An interview of Wayne Thiebaud conducted 2001 May 17-18, by Susan Larsen, for the Archives of American Art, in New York.
Thiebaud discusses his childhood in Long Beach, California and his evolving interest in art; his long time friendship with sculptor Robert Mallary who encouraged Thiebaud to become a painter; his career as an artist and teacher; and the creations of his paintings of food, objects arranged in display counters and paintings of contemporary people in plain abstracted space. Thiebaud recalls Richard Diebenkorn, William Wiley, and Roy de Forest.
Biographical / Historical:
Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021) was a painter and art teacher from Sacramento, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 53 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.
The Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1958 to 1969, with all sound recordings dated between 1962 and 1964. The core of the collection consists of 37 radio programs recorded by Marian Gore for KPFK radio in Los Angeles, California, consisting of interviews with artists, collectors, gallerists, and museum curators. A series of artist files contains notes, correspondence and other materials related to her interview subjects, and a printed materials series contains mainly exhibition posters, programs, and announcements produced by the art spaces with which her subjects were affiliated.
Scope and Contents:
The Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1958 to 1969, with all sound recordings dated between 1962 and 1964. The core of the collection consists of 37 radio programs recorded by Marion Gore for KPFK radio in Los Angeles, California, consisting of interviews with artists, collectors, gallerists, and museum curators. A series of artist files contains notes, correspondence and other materials related to her interview subjects, and a printed materials series contains mainly exhibition posters, programs, and announcements produced by the art spaces with which her subjects were affiliated.
The "Art Scene" Interviews series contains 36 interviews from Gore's "Art Scene" radio series of interviews relating to the contemporary art scene in Los Angeles, particularly galleries and artists showing on La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood. Also found is a single episode of another KPFK program called "Seen at the galleries" and hosted by Earl Carter, featuring an interview with Jacques Lipchitz on the occasion of his retrospective at UCLA. Two interviews, with Mathias Goeritz and David Siqueiros, were conducted in Mexico City. Other interview subjects include Michel Albert, Josef Albers, Joan Ankrum, Streeter Blair, Nick Brigante, Robert Cremean, José Luis Cuevas, James Elliott, Claire Falkenstein, Balcomb Greene, Paul Gerchik, Jurgen Hansen, Walter Hopps, Roger Kuntz, Rico Lebrun, Dr. Thomas Leavitt, Jacques Lipchitz, Mario Luna, Robert Mallary, Louise Nevelson, Emilio Ortiz, Esther Robles, Otto Schniede, Fritz Schwaderer, Rufino Tamayo, Esteban Vicente, Robert Wark, and June Wayne.
Artist files include mainly brief, typewritten notes created for Gore's radio interviews, with the questions she asked her interview subjects and brief introductory or concluding remarks. Correspondence is also found in files for Robert Cremean, Iqbal Geoffrey, Balcomb Greene, Robert Mallary, Emilio Ortiz, and Esteban Vicente. Louise Nevelson's file also contains a transcript of her interview with Gore. Also found scattered in some files are notes, photographs, clippings, press releases, resumes, and exhibition programs. Note that not every person in this series has a corresponding sound recording in Series 1, and not every interviewee in Series 1 has a corresponding file in this series.
Most of the material in the Printed Materials series consists of exhibition announcements, programs, and posters from Galleries in the Los Angeles, California area, particularly those along La Cienega Boulevard. Of these, Ankrum Gallery, Ceeje Gallery, Comara Gallery, Dwan Gallery, Ferus Gallery, and Silvan Simone Gallery on Olympic Boulevard contain the most material, with many of the other files containing only one or two pieces. Of note are original prints promoting exhibitions at the Ferus and Ceeje Galleries, and a poster for an art walk along La Cienega Boulevard in the file for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 3 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: "Art Scene" Interviews (1.3 linear feet, Boxes 1-2, 4)
Series 2: Artist Files (0.2 linear feet, Boxes 2, 4)
Series 3: Printed Materials (0.7 linear feet, Boxes 3-4, OV 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Marian L. Gore (1914-2009) volunteered as a radio interviewer for KPFK between 1962-1964, conducting a series of interviews with Los Angeles-area artists, curators, collectors, and gallerists in response to a growing awareness of Los Angeles' rapidly growing role as a creative center and art market.
Born Marian Lucille Moore on Feb. 27, 1914, in Los Angeles to Fred and Lucille Moore. Fred Moore, an attorney, defended Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in the infamous 1921 trial. Following her divorce in the early 1960s, Gore approached the radio station KPFK, who was looking for someone to interview local artists. In a 1997 letter that accompanied her donation of the collection to the Archives, Gore writes,
"The early 1960's were an interesting and probably unique period for the Southern California art world. In Los Angeles on La Cienega Boulevard galleries had sprung up like mushrooms, and on Friday nights those who were interested in this scene would go from one gallery to another noting what artists were featured and what trends were apparent. It was a pleasurable way to meet artists as well as a social event where one could see friends and exchange impressions.
"Because I was searching for something to do, at the suggestion of a friend I had gone to radio station KPFK to volunteer my services in any way possible. It turned out to be a most fortuitous time for this offer. The management was interested in possible intervie3ws with artists, and so it all began. I had never done an interview in my life and was astounded to discover how easy it was to get artists, gallery owners, and even museum personnel to talk aobut what they did. Once this began I was swaped with requests for taped interviews, far more than I could manage."
Gore later became an antiquarian bookseller specializing in books on food and drink. She retired in 1994 and donated her book collection to the Los Angeles Public Library.
Provenance:
Donated 1997 by Marian Gore.
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 -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Robert Mallary and Marian L. Gore. Interview with Robert Mallary for the "Art Scene" radio series, 1962 June 18. Marian Gore "Art Scene" interviews and papers, 1958-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of painter and educator William Conger measure 7.3 linear feet and 3.51 gigabytes, and date from the 1940s to 2018. The collection documents Conger's career as a painter and details his business dealings and involvement with Chicago's art community through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings including artmaking journals and notes, and personal business records documenting commissions and sales. Also found are exhibition and gallery records including video recordings, printed material on Conger's career and Chicago art history, photographic material picturing Conger and his artwork, and artwork including a sketchbook and preparatory sketches for paintings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and educator William Conger measure 7.3 linear feet and 3.51 gigabytes, and date from the 1940s to 2018. The collection documents Conger's career as a painter and details his business dealings and involvement with Chicago's art community through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings including artmaking journals and notes, and personal business records documenting commissions and sales. Also found are exhibition and gallery records including video recordings, printed material on Conger's career and Chicago art history, photographic material picturing Conger and his artwork, and artwork including a sketchbook and preparatory sketches for paintings.
Biographical material includes biographies and résumés, student awards, and student records. Correspondence is professional and personal in nature and includes letters from Elaine de Kooning, Robert Mallary, June Leaf, Miyoko Ito, James Valerio, Ed Paschke, Richard Loving, Vera Klement, and others. The writings series includes artmaking journals with extensive notes and sketches, as well as numerous articles and reviews by Conger, artists statements and comments on paintings, contributions to art criticism listservs and message boards, lectures, and writings on Conger by others. Personal business records include artwork commissions and grants, artwork inventories and sales and consignment records, as well as information about an art supply company once part owned by Conger, Puresol, Inc..
Exhibition and gallery records include sales and consignment records organized by gallery, as well as exhibition files for select group and solo exhibitions at galleries and museums, as well as a sound recording regarding a 1967 group exhibition, and miscellaneous exhibition documents. Some of the exhibition files include digital video recordings, digital images, and documents. Printed materials include press and exhibition announcements as well as exhibition catalogs, printed material on the subject of Chicago art history, and a CD-ROM showcase of contemporary art featuring Congers' paintings. The photographic material series includes photographs of artwork, installations, and the artist in black and white and color prints, Polaroids, snapshots, slides, transparencies, negatives, and inkjet prints. The artwork series includes a sketchbook and signed mixed media works on paper, as well as loose drawings and preparatory sketches for paintings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1948-1999 (0.2 linear feet: Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1940s-2018 (2.5 linear feet: Boxes 1-3)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1970s-2014 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 3-4)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1960s-2016 (0.8 linear feet: Boxes 4-5)
Series 5: Exhibition and Gallery Records, circa 1967-2017 (0.5 linear feet: Box 5; 2.54 gigabytes: ER01-ER03)
Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1950s-2017 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 5-6; 0.97 gigabytes: ER04)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1947-2012 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 6-8)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1940s-2010 (0.7 linear feet: Boxes 7-8)
Biographical / Historical:
William Conger, born 1937 in Dixon, Illinois, is an abstract painter and art educator living in Chicago.
From a young age Conger's interest in art making and a fascination with the masters was encouraged by his mother, an amateur painter who brought him on regular visits to exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago from their home in Evanston, Illinois. Conger received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico where he studied with renowned abstract painters Elaine de Kooning and Raymond Johnson, and later received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Chicago. Conger taught painting throughout the 1970s at DePaul University, then became Professor of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University from 1985 until he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2006. At Northwestern he taught alongside friend and colleague Ed Paschke. Conger has published writings on art on topics such as psychoanalysis and the masters, the Chicago art scene, and abstract art of the region.
Conger's mature style is an abstract style of painting largely informed by color and form, reminiscent of Wassily Kandinsky, often titled with musical and metaphorical references. He began exhibiting as early as his undergraduate years in the New Mexico Biennial and was included by professor Elaine de Kooning in a 1960 group exhibition at the Great Jones Gallery in New York City. In addition to showing at commercial art galleries Conger has completed a number of public artworks primarily in the Chicago area, including murals and painted sculptures. His work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Wichita Art Museum, as well as numerous university museums and corporate collections internationally.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with William Conger in 2015, May 18-20.
William Conger papers relating to his years as a faculty member at Northwestern University are located at Northwestern University Archives.
Provenance:
The William Conger papers were donated in 2007, 2015 and 2019 by William Conger.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
Journals and Restricted Correspondence: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from William Conger. 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.
A two part panel discussion on sculpture (6 7" tapes), partially transcribed on 141 pages. Participants are Peter Agostini, Will Barnet, Elaine De Kooning, Herbert Ferber, John Ferren, Donald Judd, Frederick Kiesler, Ibram Lassaw, Robert Mallary, Nicholas Marsicano, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Claes Oldenburg, Philip Pavia (organizer), Ad Reinhardt, Rachel Rosenthal, Sal Schwartz, George Segal, David Slivka, and James Wines.
Biographical / Historical:
The Waldorf Panel on Sculpture was organized by Philip Pavia, who chose the name in homage to the informal artists' discussions held at the Waldorf Cafeteria on 6th St. in the early to mid 1940s, and which later formed the nucleus to the artists' group known as the Club.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
Use of original recordings requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
