University of Massachusetts University Museum of Contemporary Art Fine Arts Center, 151 Presidents Drive Amherst Massachusetts 01003 Accession Number: 1969.15
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 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.
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
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.