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Billy Al Bengston papers

Creator:
Bengston, Billy Al  Search this
Names:
Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
James Corcoran Gallery  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this
Alexander, Peter, 1939-  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this
Chamberlain, John, 1927-2011  Search this
Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993  Search this
Flavin, Dan, 1933-  Search this
Goode, Joe, 1937-  Search this
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Plagens, Peter  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Extent:
10.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Photographs
Date:
circa 1940s-1989
bulk 1960-1988
Summary:
The papers of southern California Pop artist Billy Al Bengston measure 10.4 linear feet and date from circa 1940s to 1989, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960 to 1988. The collection documents the life and work of the artist through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, gallery and museum files, teaching files, project and commission files, scattered artwork, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Billy Al Bengston measure 10.4 linear feet and date from circa 1940s to 1989, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960 to 1988. The collection documents the life and work of the southern California artist through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, gallery and museum files, teaching files, project and commission files, scattered artwork, printed materials, and photographs.

Found within the biographical materials series are three feet of calendars which extensively document Bengston's personal and professional activities for fourteen years, and include ephemera related to these activities. This series also includes health records, wills, and passports.

Correspondence is with galleries, museums, universities, businesses, friends, and colleagues, and primarily concerns exhibitions, sales, consignments, commissions, and Bengston's personal finances. Bengston's relationship with the James Corcoran Gallery, Janie C. Lee Gallery, John Berggruen Gallery, Martha Jackson Gallery, and Texas Gallery are well-documented here, as well as in the Museum and Gallery Files series. Also found is a limited amount of personal correspondence with collectors, researchers, and friends. A few letters from other artists, including Peter Plagens and a letter from Richard Diebenkorn are interfiled here.

Bengston's professional relationships with galleries, museums, and universities are well-documented in the gallery and museum files, including the galleries mentioned above, Ferus Gallery, and others. Lists of consignments and prices, invoices, records of sales, loan agreement forms, shipping receipts, exhibition checklists, and exhibition floor plans provide information about sales, exhibitions, and loans. A few files provide further information about Bengston teaching activities. His personal business records include art sales records, price lists, lists of purchases, records of investment, and personal finance records. Project files include correspondence, notes, and printed materials related to Bengston's commissions for artwork and personal projects, including a book he worked on with Ed Ruscha, Business Cards.

Writings by Bengston include responses to exhibitions of West Coast art and his thoughts on his career, art, the artistic community, motorcycles, as well as a recollection of John Altoon. Also found are questionnaires sent out by Bengston for an art survey, with responses from Peter Alexander, Carl Andre, John Chamberlain, Dan Flavin, Joe Goode, Robert Graham, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, Ed Ruscha, and others. Writings by others consist primarily of exhibition catalog essays, manuscripts of interviews with Bengston, and other writings about Bengston. Also found is an essay by Walter Hopps. Photographs of Bengston include a family picture from the 1940s, Bengston at work on projects in Los Angeles and Syracuse, New York, and Bengston at social events. Other photographs consist of pictures of friends and artists, Bengston's artwork, documentary evidence of damaged artwork, and of commission sites.

Printed materials from the 1960s - 1980s include clippings, full articles, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and posters. They document exhibitions, art in southern California, and society and art events. The collection houses limited amounts of artwork including sketches, cut-outs, doodles and drawings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 10 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1958-1987 (Boxes 1-4, 11; 3.7 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1966-1989 (Boxes 4-6; 1.75 linear feet)

Series 3: Gallery and Museum Files, 1961-1989 (Boxes 6-7; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Teaching Records, 1968-1982 (Box 7; 7 folders)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1960-1987 (Boxes 7-8; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 6: Project Files, 1968-1987 (Boxes 8-9; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 7: Writings, 1967-circa 1988 (Box 9, OV 12; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork, 1960s-1987 (Box 9; 7 folders)

Series 9: Printed Materials, 1958-1988 (Boxes 9-10, OV 12-13; 1.25 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1940s-1987 (Box 10; 0.5 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Billy Al Bengston was born in Dodge City, Kansas on June 7, 1934. After moving back and forth from Kansas to California multiple times, he and his family settled in Los Angeles in 1948. While attending the Manual Arts High School, Bengston became interested in art, especially ceramics. After a brief stint at Los Angeles Junior College, Bengston worked as a beach attendant at Doheny State Beach. While working there he met fellow surfer and future ceramicist Kenneth Price, who became one of Bengston's closest friends. In 1953, he reenrolled in Los Angeles Junior College to study ceramics. For the next four years he attended both the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Los Angeles County Art Institute (now the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design). At these institutions he studied with Richard Diebenkorn, Sabro Hasegawa, Nathan Oliveira, and Peter Voulkos.

Around 1957, Bengston shifted his emphasis from ceramics to painting, and became affiliated with the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, founded that same year by Edward Kienholz and Walter Hopps. Bengston's first solo exhibition was held at the Ferus Gallery in 1958, and a second followed in 1960. At this time Bengston began to work with Pop icons combined with Color Field abstractions. His early bold paintings often featured symmetrical strong color compositions with a central image of a valentine, star, cross, chevron, or iris. The irises he called "draculas," after Kenneth Price remarked that they resembled Dracula flying through a window. He first showed his chevron paintings in 1962 at the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York. In the early 1960s, Bengston extended his imagery to the California subculture and created paintings of leisure time activities, focusing on motorcycles, racing, and scuba diving - his own interests as well.

Throughout his career, Bengston experimented with technique and materials. He experimented with automobile lacquer and spray painting techniques associated with car customization. He also used non-traditional surfaces, such as masonite and aluminum. In 1965, Bengston began creating paintings on sheets of aluminum into which he hammered dents and sometimes bent and buckled; these subsequently came to be known as "dentos." Along with painting, Bengston has also created watercolors, ceramics, and furniture. He was also one of the artists selected by Carol and Roy Doumani to design their home.

Bengston first visited Hawaii in 1974, and after several subsequent trips, established a second studio there in 1979. The work Bengston created in the following years was characterized by the use of tropical colors and representational images of running figures, airplanes, and the moon. In 1988, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston organized a retrospective entitled "Billy Al Bengston: Paintings of Three Decades," which traveled to the Oakland Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Museum of Art, Honolulu. Bengston also completed several years as an art instructor and lecturer at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and The University of California at Los Angeles. Bengston continues to create and exhibit new work.
Related Material:
Found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Bengston conducted by Susan Larsen, September 9, 1980, and Susan Ford Morgan, August 2-October 7, 2002. Also found are portraits of Bengston in the Photographs of artists taken by Mimi Jacobs collection, and a rare copy of the book Business Cards by Bengston and Ed Ruscha in the Wallace Berman papers.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Billy Al Bengston in 1990.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- California  Search this
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- Economic aspects  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Billy Al Bengston papers, circa 1940s-1989 (bulk 1960-1988). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.bengbill
See more items in:
Billy Al Bengston papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9100ab903-2685-4182-8e65-3886c54e0d7f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bengbill

Hassel Smith at the John Berggruen Gallery [videorecording]/ University of California, Berkeley Office of Educational Television and Radio ; co-producer, Paul Karlstrom, 1986 Jan. 13

Creator:
University of California, Berkeley. Office of Educational Television and Radio  Search this
Subject:
Smith, Hassel  Search this
Karlstrom, Paul J.  Search this
University of California, Berkeley.. Office of Educational Television and Radio  Search this
ETVR (Television station)  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Type:
Video recordings
Citation:
Hassel Smith at the John Berggruen Gallery [videorecording]/ University of California, Berkeley Office of Educational Television and Radio ; co-producer, Paul Karlstrom, 1986 Jan. 13. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)21883
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216010
AAA_collcode_univcalb2
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216010

Hassel Smith at the John Berggruen Gallery [videorecording]/ University of California, Berkeley Office of Educational Television and Radio ; co-producer, Paul Karlstrom

Creator:
University of California, Berkeley.. Office of Educational Television and Radio  Search this
Names:
ETVR (Television station)  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
University of California, Berkeley.. Office of Educational Television and Radio  Search this
Karlstrom, Paul J.  Search this
Smith, Hassel, 1915-2007  Search this
Extent:
2 Videocassettes (U-matic) ((45 min.), sd; col., 3/4 in.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videocassettes (u-matic)
Video recordings
Date:
1986 Jan. 13
Scope and Contents:
Parts I and II. Examines seven works (1960s-1985) by painter Hassel Smith at the John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, Calif. Smith comments on each piece. Also heard are Paul Karlstrom, Archives of Art, West Coast Regional CenterDirector, and Barbara Scales.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, Office of Educational Television and Radio, 1986 Jan. 13.
Provenance:
Donated 1986 by University of California, Berkeley, Office of Educational Television and Radio. The tape and sound were used in "Hassel Smith : An Interview," Jan. 15, 1986; Paul Karlstrom, interviewer; produced by ETVR.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from the University of California Office of Educational Television and Radio. 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:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Identifier:
AAA.univcalb2
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99eff91ad-b4f6-440e-afc5-f55ea9fb4165
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-univcalb2

Andy Warhol : cowboys and Indians : paintings & drawings : November 1-December 1, 2001 / essay by Bill Berkson

Title:
Cowboys and Indians
Author:
Warhol, Andy 1928-1987  Search this
Berkson, Bill  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Warhol, Andy 1928-1987  Search this
Physical description:
40 p. : ill. (some col.), port. ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
2001
C2001
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_676689

Billy Al Bengston papers, circa 1940s-1989, bulk 1960-1988

Creator:
Bengston, Billy Al, 1934-  Search this
Subject:
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Plagens, Peter  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Flavin, Dan  Search this
Diebenkorn, Richard  Search this
Chamberlain, John  Search this
Goode, Joe  Search this
Lichtenstein, Roy  Search this
Andre, Carl  Search this
Alexander, Peter  Search this
Altoon, John  Search this
Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this
James Corcoran Gallery  Search this
Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Billy Al Bengston papers, circa 1940s-1989, bulk 1960-1988. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- Economic aspects  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)10220
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213296
AAA_collcode_bengbill
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_213296
Online Media:

John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.) [Folder]

Additional name:
Berggruen Gallery  Search this
Contents:
Folder(s) may include exhibition announcements, newspaper and/or magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, illustrations, resumes, artist's statements, exhibition catalogs.
Place:
San Francisco (Calif.)
Topic:
Art Organizations  Search this
Location:
Art & Artist files at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/ National Portrait Gallery Library
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:SILAF_97848

Elmer Bischoff : paintings from the figurative period, 1954-1970 / essay by Donald Kuspit

Author:
Bischoff, Elmer 1916-1991  Search this
Kuspit, Donald B (Donald Burton) 1935-  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Bischoff, Elmer 1916-1991  Search this
Physical description:
47 p. : ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
1990
Topic:
Figurative painting, American  Search this
Call number:
N40.1.B595 K9 1990
ND237.B59364 A4 1990
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_393212

Looking back : 45 years / John Berggruen Gallery

Author:
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Physical description:
87 pages : chiefly color illustrations, portraits ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Catalogs
Place:
California
San Francisco
Date:
2015
21st century
20th century
Topic:
Art galleries, Commercial  Search this
Art, Modern  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1059463

Fall 2013

Author:
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Physical description:
69 pages : chiefly color illustrations ; 28 cm
Type:
Catalogs
Date:
2013
[2013]
21st century
Topic:
Art, Modern  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1052306

Al Held : watercolors / [text, Eleanor Heartney]

Title:
Watercolors
Author:
Held, Al 1928-2005  Search this
Heartney, Eleanor 1954-  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Held, Al 1928-2005  Search this
Physical description:
57 p. : col. ill. ; 25 x 26 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Exhibition catalogs
Place:
United States
Date:
2008
C2008
21st century
20th century
Topic:
Watercolor painting, American  Search this
Watercolor painting, Abstract  Search this
Call number:
ND1839.H45 A4 2008
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_912657

Picasso : the Berggruen album

Title:
Berggruen album
Author:
Picasso, Pablo 1881-1973  Search this
Richardson, John 1924-  Search this
McCully, Marilyn  Search this
Berggruen, Olivier  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Mitchell-Innes & Nash  Search this
Subject:
Picasso, Pablo 1881-1973  Search this
Picasso, Pablo 1881-1973  Search this
Physical description:
88 p. : chiefly ill. (some col.) ; 25 x 33 cm
Type:
Books
Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc
Exhibitions
Date:
2004
C2004
Call number:
NC248.P5 A4 2004
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_728353

Nathan Oliveira : recent paintings and works on paper, September 18 - November 1, 1997 / essay by Michael McClure

Author:
Oliveira, Nathan 1928-2010  Search this
McClure, Michael  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Oliveira, Nathan 1928-  Search this
Physical description:
40 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
United States
Date:
1997
[c1997]
Topic:
Painters  Search this
Call number:
ND237.O53 A4 1997
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_730232

David Bates : the tropics

Title:
Tropics
Author:
Bates, David 1952-  Search this
Conrad, Barnaby 1952-  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Bates, David 1952-  Search this
Physical description:
55 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
In art
Place:
Caribbean Area
Date:
2008
C2008
Call number:
ND237.B277 A4 2008b
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_906895

Joseph Goldyne : recent work

Title:
Recent work
Author:
Goldyne, Joseph R  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Goldyne, Joseph R  Search this
Physical description:
[10] pages, [6] leaves of plates : color illustrations ; 19 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Exhibition catalogs
Date:
1981
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1057818

Abstract and figurative : highlights of Bay area painting

Title:
Highlights of Bay area painting
Author:
Nash, Steven A. 1944-  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Physical description:
79 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
California
San Francisco Bay Area
Date:
2008
C2008
20th century
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Art, Abstract  Search this
Figurative art  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_912429

Isca Greenfield-Sanders : sky of blue, sea of green : September 15-October 29, 2005 : John Berggruen Gallery

Title:
Sky of blue, sea of green
Author:
Greenfield-Sanders, Isca 1978-  Search this
Firstenberg, Lauri  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Greenfield-Sanders, Isca 1978-  Search this
Physical description:
43 p. : col. ill. ; 22 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
2005
C2005
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_910091

Arlene Shechet : sculpture and works of paper : March 6-April 5, 1997 / essay by Kay Larson

Author:
Shechet, Arlene  Search this
Larson, Kay  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Shechet, Arlene  Search this
Physical description:
8 plates : col. ill. ; 24 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
1997
Topic:
Buddhas in art  Search this
Call number:
NB237.S487 A4 1997
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_902799

Above and below the surface : eight artists / Tauba Auerbach, ... [et al.]

Author:
Auerbach, Tauba 1981-  Search this
Binion, McArthur 1946-  Search this
Brauntuch, Troy 1954-  Search this
Eggerer, Thomas 1963-  Search this
Heyl, Charline von 1960-  Search this
McClelland, Suzanne 1959-  Search this
Morris, Sarah 1967-  Search this
Tonsfeldt, Josh  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Auerbach, Tauba 1981-  Search this
Binion, McArthur  Search this
Brauntuch, Troy 1954-  Search this
Eggerer, Thomas 1963-  Search this
Heyl, Charline von 1960-  Search this
McClelland, Suzanne 1959-  Search this
Morris, Sarah 1967-  Search this
Tonsfeldt, Josh  Search this
Physical description:
[38] p. : color ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
2014
21st century
Topic:
Art, Modern  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1046921

Mark Adams : a way with color / essay by Lorna Price

Title:
Way with color
Author:
Adams, Mark 1925-2006  Search this
Price, Lorna  Search this
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Adams, Mark 1925-2006  Search this
Physical description:
97 p. : chiefly ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1995
C1995
Call number:
N6537.A312 A4 1995
N40.1.A219 P94 1995
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_501811

Large scale works on paper : [exhibition] February 21-March 16, 1991, John Berggruen Gallery

Author:
John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Physical description:
47 p. : chiefly ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
1991
C1991
20th century
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Call number:
N6512 .L32 1991
N6512.L32 1991
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_434344

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