An interview with Bill and Peggy Foote conducted 2014 February 16-17, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Viola Frey Oral History Project at Bill's office and home in San Francisco, California.
Dr. and Ms. Foote speak of their early days growing up and their introduction to art; their meeting in Stockton; the beginnings of the Lincoln Square Gallery; their introduction to Viola Frey; their increasing involvement as art dealers in the Bay Area in the '60s and '70s; Peggy Foote's time at the California College of Arts and Crafts; their collection of Viola Frey's work and other artists' work; their interactions with Charles Fiske and Viola Frey; Frey's early years in Lodi; Frey's love of collecting jewelry and small ceramic figurines; and Frey's work in relation to gender issues. They also discuss Frey and Fiske's health issues; Frey's time at CCAC; Frey's relationship with Fiske; Frey's work as it related to Robert Arneson and Peter Voulkos and other Bay Area artists; Peggy Foote's gallery Conway Antiques in the 70's and 80's; Bill Foote's remembrances at Frey's memorial. Mr. and Ms. Foote also recall Shirley Hanson, Rena Bransten, Squeak Carnwath, Gary Knecht, Leslie Wenger, Nancy Hoffman, Richard McDonald, Maryanne Schulz, the Wiebe twins, Robert Arneson, Vernon Coykendall, Noni Eccles Treadwell, Sam Perry, Jackie Maybeck, Gloria Champion, Jack Laycox, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Bill Foote (1937- ) and his wife Peggy (1935- ) are art collectors and retired art and antique dealers in San Francisco, California who collected Viola Frey's works of art. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar 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.
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Viola Frey, 1995 Feb. 27-June 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Viola Frey conducted 1995 Feb. 27-1995 June 19, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, at the artist's studio, in Oakland, Calif.
FEB. 27, 1995 SESSION: Family background in the Midwest; Huguenot ancestry; importance of grandmother in her life; living in Central Valley, Calif.; father's collecting junk; early plans to become a writer; declining her acceptance to UC Berkeley and attending community college to study art; attending California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, majoring in ceramics; winning a first prize at City of Paris contest; attending Tulane University; moving to New York; working at the Museum of Modern Art; returning to San Francisco in 1960 and community there. She recalls Richard Diebenkorn, Mark Rothko, Peter Voulkos, and Robert Arneson.
MAY 15, 1995 SESSION: Influence of Robert Arneson; comparison of her work to Voulkos, Arneson and Manuel Neri; effect of gender on art subjects; Frey's theme of man in suit as power to do good or bad; interest in archeology; influence of National Geographic magazine on her work, especially as a source for images of grandmothers; production of her large-scale ceramic sculpture; her preference for electric kiln; modular production; studio spaces in Oakland and San Francisco and effect of varying light; working on a piece over a long period of time, which is unusual for sculpture; and the importance of space in the creation of work.
JUNE 19, 1995 SESSION: Influence of television and radio; attitude toward Japanese-influenced ceramics; use of color; overglaze painting; china painting in France; relationships between her figure drawing and sculpture; New York period; funk; plate art; autobiographical and personal qualities in her work; move from house to studio; personal relationship with Charles Fiske; her private art library; interest in artist's monographs; social life; image of man in suit; influence of AIDS in her work; art-brute; and response to critics Donald Kuspit and Susan Larsen.
Biographical / Historical:
Viola Frey (1933-2004) was a ceramist and sculptor of Oakland, Calif.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History, 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
The Sybaris Gallery records measure 11 linear feet and date from 1966 to 2010, with the bulk of the records dating from 1986 to 2003. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through administrative records, artist files, exhibition files, and gallery and museum files.
Scope and Contents:
The Sybaris Gallery records measure 11 linear feet and date from 1966 to 2010, with the bulk of the records dating from 1986 to 2003. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through administrative records, artist files, exhibition and event files, and gallery and museum files.
Administrative records include advertisement records, collector lists, material relating to the gallery's dealings with corporate collections and art consultants, press releases, newspaper and magazine clippings, and a scrapbook. Artist files consist of price lists, artist statements, agreements, photographs and negatives of artwork, sales records, inventories, packing and shipping instructions, as well as correspondence with artists, collectors, and other museums and galleries. Artist files found in the collection include Nick Cave, Barbara Cooper, Philip Cornelius, Patrick Dougherty, Jack Earl, Viola Frey, William Hunter, Ferne Jacobs, Marilyn Levine, Joan Livingstone, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Ron Nagle, Ken Price, Ed Rossbach, Jane Sauer, June Schwarcz, Joyce Scott, Kiff Slemmons, and Lenore Tawney.
Exhibition and event files include press releases, artist resumes, artist statements, correspondence, photographs of artwork, and printed material such as newspaper clippings, catalogs, and announcements. Files related to events held by other organizations include correspondence, checklists, printed material, and agreements. Gallery and museum files contain invoices, consignment records, correspondence, pricelists, invoices, agreements, scattered artist resumes, and some printed material.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1988-2003 (Box 1; 1 linear feet)
Series 2: Artist Files, 1966-2010, bulk 1986-2003 (Box 2-10; 8.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Exhibition and Event Files, 1990-2003 (Box 10-11; .7 linear feet)
Series 4: Gallery and Museum Files, 1989-2003 (Box 11; .8 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Sybaris Gallery was founded in Royal Oak, Michigan, in 1989 by Linda Ross and Arlene Selik. Ross and Selik were both private art dealers and curators before establishing Sybaris in 1989, operating under the name The Sybaris Group. The gallery established an international reputation for exhibiting contemporary crafts in all media, including fiber, wood, metal, and ceramics. Among its notable exhibitions was the gallery's annual basketry invitational. Other notable group and solo shows displayed the work of artists Nick Cave, Viola Frey, Joan Livingstone, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Ed Rossbach, and June Schwarcz. The gallery closed in 2003. Selik and Ross continued their careers as dealers, curators, and art consultants.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2014 by Linda Ross and Arlene Selik, founders of Sybaris Gallery.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research 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.
Sybaris Gallery Records, 1966-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
An interview with Sandra Shannonhouse, conducted 2015 July 22-23, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Viola Frey Oral History Project at Shannonhouse's studio in Benicia, California.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Sandra Shannonhouse (1947- ) is an artist in Benicia, California, who was a close friend of Viola Frey's. Interviewer Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 7 sound files. Duration is 5 hr., 18 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.
Topic:
Ceramicists -- California -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Nancy Hoffman, conducted 2015 July 15-16, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Viola Frey Oral History Project at Hoffman's gallery, in New York, New York.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Nancy Hoffman (1944- ) is an art dealer in New York, New York, who was Viola Frey's New York art dealer. Interviewer Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 4 sound files. Duration is 3 hr., 4 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.
Topic:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Artists' Legacy Foundation.
6 Items (sound files (5 hr., 15 min.), digital wav)
111 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2014 September 10
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Garth Clark conducted 2014 September 9-10, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Viola Frey Oral History Project, at Clark's home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Garth Clark (1947- ) is an art critic in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Interviewer Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California. Clark wrote about and interviewed Frey.
General:
Originally recorded as 6 sound files. Duration is 5 hr., 15 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.
Restrictions:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Artists' Legacy Foundation.
Creative Arts League of Sacramento presents California Crafts XII : Viola Frey, retrospective [exhibition], Crocker Art Museum, March 21 through April 26, Oakland Museum, July 21 through Sept. 13, 1981 / essay by Garth Clark ; [photography by M. Lee Fatherree.]
The figure--two Bay Area artists, Christopher Brown, Viola Frey : Feb. 23-April 3, 1992 : Johnson County Community College, Gallery of Art / [essays, Bruce Hartman]
