers of artist Roy De Forest measure 11.2 linear feet and 111.86 gigabytes and date from 1916 to 2015, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1948 to 2007. The collection documents De Forest's painting career and involvement in the funk art movement through biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional records, printed material, photographic material, artwork, digital audio and video recordings, and artifacts.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist Roy De Forest measure 11.2 linear feet and 111.86 gigabytes and date from 1916 to 2015, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1948 to 2007. The collection includes documents De Forest's painting career and involvement in the funk art movement through biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional records, printed material, photographic material, artwork, digital audio and video recordings, and artifacts.
Biographical material includes early school materials, resumes, a recording of an interview, membership materials, identification documents, certificates and awards, and family history and genealogy material. Also included in this series are obituaries, letters of condolence, and materials, including born-digital photographs and recordings, related to memorial services celebrating De Forest's life and work.
Correspondence includes letters and postcards to and from family, friends, colleagues, and arts institutions. This series also includes a few folders of greeting cards.
The writings series contains essays, lectures, exhibition texts, notes, and other materials written by Roy De Forest, including an essay, The Vision of Paolo Uccello, and his famous "dog lecture." Also included are writings by others, such as a student dissertations on Roy De Forest, essays by Bruce Nixon, and poetry and an essay by David Zack.
Professional records include materials related to a book of memories (never published) organized by Dilexi Gallery and the Loujon Press, exhibition planning documents, an exhibition recording, materials related to the James Talcott Inc. Computer Arts program, and materials related to print documentation.
Financial records contain inventory and stock files; sales and consignment records; receipts and invoices; tax, estate, and insurance paperwork; and account books and ledgers.
Printed material includes exhibition announcements, catalogs, and posters; material related to other projects; blank cards with Roy De Forest art; clippings; press releases; newsletters and journals; books; and source material.
Photographic material includes digital and print photographs, negatives, transparencies, and slides of Roy De Forest and other individuals, as well as travel photos, images of his pets (primarily dogs), and images of his studio and works of art.
Artwork includes drawings by De Forest and others, as well as four sketchbooks.
The artifacts series contains a tote bag, t-shirt, and a puzzle, all featuring Roy De Forest artwork. Also included in the series is a patterned shirt and an "art critic" baseball cap.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in nine series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1930-2008 (Boxes 1-2, OV 12, RD 17, ER01-ER03; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1948-2014 (Boxes 2-3; 1 linear foot)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1952-2005 (Box 3, OV 12, ER04; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Professional Records, 1968-circa 2007, 2014 (Box 3, OV 12; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 5: Financial Records, 1963-circa 2014 (Boxes 3-5; 1.4 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material: 1916-1936, 1951-2007 (Boxes 5-7, OV 13-14, ER05-ER07; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographic Material: 1926, circa 1943-2007 (Boxes 7-9, OV 15, ER08-ER12; 2 linear feet)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1947-circa 2007 (Boxes 9-10, OV 16; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 9: Artifacts, circa 2007-circa 2009 (Box 11; 1 linear foot)
Biographical / Historical:
Roy De Forest (1930-2007) was a painter, sculptor, and educator in Port Costa, California. A notable figure in the funk art movement, he coined the term "nut art" to describe art that embraced humor and created a fantasy world.
Born in North Platte, Nebraska, Roy De Forest grew up in Yakima, Washington where he attended Yakima Junior College and graduated in 1950. He went on to study at the California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute) and San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University). He taught at Yakima Junior College from 1958 to 1960 after graduating from San Francisco State College, and later taught at the University of California, Davis from 1965 until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1992.
De Forest's first solo exhibition was in 1955 at the East & West Gallery in San Francisco. From then until his death in 2007, he exhibited frequently, especially at the Allan Frumkin Gallery in New York and the Hansen Fuller Gallery in San Francisco.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Roy De Forest conducted by Lynn Robert Matteson, April 7-June 30, 2004.
Provenance:
The Roy De Forest papers were donated in several installments from 1974 to 2019. Some materials were loaned for microfilming in 1974 and subsequently donated in 1977 and 1979 by Roy De Forest. Additional materials were donated in 2009, 2016 and 2019 by Gloria Marchant, Roy De Forest's widow.
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.
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
Exhibition announcements of Robert Arneson, Clayton Bailey, Roy De Forest, David Gilhooly, Irving Marcus, Gladys Nilsson, James Nutt, Maija Woof Peeples, Sandy Shannonhouse, Chris Unterseher, Peter Vandenberge, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Candy Store Gallery (established 1962-closed 1992) was an art gallery in Folsom, California.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Paula Z. Kirkeby.
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 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.
Collection Citation:
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
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.
Collection Citation:
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
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.
Collection Citation:
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
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.
Collection Citation:
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
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.
Collection Citation:
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
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.
Collection Citation:
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
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.
Collection Citation:
Roy De Forest papers, 1916-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by Gloria Marchant.
