Tugwell, Rexford G. (Rexford Guy), 1891-1979 Search this
Extent:
34 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1965 February 25
Scope and Contents:
An interview of C.B. Baldwin conducted 1965 February 25, by Richard K. Doud, for the Archives of American Art. Baldwin speaks of his family's influence on his development; working in Washington, D.C. with Rexford Tugwell for the Department of Agriculture; the New Deal projects which led to the formation of the Farm Security Administration; the photography project of the Farm Security Administration; finding photographers for the project; the usefulness of the work produced by the FSA. He recalls Roy Stryker.
Biographical / Historical:
C. B. (Calvin Benhan) Baldwin (1902-1975) was an administrator with the Farm Security Administration. The Farm Security Administration, under its Historic Section photographed the harsh living conditions of poverty-stricken rural and urban America during the late 1930s through the 1940s.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 5 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Topic:
Documentary photography -- United States Search this
Papers documenting Stryker's career as the head of the Farm Security Administration's photographic section, including correspondence with John Collier, Jack Delano, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Edwin Locke, Arthur Rothstein, John Vachon, Marion Post Wolcott and others; reports; articles on Stryker and the FSA; publications; speeches; photographs and miscellaneous materials.
Biographical / Historical:
Director of the Farm Security Administration Historical Section; Washington, D.C. Under Stryker the Photographic project of the FSA documented the drought, poverty and despair of rural and urban America during the Depression.
Provenance:
Papers lent for microfilming 1963-1966 by Roy Stryker.
An interview of Marion Post Wolcott conducted 1965 January 18, by Richard Doud, for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's home, in Mill Valley, California.
Wolcott speaks of her background in photography; experimenting with cameras; working as a photojournalist; joining the Farm Security Administration project; her first assignment photographing West Virginia coal miners; the camaraderie among the FSA photographers; the propagandistic aspects of the work; how the program was run and work assigned; her interest in landscapes; problems of being a woman photographer; the learning experience of meeting Americans all over the country; and the FSA project's long-term value. She recalls Roy Stryker.
Biographical / Historical:
Marion Post Wolcott (1910-1990) was a photographer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 4 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Women photographers -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Todd Webb conducted 1990 September 4-1992 May 22, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art. Webb speaks of his childhood in Detroit and Ontario, Canada; friendship with photographer Harry Callahan and the influence of a course by Ansel Adams on them both; service as a Navy photographer in World War II; development of a close friendship with Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe during the late 1940s; photographic assignments with FORTUNE magazine for Standard Oil Company under Roy Stryker, and in England and France under Rene Leonhardt, a photo agency; writing and photographic essays on the American West; assignments in 1960s for the United Nations; sale, in the 1970s, of negatives and work to date to the collector George Rinhart; residence in Maine; and his frequent travels.
Biographical / Historical:
Todd Webb (1905-2000) was a photographer and writer from Bath, Maine. Born Charles Clayton Webb III, in Detroit, Michigan, in 1905. Studied with Ansel Adams.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 32 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.
An interview of Edwin and Louise Rosskam conducted 1965 August 3, by Richard Doud, for the Archives of American Art, at their home, in Roosevelt, N.J.
Edwin Rosskam speaks of his background and youth in Germany; coming to the United States; his education in painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; the early development of his interest in photography; getting his photojournalism career started; joining the Farm Security Administration and working under Roy Stryker; the view of America presented by the work produced by the FSA; photography exhibits he has done; the effect upon him of the people he met and photographed during his FSA career; the political impact of the FSA; applications and uses of the photographs produced by the FSA; the project's strengths and weaknesses; books and other projects he has contributed to. He recalls Roy Stryker, Dorothea Lange, Marion Post Wolcott, John Vachon, and the novelist Richard Wright. Louise Rosskam discusses the impact upon her of the people who were photographed, propagandistic aspects of the work, and the impact of the FSA project on photojournalism.
Biographical / Historical:
Edwin (1903-1985) and Louis Rosskam (1910-2003) were photographers from Roosevelt, N.J.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 49 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Gordon Parks conducted 1964 Dec. 30, by Richard Doud, for the Archives of American Art, in New York, N.Y.
Parks speaks of his background; his early interest in photography; influences on him; his early career as a fashion photographer; joining the Farm Security Administration; his early impressions of the FSA; Roy Stryker's influence and guidance; how being Black and the experience of racism influenced his ability to relate to his subjects; memorable people he met during the FSA years; his post-FSA career, including his novels and his work for LIFE; and his opinions about the FSA's impact on people and on photography.
Biographical / Historical:
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was a filmmaker, author, photographer, and composer from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 1 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Composers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
