An interview of Michael St. Clair conducted 1994 March 14- 1994 April 28, by Gail Stavitsky and John Driscoll, for the Archives of American Art.
St. Clair briefly discusses his art training at the Kansas City Institute of Art and at the Art Students League and compares the teaching styles of Thomas Hart Benton and George Grosz. He talks about his work as the director of the Oklahoma (City) Art Center and designing window displays for Macy's and other department stores in New York City. Finally, he reviews his career at Babcock Galleries, focusing his discussion on his acquisition of the work of Marsden Hartley, Childe Hassam, John Kensett, and Thomas Eakins, among others.
Biographical / Historical:
Michael St. Clair (1912-1999) was an art dealer of New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 42 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Art Dealers Association of America.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Michael St. Clair, 1994 March 14 and April 28. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Ken Ferguson papers measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1978-2004. Included is correspondence primarily with peers and students in the field of ceramics, including prominent artists such as Akio Takamori; two sketchbooks that provide key insights into the development of Ferguson's hallmark forms and vessels; and a memorial video.
Biographical / Historical:
Ken Ferguson (1928-2004) was a ceramicist and teacher in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. He served in prominent positions in his field, including manager of the Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts and Head of the Ceramics Department at Kansas City Institute of Art.
Provenance:
Donated in 2021 by Gertrude Ferguson, Ken Ferguson's widow.
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. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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.
