Search Results

Creator:

Roberts, Colette, 1910-  Search this

Names:

British Broadcasting Corporation  Search this

Grand Central Moderns (Gallery)  Search this

Le Point Cardinal (Gallery)  Search this

New York University -- Faculty  Search this

Bauermeister, Mary, 1934-  Search this

Bearden, Romare, 1911-1988  Search this

Chryssa, 1933-  Search this

Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Ferren, John, 1905-1970  Search this

Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Le Prat, Thérèse  Search this

Lindner, Richard, 1901-  Search this

Marisol, 1930-2016  Search this

Moy, Seong  Search this

Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this

O'Doherty, Brian  Search this

Ray, Man, 1890-1976  Search this

Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967 -- Photographs  Search this

Schwabacher, Ethel, 1903-1984  Search this

Sterne, Hedda, 1910-  Search this

Vieira da Silva, Maria Helena, 1908-1992  Search this

Extent:

10.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Transcripts

Reviews (documents)

Interviews

Articles

Notes

Manuscripts

Photographs

Sound recordings

Date:

1918-1971

Summary:

The papers of New York City and Paris art historian, educator, and gallerist Colette Roberts measure 10.2 linear feet and date from 1918 to 1971. Papers include correspondence, writings, teaching records, project proposals, gallery records from Grand Central Moderns Gallery, clippings, Roberts' printed articles, press releases, exhibition catalogs, posters, photographs, and a few works of art on paper. Also found are 124 interviews with contemporary artists conducted by Roberts.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of New York City and Paris art historian, educator, and gallerist Colette Roberts measure 10.2 linear feet and date from 1918 to 1971. Papers include correspondence, writings, teaching records, project proposals, gallery records from Grand Central Moderns Gallery, clippings, Roberts' printed articles, press releases, exhibition catalogs, posters, photographs, and a few works of art on paper. Also found are 124 interviews with contemporary artists conducted by Roberts.

Significant correspondents include Sam Adler, Erwin Barrie, Hubert Damisch, George Deem, Mesdames de Harting and de Tinan, Lamar Dodd, Hélène Drude (Le Point Cardinal gallery), Arne Ekstrom, Albert M. Fine (Fluxus artist), Iqbal Geoffrey, R.G. Gilllet, Adolph Gottlieb, Cleve Gray, Leon Hartl, Jennett Lam, Alberto Cifolelli Lamb, Mike Nevelson, Norman Norotzky, Jacqueline Pavlowsky, Abe Rattner, Ad Reinhardt, H. Sandberg, Philippe Stern, Russell Twiggs, and Zuka.

Writings by Roberts include manuscripts and articles about artists, writings about her own art, personal writings, working notes from interviews and classes, reviews, and translations between English and French.

Among the personal records are Robert's files relating to teaching, charitable activities, and exhibitions. Also found are gallery records from Grand Central Moderns Gallery, including artist résumés, a card file of artworks with provenance information, exhibition catalogs and announcements, membership records, posters, publicity, and sales records.

Printed materials in the collection include clippings, Roberts' printed articles, press releases, and other exhibition catalogs and announcements. Photographs are of Roberts, artists, including Ad Reinhardt, classes, art spaces, and works of art. A small number of artworks on paper are also found, including Fluxus art stamps and a printed picture of Ray Johnson stamped "DOUGHNUT FESTIVAL."

Documentation of interviews with artists conducted by Roberts includes a card index file, a few transcripts, and the original sound recordings. Most of the recordings are interviews with artists that Roberts created during a class she taught at New York University between 1957 and 1971 called "Meet the Artist," including Mary Bauermeister, Romare Bearden, Dorothy Dehner, John Ferren, Ray Johnson, Ivan Karp, Thérèse Le Prat, Richard Lindner, Marisol, Seong Moy, Brian O'Doherty, Man Ray, Ethel Schwabacher, Hedda Sterne, Marie Helena Vieira da Silva, and many others. In preparation for magazine articles, Roberts conducted more extensive interviews with Chryssa, Marcel Duchamp, Adolph Gottlieb, and Louise Nevelson. A few of the recordings of Marcel Duchamp were not created by Roberts. In all, over 100 artists are represented in Roberts' interviews. Other recordings found include lectures and interviews conducted by people other than Roberts.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 8 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1918-1971 (Box 1, 0.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Notes and Writings, 1936-1970 (Box 1, 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Records, 1944-1971 (Box 1-2, 11; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Grand Central Moderns Gallery Records, 1952-1970 (Box 2-3, 11; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1938-1971 (Box 3-5, 11-12; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, 1930-1971 (Box 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, 1940-1969 (Box 5; 4 folders)

Series 8: Interviews with Artists, 1959-1971 (Box 5-10; 5.5 lienar feet)

Biographical Note:

Colette Roberts was a French artist, curator, gallery director, and scholar who emigrated to the United States in 1939, settling in New York City and remaining there until her death in 1971.

Roberts was born in Paris, France in 1910. She studied art with Roger Bissière at the Académie Ranson and with Henry Focillon at the Ecole du Louvre, and she later attended the Institut d'Art et Archeologie at the Sorbonne. Roberts came to the United States in 1939, settling in New York City, and became an American citizen three years later. In her early years in the United States, Roberts lectured and wrote on art and literature, and was active in various war-relief organizations, raising money and organizing benefits for organizations such as the American Red Cross and UNICEF. She was the gallery director for the National Association of Women Artists' Argent Galleries from 1947 to 1949, secretary to the curator of Far Eastern Art at New York's Metropolitan Museum from 1950 to 1951, and art editor for "France Amérique," the French-language newspaper in New York, beginning in 1953.

Roberts became gallery director of the Grand Central Moderns Gallery (New York, NY) in 1952 and remained in that position until 1968, when the gallery closed. The gallery was opened in 1946 by Erwin S. Barrie of the Grand Central Galleries for the promotion of living American artists. Among the artists represented there were Jennett Lam and Seong Moy. During this period she was also an instructor at New York University and Queens College, teaching art history and contemporary art. In 1957, she began a course at New York University called "Meet the Artist," for which she took her classes to the studios of working artists to see and discuss their work. In the early 1960s, she began to tape record her interviews of artists for this course, a practice which continued until her death in 1971. In 1968, Roberts worked briefly as Gallery Director for the A.M. Sachs Gallery (New York, NY), and as an oral history interviewer for the Archives of American Art.

Roberts wrote extensively on contempoary art, including articles and monographs on Mark Tobey (1960, Grove Press), Louise Nevelson (1964, The Pocket Museum), and Marcel Duchamp. She was a regular contributor to Aujourd'hui and Art and Architecture magazines.

Related Material:

Additional papers and recordings of Colette Roberts are held by Syracuse University Library Special Collections Research Center.

Separated Material:

A copy of a 1967 oral history with Adolf Gottlieb conducted by Dorothy Seckler for the Archives of American Art oral history program, which was found in Roberts' papers, has been returned to the Archives' oral history collection.

Provenance:

The sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with artists, were donated by Colette Roberts in 1970. The remaining papers were donated by her son, Richard B. Roberts, in 1973.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

The Colette Roberts papers and interviews with artists are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Fluxus (Group of artists)  Search this

Artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Transcripts

Reviews (documents)

Interviews

Articles

Notes

Manuscripts

Photographs

Sound recordings

Citation:

Colette Roberts papers and interviews with artists, circa 1930-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc.

Identifier:

AAA.robecoli

See more items in:

Colette Roberts Papers and Interviews with Artists

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-robecoli

Interviewee:

Drexler, Rosalyn  Search this

Interviewer:

Lyon, Christopher  Search this

Names:

Garth Greenan Gallery  Search this

Hunter College -- Students  Search this

Kornblee Gallery  Search this

Reuben Gallery  Search this

Alloway, Lawrence, 1926-1990  Search this

Baraka, Amiri, 1934-2014  Search this

Barthelme, Donald  Search this

Basquiat, Jean-Michel, 1960-1988  Search this

Bruce, Lenny  Search this

Carmines, Al  Search this

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

De Kooning, Elaine  Search this

De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this

Dine, Jim, 1935-  Search this

Doyle, Tom, 1928-  Search this

Drexler, Sherman  Search this

Geldzahler, Henry  Search this

Gilman, Richard, 1923-2006  Search this

Hess, Thomas B.  Search this

Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970  Search this

Hirshhorn, Joseph H.  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Katz, Alex, 1927-  Search this

Kent, Allegra  Search this

Klein, William  Search this

Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this

Kroll, Jack  Search this

Marx, Chico, 1887-1961  Search this

Monroe, Marilyn, 1926-1962  Search this

Neel, Alice, 1900-1984  Search this

Newman, Barry  Search this

Perelman, S. J. (Sidney Joseph), 1904-1979  Search this

Rosenberg, Harold, 1906-1978  Search this

Samaras, Lucas, 1936-  Search this

Sontag, Susan, 1933-2004  Search this

Teer, Barbara Ann, 1937-2008  Search this

Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987  Search this

Youskevitch, Igor, 1912-1994  Search this

Extent:

82 Pages (Transcript)

5 Items (Sound recording: 5 sound files (3 hr., 26 min.), digital, wav)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Date:

2017 May 17-June 2

Scope and Contents:

An interview with Rosalyn Drexler conducted 2017 May 17 and June 2 by Christopher Lyon, for the Archives of American Art, at Garth Greenan Gallery in New York, New York.

Drexler discusses her childhood in the Bronx; her experiences studying dance and music; her higher education at Hunter College; attending films and the Yiddish Theater; meeting her husband Sherman Drexler; her time as a professional wrestler; her memories of traveling to the South and encountering Jim Crow segregation; she describes learning about art from Sherman Drexler and her joint exhibition with Sherman; her early work in sculpture; participating in Happenings with Jim Dine; joining Anita Reuben's gallery; her debut as a playwright; her experience writing "I am the Beautiful Stranger;" the changing public perception of her and being classified as an artist; her decision to become a painter and appropriating images for her work; the influence of S. J. Perelman on her plays; her play about Joseph Cornell and ballerina Allegra Kent, and interviewing Allegra Kent; her recent artwork and preparing for her 2017 show at Garth Greenan Gallery; her artwork from the 1980s and 1990s; her comedy writing and sense of humor. Drexler also recalls Chico Marx, Jack Newfield, Igor Youskevitch, Ivan Karp, Anita Reuben, Lucas Samaras, Richard Gilman, Al Carmines, Amiri Baraka, Barbara Ann Teer, Franz Kline, Elaine De Kooning, Bill de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Jack Kroll, Lawrence Alloway, Tom Hess, Barney Newman, Harold Rosenberg, Susan Sontag, Joe Hirshhorn, Henry Geldzahler, Donald Barthelme, Kornblee Gallery, Eva Hesse, Tom Doyle, William Klein, Marilyn Monroe, Alex Katz, Alice Neel, Basquiat, Saturday Night Live, and Lenny Bruce, among others.

Biographical / Historical:

Rosalyn Drexler (1926- ) is a sculptor, playwright, and novelist in New York, New York. Christopher Lyon (1949- ) is a writer in Brooklyn, New York.

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.

Occupation:

Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Playwrights -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Happenings (Art)  Search this

Women wrestlers  Search this

Wrestling  Search this

Segregation -- United States  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.drexle17

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-drexle17

Creator:

Lawrence P. Fraiberg Productions  Search this

Names:

Lawrence P. Fraiberg Productions  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

New Museum (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Campoli, Cosmo  Search this

Cavanau, Ted  Search this

Derman, Rick  Search this

Fraiberg, Lawrence P.  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Kovich, Robert  Search this

Nolan, Barry  Search this

Paik, Nam June, 1932-2006  Search this

Phillips, Liz  Search this

Rose, Barbara  Search this

Segal, George, 1924-2000  Search this

Solomon, Holly  Search this

Thorne, Joan, 1943-  Search this

Extent:

2.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Video recordings

Date:

1979

Summary:

The State of the Arts videorecordings measure 2.4 linear feet and consist of 30 videocassettes (U-matic) and three sets of handwritten notes, all created during the production of a pilot episode for a broadcast television documentary series on contemporary art in 1979. Four stories were produced for the pilot: a staged debate on modern art at the Museum of Modern Art; an investigation into the economics of the contemporary art market, a collaboration between video artist Nam June Paik and sound artist Liz Phillips, and an extended interview with sculptor George Segal on the occasion of his 1979 retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Video footage includes raw footage for each segment and edited versions of the economics of art story, the Nam June Paik and Liz Phillips story, and the George Segal story. The reporter and interviewer for the program was Barry Nolan.

Scope and Contents:

The State of the Arts videorecordings measure 2.4 linear feet and consist of 30 videocassettes (U-matic) and three sets of handwritten notes, all created during the production of a pilot episode for a broadcast television documentary series on contemporary art in 1979. Four stories were produced for the pilot: a staged debate on modern art at the Museum of Modern Art; an investigation into the economics of the contemporary art market, a collaboration between video artist Nam June Paik and sound artist Liz Phillips, and an extended interview with sculptor George Segal on the occasion of his 1979 retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Video footage includes raw footage for each segment and edited versions of the economics of art story, the Nam June Paik and Liz Phillips story, and the George Segal story. The reporter and interviewer for the program was Barry Nolan.

Although the program never aired, the video shot for the pilot documents significant artists and gallerists of its time, with profiles of O.K. Harris Works of Art and its founder, Ivan Karp, as well as art dealer Holly Solomon and critic Barbara Rose, Marcia Tucker in the early days of the New Museum, and footage of artists like Nam June Paik, Liz Phillips, and George Segal in their studios, describing their work in detail. The sound and video piece created by Paik and Phillips with the dancer Robert Kovich was commissioned by the State of the Arts producers for the pilot program, and the four hours of video documenting their collaboration and its product may therefore be unique.

Interview subjects for the economics of art story include Ivan Karp, Tom Drysdale, Rick Derman, Cosmo Campoli, Joan Thorne, Holly Solomon, Marcia Tucker, and Barbara Rose. The Marcia Tucker interview takes place at the New School, which was at the time the home of the New Museum. Footage also includes a gallery opening at O.K. Harris Works of Art. Extended interviews with Liz Phillips, Nam June Paik, and George Segal are found in the footage of their respective stories.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as one series.

Series 1: -- State of the Arts -- Production Video, 1979 (2.4 linear feet; boxes 1-3)

Biographical / Historical:

State of the Arts was planned as a broadcast television magazine program on the subject of contemporary art. The pilot was produced in 1979 by Lawrence P. Fraiberg Productions with funding provided jointly by IBM and the National Endowment for the Arts. Fraiberg and Tom Cavanau served as executive co-producers, Rick Derman as field producer, and Barry Nolan as interviewer. The program never aired.

Lawrence P. Fraiberg was a longtime television documentary veteran when the pilot was produced. He graduated from the University of California in 1949 and began his career at television station KPIX in San Francisco. He became vice president and general manager of WNEW-TV in New York in 1965, and was named president of Metromedia Television in 1977. In 1980 he was appointed president of the Television Station Group for Westinghouse Broadcasting. An active member in community and industry organizations, he is a recipient of an honorary degree (1978) from St. John's University, New York, a Peabody Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Broadcasting Industry (1986), and a Trustees Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (1990). He died in 2011.

Barry Nolan, the interviewer for State of the Arts, went on to a career as a television magazine host and producer, with credits including Evening Magazine, Hard Copy, Extra!, and Nitebeat, and in 2012 produced the documentary No Way Out But One with his wife, Garland Waller.

Provenance:

Donated 1979-1980 by Lawrence P. Fraiberg.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

The State of the Arts videorecordings are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Video may be used for research, study, and scholarship purposes only and is not to be used in whole or in part for broadcast purposes.

Occupation:

Art museum directors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Artists -- Interviews  Search this

Women sculptors -- Interviews  Search this

Art critics  Search this

Gallery owners -- Interviews  Search this

Sculptors -- New Jersey -- Interviews  Search this

Video artists  Search this

Art dealers  Search this

Women museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Study and teaching  Search this

Performance art  Search this

Artists' studios  Search this

Video art -- United States  Search this

Sound sculpture -- United States  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Video recordings

Citation:

State of the Arts Videorecordings, 1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program.

Identifier:

AAA.frailawr

See more items in:

State of the arts videorecordings

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-frailawr

Creator:

Rose, Barbara  Search this

Names:

Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this

Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this

Bannard, Walter Darby, 1934-  Search this

Bellamy, Richard  Search this

Bierman, A. K., 1923- (Arthur Kalme)  Search this

Bladen, Ronald, 1918-1988  Search this

Bowles, John  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

Davis, Jim, 1901-1974  Search this

Davis, Ron, 1937-  Search this

De Forest, Roy, 1930-2007  Search this

Di Suvero, Mark, 1933-  Search this

Dzubas, Friedel, 1915-  Search this

Flavin, Dan, 1933-  Search this

Frazier, Charles  Search this

Geldzahler, Henry  Search this

Hare, David, 1917-1992  Search this

Hopps, Walter  Search this

Judd, Donald, 1928-  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Kauffman, Craig, 1932-2010  Search this

Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Lefebre, John  Search this

Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this

Locks, Seymour, 1919-  Search this

Lye, Len, 1901-1980  Search this

Mack, Heinz, 1931-  Search this

McCracken, John, 1934-2011  Search this

McShine, Kynaston  Search this

Meier, Richard, 1934-  Search this

Morris, Robert, 1931-2018  Search this

Motherwell, Robert  Search this

Mundt, Ernest Karl, 1905-  Search this

Murray, Robert, 1936-  Search this

Myers, John Bernard  Search this

Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this

Padovano, Anthony  Search this

Piene, Otto, 1928-  Search this

Poons, Larry  Search this

Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this

Rexroth, Kenneth, 1905-1982  Search this

Rose, Barbara  Search this

Rudolph, Paul, 1918-  Search this

Sandler, Irving, 1925-  Search this

Segal, George, 1924-2000  Search this

Stella, Frank  Search this

Taylor, Edward Silverstone  Search this

Wasserman, Tamara E.  Search this

Wesselmann, Tom, 1931-2004  Search this

Extent:

1.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Lectures

Date:

1962-circa 1969

Summary:

The Barbara Rose papers date from 1962 to circa 1969 and measure 1.4 linear feet. Papers include letters, writings, printed material, interviews with artists, panel discussions, and lectures relating to Barbara Rose's research as an art historian.

Scope and Contents:

The Barbara Rose papers date from 1962 to circa 1969 and measure 1.4 linear feet. Papers include letters, interviews with artists, panel discussions, lectures, writings, and printed material relating to Barbara Rose's work as an art historian and critic.

Letters consist of responses to queries and questionnaires Rose and Irving Sandler sent to contemporary artists as research for writing projects. Questionnaires were sesnt in preparation for an article in Art in America on artists' sensibility of the 1960s, with responses from Robert Motherwell, Robert Craig Kauffman, Len Lye, Robert Morris, George Segal, David Hare, and others. A separate query asked sculptors for their assessment of contemporary sculptor's needs and the potential for patronage, and responses are found from Carl Andre, Charles Frazier, Robert Murray, Anthony Padovano, Ron Bladen, Roy Lichtenstein, Len Lye, Sol LeWitt, Heinz Mack, Otto Peine, Dan Flavin, and Donald Judd.

Interviews conducted by Rose between 1965 and circa 1969 are found with Richard Bellamy, Leo Castelli, James E. Davis, Henry Geldzahler, Ivan Karp, Lee Krasner, John Lefebre, John Myers, Donald Judd with Frank Stella, and Tom Wesselmann. All interviews include original sound recordings, and the Judd and Stella, Krasner, and Myers interviews include transcripts. Panel discussions and lectures include sound recordings and transcripts of seven events on a variety of contemporary art and architecture subjects held between 1962 and 1968. Sound recordings are present for five of the events on 10 sound tape reels, and transcripts are present for all events. Participants in the panel discussions and lectures include Barbara Rose, Ronald Davis, Dan Flavin, Robert Kauffman, John Harvey McCracken, Friedel Dzubas, Ansel Adams, Arthur Bierman, Kenneth Rexroth, Edward Taylor, Ernst Karl Mundt, John Bowles, Roy Dean De Forest, Seymour Locks, Walter Hopps, Mark Di Suvero, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Kynaston McShine, Walter Darby Bannard, Donald Judd, Larry Poons, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Meier, Paul Rudolph, Claes Oldenburg, and Robert Murray.

Writings include photocopied typescripts of "Myth, Symbol, or Me," by Emily Wasserman and "Excerpts from a Work Journal on Flying Sculpture," by Charles Frazier. Printed material consists of two copies of the premiere issue of the 57th Street Review, from Nov. 15, 1966.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged as 4 series.

Series 1: Letters (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Interviews (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Panel Discussions and Lectures (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 4: Writings and Printed Material (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)

Biographical / Historical:

Barbara Rose is an American art historian and critic who has published widely in the field of modern American art. Born in 1938 in Washington, DC, Rose studied at the Sorbonne, Smith College, Barnard, and finally, Columbia University under Meyer Shapiro. Rose became immersed in the New York-based circle of modernist artists and curators in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and made her substantial contribution to the discourse on contemporary art with the insider's perspective this afforded her. In 1961, she married the painter Frank Stella and they had two children before their divorce in 1969.

Rose taught at Yale University, Sarah Lawrence, University of California at Irvine and San Diego, and the American University Art in Italy program, and was senior curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from 1981-1985. A prolific writer, Rose is the author of American Art Since 1900 (1967), The Golden Age of Dutch Painting (1969), American Painting: The 20th Century (Skira, 1969), and monographs on the artists Magdalena Abankawicz, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Rauschenberg, Alexander Liberman, Larry Rivers, and others, as well as dozens of exhibition catalog essays. She held editorial positions at Art in America, Vogue, Artforum, Partisan Review, and Journal of Art, and her writing has also appeared in Art International, Studio International, Arts Magazine, and ARTnews, among many others.

Related Materials:

Barbara Rose papers, 1940-1993 (bulk 1960-1985) are located at The Getty Research Institute Special Collections.

Separated Materials:

Additional papers of Barbara Rose are held by The Getty Research Institute.

Provenance:

Donated 1971-1977 by Barbara Rose.

Restrictions:

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:

The Barbara Rose papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Lectures

Citation:

Barbara Rose papers, 1962-circa 1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.rosebarb

See more items in:

Barbara Rose papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-rosebarb

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Container:

Box 76, Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1970s-2000s

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 7: Photographic Materials / 7.7: Miscellaneous Subjects

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref1407

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Container:

Box 76, Folder 14

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1991-2002

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 8: Ivan C. Karp Personal Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref1708

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Container:

Box 77, Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

1961-2002

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 8: Ivan C. Karp Personal Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref1718

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Container:

Box 77, Folder 2-3

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

1983-2010

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 8: Ivan C. Karp Personal Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref1719

Interviewee:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul, 1933-1997  Search this

Subject:

Artschwager, Richard  Search this

Bellamy, Richard  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

Johns, Jasper  Search this

Lichtenstein, Roy  Search this

Rauschenberg, Robert  Search this

Rosenquist, James  Search this

Scull, Robert C.  Search this

Sonnabend, Ileana  Search this

Twombly, Cy  Search this

Warhol, Andy  Search this

Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Richard Green Gallery  Search this

Hansa Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Optical art -- United States  Search this

Pop art -- United States  Search this

Soft sculpture -- United States  Search this

Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11717

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211988

AAA_collcode_karp69

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_211988

Creator:

Bush, Martin H.  Search this

Names:

ACA Galleries  Search this

Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art  Search this

Wichita State University -- Faculty  Search this

Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006  Search this

Beckett, Samuel, 1906-1989  Search this

Goodnough, Robert, 1917-  Search this

Hanson, Duane  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Neel, Alice, 1900-1984  Search this

Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this

Newman, Arnold, 1918-2006  Search this

Pousette-Dart, Richard, 1916-1992  Search this

Trova, Ernest T., 1927-  Search this

Von Wicht, John, 1888-1970  Search this

Witkin, Isaac  Search this

Extent:

5.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Video recordings

Interviews

Date:

1948-2012

bulk 1970-2008

Summary:

The papers of Martin H. Bush measure 5.1 linear feet and date from 1948-2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970-2008. The collection documents Bush's career as an art historian, educator, consultant, and gallery director through biographical material, correspondence, interviews, subject files, a scrapbook, and printed material. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection that includes one VHS tape, "American Art Forum: Martin Bush, October 27, 1988."

Scope and Contents:

The papers of Martin H. Bush measure 5.1 linear feet and date from 1948-2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970-2008. The collection documents Bush's career as an art historian, educator, consultant, and gallery director through biographical material, correspondence, interviews, subject files, a scrapbook, and printed material. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection that includes one VHS tape, "American Art Forum: Martin Bush, October 27, 1988."

Biographical material includes curriculum vitae, a certificate of discharge from the United States Army Reserve, and a lifetime membership certificate from the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art. Most of the correspondence is personal in nature and consists of letters between Bush and his colleagues at Wichita State University and the Ulrich Museum of Art, friends, and family members. Martin H. Bush's interviews on videocassette with artists and other figures in the art world include Benny Andrews, Duane Hanson, Ivan Karp, Alice Neel, Louise Nevelson, and Arnold Newman.

Subject files primarily document Martin H. Bush's activities as an art dealer and consultant and contain auction house sales and files on individual artists, including Richard Pousette-Dart, Robert Goodnough, Ernest Trova, and Isaac Witkin. Source files include illustrated letters by John Von Wicht and a folder on Samuel Beckett's correspondence with Bush that includes three holograph letters and one typescript letter from Beckett. A small amount of material references Bush's tenure as director of the ACA Gallery. Photographic materials are also included.

A scrapbook contains news clippings and excerpts of newsletters covering Bush's career at Wichita State University. Printed material includes books, an educational brochure, exhibition catalogs, and a memorial booklet.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 6 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1956-2008 (Box1, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1984-2012 (Box 1; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 3: Interviews, circa 1970-1994 (Boxes 1-2; 1 linear ft.)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1963-2012 (Boxes 2-4; 2 linear ft.)

Series 5: Scrapbook, 1971-2000 (Box 4; 1 folder)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1948, 1964-circa 2000 (Box 4, 0.25 linear ft.)

Series 7: Unprocessed addition, 1988 (Box 4)

Biographical / Historical:

Martin H. Bush is an art historian, educator, consultant, and gallery director.

Bush received a Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Albany in 1958. From 1963-1965, he taught at Syracuse University, where he earned his Ph.D in History in 1966. Bush also served as the University's Assistant Dean for Academic Resources from 1965-1970. During this time, Martin H. Bush was also a consultant to the New York State Education Department.

From 1970-1974, Martin H. Bush was the Vice President of Academic Resource Development at Wichita State University, a position created for him by the University's President, Clark Ahlberg. In this post, Bush established a special collections department at Ablah Library and the Ulrich Museum of Art. Bush was also a consultant to several major corporations in Wichita, including Fourth Financial Corporation, Range Oil Company, and American Diversified Real Estate. In 1974, in recognition of Bush's contribution to the museum, the University opened the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection. Bush has been involved in the acquisition of major pieces of outdoor sculpture from such well-known artists as Chaim Gross, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Juan Miró, Louise Nevelson, and George Rickey. In 1989, Bush moved to New York City, where he continued his work as an art consultant. From 1992-1993, he was President of the ACA Gallery.

Martin H. Bush has published many books and articles on artists as well as contributed essays for exhibition catalogs. In the 1970s-1980s, Bush interviewed major artists for public television and radio programs in Wichita, among them Benny Andrews, Isabel Bishop, Richard Pousette-Dart, and Theodoros Stamos. Martin H. Bush's honors and awards include the George S. Patton Medal by the government of Luxembourg for his essay, "Ben Shahn: The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti," 1969; "Outstanding Educator" by the Kansas Art Education Association, 1979; and the Wichita Arts Council Award, 1984.

Provenance:

The collection was donated in 2013 by Martin H. Bush. An unprocessed addition to the collection was donated by Lisa Bush Hankin in 2016.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

The Martin H. Bush papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Educators  Search this

Art historians  Search this

Consultants  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Gallery directors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Video recordings

Interviews

Citation:

Martin H. Bush papers, 1948-2012, bulk 1970-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.bushmart

See more items in:

Martin H. Bush papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-bushmart

Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Rose, Barbara, 1938-2020  Search this

Type:

Sound Recording

Date:

1968 May

Record number:

(DSI-AAA)16135

See more items in:

Barbara Rose papers, 1962-circa 1969

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_item_16135

Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Rose, Barbara, 1938-2020  Search this

Type:

Sound Recording

Date:

1968 April

Record number:

(DSI-AAA)16136

See more items in:

Barbara Rose papers, 1962-circa 1969

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_item_16136

Creator:

Schwartz, Kit  Search this

Names:

Marianne Deson Gallery  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this

Arman, 1928-2005  Search this

Arneson, Robert, 1930-1992  Search this

Charlesworth, Sarah, 1947-2013  Search this

Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-1995  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Kosuth, Joseph.  Search this

Paik, Nam June, 1932-  Search this

Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987  Search this

Wegman, William  Search this

Weiner, Lawrence, 1942-  Search this

Extent:

0.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Sound recordings

Date:

1977-1978

Scope and Contents:

A compendium of interviews for a project created by Kit Schwartz consisting of responses by 45 artists to the statement "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones" and responses from 90 artists to the question "Describe yourself as a person." Materials include sound recordings and corresponding transcripts of each response in two scrapbooks. Participants include Carl Andre, Arman, Robert Arneson, Sarah Charlesworth, Dan Graham, Ray Johnson, Ivan Karp, Joseph Kosuth, Nam June Paik, Andy Warhol, William Wegman, Lawrence Weiner, and others. Also included is a folder of background information on the project. The project was exhibited under the name "A New Portrait: A Semiographic Representation of Art During the Seventies" at the Marianne Deson Gallery, Ontario, Canada and the O.K. Harris Gallery, New York.

Biographical / Historical:

Kit Schwartz is a female author from Chicago, Illinois.

Provenance:

Transferred 2015 by Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery Library via Anne Evenhaugen, Librarian.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.

Occupation:

Artists  Search this

Authors -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Identifier:

AAA.schwkit

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-schwkit

Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Names:

Baeder, John  Search this

Butterfield, Deborah, 1949-  Search this

Castanis, Muriel, 1926-  Search this

Celender, Don, 1931-2005  Search this

Clarke, John Clem, 1937-  Search this

De Andrea, John, 1941-  Search this

Dufresne, Leonard, 1941-  Search this

Goings, Ralph  Search this

Grinder, Robert  Search this

Hanson, Duane  Search this

Kacere, John C., 1920-1999  Search this

Karp, Marilynn Gelfman  Search this

McLean, Richard Thorpe, 1934-  Search this

Rohm, Robert  Search this

Salt, John, 1937-  Search this

Wesselmann, Tom, 1931-2004  Search this

Extent:

80.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Prints

Diaries

Date:

1960-2014

Summary:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records measure 80.3 linear feet and are dated 1960-2014. The collection documents the operation and activities of the contemporary art gallery founded by Ivan C. Karp in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Exhibition files, artist files, printed material and photographic materials reveal the wide range of artists represented by OK Harris and the gallery's role in introducing Photo-realism to the public. Aso included are administrative files, prints by OK Harris artists, business and personal correspondence, 39 journals by Karp spanning a period of 62 years, and other personal papers. Material pre-dating the 1969 establishment of OK Harris Works of Art consists of printed items and a few letters.

Scope and Contents:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records measure 80.3 linear feet and are dated 1960-2014. The collection documents the operation and activities of the contemporary art gallery founded by Ivan C. Karp in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Exhibition files, artists' files, printed material, and photographic materials reveal the wide range of artists represented by OK Harris and the gallery's role in introducing Photo-realism to the public. Also included are administrative files, prints by OK Harris artists, business and personal correspondence, 39 journals by Karp spanning a period of 62 years, and other personal papers. Material pre-dating the 1969 establishment of OK Harris Works of Art consists of printed items and a few letters.

Correspondence, both professional and personal, is with museums, galleries, art dealers, art collectors, and graduate students. Artists John Baeder, Deborah Butterfield, John Clem Clarke, John DeAndrea, Jim Dine, Leonard Dufresne, Robert Ginder, Ralph Goings, Duane Hanson, Richard McLean and Tom Wesselmann are among the correspondents.

Admininstrative files concern the daily operation of OK Harris Works of Art. Included are instructions regarding administrative functions and forms for routine activities to enable employees to conduct business in Ivan Karp's absence. Along with files about other items occasionally sold at the gallery, there are files about projects of interest to the Karps, sample announcements, invitations, and advertisements.

Exhibition files document group shows, collectibles and antique exhibitions, summer invitationals, and special event exhibitions at OK Harris Works of Art. The files include photographs and slides, schedules, lists of titles and prices, artists' resumes, installation layouts, reviews and publicity materials, and other items.

Artist files constitute the largest series in the collection at 34 linear feet, and document the gallery's relationships with artists throughout its 45 year history. Files are comprised of biographical information, correspondence, notes, publicity and other printed material (including a few items pre-dating the gallery). Among the many transactions recorded are arrangements for and documentation of solo exhibitions at OK Harris. There are photographs, slides and color transparencies of individual works, and some views of exhibition installations. John Baeder, Muriel Castanis, Don Celender, Ralph Goings, John Kacere, Richard McLean, Robert Rohm and John Salt are among the most extensively documented artists.

Printed material produced by OK Harris Works of Art includes exhibition catalogs, exhibition announcements, invitations, checklists, price lists posters, and notices of gallery sponsored events and activities. Printed material from other sources consists of exhibition reviews, articles about Ivan and Marilynn Karp, OK Harris Works of Art, and the gallery's artists. These appeared in art and mainstream periodicals, newspapers, exhibition catalogs, and books. Also found are posters, reproductions of artwork, and miscellaneous printed items. Artwork consists of 40 prints by artists affiliated with OK Harris. Most are signed; 2 are black and white prints, the remainder are color lithographs. Included is Radical Realism I, a set of 6 prints issued by Mother Lode Editions, 1972.

Thirty-two linear feet of photographs, negatives, slides, transparencies and digital images are of artwork by OK Harris artists, exhibition installation views, and miscellaneous subjects. Photographs of artwork by 59 OK Harris artists are found in binders called "Artists' Photo Books." Installation views of exhibitions held at OK Harris Works of Art during its 45 year history fill 61 binders. Miscellaneous subjects include OK Harris office space, galleries and staff. Also found are photographs of group shows, art fairs, and gallery artists' exhibitions at other venues.

The Ivan C. Karp personal papers include obituaries from print and internet sources along with other biographical information, published versions of brief interviews conducted for various purposes, writings, a few materials relating to business and academic activities, and some personal photographs. Journals, 1950-2012 (bulk 1991-2012) record travel, daily activities, and reflections.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in 8 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1960-2013 (Boxes 1-2B; 2.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Administrative Files, 1969-2014 (Box 3; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1969-2014 (Boxes 3-4; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Artist Files, 1967-2014 (Boxes 4-38, 80; 34 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1963-2014 (Boxes 38-44, 80, OV 88 - OV 90; 5.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, 1970s-circa 1980 (Box 44, OV 81-OV 87; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographic Materials, 1960s-2014, bulk 1969-1999 (Boxes 44-76; 32 linear feet)

Series 8: Ivan C. Karp Personal Papers, 1961-2012 (Boxes 76-79; 4 linear feet)

Historical note:

OK Harris Works of Art specialized in a wide range of contemporary art and was known for its early support of Photo-realism. When it opened in 1969, the gallery was one of the first to operate in the SoHo area of Manhattan and its presence helped shape the neighborhood's development into a vibrant arts district.

Ivan C. Karp (1926-2012), the founder of OK Harris Works of Art, established a reputation in the art world while co-director of Leo Castelli Gallery from 1959-1969. He is credited with launching the careers of Pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, John Chamberlain, Tom Wesselmann, and Claes Oldenburg. Karp wrote, published, and lectured extensively on art and the art business. He was the author of a romantic novel about New York life, Doobie Doo (published in 1965, front cover by Roy Lichtenstein, back cover by Andy Warhol) and his short stories were published in literary reviews. Karp was actively involved in architectural preservation efforts in New York City. As President of the Anonymous Arts Recovery Society, he rescued and stored cornices, capitals, portals, columns and other architectural fragments of historical and aesthetic interest from demolition sites. Many are displayed in his Anonymous Arts Museum, Charlotteville, NY and some became part of a sculpture garden that Karp donated to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

While Leo Castelli Gallery was closed for summer vacations in 1963 and 1964, Karp ran his own contemporary art gallery in Provincetown. He named it OK Harris, a name he thought suggestive of a colorful, very American character. A few years later, Karp opened OK Harris Works of Art in SoHo where a portrait of a bearded man titled "Oscar Klondike Harris" hung in his office. "Mr. Harris" frequently assumed blame for delays, rejections and other unwelcome news or decisions. OK Harris Works of Art (first at 469 West Broadway and later at 383 West Broadway) was a 10,000 square foot ground-floor space where as many as six concurrent solo exhibitions were presented every six weeks. The goal was "to exhibit the broadest spectrum of the most adventuresome art being offered" and the focus was on emerging artists, many of them unknown. In addition to being at the forefront of the Photo-realist movement in 1969, OK Harris Works of Art was the first gallery to exhibit the work of Duane Hanson, Deborah Butterfield, Manny Farber, Richard Pettibone, Robert Cottingham, Robert Bechtle, Marilyn Levine, Nancy Rubins, Malcolm Morley, Luis Jiminez, Jake Berthot, Jack Goldstein, Porfirio DiDonna, and Al Souza.

An approachable, friendly man who enjoyed sharing his knowledge, Karp usually sat at the gallery's front desk and was available to all. Unlike many dealers, he was willing to look at and discuss artists' slides, offered encouragement, and often followed up with studio visits.

At his request, Marilynn Gelfman Karp became gallery director after her husband's death in 2012. She ran the business with gallery staff including Ivan's oldest son, Ethan. Following Ivan's guidelines, OK Harris Works of Art closed with a gala celebration 2014 for all the gallery's artists, collectors and friends.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Ivan C. Karp conducted by Richard Brown Baker, 1963 October 18; by Paul Cummings, 1969 March 12; and by Ronny Cohen, 1986 April 17-1988 October 18. The Marilynn Gelfman Karp Collection of Ephemera owned by the New-York Historical Society includes OK Harris printed material, prints, and posters.

Provenance:

Marilynn Karp, wife of Ivan C. Karp, donated scattered papers in 2011 and 2013, and the bulk of the collection in 2014.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Photo-realism  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Prints

Diaries

Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.okharr

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-okharr

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Container:

Box 23, Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1986-2004

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 4: Artist Files / 4.2: Current, Group B

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref102

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1967-2007

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.okharr, Subseries 4.2

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 4: Artist Files

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref2358

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Container:

Box 23, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1986-2004

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 4: Artist Files / 4.2: Current, Group B

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref2367

Collection Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Container:

Box 23, Folder 3

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1986-2004

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Collection Rights:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records / Series 4: Artist Files / 4.2: Current, Group B

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-okharr-ref2368

Creator:

Goings, Ralph  Search this

Names:

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

McLean, Richard Thorpe, 1934-  Search this

Extent:

4.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Date:

circa 1950-2008

Summary:

The papers of California Photorealist painter Ralph Goings, measure 4.1 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2005. The collection is comprised of biographical material, professional correspondence with artists, dealers, museums, and other art organizations, project files, inventory and sales records dating from 1970 to 1975, and printed material featuring Goings and his artwork. There is a 1.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes slides and photographs used for paintings (source material and subjects) and images and photographs of works of art; inventory of works of art; correspondence; and project and exhibition files. Materials date from circa 1957-2008. A portion of the addition is in electronic format.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of California Photorealist painter Ralph Goings, measure 4.1 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2005. The collection is comprised of biographical material, professional correspondence with artists, dealers, museums, and other art organizations, project files, inventory and sales records dating from 1970 to 1975, and printed material featuring Goings and his artwork. There is a 1.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes slides and photographs used for paintings (source material and subjects) and images and photographs of works of art; inventory of works of art; correspondence; and project and exhibition files. Materials date from circa 1957-2008. A portion of the addition is in electronic format.

Biographical material includes interview transcripts, personal photographs, teaching records, notes on Realism, and other material. Photorealist artists and dealers represented in the correspondence include Richard McLean, Glennray Tutor, Davis Cone, Daniel Tennant, OK Harris Works of Art, and Ivan Karp. Project files include photographic material used as preparation for Goings's paintings, a work progress notebook, and photographs of finished work.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1955-circa 1990s (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1950-2005 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet )

Series 3: Project Files, 1967-1978 (Boxes 1-3;1.2 linear feet )

Series 4: Inventory and Sales Records, 1970-1975 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1970s-2005 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1957-2008 (Boxes 4-5; OV 6-7;1.7 linear feet )

Biographical / Historical:

Ralph Goings (1928-2016) was a Photorealist painter active in Santa Cruz, California.

Goings attended Hartnell College before enrolling in the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, where he studied alongside artists Richard McClean, Nathan Oliveira, and Robert Bechtle. Goings continued his studies at Sacramento State College where he received a Master of Fine Arts in 1965. He was known for the paintings of diners, trucks, and everyday scenes that established him as one of the originators of the Photorealist movement. His work has been exhibited and is in collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Goings died in 2016 in Sacramento, California.

Related Materials:

Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Ralph Goings, conducted on September 10-11, 2009, by Judith Olch Richards for the Archives of American Art.

Provenance:

The Ralph Goings papers were donated in 2009 by Ralph Goings and in 2020 by Shanna Goings, Ralph Goings' 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.

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 -- Santa Cruz  Search this

Topic:

Photorealist  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Citation:

Ralph Goings papers, circa 1950-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.goinralp2

See more items in:

Ralph Goings papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-goinralp2

Interviewee:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Interviewer:

Brach, Paul H. (Paul Henry), 1924-2007  Search this

Subject:

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Leo Castelli Gallery  Search this

Type:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12283

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214747

AAA_collcode_karp86

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_214747