An interview of Mildred Constantine conducted 1965 October 15, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art. Constantine speaks of the Federal Art Project in New York and its work; working for Audrey McMahon; the influx of foreign artists in the 1930s; the changes brought about in the art world because of the Federal Art Project. She recalls McMahon, Edward Alden Jewell, Holger Cahill and Jacob Baker.
Biographical / Historical:
Mildred Constantine (1914-2008) was an art historian from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 16 min.
Provenance:
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:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art consultants -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Sidney Gordin conducted 1965 Sept. 2, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art.
Gordin speaks of immigrating to the United States from Shanghai, China in 1922; being the class artist in grade school; attending Brooklyn Technical High School; studying at the WPA art school at the Brooklyn Museum for a summer; attending the Cooper Union School of Art; encountering Cubism; working as a commercial artist and making cartoons; teaching at the Pratt Institute; and alternating, as inspiration strikes, between painting and sculpture; and Constructivist philosophy. Gordin also mentions Ralph Rosenborg, Tom Eldred, Carol and Wallace Harrison, Edward Alden Jewell, Pablo Picasso, Byron Thomas, Morris Kantor, Hans Hofmann, Paul Clay, Jackson Pollock, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Sidney Gordin (1918-1996) was a sculptor and educator from Berkeley, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 1 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- California -- Berkeley -- Interviews Search this
Edward Alden Jewell. Letter from Edward Alden Jewell to Arthur Dove, not after 1946. Arthur and Helen Torr Dove papers, 1905-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Edward Alden Jewell. New phase in art noted at display, 1947 January 23. Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers, 1916-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
3 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 3 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1923-1989
Scope and Contents:
Primarily research material compiled by Smith for her MA Thesis on Arthur Dove (1944, American University), and for the American Art Research Council, and papers relating to Smith's personal life and career as a painter.
REEL 1043: Photocopies of 19 letters and 2 telegrams from Dove and his wife Helen ("Reds") to Smith, 1943-1944 (originals donated in 1992); a card catalog of Dove's paintings; and a typescript of the 1976 revised edition of Smith's master's thesis, "Arthur G. Dove: A Study in Contemporary Art."
REELS 2425-2426: Provenance records for ca. 700 of Dove's paintings and sketches, compiled by Smith under the auspices of the American Art Research Council, containing information about title, ownership, medium, special markings on picture and frame, condition, date of work, and exhibition of work.
UNMICROFILMED: Personal papers relating to Smith's career and civic and social activities in the Washington, D.C. area, 1923-1988, including correspondence, letters to her husband, Gordon H. Smith, while he was an army musician stationed in California in 1944; class notes from her studies at American University; annotated sketchbooks; Smith's wedding album; printed material; and photographs of Smith, relatives and friends, including artist Peter Hurd.
Also included are materials on Dove, 1936-1989, including letters concerning Dove from Georgia O'Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Alden Jewell, Duncan Phillips,and Charles Alan; Smith's 1944 edition of her master's thesis; research notes on Dove, including transcribed Dove writings and correspondence; printed material; slides of Dove's work; and 4 microfilm reels of material collected during her research, portions contained in her papers.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, author, painter (1913-1989) of Washington, D.C.
Provenance:
Material on reels 2425-2426 donated 1972 by Nathaly Baum. Material on reel 1043 lent for microfilming 1976 by Smith, and except for the 1976 revised thesis, was subsequently donated along with the unmicrofilmed material 1992 by Daisy Mullet Smith, Smith's daughter.
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.
Two letters, 1943, to Edward Alden Jewell, art editor of the New York Times, written in response to a published editorial in which Rothko attempts to explain modern art; handwritten notes and notebook with entries about art and the creative process; and 8 undated sketches. Microfilm title: Carson family papers.
Other Title:
Carson family papers (microfilm title)
Provenance:
These Rothko papers were in the possession of George Carson, husband of Rothko's ex-wife Edith Carson. Carson turned the papers over to the Mark Rothko Foundation, and gave the Archives of American Art permission to microfilm them.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
