An interview of Boris Bally conducted 2009 May 26-27, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Bally's home and studio, in Providence, Rhode Island.
The artists speaks of his current studio in Providence, Rhode Island; working without a studio assistant; the benefits of working with studio assistants without an art-school background; apprenticing with Swiss metalsmith Alexander Schaffner when Bally was 19; his own de facto apprenticeship program with his studio assistants; his parents as role models; his vision at age 19 for his career plan; his early interest in CAD; growing up with Swiss-born parents, both with art/design backgrounds; visiting Switzerland as a child; his father's studies with Buckminster Fuller in the late 1950s; his mother's class with L. Brent Kington, whom Bally later studied with; growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; his first home metal shop at nine years old; his first formal metal class at about 14 years old; making and selling jewelry throughout his teens; informal apprenticeship with Jeff Whisner; his father's design firm, launched in his last year of high school; summer studying at the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts; year-long apprenticeship in Switzerland; watching Schaffner make and sell a wide variety of objects, which later informed Bally's own perspective; his continuing relationship with Schaffner; undergraduate studies at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; studying with Daniella Kerner and Vickie Sedman at Tyler; transferring to Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to study with Carol Kumata; making a "happiness machine"; transition from jewelry to larger sculptures; using found and scavenged materials; meeting Rosemary Gialamas (Roy) and their eventual elopement; moving to the Boston area; work as an industrial design model-maker; the New York art scene of the 1980s; representation with Archetype Gallery, New York, New York; slow but steady artistic recognition and commercial success of his functional objects; Sliding Perfections, flatware; teaching Gialamas metalsmithing and collaborative works by the two; early teaching experience in adult education classes in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then at Massachusetts College of Art, Boston; return to Pittsburgh in 1989, where Bally took a teaching position at Carnegie Mellon in the design department; studio on Bigelow Boulevard; difficulties in his marriage; a commission from the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts, and the beginnings of his traffic sign pieces in a collaborative piece with Gialamas; starting his platters series; the dissolution of his marriage to Gialamas in 1993; meeting Lynn, whom he later married; his love of teaching and his teaching philosophy; teaching at Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina; move to Providence, Rhode Island, to devote his time to studio work; the pros and cons of craft and arts schools versus university settings; the intersection of art, design, and industry: his Humanufactured line of products; functional work in the late '80s, and the influence of a trip to Haiti in the 1980s; bottle cork pieces; Trirod vessels; "More than One: Contemporary Studio Production" exhibition, American Craft Museum, New York, New York, 1992-94; philosophy of making; working in series form; truss pieces; perforation pieces and Vessel with a Silver Heart (1993); armform series; "Jewelries, Epiphanies" exhibition, Artists Foundation Gallery at Cityplace, Boston, Massachusetts, 1990; inclusion in One of a Kind: American Art Jewelry Today, by Susan Grant Lewin. (New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1994); series Dig Wear and Eat Wear bracelets; Calimbo vessel and the Fortunoff prize; gold Tread Wear brooches in the mid-1990s; creating his first chair; moving from hand-made solo work to furniture and a design and production focus; starting to patent his designs in the mid-1990s; further exploration of design and technique in his chairs; "GlassWear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry," Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York, 2009; Pistol Chalice and work with the Pittsburgh gun buyback program; traveling exhibition for the project; Gun Totem; Brave necklace; BroadWay armchair; Subway chair; new techniques for graphics on the furniture; his relationship with former scrapyard Paul Warhola, brother to Andy Warhol; commission work, and the importance of commerce in his career and worldview; commission for Comedy Central television network; the changing craft market and the boom times of the 1980s; work with galleries, including: Patina, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, California; Snyderman-Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Nancy Sachs Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri; the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts; seeing one of his pieces used on a set for a daytime television soap opera and in the movie Sex and the City ; the recent "green" (environmentally conscious) trend; blurring boundaries of design and art and craft; growing acceptance of artist-made and -designed multiples; pros and cons of computer technology in art and craft; the pros and cons of the DIY (do-it-yourself) craft movement; influential writers, including Rosanne Raab, Marjorie Simon, Steven Skov Holt and Mara Holt Skov, Bruce Metcalf, Toni Greenbaum, Matthew Kangas, Gail Brown; his involvement in the Society of North American Goldsmiths; making metal benches for his children. He also recalls Heather Guidero, Julian Jetten, Pam Moloughney, Dennis Kowal, Ursula Ilse-Neuman, Bob Ebendorf, Jason Spencer, Rob Brandegee and Ava DeMarco, Stefan Gougherty, Flo Delgado, L. Brent Kington, Curtis Aric, Ralph Düby, Steve Korpa, Joe Wood, Joe Ballay, Yves Thomann, Andy Caderas, James Thurman, Nicholas (Nico) Bally, Elena Gialamas, James Gialamas, Elvira Peake, Ronald McNeish, Johanna Dahm, Jerry Bennet, Kathleen Mulcahy, Nelson Maniscalco, Tom Mann, Otto Künzli, Stanley Lechtzin, Christopher Shellhammer, David Tisdale, Dean Powell, Daniel Carner, Donald Brecker, Robert Schroeder Phil Carrizzi, Lucy Stewart, Elisabeth Agro, Rachel Layton, Sarah Nichols, Peter Nassoit, Dan Niebels, Mary Carothers, Ward Wallau, Ivan Barnett and Alison Buchsbaum, Jonathan Bonner, Raymond and Patsy Nasher, Beth Gerstein, George Summers Jr., Pavel Opocensky, Buddy Cianci, David Cicilline.
Biographical / Historical:
Boris Bally (1961- ) is a metalsmith and designer who lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island. Bally was educated at Carnegie Mellon University and Tyler School of Art.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Walter Nottingham conducted 2002 July 14-18, by Carol Owen, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the studios of Idyllwild Arts, in Idyllwild, California. Nottingham speaks of his enthusiasm for basketball; being an altar boy and, as such, surrounded by beautiful fabrics at an early age; attending St. Cloud State University on the GI Bill; his teachers Jim Crane and Pauline Penning; serving as an art consultant for public schools in Jackson, Michigan; the lasting influence of an exhibition of battle flags at the Metropolitan Museum; articulating aging and decay through self-taught weaving; developing a fiber art program at University of Wisconsin, River Falls; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art and working with Glen Kaufman and Meda Johnson. He discusses specific works including his "Yahooties", that combine both his grandmother's and mother's crochet work; his trip to Mexico City on a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1974; forming the company Off the Wall with his eldest daughter Karron and their decorative design commissions; the influence of his Catholic upbringing, oriental philosophy, and spirituality in his work; and techniques and materials. Nottingham recalls Shelly Ross, Helen Drutt, Francis Merritt, Don Miller, Lois Moran, Jack Lenor Larsen, Marianne Strengell, Mildred Constantine, Gerhardt Knodel, Lee Nordness, Ed Rossbach, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Walter Nottingham (1930-2012) is a fiber artist from Hilo, Hawaii. Carol Owen is a fiber artist from Pittsboro, North Carolina.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 41 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Columbus to Catherwood, 1494-1844 : 350 years of historic book graphics depicting the islands, Indians, and archaeology of the West Indies, Florida, and Mexico = De Colón a Catherwood, 1494-1844 : 350 años de gráficas de libros históricos descripción de las islas, Indios y arqueologìa de las Indias, Florida y México / by Lee Allen Parsons
The papers of Austrian born curator, lecturer, and museum director, René d'Harnoncourt (1901-1968), document d'Harnoncourt's activities, primarily in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly as they relate to Mexican and Native American art. D'Harnoncourt's career, including his arrival in Mexico in 1925, his curation of the exhibitions, Mexican Art (1930-1932), and Indian Art of the United States (1941), and his work for the Department of the Interior's Indian Arts and Crafts Board from 1937-1944, are documented in small amounts of biographical material and correspondence, published writings, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs of d'Harnoncourt and colleagues, and photographs of works of art. The collection also contains a drawing of d'Harnoncourt, and photocopies of caricatures of d'Harnoncourt and others.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Austrian-American curator, lecturer, and museum director, René d'Harnoncourt (1901-1968), document d'Harnoncourt's activities, primarily in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly as they relate to Mexican and Native American art. D'Harnoncourt's career, including his arrival in Mexico in 1925, his curation of the exhibitions, Mexican Art (1930-1932), and Indian Art of the United States (1941), and his work for the Department of the Interior's Indian Arts and Crafts Board from 1937-1944, are documented in small amounts of biographical material and correspondence, published writings, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs of d'Harnoncourt and colleagues, and photographs of works of art. The collection also contains a drawing of d'Harnoncourt, and photocopies of caricatures of d'Harnoncourt and others.
Biographical material consists of d'Harnoncourt's official Austrian departure documents for his travel to Mexico in 1925; pages of an appointment book from 1932; and notes on d'Harnoncourt's career that index publications in which he is mentioned amongst other things, prepared by Sarah d'Harnoncourt.
Correspondence and memoranda relate primarily to the Mexican Arts exhibition, (1930-1932) sponsored by the American Federation of Arts; the "Art in America" radio program, organized by the American Federation of Arts with the cooperation of the Museum of Modern Art; d'Harnoncourt's part time teaching position at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville; and his appointment as General Manager of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. Later correspondence references research on d'Harnoncourt's work for the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, and includes information on d'Harnoncourt, provided in response to inquiries about him.
Writings by d'Harnoncourt include published articles on Mexican and Indian arts and crafts, a 1969 reprint of d'Harnoncourt's and Frederic H. Douglas's expanded version of the catalog for Indian Art of the United States, a foreword, and two seminar/symposium papers. Unpublished writings comprise two typescripts. The series also includes several writings by others.
Printed material includes announcements and exhibition catalogs, documentation of the "Art in America Program," published books belonging to and/or referencing d'Harnoncourt, Department of Interior publications, including some issued by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Museum of Modern art press releases, news clippings relating to d'Harnoncourt and his activities, and miscellaneous printed material.
Additional clippings from a dismantled scrapbook(s) document the Mexican Arts exhibition.
Artwork and artifacts include one original sketch in colored pencil of d'Harnoncourt by Austrian artist, Silverbauer, photocopies of caricatures and doodles by d'Harnoncourt, Miguel Covarrubias, and Caroline Durieux, and two Indian Arts and Crafts Board weaving samples.
Photographs are of d'Harnoncourt, Sarah d'Harnoncourt, and friends and colleagues. They include a photograph of d'Harnoncourt by Manuel Alvarez-Bravo; snapshots of others including Fred Davis; Sarah d'Harnoncourt and folk art specialist, Victor Fosado; fellow Indian Arts and Crafts Board members, architect Henry Klumb, Alice Marriot, and anthropologist, author, and tribal council member, Gladys Tantaquidgeon. Also found are three photographs of Mexican Art exhibition installations; fourteen photographs of Native Americans; three photographs showing covers and/or fronts pieces of d'Harnoncourts books Beast, Bird and Fish, Mexicana, The Hole in the Wall, and The Painted Pig; and photographs of artwork included in the Mexican Art exhibition and an exhibition of Australian Aboriginal Cave Paintings (1947).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1925-circa 1978 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence and Memoranda, 1929-1981 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1928-circa 1970s (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, OV 4)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1921-1979 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, OV 4)
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1930-1933 (0.3 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 6: Artwork and Artifacts, circa 1926-circa 1950s (3 folders; Box 3)
Series 7: Photographs, 1930-1983 (0.25 linear feet; Box 3, OV 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Austrian born curator, lecturer, and museum director, René d'Harnoncourt (1901-1968), was an authority on Native American art and Mexican arts and crafts. He curated and toured with a traveling exhibition, Mexican Art, from 1930-1932, guest curated the exhibition, Indian Art of the United States, for the Museum of Modern Art in 1941, served on the Department of the Interior's Indian Arts and Crafts Board from 1937-1944, and was Director of the Museum of Modern Art from 1949-1968.
D'Harnoncourt was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1901. He left Austria for Mexico in 1925, and began working for American, Frederick Davis, who owned a shop that sold Mexican antiquities and folk art in Mexico City. At this time, d'Harnoncourt made many important connections, including meeting American Ambassador to Mexico, Dwight Morrow, and his wife, Elizabeth Morrow. D'Harnoncourt illustrated several books in the early 1930s, including The Painted Pig (1930) and Beast, Bird and Fish (1933), both written by Elizabeth Morrow, and The Hole in the Wall (1931) and Mexicana: A Book of Pictures (1931). According to Sarah d'Harnoncourt, her husband considered himself an amateur in the field of book illustration, which he enjoyed as a means of self-amusement.
In 1929, d'Harnoncourt was asked to curate an extensive exhibition of Mexican art to travel to major cities in the United States, sponsored by the American Federation of Arts. D'Harnoncourt toured with this exhibition, Mexican Art, for two years, beginning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in October, 1930.
D'Harnoncourt visited Austria briefly in 1932, then returned to the United States in 1933 and married Sarah Carr the same year. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1939.
Between 1933 and 1944, d'Harnoncourt directed the radio program "Art in America," organized by the American Federation of Arts in cooperation with the Museum of Modern Art. He also taught art history at Sarah Lawrence College from 1934-1937. In 1936 he began working for the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior, becoming General Manager in 1937, and the Board's Chairman in 1944. As General Manager he curated an exhibition on Indian art for the San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939, and installed an expanded version of the exhibition, Indian Art of the United States, as guest curator for the Museum of Modern Art in 1940-1941.
In 1944, d'Harnoncourt joined the Museum of Modern Art as Vice President in charge of Foreign Activities, focusing his work on Latin America, and as Director of the Department of Manual Industries, responsible for the preservation of Native American art and culture. In 1949 he was appointed Director of the Museum of Modern Art, and served in this capacity until his death in an automobile accident in 1968.
Related Materials:
An oral history of René d'Harnoncourt, interviewed by Isabel Grossner in 1968, can be found at Columbia University, Oral History Research Office, 801 Butler Library, 535 West 114 Street, New York, NY 10027.
Separated Materials:
The bulk of René d'Harnoncourt's papers are in the Museum Archives of the Museum of Modern Art. The Museum's 59.25 linear feet document, in particular, d'Harnoncourt's years with the Museum from 1944-1968. That collection also includes papers donated by Sarah d'Harnoncourt which relate to d'Harnoncourt's time in Mexico, from 1925-1932, and his work in the United States from 1933-1944. While these holdings may overlap occasionally with the papers in the Archives of American Art (some items at the Archives of American Art, for instance, may be photocopies of originals at the Museum), the bulk of the Archives' d'Harnoncourt papers appear to be distinct from those at the Museum.
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 2919-2931) including papers generated by d'Harnoncourt during his professional affiliation with the Museum of Modern Art, such as, personal files, three appointment notebooks, professional files including Latin American correspondence, exhibition files, files documenting outside affiliations, and departmental and special event files. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
D'Harnoncourt's widow, Sarah d'Harnoncourt, donated the René d'Harnoncourt papers to the Archives of American Art in 1975, 1981, and 1984. An additional eleven linear feet of material was lent by the Museum of Modern Art's for microfilming in 1983.
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:
Reels 2919-2931: Authorization to publish requires written permission from Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y. MoMA requires full citation to include microfilm reel and frame numbers, and reference to MoMA as the owner of the Rene d'Harnoncourt papers. 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:
Art museum directors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Betty Woodman conducted 2003 April 22 and 29, by John Perreault, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in New York, New York.
Woodman speaks of frequent moves with her family during her childhood; her father's woodworking skills; gaining an interest in arts and crafts at four when she made a tablecloth with crayon drawings; attending summer camps, including Girl Scout Camp, where she participated in arts and crafts activities; being the first girl to take shop in her middle school; making model airplanes for air raid wardens during World War II; her interest in making functional objects; her introduction to clay and hand-building in high school; attending the School for American Craftsmen in New York City; collaborating with fellow students; her early desire to be a "craftsperson and not an artist"; her work with silk-screen fabric for The Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia and glass at CIRVA in Marseille, France; teaching at the University of Colorado and the City of Boulder Recreation Department; working at the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch, Holland, and the Bellagio Study Center in Italy; her studios in New York, Colorado, and Italy; her travels to India, The Netherlands, and Mexico; living in New Mexico, New York, Colorado, and Italy; her business Roadrunner Pottery in New Mexico with partner Elenita Brown; collaborative projects with Joyce Kozloff, Cynthia Carlson, Bud Shark, Judith Solodkin, and her husband George Woodman; developing a following in New York; how being a woman has affected her work and how she enjoys working with other women artists; the change of market for American crafts; Italian, Greek, and Etruscan influences; teaching experiences; the importance of getting reviews in art magazines; and the strong support from her husband George, a painter. Betty Woodman recalls Lynn Feelyn, Olan Wassen, Bernard Leach, Peter Voulkos, Shoji Hamada, Bob Kushner, Richard Serra, Wayne Higby, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Betty Woodman (1930-2018) was a ceramist from New York, New York. John Perreault (1937- ) is an independent critic and curator from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 55 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:
Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Paul Marioni conducted 2006 September 18-19, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home and studio, Seattle, Washington. Marioni speaks of his childhood in Ohio; excelling in math as a young student; being labeled a troublemaker in high school; his interest and skill in fixing cars and motorcycles; attending the University of Dayton, the University of Cincinnati, and San Francisco State University; receiving bachelor's degrees in English and philosophy; an interest in filmmaking; the joys and struggles of raising two children by himself; his unorthodox parenting philosophy; learning glass techniques from Judy Raffeal North; teaching experiences at College of Marin, California College of Arts and Crafts, Pilchuck Glass School, and Penland School of Crafts, among others; the importance of fostering idea formation and creativity in educational institutions; his experiences as Artist-in-Residence at A.C. Fischer Glashutte and Spectrum Glass Co.; the development of his process for producing cast glass; the great number of public architectural commissions that resulted from the ability to work with cast glass; the more than 85 commissions he has completed alone and in collaboration with Ann Troutner; the difference between his gallery work and commission work; the pleasure he gets from working in the studio; travels throughout Europe, South America, Japan, Thailand, Mexico; his use of ambient light; strong responses received from his political artwork; his dislike of art critics; the vital role Glass Art Society played in supporting the studio glass art movement; the emphasis of human nature in his art; and plans for the future. Marioni also recalls Robert Nelson, Gunvar Nelson, John Bolles, Cecile McCann, Marvin Lipofsky, Dale Chihuly, Tom Bosworth, Fritz Dreisbach, Richard Marquis, Howard Ben Tré, Bertil Vallien, Jaroslava Brychtová, Stanislav Libenský, Randy Milhoan, Dante Marioni, Pino Signoretto, Sandy Blaine, Allan and Lenore Sindler, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Paul Marioni (1941- ) is a glass artist from Seattle, Washington. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer, from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 8 hrs., 18 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Greetings from san Antonio, Texas: Mission Concepcion, etc. [postcard]
Topic:
Ethnic Imagery Project, Archives Center
Collector:
Blenkle, Victor A., Dr., 1900-1978 (physician) Search this
Collection Creator:
National Philatelic Collection, Smithsonian Institution. Search this
Blenkle, Victor A., Dr., 1900-1978 (physician) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (color, 3-1/2" x 5-1/2".)
Type:
Archival materials
Postcards
Picture postcards
Place:
San Antonio (Tex.)
Scope and Contents:
Postcard is a five-photo collage generated in San Antonio, Texas: two photographs of missions, Mission Concepcion and Mission San Juan Capistrano; two images of San Pedro springs; and one photograph entitled "a seller of pepitorias." The seller is a man standing in front of two large wooden doors, holding a tray and wearing Mexican style hat and clothing.
Biographical / Historical:
The word "pepitoria" refers to a chicken dish similar to the street food sold in Mexico.
General:
Series 1, Box 13, U.S.A.--San Antonio.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Trowbridge, Alexander Buell, 1868-1950 Search this
Extent:
2.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Prints
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Place:
Mexico -- description and travel
Date:
circa 1878-1982
Summary:
The papers of painter and frame maker Hermann Dudley Murphy measure 2.8 linear feet and date from circa 1878-1982. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed materials, a scrapbook, photographs, and original artworks, including sketchbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and frame maker Hermann Dudley Murphy measure 2.8 linear feet and date from circa 1878-1982. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed materials, a scrapbook, photographs, and original artworks, including sketchbooks.
The bulk of the papers focus on the later part of Herman Dudley Murphy's career. Specifically, correspondence focuses on the sale of still-life paintings and sketches and sketchbooks are mostly from Murphy's travels through Europe and Mexico from the 1920s to the 1930s. Correspondents include Mary Ogden Abbott, Edwin S. Barrie, Maurice Prendergast, Chauncey Ryder, Theodore Sizer, Edmund Tarbell, Alexander Trowbridge, and Vose Gallery among others. Personal business records comment on the sale of works of art from 1897 until 1944. Printed materials include clippings and exhibition catalogs spanning Murphy's career. One scrapbook contains photos and printed materials. Photographs and snapshots are of Hermann Dudley Murphey and family, family travels, and works of art and frames. Artwork consists of loose sketches, prints, and sketchbooks.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1887-circa 1940 (Box 1; 7 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1890-1962 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1900-1942 (Box 1; 7 folders)
Series 4: Personal Business and Financial Records, 1897-1944 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1889-1982 (Box 1-2; 0.9 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbook, circa 1910 (Box 2; 1 folder)
Series 7: Photographs, circa 1878-circa 1950 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 8: Artwork, 1892-circa 1940 (Box 2-4; 0.8 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Hermann Dudley Murphy (1867-1945) was a painter and frame maker active in Boston, Massachusetts.
Hermann Dudley Murphy was born in Massachusetts in 1867. He studied art under Edmund Tarbell at the Boston Museum School and later in Paris at the Académie Julian. His early career focused on portraiture and landscape painting. While in Paris, Murphy learned to make frames for artworks. After exhibiting at the 1913 Armory Show, Murphy rejected Modernism and painted still-life. He was known for his Tonalist style and his floral still-life paintings which included objects d'art such as Chinese ceramics, bronze statues, and textiles. Additionally, Murphy taught art classes at the Harvard School of Architecture and the Worcester Art Museum School.
Murphy married Caroline Bowles Murphy with whom he had two children, Carlene and Dudley Murphy. After Caroline died, he married artist Nellie Littlehale. With Nellie, he shared an interest in deck-seat canoeing. Murphy died in 1945.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1985 by Alexander B. and Dudley D. B. Samoiloff, grandsons of Hermann Dudley Murphy.
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.
An interview of Robert David Brady conducted 2008 March 10-12, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Berkeley, California.
Brady speaks of growing up in Reno, Nevada and developing a fondness for the desert and mountain environment around him; his first discovery and fascination with clay during junior high; a deep interest in symbols and the abstraction of language and how he has incorporated that into his work; studying art at California College of Arts and Crafts; continuing on to Mills College for graduate school; being drafted into the war and having to postpone his attendance to Mills College; finishing a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Davis; wanting to become a college professor; teaching at California State University in Sacramento; wanting to depart from dependency on the vessel; exploring with figurative objects; abandoning the vessel and adapting an interest in object making and mixed media; the influence of Mexico, in particular, the imagery of the Day of the Dead, on his work; firing techniques he learned in Mexico; the influence from Hal Riegger toward his education and development; specific works and the inspiration and process behind them; his departure from clay and experimenting with wood; various shows and his experiences working with different galleries and curators; his trip to Guatemala and the emergence of angels and other religious motif in his work; other traveling experiences and the influence each had on his work; his desire to return to clay and continue making pots; the craft community; the influence of Japanese pots; his personal beliefs toward academically trained and non-academically trained artists; and his opinion toward various art and craft magazines. Brady also recalls Vernon Coykendall, Robert Arneson, William Wiley, Manuel Neri, Debbie Butterfield, John Buck, Dick Notkin, Nancy Rubins, Roy de Forest, Hal Riegger, Dale Chihuly, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert David Brady (1946- ) is a sculptor of wood and ceramics and a teacher from Berkeley, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 47 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.
