An interview of Reed Kay conducted 1995 December 22-1996 October 4, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art over seven sessions, in Kay's home, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The cassettes are accompanied by 54 color slides of Kay's artwork executed between 1941 and 1993, including sketches, watercolors, and paintings.
Kay talks about his childhood in an immigrant Jewish community in Boston and the great encouragement he received from teachers and librarians; his entry into the difficult Boston Latin School at age 11; and his early entry into the art classes at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Kay continues discussion about the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston School; life-long friendships there with Jason Berger, Jack Kramer, and David Aronson; and instructors, including Karl Zerbe, head of painting.
Kay talks about his service in World War II; completion of education at MFA School; his marriage in 1946; his first teaching position at the MFA School's summer sessions under Mitchell Siporin and Leonard Baskin in 1948 and Oskar Kokoschka in 1949. He discusses Kokoschka and Zerbe as teachers and colleagues; and his travelling fellowship to Paris, Italy, and Spain, 1949-1950.
Kay continues his discussion of Karl Zerbe as a teacher; talks about the difficulty of beginning a painting career and teaching, especially in a university as Kay did from 1956 until 1989; and about various teaching colleagues at the MFA School.
Kay talks about the superb teaching of anatomy by Ture Bengtz and of perspective by Peter Dubaniewicz at MFA School in the early 1940s; on the precocious abilities of upperclassmen such as Conger Metcalf and John Wilson, and the stimulation their accomplishment gave Kay; on his work, from student drawings to his cityscape paintings of the late 1950s, which he continues to make, abandoning figural, narrative, and studio subjects.
Teaching materials and methods of painting at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (summers of 1952 and 1954-1960) and the high quality of instruction and students and his decision to leave; the pluses and minuses of teaching and the toll it took on his own work; his long tenure at the School of Visual Arts, Boston University (1956-1989).
On his writings, principally, "The Painter's Companion: a Basic Guide to Studio Methods and Material," (1961) [revised editions, titled, "Painter's Guide," (1972, 1983)], which was an outgrowth of the emphasis put on craftsmanship, permanence, and mastery of media at MFA School under Karl Zerbe; on his growing concern, expressed in writings and lectures, with the toxicity of some modern artists' materials; and his relationship with art conservators. He discusses his work, from 1959 into the early 1990s while viewing slides.
Biographical / Historical:
Reed Kay (1925- ) is a painter and teacher from Brookline, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 9 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 17 digital wav files. Duration is 12 hrs., 56 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
The records of the Henry and Rose Pearlman papers measure 4.38 linear feet and date from 1893 to 1995 (bulk 1950-1980). The collection documents the activities of Post-Impressionist and Modern art collectors Henry and Rose Pearlman through correspondence, research materials, exhibition catalogs, photographs, and clippings.
Scope and Content Note:
The Henry and Rose Pearlman papers measure 4.38 linear feet and document the activities of art collectors Henry and Rose Pearlman through correspondence, research materials, exhibition catalogs, photographs of artwork and exhibitions, and clippings ranging from 1909 to 1995 (bulk 1950-1980). Most of the materials relate to artists and pieces represented in the Pearlmans' collection, although a small amount of material concerns works considered or researched by Pearlman, but not purchased.
The bulk of the collection concerns the lending, reproduction, and exhibition of works of art owned by the Pearlmans and their foundation. Supplemental research material such as exhibition catalogs, photographs of artworks, and articles and clippings on artists, artworks or other private collections, make up most of the remainder. Oversized materials include a catalogue of the Pearlman Collection, a portfolio of reproductions of the Cezanne watercolors belonging to the Pearlmans, and photographs comparing Toulouse-Lautrec's Parody of the Bois Sacre aux Arts et Muses to the original.
Arrangement:
The collection has been arranged into four series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
Missing Title
Series 1: General Collection Files, 1950-1995 (Box 1, 5; 8 folders)
Series 2: Artists' Files, 1909-1995 (Boxes 1-5, MGP 5; 3.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Museum Files, 1951-1994 (Box 4; 20 folders)
Series 4: Personal Files, 1966-1993 (Box 4; 5 folders)
Biographical Note:
Henry Pearlman (1895-1974), a lifelong resident of New York City, rose through the ranks of the business world to found his own company, Eastern Cold Storage, in 1919. In 1925, Henry married Rose. In the early 1940s, Pearlman purchased a few realist paintings, but it wasn't until his 1943 purchase of Chaim Soutine's Village Square that he was inspired to build what would become a noted collection of Post-Impressionist works. Over the next three decades, Pearlman acquired numerous works by such well-known artists as Soutine, Modigliani, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, Matisse, and Toulouse-Lautrec, in addition to those of lesser-known artists. In the early 1950s, Pearlman began collecting Cezanne watercolors. These paintings would become the cornerstone of his collection and would be exhibited around the world. Pearlman died in 1974, leaving his wife, Rose, to manage his collection until her death in 1994. From the mid-1970s, the Pearlman Collection has been on long-term loan to the Art Museum of Princeton.
The Pearlmans founded the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation in the 1950s. Much of the Pearlmans' artwork is now officially owned by the Foundation.
Provenance:
The Henry and Rose Pearlman papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2004 by Dorothy Edelman and Marge Scheuer, daughters of Henry and Rose Pearlman, care of the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Henry and Rose Pearlman papers, 1893-1995, bulk 1950-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Princeton Art Museum. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Zorach, William, 1887-1966 -- Photographs Search this
Extent:
1.4 Linear feet ((microfilmed on 3 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1926-1950
Scope and Contents:
Photographs of artists and art works taken by Lynes.
REEL 57: A photograph album, 1926-1942, containing photos of paintings and drawings in Lynes's collection. Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Marsden Hartley, Paul Klee, Pierre Roy, Pavel Tchelitchew, and Yves Tanguy are represented.
REEL 153: Photographs of artists, 1932-1950, and others (printed posthumously) including: Peggy Bacon, Eugene Berman, George Biddle, Henry Billings, Alexander Brook, Paul Cadmus, Marc Chagall, Boris Chaliapin, A. Dunoyer De Segonzac, Guy Pène du Bois, Jared French, Edward Hopper, Oskar Kokoschka, Gaston Lachaise, Jean Lurcat, Isamu Noguchi, Bernard Perlin, Pierre Roy, Homer St. Gaudens, Yves Tanguy, Pavel Tchelitchew, George Tooker, Ossip Zadkine, and William Zorach. Also included is a group photograph (numerous shots in varying poses) of a group of artists including Matta, Ossip, Zadkine, Yves Tanguu, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, André Breton, Piet Mondrian, André Masson, Amédée Ozenfant, Jacques Lipcitz, Pavel Tchelitchev, Kurt Seligman and Eugene Berman taken on the occasion of the Exhibition Artists in Exile at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1942.
REEL 2077: Fifteen photographs of Marsden Hartley, February 4, 1943, and printed posthumously.
Biographical / Historical:
George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) was a photographer from New York, N.Y. Best known for his portraits of Hollywood stars, ballet dancers, writers, and male nudes.
Provenance:
Material on reel 57 lent for microfilming 1971 by Russell Lynes, brother of George Platt Lynes; material on reels 153 & 2077 donated 1967-1971 by Russell Lynes.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
Reel 57: ACCESS RESTRICTED: written permission required.
Rights:
Reels 153 and 2077: Authorization to publish or reproduce requires written permission from Joshua Lynes. Credit should include Copyright Estate of George Platt Lynes. 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:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Photography, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Kokoschka; a retrospective exhibition of paintings, drawings, lithographs, stage designs, and books, organized by the Arts Council of Great Britain. [Held at] the Tate Gallery, 14 September to 11 November
Viennese expressionism, 1910-1924; the work of Egon Schiele, with work by Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka. [Loan exhibition] University Art Gallery: February 5 through March 10, 1963; Pasadena Art Museum: March 19 through April 21, 1963
Author:
University of California, Berkeley University Art Museum Search this
Kokoschka : prints, illustrated books, drawings in the Princes Gate Collection : with notes on the paintings : [exhibition] Courtauld Institute Galleries, 9 September to 28 October 1992 / Helen Braham
Oskar Kokoschka : letters, 1905-1976 / selected by Olda Kokoschka and Alfred Marnau ; foreword by E.H. Gombrich ; [translated from the German by Mary Whittall]
