An interview of Edith Halpert conducted 1962-1963, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.
Halpert speaks of her childhood in Russia and growing up in New York City; working at Bloomindale's, Macy's, Stern Brothers, and Cohen Goldman; her marriage to artist Sam Halpert, his health, and living in Paris in 1925; becoming an art student at the Academy of Design and feeling that Leon Kroll was an excellent art teacher until he began to correct her drawings; when George Bridgman thought she was ruining his class; the Lincoln Square Arcade, when she and Ernest Fiener and Robert Brackman would rent Conan's studio evenings and bring in instructors; how Newman Montross influenced her more than anybody about showing her art that she loved; burning all of her work because Kroll said she had no talent; receiving a painting from John Marin; her friendship and working relationship with Abby Rockefeller and other family members.
She recalls opening the Downtown Gallery, in Greenwich Village, in 1926; a brief history of modern art; many artists helping decorate the new Daylight Gallery in 1930 and the first show being called "Practical Manifestations of Art"; meeting Robert and Sonia Delaunay in France; when she refused to allow Ezra Pound to speak at one of the gallery lectures because of his anti-Semite remarks and William Carlos Williams and Ford Madox Ford argued with her over it; experiencing jealousy and professional attacks from other dealers; the successful "Pop" Hart show and book in 1929; the "Thirty-three Moderns" show in 1930 at the Grand Central Galleries; the Jules Pascin show in 1930; in America, most of the art buyers supporters of culture were women, until the WPA and World War II, when it became fashionable for men to be involved; Ambroise Vollard's advice on selling art; handling the frustrations of working in the art field; friendships with Stuart Davis,Charles Sheeler, and Ben Shahn; how artists work through dry periods in their creativity and the "Recurrent Image" show; a discussion on modern art galleries of New York City, such as Daniel, Knoedler, Ferargil, the New Gallery, 291, the Grand Central, Kraushaar, and Montross; her travels through Pennsylvania and Maine for good examples of folk art for the gallery; the "The Artist Looks at Music" show; the non-competitive spirit of the early modern American artists; of being saved financially in 1940 by selling a William Harnett painting to the Boston Museum and then renting new space for the gallery.
Also, Mitchell Siporin bringing Halpert and Edmund Gurry to Mitchell Field during World War II for a camouflage show and consequently Downtown Gallery artists and others were enlisted in the camouflage corps for the U.S. Air Force; Charles Sheeler and his wife find Halpert a house in Newtown, Conn.; her decision in 1933 to push folk art for acquisition by the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri; her great concern about what to do with her folk art literature collection; dismay and that no one writes about the history of folk art and those responsible for its creation and popularity; Louis Stern hiring her to organize a municipal exhibit in Atlantic City, N.J., with Donald Deskey designing the furniture and Holger Cahill managing the publicity; Joe Lillie helping her meet Fiorello La Guardia and Joe McGoldrick in 1934 about a municipal show in New York City, but it is moved to Radio City Music Hall through Nelson Rockefeller; the "Salons of America" show; wanting articles written about art for love rather than art for investment; working with Aline Saarinen on her book, "Proud Possessors;" letters from Stuart Davis, William Zorach and others that hurt her feelings; enjoying giving educational lectures and considering retirement because of ill health; the desire to write a book on the history of trade signs in folk art; feeling that the young artists are being ruined by too much support without working for it; planning to write a book entitled, "Unsung Heroes," about artists brave enough to experiment; organizing a show in Russia at her own expense; later representing the U.S. in art at the "American National Exposition"; the agitators and success of the exposition; Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Halpert also recalls Juliana Force, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Buckminster Fuller, George Luks, Edsel Ford, Max Weber, Danny Diefenbacker, Hamilton Easter Field, Frank Stella, Glenn Coleman, Margaret Zorach, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Henry Mercer, Romany Marie, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Mellon, Charles Pollet, Alex Brook, Lunca Curass, Dorothy Lambert, Duncan Candler, Frank Rhen, Louis Rittman, Bea Goldsmith, Arthur Craven, Robert Frost, Philip Wittenberg, Caesar de Hoke, Richard deWolfe Brixey, Seymour Knox, Walt Kuhn, Elisabeth Luther Cary, Charles Locke, Duncan Fergusson, Mrs. Solomon Guggenheim, Bob Tannahill, David Thompson, Marsden Hartley, Erwin Barrie, Robert Laurent, Conger Goodyear, Henry McBride, Edward Hopper, Charles Daniel, William Merritt Chase, Charles Hopkinson, Thomas Hart Benton, Frank Crowninshield, Alfred Barr, Lord Duveen, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin Jr., Karl Zerbe, Franz Kline, Arthur Dove, Julian Levy, Jack Levine, Valentine Dudensing, Peggy Bacon, Stefan Hirsch, Gertrude Stein, Isamu Noguchi, Jasper Johns, Chaim Soutine, B. K. Saklatwalla; Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, Ben Shahn, Charles Demuth, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Edward Steichen, Carl Sandburg, Clement Greenberg, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Edith Halpert (1900-1970) was an art dealer from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 27 digital wav files. Duration is 32 hrs., 27 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. The transcript was microfilmed in 1996.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Sylvan Cole conducted 2000 June-October, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art.
The interviews took place over five sessions in New York, New York. Cole discusses the history of Associated American Artists, the gallery for whom he began working in 1946, and its marketing techniques, customer base, and personalities, such as its founder, Reeves Lewenthal. He also traces his own development as a dealer in prints after he left AAA and recalls many artists and other figures in the art world, including Will Barnet, Werner Drewes, Richard Florsheim, Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Una Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Jack Levine, William S. Lieberman, Robert Motherwell, and Raphael Soyer.
Biographical / Historical:
Sylvan Cole (1918-2005) was an art dealer and writer of New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 6 min.
Sound quality is fair; beginning and endings of tapes tend to be garbled and low.
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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Raymond Horowitz conducted 2004 Oct.20-Nov. 5, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art, in New York, N.Y.
Horowitz speaks of his privileged childhood in New York; the effects of the Depression on his family's finances; attending Columbia University for Law and the anti-Semitism he faced there; his ingratiation into art appreciation through Meyer Shapiro; employment under then-New York City comptroller Joseph McGoldrick; the formation of his law practice; and his marriage to his wife, Margaret Goldenberg. Horowitz also mentions his involvement in left-wing political movements; how he managed relationships with different dealers; his experiences with misattributed artworks and forgeries, particularly his luck in avoiding them; the hobbies of himself and his wife; how he avoids relationships with the artists of his works; sharing information with other collectors; the economics of donating artworks and the subsequent tax breaks; the importance of credit in art purchasing; how he and Margaret conferred on purchases; their affinity for Chase; his habits on lending to exhibitions; the differences between the management of the Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery; his summer homes in East Hampton and Provincetown; the problems with contemporary art scholarship; and the importance of dealers in affirming the interest in American art. Horowitz spends most of the interview reflecting upon others in the art world whom he has met. He recalls Ira Spanierman, Dan and Rita Fraad, Charles Merill Mount, Victor Spark, Abraham Adler, Nicolai Cikovsky, Phillipe de Montebello, Theodore Stebbins, Jack Levine, Daniel Terra, Joseph Hirshhorn, Norman Hirschl, John Canaday, Doris and Harry Rubin, Paul Mellon, Bill Gerdts, Paul Magriel, Bernard Meyers, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Raymond Horowitz (1916-2005) was a collector from New York, N.Y. Avis Berman is an art historian from New York, N.Y.
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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Lawyers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
The Kenneth and Emma-Stina Prescott research material on artists measures 9.4 linear feet and dates from 1919 to 2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1973 to 1991. Kenneth Prescott, an art historian and educator, and his wife Emma-Stina, also an art historian, maintained extensive files concerning artists James Chapin, Burgoyne Diller, Dorothea S. Greenbaum, Jack Levine, and Elizabeth Olds. These files typically include correspondence, artwork inventories, exhibition catalogs and other printed materials, notes, interviews, photographs, and slides. A small amount of material also documents the works of Richard Anuszkiewicz, Byron Browne, Jose de Creeft, Lorrie Goulet, Richard Hunt, Sam Maitin, and Hunt Slonem.
Scope and Contents:
The Kenneth and Emma-Stina Prescott research material on artists measures 9.4 linear feet and dates from 1919 to 2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1973 to 1991. Kenneth Prescott, an art historian and educator, and his wife Emma-Stina, also an art historian, maintained extensive files concerning artists James Chapin, Burgoyne Diller, Dorothea S. Greenbaum, Jack Levine, and Elizabeth Olds. These files typically include correspondence, artwork inventories, exhibition catalogs and other printed materials, notes, interviews, photographs, and slides. A small amount of material also documents the works of Richard Anuszkiewicz, Byron Browne, Jose de Creeft, Lorrie Goulet, Richard Hunt, Sam Maitin, and Hunt Slonem.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: James Chapin, 1941, 1955-circa 1984 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Burgoyne Diller, 1932-2001 (2.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)
Series 3: Dorothea S. Greenbaum, 1919-1980 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 4-6)
Series 4: Jack Levine, 1961-1991 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)
Series 5: Elizabeth Olds, 1931-1992 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 8-9)
Series 6: Other Artists, 1929-1998 (1.0 linear foot; Boxes 9-10)
Biographical / Historical:
Kenneth Wade Prescott (1920-2013) was an art historian and educator in Austin, Texas. Prescott's wife, Emma-Stina (1924-2021) was also an art historian.
Kenneth Prescott received a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Michigan. While living in Ann Arbor he met his future wife Emma-Stina Johnsson, who was visiting from Stockholm, Sweden. His early career included directorships of the Kansas City Museum, Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the New Jersey State Museum. During his career he arranged and curated many exhibitions throughout the country and abroad and administered a grant program in the visual arts for the Ford Foundation. He and his wife moved to Austin, Texas in 1974, and he served as Chairman of the Art Department at the University of Texas at Austin. While there he introduced a Ph.D. program in Art History. Prescott regularly published in the fields of ornithology and the visual arts, including several publications on Ben Shahn and retrospective exhibition catalogs for the works of Elizabeth Olds, Burgoyne Diller, and Jack Levine. He also collaborated with his wife on The Complete Graphic Work of Jack Levine which was published in 1984.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are the Burgoyne Diller papers which include papers and artwork donated by Kenneth and Emma-Stina Prescott. The Kenneth W. Prescott and Emma-Stina Prescott Collection of Ben Shahn is available at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in several installments by Kenneth and Emma-Stina Prescott from 1987 to 2001.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
Correspondence; writings; notes; estate lists; contracts; photographs of works of art; exhibition catalogs; clippings; miscellaneous printed material.
REEL 925: Correspondence with artists, 1954-1968, concerning Benton's purchase and background of their works; and writings by Benton on Soviet art.
REEL 3134: A 13-page, incomplete, typescript, 1955, "Reginald Marsh as I Remember Him," by Benton. He writes of working with Marsh on the YALE RECORD and collecting Marsh's paintings.
REEL 4073: Correspondence, 1940-1983, with artists; typescripts on Marsh; writing by Jack Levine "How the Witches' Sabbath was Painted";
photographs and lists of works of art; a notebook "Works of Art on Loan to the William Benton Museum, University of Connecticut" from Benton's estate; a notebook "Painting Contracts" between artists, galleries, and Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.; notebook "Sold," containing data on the sale of Reginald Marsh's work;
printed material on Rockwell Kent, Thomas Hart Benton, Benton's collection, and others; photocopies of 2 portions of Ivan Albright's sketchbooks; a notebook "Britannica Painting Exhibitions Manual of Procedure"; a 2 p. typescript "The Story of My Portrait" by Grant Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham; 3 illustrated notebooks by Ivan Albright; and a sketchbook by Reginald Marsh containing 33 figure sketches.
Correspondents include Ivan Albright, Thomas Hart Benton, George Biddle, Isabel Bishop, Aaron Bohrod, Salvador Dali, Abner Dean, Koren Der Harootian, Jimmy Ernst, Milton Hebald, Joseph Hirsch, Ben Johnson, Rockwell Kent, Frank Kleinholz, Jack Levine, Reginald Marsh, Henry Varnum Poor, James N. Rosenberg, Hella Moravic Sachs, and Orest G. Vereisky.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector, politician; Chicago, Ill. Publisher of ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, Vice-President of the University of Chicago, Congressman from Connecticut, and an avid collector of American art. Benton and Reginald Marsh were classmates and collaborated respectively as editor and illustrator for the Yale newspaper. During the Depression, Benton provided Marsh with a monthly stipend for which he received a monthly painting. When he became chairman of the board of ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, Benton collected contemporary American painting to Americanize BRITANNICA's British image.
Provenance:
Material on reel 925 and 3134 donated by Benton 1968. His family donated and lent additional material 1985-1986, including originals of some letters which were originally donated as photocopies.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- United States Search this
The interviews are of artists, educators, art administrators, and dealers. Topics covered include the Federal Art Project, the Artists' Union, the Club, the influence of French emigre artists, and political activism among artists. The transcripts range from 1 to 4 pages in length.
Interviewees include: Mildred Baker, Will Barnet, Emanuel Benson, James Brooks, Paul Burlin, Giorgio Cavallon, Willem de Kooning, Jimmy Ernst, Sidney Geist, Adolph Gottlieb, Balcomb Greene, Robert Gwathmey, Seymour Hacker, Carl Holty, Harry Holtzman, Reuben Kadish, Lee Krasner, Joe Lasker, Ibram Lassaw, Jack Levine, Conrad Marca-Relli, George McNeil, Dorothy Canning Miller, George L.K. Morris, Reuben Nakian, Phillip Pavia, Louis Schanker, Ben Shahn, Theodoros Stamos, Eugene Victor Thaw, Jack Tworkov, and Esteban Vincente.
Provenance:
Donated in 1985 by Anne Bowen Parsons' son, Randall T. Parsons.
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.
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:
Authorizatin to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Lenore Seroka. 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) -- Great Neck Search this
Interviews of 72 artists, and transcripts for all but five, conducted by Arlene Jacobowitz, the Associate Curator for the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum, between 1965 and 1968. The artists discuss their work in the museum collection. Also included are 38 edited excerpts of the interviews, approximately 2-3 min. in length, used as "audio-labels" in the 1968 "Listening to Pictures" installation at the museum.
Scope and Content Note:
Interviews of 72 artists, and transcripts for all but five, conducted by Arlene Jacobowitz, the Associate Curator for the Department of Painting and Sculpture, between 1965 and 1968. The artists discuss their work in the museum collection. Also included are 38 edited excerpts of the interviews, approximately 2-3 min. in length, used as "audio-labels" in the 1968 "Listening to Pictures" installation.
The artists interviewed are: Lennart Anderson, Stephen B. Antonakos, Marshall Arisman, Walter Barker, Leonard Baskin, Mary Bauermeister, Thomas Hart Benton, Isabel Bishop, Robert Brackman, Sydney Butchkes, Edmund Casarella, George Constant, Robert Warren Dash, Jose DeCreeft, Blanche Dombek, Tom Doyle, Jimmy Ernst, Neil Estern, Philip Evergood, Helen Frankenthaler, Jane Freilicher, Leon Goldin, Sidney Goodman, Sante Graziani, Balcomb Greene, John Grillo, William Gropper, Chaim Gross, Roy Gussow, Robert Gwathmey, Grace Hartigan, Edward Hopper, Nora Jaffe, Paul Jenkins, Minoru Kawabata, William Kienbusch, Karl Knaths, John Koch, Yayoi Kosama, Jennett Lam, Steven Lang, Robert Laurent, Jacob Lawrence, Jack Levine, Jacques Lipchitz, Seymour Lipton, Boris Margo, Ursula Meyer, Hans Moller, Walter Murch, Louise Nevelson, Toshio Odate, Elliot Offner, Douglas Ohlson, Kenzo Okada, Amanda Palmer, Irene Rice Pereira, Gabor Peterdi, Ad Reinhardt, Bill Richards, Larry Rivers, Emilio Sanchez, Karl Schrag, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Aaron Sopher, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, William Thon, Albert Weinberg, and William and Marguerite Zorach.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as a single series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Interviews, 1965-1968 (Box 1-7; 7 lin. ft.)
Historical Note:
The interview program at the Brooklyn Museum was begun by Arlene Jacobowitz in the spring of 1965 with artists whose works were on exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. In 1968, excerpts from the interviews were incorporated into an exhibition entitled "Listening to Pictures," in which visitors could access the sound recordings using headphones while standing before the painting being discussed. The exhibition opened April 28, 1968, and was gradually disassembled, 1971-1973.
Related Material:
The Brooklyn Museum Archives houses the records of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, Contemporary Art (1897-2005), which contain records relating to the work of Arlene Jacobowitz.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Dierdre Lawrence of the Brooklyn Museum in 1989.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Researchers may view the original reels for the archival notations on them, but original reels are not available for playback due to fragility.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from the interviewee. Citations must read:"Interview between [artist's name] and [interviewer's name] from the "Listening to Pictures" program of the Brooklyn Museum. Archives of American Art. Gift of the Brooklyn Museum." 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.
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Interviews Search this
Interview between [artist's name] and [interviewer's name] from the "Listening to Pictures" program of the Brooklyn Museum. Gift of the Brooklyn Museum. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Interview of Salvatore Scarpitta conducted 1975 January 31.-February 3, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Scarpitta speaks of his family's background; growing up and going to school in California; moving to Italy and going to art school at 17; attending the American Academy; his experiences in Europe after the war broke out in 1940; being arrested and interned for 18 months in Italy and escaping; joining the United States Navy; getting thrown out of the American Academy after being accused of being a Communist; his abstract paintings; moving back to America after Leo Castelli saw his work; his painting techniques; his thoughts on futurism and cubism; why he shifted from working on a canvas to tearing it apart and using it as materials; his use of color; how his interest in race cars influenced his art work; building race cars; living in New York and the art scene there; his successful art show on the Piazza San Marco in Venice; the reason for using belts in his paintings; how certain paintings led him to building sleds; his feelings about Leo Castelli; and teaching art. He recalls Phil Guston, Jack Levine, Franz Kline, Bill de Kooning, Jackson Pollack, Mark Rothko, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Salvatore Scarpitta (1919-2007) was a sculptor.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 11 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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Walker, Hudson D. (Hudson Dean), 1907-1976 -- Photographs Search this
Walkowitz, Abraham, 1880-1965 -- Photographs Search this
Zorach, William, 1887-1966 -- Photographs Search this
Extent:
68 Items ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1953-1980
Scope and Contents:
REEL 1817: Photographs of: Will Barnet, Jose de Creeft (2), Sonia Delaunay, Walker Evans, Joseph Floch, Suzi Gablik (2), Adolph Gottlieb (also filmed on reel 1886, fr. 33-34), Lorrie Goulet, Minna Harkavy, William Hayter (2), Paul Jenkins, Lee Krasner (2), Lilliane Lijn, Jerry Sheerin (2), and Darthea Speyer (2). Also included is a group photo of Jose de Creeft, Jacques Lipchitz, George Biddle, Thomas Benton, and Ben Shahn at the American Academy of Arts & Letters Ceremonial, May 20, 1964.
REEL 1886: Photographs of: Barbara Adrian, Alexander Archipenko, Milton Avery, Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Louis Bosa, Henry C. Botkin, Byron Browne, John Carroll, George Constant, Julio de Diego, Edwin Dickinson, Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Floch, Lloyd Goodrich, Adolph Gottlieb, Lorrie Goulet, George Grosz, David Hare, Minna Harkavy, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Josephine Hopper, Morris Kantor, Leon Kroll, Jacob Lawrence, Julian Levi, Jack Levine, Reginald Marsh, A. Hyatt Mayor, Sigmund Menkes, Robert Motherwell, Edwin Root, James Rorimer (a cropped version erroneously microfilmed as Sidney Waintrob appears on reel 1817, fr. 1193), Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Eugene Speicher, Saul Steinberg, James Johnson Sweeney, Hudson Walker, Abraham Walker, and William Zorach.
UNMICROFILMED Two photographs: Ellen K. Levy and McNeil Lowry.
Arrangement:
REEL 1817: Microfilmed with AAA's Photographs of Artists Collection II, and appear on microfilm in alphabetical order under artist with other unrelated photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographic studio; New York, N.Y. Sidney J. and his brother A. L. (Bud) Waintrob specialized in photographing artists, curators and other art world personalities. They worked under the name Budd [Studio] before using Waintrob-Budd.
Provenance:
Photographs on reel 1817 and unmicrofilmed photos donated 1974-1987 by Sidney J. Waintrob; photographs on reel 1886 donated 1979-1980 by Samuel I. Hoffberg, whose relationship to Waintrob-Budd is unclear.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to publish quote, or reproduce requires written permission from David Stekert. 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.
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Photographs Search this
5.4 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
0.2 Linear feet (Addition)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1940-1979
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, printed material, photographs; and "birthday books" containing drawings and writings by artists sent to Neuberger on his 50th and 75th birthdays.
REEL NSM 1: A "Birthday Book," 1953, for Neuberger containing drawings, sketches and written birthday greetings from 38 artists, compiled by Mrs. Neuberger. Contributors include Alexander Calder, Byron Browne, George Constant, Adolph Gottlieb, Jack Levine, Lyonel Feininger, Lee Gatch, Benjamin Kopman, Jonah Kinigstein, Karl Knaths, William Baziotes, Peter Hurd, Walter Quirt, Milton Avery, Ben Shahn, George L. K. Morris, Hans Moller, Guy Maccoy, Irene Rice Pereira, Max Weber, Stuart Davis, Charles Sheeler, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Darrel Austin, Philip Evergood, Saul Steinberg, Elliot Orr, and John Marin.
REEL 4588: A scrapbook containing illustrated birthday cards from artists sent to Neuberger on the occasion of his 75th birthday (1978). Included are cards from Nicolas Africano, Abe Ajay, John Baldessari, Romare Bearden, James Brooks, Les Levine, Judith Rothschild, Joan Snyder, and Alan Sonfist, and others.
UNMICROFILMED: Material relating to Neuberger's activities as an art collector, patron, and trustee consisting of: clippings, exhibiton catalogs and announcements; photographs; and correspondence with Leroy Lamis, Sidney Laufman, Paul David Magriel, Larry Rivers, Frank Roth, Jon Rudolf Schueler, Hudson Walker and Frederick Stallknecht Wight.
ADDITION: Correspondence with artists and other prominent people including: Edward Albee, Alexander Calder, Merce Cunningham, Lyonel Feininger, Henry Geldzahler, Henry Moore, Gerald Ford, Robert F. Kennedy, John V. Lindsay, George McGovern and Nelson Rockefeller. Also included are a letter from Mr. and Mrs. John Walker relating to their trip to Europe to return the "Mona Lisa" to the Louvre in 1963; printed material relating to Nelson Rockefeller; and four lists of art related papers remaining with Neuberger.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector, patron; New York, N.Y. Born 1903. A collector of primarily American art. President of the American Federation of the Arts, 1958-1968; a trustee and member of Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art; honorary trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; member of the executive committee of the Council of Friends, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; and many other positions and memberships. A large part of his private art collection was donated to the Roy R. Neuberger Museum of the State University of New York College at Purchase.
Provenance:
"Birthday books" on reels NSM 1 and 4588 lent for microfilming 1963 and 1992 by Neuberger. He donated the unmicrofilmed material in 1975 and 1993.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art patrons -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art patronage -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Artists and patrons -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Interview of Tony Vevers, conducted on August 25, 1998, by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Vevers speaks of being sent by his parents to the United States in 1940; secondary schooling in Madison, Connecticut and at the Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut (1944); serving in the U.S. Army infantry in Europe, 1944-1946; attending Yale University on the GI Bill and graduating with a BA in painting and drawing, 1950; further art training in Florence, Italy and at the Hans Hofmann School, NYC (1950-1953); his marriage to Elspeth Halvorsen, fellow artist, 1953; his studies in Italy; the unexciting nature of contemporary Italian art; contemporary art in Paris, where Picasso impressed him but work of Hans Hartung and (Marie Elena) Vieira da Silva did not; studying with Hans Hofmann; working at the non-profit City Center Gallery, which was designed to give younger artists exposure through juried exhibitions; and living in poverty in NYC and Provincetown until 1963. Vevers also recalls Tom Blagden, Alfred Stieglitz, Deane Keller, Rudolph Zallinger, Claes Oldenburg, Stephen Pace, Lawrence Calcagno, Hans Hofmann, Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, Jack Levine, Franz Kline, Louise Nevelson, Max Weber, Richard Lippold, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Tony Vevers (1926-2008) was a painter from Provincetown, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 49 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.
An interview of John Davis Hatch conducted 1964 June 8, by H. Wade White for the Archives of American Art.
Hatch speaks of his work as the New England area director of the Federal Art Project; the early organization of the Public Works of Art Project in New England; some of the artists and administrators involved, including Olin Dows, Jack Levine, Hyman Bloom, Edward Bruce and Oscar Bluemner, and Karl Knaths.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, collector, art consultant, museum director; b. 1907; d. May 30, 1996.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New England -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Charles Henry Sawyer conducted in 1964, by Heyward Ehrlich, for the Archives of American Art.
Sawyer speaks of how he first got involved in art after being offered a job teaching art and operating a museum in Andover by a family friend; how he became involved with the Federal Art Project; the early stages of the Project, and the difficulties they encountered, including the primary motivation of the Project, deciding where the work was to be assigned, and other administrative problems; the changes that occurred as the Federal Arts Project developed; the artists involved with the Project, such as Karl Knaths and Jack Levine; the shows that were put on by the Project; the end of the Federal Art Project; and his thoughts on the project in retrospect. Sawyer recalls Francis Taylor, Karl Knaths, Jack Levine, Howard Gibbs, John Stuart Curry, Herbert Waters, Karl Zerbe, Howard Cook, Hail Woodworth, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Henry Sawyer (1906-2005) was a museum director in Ann Arbor, Mich.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 3 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
An interview of Charles Alan conducted 1970 August 20-25, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Alan speaks of studying scene and stage design; attending Yale School of Drama; doing illustrations for various publications; traveling and studying in Europe; working as a set designer for MGM and Warner Brothers; his experiences working at the Downtown Gallery; his thoughts and recollections about Edith Halpert; leaving Downtown Gallery and starting his own gallery; his opinions on the future of small galleries in New York; museum purchases; Edith Halpert's art collection; selling his gallery to Felix Landau; and various thoughts concerning the art world. He recalls Norman Bell Geddes, Edith Halpert, Stuart Davis, Julien Levy, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Kirk Askew, Raymond Breinin, Ben Shahn, George Washburn, Edward Root, Joe Hirshhorn, John Marin, John Marin Jr., Lawrence Allen, Georgia O'Keeffe, William Harnett, Julian Levi, Jack Levine, Karl Zerbe, Bruce Conner, Richard Baker, Paul Sachs, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Alan (1908?-1975) was an art dealer from New York, New York. Alan attended Horace Mann School, graduating in 1924. Attended Yale School of Drama in 1925, then worked as a set designer for MGM and Warner Brothers. In 1930, Alan became a theatrical set designer and director. After serving in the Army in World War II, he worked for Edith Halpert at the Downtown Gallery. In 1952, he opened the Charles Alan Gallery, specializing in contemporary art. Alan closed the gallery in 1970 to become a private dealer.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 58 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Set Designers -- United States -- Interviews Search this
Correspondence with artists; general business correspondence, 1953-1969; legal documents (some pertaining to owner Charles Alan's separation from the Downtown Gallery and establishment of the Alan Gallery); business records, including price lists, inventories, loan agreements, purchase and consignment records, receipts for purchases, and general ledgers; a card file of gallery stock; two card files recording purchases; two scrapbooks of printed materials on gallery exhibitions; paid bills, statements, tax and insurance records; and photographs (reel 1400) of Landau-Alan Gallery stock, and of Alan Gallery artists.
Correspondents include: Paul Adkins, Oliver Andrews, Richard Boyce, William Brice, Paul Burlin, Carroll Cloar, George M. Cohen, Bruce Conner, Robert Cremean, Robert D'Arista, David Fredenthal, Louis Guglielmi, Richard Hunt, Herbert Katzman, William King, Jonah Kinigstein, Robert Knipschild, John Latham, Jacob Lawrence, Wesley Lea, Julian Levi, Jack Levine, Edmund Lewandowski, Robert Malaval, Marcia Marcus, Walter Meigs, Edward Millman, George L.K. Morris, Robert C. Morris, Edward Moses, Gastone Novelli, Yutaka Ohashi, Nathan Oliveira, Charles Oscar, Eileen Pendergast, Robert Preusser, Easton Pribble, Mitchell Siporin, Jack Squier, Reuben Tam, John Thomas, Robert S. Titus, Bryan Wilson, and Karl Zerbe.
Included in the collection are photographs of the following artists/and or works of art: Paul Adkins, Aubrey Beardsley, Richard Boyce, Robert Cremean, William Dole, Edwin Hewitt Collection, John Denman Collection, Paul Klee, Gustave Klimt, Jack Levine, E. L. T. Mesens, Elie Nadelman, Charles Oscar, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Eileen Prendergast, Joseph Stella, and Clara McDonald Williamson.
A print of the Bruce Conner film "A Movie" (1958) also available on videocassette (VHS), is also found in the collection.
Arrangement:
Artist correspondence is arranged alphabetically; business correspondence is arranged chronologically.
The gallery stock card file is arranged alphabetically by artist; one of the two card files listing works purchased from the Alan Gallery is arranged alphabetically by artist; the other is arranged alphabetically by purchaser.
Biographical / Historical:
The Alan Gallery was established by Charles Alan in 1952. In 1966, Felix Landau purchased the gallery and renamed it the Landau-Alan Gallery. After Alan left in 1969, the name was changed to the Felix Landau Gallery.
Provenance:
Donated 1971 and in 1973 by Charles Alan the founder of the Alan Gallery.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Photographic negatives, transparencies of works of art, paid bills, statements, and tax and insurance records are not microfilmed.
