New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview of Ralph Chessé, 1964 October 22. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Coit Memorial Tower (San Francisco, Calif.) Search this
Scrapbook containing clippings, theater programs, and newspaper articles about Lewitzky's career as a dancer in the southern California dance troupe the Lester Horton Group and the WPA Federal Theater Dance Group.
Biographical / Historical:
Ballet dancer, San Bernardino, Calif. Attended high school and junior college in San Bernardino. Danced with the WPA Federal Theatre Dance Group before joining the Lester Horton Group in Los Angeles where she became the group's prima ballerina.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by Bella Lewitsky.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Ballet dancers -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
An interview of Ralph Chessé conducted 1964 October 22, by Mary McChesney for the Archives of American Art.
Chessé speaks of his background and early interest in art; experimenting in puppetry; his first involvement with the WPA mural project; working on frescos for Coit Tower; technical aspects of the work; subject matter for frescos and how it was chosen; the importance of the Federal Art Project in that period in art history; political problems with the Federal Art Project; switching to the Federal Theater Project; some of the work he did for the Federal Theater Project; building and operating marionettes; his work in silkscreen; the WPA's value and contribution. He recalls Lucien Labaudt.
Biographical / Historical:
Ralph Chessé (1900-1991) was a mural painter and puppeteer, in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 11 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:
This transcript is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Coit Memorial Tower (San Francisco, Calif.) Search this
