An interview of Peter Agostini conducted in 1968, by Colette Roberts, for the Archives of American Art at 151 Avenue B, New York, New York.
Mr. Agostini speaks of his childhood spent living throughout the five boroughs of New York; his interactions with clients of his father's acting employment agency; his early education in Catholic school and the creative freedom allotted by the nuns; his first feelings of isolation as an artist at the age of seven; the development of a sense of communication as the result of the loss of his mother at the age of three and time spent at a school for orphans; his early realization and vision of artistic destiny; his religious interests which lead to mysticism in his earlier work; his time spent working freely in the DaVinci Studio with Spaventa; the discovery by Hess of his works in Gallerie Grimaud; his attainment of the Longview Grant; his working experience throughout the Depression as part of the WPA casting plaster mannequins while working indirectly with Pollack as well as Marca Relli; his subsequent move to designing department store windows (use of Mondrian-like forms and lines); his feelings of his position as an observer; the importance of communication through art (communication without words); his rejection of the Abstract Expressionist group and choice of independence; the influence of the sculpture of Kolbe and Bache in the thirties; Clement Greenberg's distaste for his work; his feelings about the relative failure to sell his work due its unusual edginess and mystery; his role in the introduction of the work of contemporary European artists (Chausserian, Gauthier, Modrian) to the American group; his description of his own work as "traditionless"; his feelings of self-importance as one of the most original sculptors in the art world; his influence on the younger generation, particularly Marisol; the enslavement to originality that the younger generation faces; his attitudes towards American Art forms and their lack of rebellious spirit; the virtues of the American writers, such as Poe, Whitman, and Melville as American "knapsack" writers; his personal technique which places an emphasis on the "skin" or volume of something; his attempt to create quiet art, or art that merely indicates features; his frustration with teaching and the problems of regurgitated knowledge; the role of Meyer Shapiro in his teaching career at Columbia; the formation of the Club and its similarity to the Cubist's café scene; his opinions on the relationship of sex and sensuality in American art; his personal struggles, including the loss of his second wife and two of his brothers, in addition to the estrangement of his only daughter by his first wife; his feelings on the role of psycho analysis and personal history in a work of art; his present works which feature the "swell." For the majority of the second half of the interview Ms. Roberts asks Mr. Agostini to express his opinions on the work of: Kline; DeKooning; Duchamp; Oldenburg; La Tour; DeChirico; Maillol; Pompon; Rothko; Chardin; Cezanne; Giacometti; Reinhardt; Chryssa; Tony Smith; Segal; Lachaise; Zorach; Manship; Flannagan; Kelly; Lassaw; David Smith; Hare; Lipton; Ferber; Lippold; Roszak; Nakian; Noguchi; Hague; Kohn; di Suvero; Chamberlain; Kaprow; Sugarman; Stankiewicz; Bontecou; Scarpitta; Cornell; Keinholz; Rivera; Judd; Robert Morris; O'Keeffe; Samaras; Mark Tobey; Marin; Pollock; Hartley; Dove; Macdonald-Wright; Demuth; Sheeler; Hopper; Mirot; Matisse; DuBuffet.
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Agostini (1913-1993) was a sculptor from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 28 digital wav files. Duration is 10 hrs., 37 min.
Transferred from 4 3" reels.
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.
Topic:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
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
A two part panel discussion on sculpture (6 7" tapes), partially transcribed on 141 pages. Participants are Peter Agostini, Will Barnet, Elaine De Kooning, Herbert Ferber, John Ferren, Donald Judd, Frederick Kiesler, Ibram Lassaw, Robert Mallary, Nicholas Marsicano, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Claes Oldenburg, Philip Pavia (organizer), Ad Reinhardt, Rachel Rosenthal, Sal Schwartz, George Segal, David Slivka, and James Wines.
Biographical / Historical:
The Waldorf Panel on Sculpture was organized by Philip Pavia, who chose the name in homage to the informal artists' discussions held at the Waldorf Cafeteria on 6th St. in the early to mid 1940s, and which later formed the nucleus to the artists' group known as the Club.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
Use of original recordings requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
11.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
0.2 Linear feet (Addition)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1952-1994
Scope and Contents:
Primarily research material used for Andersen's book American Sculpture in Process, 1930-1970. Included are sculpture files, containing photographs and printed materials; writings and research notes; and 663 letters and ca. 50 statements of purpose from prominent American sculptors, among them Calvin Albert, Oliver Andrews, Leonard Baskin, Wolfgang Behl, Charles Biederman, Helen Beling, Harry Bertoia, Roger Bolomey, Lothar Brabant, Alexander Calder, Cosmo Campoli, Chryssa, Lindsey Decker, Jose de Rivera, Stephen DeStaebler, Nancy P. Dryfoos, Ted Egri, Herbert Ferber, Richard Filipowski, Francis Foster, Leon Golub, Florence Grippe, Peter Grippe, Dimitri Hadzi, Martha Hadzi, Tom Hardy, Wally Hendrick, Paul Keith, Robert Laurent, Pietro Lazzari, Israel Levitan, Jacques Lipchitz, Seymour Lipton, Jim Melchert, Joseph Messina, Henry Moore, G. W. Owen, Tony Padovano, Nathan Raisen, Richard Randell, George W. Rickey, Hugo Robus, John Rood, Bernard Rosenthal, Theodore Roszak, David Smith, George Spaventa, Takis, Michael Todd, Hugh Townley, Charles Umlauf, Vasa, David von Schlegell, Jane Wasey, and Elbert Weinberg. Also included are business correspondence and financial papers relating to Andersen's consulting work for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology), and the Federal Reserve Bank. A smaller set of papers consists of material relating to Andersen's longtime friend and mentor, art educator, philosopher, and artist Henry Schaefer-Simmern, including a questionnaire sent to Andersen from Raymond Berta along with his dissertation abstract on Schaefer-Simmern, 1988; correspondence, including letters from Schaefer-Simmern, 1952-1989; photos of art work admired by Schaefer-Simmern. Also included are clippings, and a keynote speech by Andersen, 1994, "A Global Revision of Historical Time."
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, educator; Massachusetts. Born 1928.
Provenance:
Donated by Wayne Andersen, 1979 and 1994.
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.
Personal and business correspondence; photographs; writings; biographical materials; and printed materials.
REELS N69/133-N69/136: Personal correspondence, including letters and postcards from friends Wayne Anderson, composer Richard Arnell, E. Leontief, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko and others; business correspondence, including letters from galleries and universities, regarding exhibitions, sculpture contracts and invitations for lecture, his donation of his paper to Syracuse University, and teaching positions; ground plans, estimates, and correspondence regarding Ferber's "environmental sculpture" for Harlow Carpenter and Bundy Gallery and the ensuing case against them;
contract and letters concerning the courtyard sculpture for the John F. Kennedy GSA building in Boston; letters regarding insurance and damage done to works lent for exhibition through the Walker Art Center; writings by Ferber for various journals including art journals and a scientific journal (using an pseudonym, Herbert F. Silver, D.D.S.); drafts of lectures given at art institutions and colleges; a catalog raisonne; transcript of an interview with Ferber; licenses, degrees and diplomas; a book, THREE AMERICAN SCULPTORS: FERBER, HARE, LASSAW, by E.C. Goossen, Robert Goldwater, and Irving Sandler; sketchbooks, 1933-1937; clippings; exhibition catalogs and announcements; scrapbook relating to his career and work at Midtown Galleries, New York.
REEL N/70-39: Photographs of Ferber at work and of his sculptures.
REEL 2804: A typescript, "Sculpture as Environment," by Ferber, January 1960.
ADDITION: Biographical materials; correspondence, 1979-1980; records concerning Williams College exhibition, 1975-1980; writings, 1970-1986; exhibition catalogs and announcements; photographs, including one of Ferber ca. 1935, one of Helen Frankenthaler and Andrew Heiskell, and one of a painting signed on back by Beck Balken. Additional records concerning his career as a dentist include diplomas and certificates, published articles on dental subjects by Dr. Silvers, and letters of appointment to the dental school faculty, Columbia University, 1980-1985.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and environmental sculptor; New York, N.Y. d. 1991. Ferber was also a dentist, who practiced under the name Herbert Ferber Silvers.
Provenance:
Material on reels N69/133-136 and reel N70/39 lent by Herbert Ferber 1969-1970; the unmicrofilmed material was donated 1991 by Herbert Ferber. The donor of the typescript on reel 2804 is unspecified.
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.
Occupation:
Dentists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Herbert Ferber conducted 1968 Apr. 22-1969 Jan. 6, by Irving Sandler, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Herbert Ferber (1906-1991) was a sculptor and painter in 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Correspondence mostly with family members, including letters from Tomlin while in Paris, London, and New York, 1924-1929; exhibition catalogs and announcements; illustrations for children's books and magazine covers; sketches; photographs, including some of Frank London, Antoinette Schulte, Sylvia Pedlar, Robert Motherwell, and Herbert Ferber; miscellaneous professional papers; three statements of policy regarding united action by painters, including "Declaration to the American Avant-Garde Painters by Georges Mathieu," October 1952; and miscellaneous printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, illustrator; Woodstock and Syracuse, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent and donated 1970 by Lila Tomlin Northrup, Earl H. Tomlin, and Marguerite Dockstader, Tomlin's sisters and brother. Ca. 100 items were subsequently given.
Correspondence with sculptors Alexander Calder, Herbert Ferber, Boris Lurie, and David Smith, conveying information about their works included in the Festival of Two Worlds, "Sculpture in the city" exhibition. The festival was held in Spoleto, Italy in 1963, and Carandente was the art director.
Biographical / Historical:
Art director, painter and critic; Italy.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1963 by Giovanni Carandente.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
An interview of Herbert Ferber conducted 1981 June 2, by Phyllis Tuchman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Ferber talks about the development of his friendship with Rothko through the Betty Parsons Gallery and Rothko's personality and habits. He speaks of Rothko's work, particularly the Houston chapel, and his feelings for other artists. He briefly mentions his involvement in the lawsuit against the Marlborough Galleries. He recalls Adolph Gottlieb, Clyfford Still, Barney Newman, Robert Motherwell, William Baziotes, Arshile Gorky, Ad Reinhardt, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Herbert Ferber (1906-1991) was a sculptor and painter from New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Jack Kufeld, Katharine Kuh, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1968 Apr. 22-1969 Jan. 6. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Herbert Ferber conducted by Dorothy Seckler in 1962 for the Archives of American Art.
Ferber speaks on the subject of environmental sculpture; deciding how large to build a sculpture by imagining the spectator's experience viewing it; seeking a sense of permanence by building sculptures that are so large; his desire to have his sculptures be light and airy and off the ground; how his sculptures come very close to architecture; and making a sculpture on the ground and having to work on it by crawling through and sitting on it, gave him a sense of the presence of the work of art. He recalls Gene Goossen and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, painter; New York, N.Y.; d. 1991.
General:
Sound quality is poor.
Provenance:
This interview is 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.
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1981 June 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Herbert Ferber and Joan French Seeman. Interview with Herbert Ferber, between 1973-1981. Joan Seeman papers, 1973-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
