Festival Recordings: Art and Urban Life (Robbie Inqui, Hector Nazario, Gaspar Ingui, Wilfredo Feliciano, Elena Martinez) (Steve Zeitlin)
Collection Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Extent:
1 Sound recording (compact audio cassette)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
2001 June 27
General:
This audio recording has been transcribed. View transcription and play recording here. Download a PDF of the transcription here.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
An interview of George McNeil conducted by Dorothy Seckler for the Archives of American Art. McNeil speaks of his childhood and his family; becoming interested in art during high school; attending Pratt Institute, and not being satisfied there; deciding to drop out of Pratt after attending a lecture from Vaclav Vytlacil; going to the Metropolitan Museum every day drawing and analyzing paintings; meeting Arshile Gorky while at the Metropolitan Museum; attending the Art Students League; studying with Hans Hofmann; the start of the American Abstract Artists; his involvement in the WPA's mural project; attending Teachers College at Columbia before joining the Navy; re-entering the New York art scene during the forties and liking it very much; meeting and being influenced by Pollock; his views on the state of painting; how his work has evolved; the various stages in the way a painting developed for him; how The Club and the Eighth Street Club has influenced him; the ideas discussed at The Club, and how he feels surrealism was not a big influence on them; Jackson Pollock's influence on abstract expressionism; artists he admires or has admired; and his thoughts on the contemporary art scene. He recalls Vaclav Vytlacil, Arshile Gorky, Jan Matulka, David Smith, Dorothy Dehner, Edgar Levy, Leo Manso, Burgoyne Diller, Irene Rice Pereira, Hans Hofmann, Jo Hopper, Giorgio Cavallon, Linda Lindaberg (Cavallon), Mercedes Kahls, George Byron Brown, Albert Swinden, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollack, Franz Kline, Jack Tworkov, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
George McNeil (1908-1995) was a painter and a printmaker in Brooklyn, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tapes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 49 min.
Provenance:
This interview is 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 is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Tobey, Alton S. (Alton Stanley), 1914-2005 Search this
Extent:
2.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Video recordings
Photographs
Date:
1913-2000
Summary:
The Abraham Joel Tobias papers date from 1913 to 2000 and measure 2.8 linear feet. Through project and exhibition files, printed material, correspondence, and photographs, the collection provides an overview of Tobias's career as a painter and muralist in New York City.
Scope and Content Note:
The Abraham Joel Tobias papers date from 1913 to 2000 and measure 2.8 linear feet. Through project and exhibition files, printed material, correspondence, and photographs, the collection provides an overview of Tobias's career as a painter and muralist in New York City.
General correspondence regards mural proposals, exhibitions, professional activities, and museums' acquisitions of artwork by Tobias. A file of correspondence with the Fine Arts Federation of New York concerns efforts to recognize murals by Irving Block, James Brooks, Philip Evergood, Abraham Lishinsky, José Clemente Orozco, and Max Spivak as landmarks; it also includes minutes of meetings, 1988-1995, that reflect Tobias's service as a board member. Other correspondence is with friends and artists including Edward Caswell, George Gaber, Filia Holtzman, Vincent La Gambina, and Alton S. Tobey.
Project files document murals such as: The Four Freedoms, Midwood High School, Brooklyn, New York, honoring students and teachers who died in World War II (circa 1946); Birth for the maternity ward at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City (1951-1953); and Medical Science and Medical Research, Long Island Jewish Hospital (1954). The Science and Engineering project file (1958) contains a patent certificate for striated plastic, a material Tobias used in two murals. Also of interest is correspondence with the Harman Foundation regarding a documentary film about Tobias's use of ethyl silicate for outdoor murals. Among the exhibitions documented are: "Plastics U.S.A.," "New York WPA Artists Then and Now," and "Abraham Joel Tobias: Sculptural Paintings of the 1930s."
Printed material consists of announcements, invitations, solo and group exhibition catalogs, and clippings relating to Tobias's artistic career. Also found are pamphlets he designed for the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Photographs are of Tobias's artwork and the artist with friends and family. There is a video recording of an interview with Tobias conducted by Brendan Gill in 1995.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1913-1996 (Boxes 1, 4; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1933-1997 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Project and Exhibition Files, 1938-2000 (Boxes 1, 2, 4, OV 5; 1.6 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1928-1992 (Box 2; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1913-1999 (Boxes 3, 4; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Artwork, circa 1990s (Box 3; 1 folder)
Series 7: Photographs, 1929-1970 (Box 3; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 8: Video Recording, 1995 (Box 3, 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Abraham Joel Tobias (1913-1996) was a painter, muralist, and educator in New York City. He was a pioneer in the use of shaped canvases.
A native of Rochester, New York, Tobias came to New York City to study at the Cooper Union School of Art, 1930-1931, and at the Art Students League, 1930-1933. He worked for the Federal Arts Project,1938-1940, where he continued his training as a muralist, working with artist and technicians.
During World War II, Tobias served in the armed forces. He was an art director with the Intelligence Division, Army Air Force, and in 1945 was employed as a graphic designer for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Tobias was artist-in-residence and served as instructor in painting and drawing at Adelphia College, Garden City, Long Island, 1947-1957. He also was was a visiting lecturer at various schools including Howard University, Brooklyn Museum Art School, Pratt Institute Art School, as well as at colleges in Illinois and Kansas.
Tobias completed over ten mural commissions for governmental agencies and educational institutions, including: United States Post Office, Clarendon, Arkansas; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; James Madison High School, Brooklyn, New York; Beth Israel Hospital, New York City; Domestic Relations Court Building, Brooklyn, New York; and Adelphi College, Garden City, New York. In 1962, Tobias began The History of Science mural for the lobby of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn; it was never completed.
Tobias experimented with diverse materials such as terrazzo and mosaic for mural application. He also broke new ground with the use of ethyl silicate paint as a permanent medium for outdoor murals. In 1958, he patented striated plastic, a pliable material used to achieve an effect similar to stained glass.
He participated in many solo and group exhibitions. In 1935, Tobias presented his shaped canvas painting in the "Sculptural Painting" exhibition at Delphic Studios in New York City. In 1987, Tobias was recognized for his earlier pioneering work with a retrospective exhibition, "Abraham Joel Tobias: Sculptural Paintings" at The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers University. Other exhibitions included: "Plastics U.S.A.," the United States Information Service's exhibition in Moscow (1961); "New York City WPA Art," Parsons School of Design, New York City (1977); "For a Permanent Public Art," Tweed Gallery, New York City (1989); and "The Technological Muse," Katonah Museum of Art, New York (1991).
Tobias's professional memberships included the Architectural League of New York, National Society of Mural Painters, and New York Artists Equity Association. He served on the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Federation of New York from 1988-1996. He won the Architectural League Award in 1952. The Art Commission of the City of New York recognized Tobias, posthumously, for distinguished service to public art.
Abraham Joel Tobias married Carolyn Pratt in 1949; the couple had one daughter. Abraham Joel Tobias died in Rego Park, New York, in 1996 at the age of 82.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in 2001 by Carolyn Tobias, the widow of Abraham Joel Tobias.
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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with George McNeil, 1965 June 3. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Marion Greenwood, 1964 Jan. 31. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Marion Greenwood conducted on 1964 Jan. 31, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project.
Greenwood speaks of her background and education; her mural work before joining the Treasury Relief Art Project; working on murals for the Red Hook Housing Project in Brooklyn, N.Y.; changing from murals to easel paintings; and her opinions regarding government support for the arts.
Biographical / Historical:
Marion Greenwood (1909-1970) was a painter, lithographer, mosaicist, fresco, and mural painter from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 11 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.
Biographical material, correspondence, photographs, works of art, writings, project files, a scrapbook, and printed material relating to painter, illustrator, and cartoonist, Stuyvesant Van Veen.
Biographical information includes resumes, curriculum vitae, artist statements and profiles, membership cards, certificates, and awards. Correspondence is both professional and personal, and is with art galleries, artists and the U.S. Information Agency about exhibition exchanges with the U.S.S.R. Photographs are of Van Veen, his works of art, and works of art by Frances Avery. Artwork (portions filmed on microfilm reel 2026) includes numerous sketchbooks and sketches of artists, writers, musicians, scientists, and celebrities, caricatures and finished works by Van Veen, cartoons, illustrations, posters, Christmas cards, and book jackets. Writings include diaries,1928-1955, recording Van Veen's daily activities and notes and fragments of writings by Van Veen, including "My diary in sketches for 1942" with seven entries for January 1942.
Project files include the 1939 New York World's Fair mural for Hall of Pharmacy, the mural series Memorial to Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field Apartment Houses, New York, 1963, and the New York City public school murals at PS 8, The Bronx, New York. A scrapbook contains letters, photographs, and clippings. Printed material includes 72 photographic postcards featuring murals and sculptures of the 1939 World's Fair, catalogs, exhibition announcements, clippings, and off-prints. Also included are four comic books which contain illustrations by Van Veen under the pseudonymns Joe Lozen, Jack Camden, and Lester Raye.
Biographical / Historical:
Stuyvesant Van Veen (1910-1988) was a painter, illustrator, cartoonist, and printmaker in New York, New York. Van Veen was the illustrator for "The Fairy Fleet"; literary satires, Nation and New Masses magazine, and a WPA muralist.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives are papers that were lent for microfilming on reels 621, 922-924 that include biographical information, correspondence, sketchbooks, photographs, a scrapbook, 1927-1941, designs for book jacket, exhibition catalogs and announcements, magazine articles and comic strips, press clippings, 1926-1966, miscellaneous, and sketches (some may be completed works).
Provenance:
Donated 1964 through 1986 by Van Veen and in 2010 by the New York Artists Equity Association via Regina Stewart, who found the material in Van Veen's apartment after his death. Among the donation are papers Van Veen lent for microfilming in 1969 and 1973. "My diary in sketches for 1942" donated 2016 by art historian Christine I. Oaklander who purchased the material at auction.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Cartoonists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
0.4 Linear feet ((60 items partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1931-1987
Scope and Contents:
Sketches, photographs, notes, a scrapbook, and printed material.
REEL 2787: A notebook containing sketches and notes on the completion of the Willard Parker Hospital mural, New York City, which Sakari Suzuki painted with the assistance of Berntsen for the Federal Arts Project in 1936-1938; and 9 photographs of the Willard Parker mural, 2 of which show Suzuki and 2 of Suzuki and Berntsen at work. The Willard Parker Hospital was later demolished.
UNMICROFILMED: A chronology of Berntsen's career; 24 sketches in pencil and in pen and ink of ironworkers and construction workers, ca. 1933-1934, and of visitors to the National Gallery where Berntsen was a guard, ca. 1966-1971; three letters from Bernsten to his wife Alma, 1947-1952; loose newspaper clippings, ca. 1933-1985, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings (in Norwegian and English) concerning Berntsen's involvement with the Norwegian Art and Craft Club, and his paintings and sketches of workers at construction sites where he worked as an ironworker, ca. 1931-1976; two exhibition announcements, 1964 and 1986; photographs, ca. 1933-1987, mostly snapshots, include Berntsen painting, Bernsten in his National Gallery of Art guard uniform with Chief Justice Earl Warren, one of students and faculty of the Art Students League (ca. 1933-1934), one of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in New York, several of Berntsen and Suzuki at work on the Willard Parker Hospital mural, ca. 1938, of events sponsored by the Norwegian Art and Craft Club, and of works of art. Also included are photocopies of works of art.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mural painter, ironworker; Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y. and Va. Born in Oslo, Norway. Berntsen also was the model for the laborer who stands behind Lenin in the controversial Diego Rivera mural for Radio City Music Hall.
Provenance:
Material on reel 2787 transferred from the National Collection of Fine Arts, who received it from Berntsen, 1975. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1993 and 2002 by Berntsen's great-grandson, Cliff Miller.
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:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American Search this
Art museum attendance -- Pictorial works Search this
Olinsky, Ivan G. (Ivan Gregorewitch), 1878-1962 Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1925-1973
Scope and Contents:
Two letters from Ivan Olinsky; photographs of La Gambina and his paintings, one of a mural executed in 1937 for the W.P.A.; awards; two notes from Sedrig Dickinson; catalogs, clippings, and a copy of the Annual Magazine of the Leonardo Da Vinci Art School, 1925 which flourished during the 1920's and 1930's.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mural painter; Brooklyn, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1976 by Vincent La Gambina.
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.
Occupation:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
Biographical information, correspondence, a scrapbook, art work, photographs, and a booklet designed by Gassner.
REEL 2399: A scrapbook containing biographical information, letters, photographs of Gassner, his art work, and exhibitions, notes and statements; 3 portfolios containing lithographs, studies, sketches; and scaled plans for his "Mural Monument to Modern Culture."
REEL 2812: A booklet designed by Gassner containing 8 photographs of drawings for a proposed mural and notes; an exhibition catalog, 1933; and 2 photographs of a gouache on paper entitled "Struggle."
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, designer, illustrator, mural painter; New York, N.Y. and Drake's Branch, Va. Gassner died in 1995. Born in New York, Gassner painted murals for the WPA, and for Temple House and the Granada Hotel, both in Brooklyn, N.Y., and for the Long Island Court House. He was an illustrator for Du Pont monthly, RKO Yearbook, Eminent American Illustrators.
Provenance:
Material on reel 2399 lent for microfilming 1982 by Mordi Gassner; provenance of material on reel 2812 is unknown.
Occupation:
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
2 notebooks, one labeled "Paintings/Watercolor/Landscapes" (79 pages) and the other "Decoration/Fresco/Drawings/Misc./Oils" (129 pages) containing titles and descriptions of works completed; lists of works exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists, 1917-1941; 3 exhibition catalogs and announcements, undated, 1963-1964; 2 scrapbooks containing correspondence and articles associated with Ms. Whitney; 1 album of 34 photographs of Ms. Whitney from infancy to young adulthood, of her family and friends, and of her murals; 2 samples of floral fabric designs and 1 sample of wallpaper designed for Katzenbach & Warren, Inc.
3 watercolor studies for murals; 1 pen and ink drawing of the trademark for Whitney Work Stop Motion Silk; 18 photographs of Ms. Whitney, her family, and works of art; and 3 letters from Dawn Langley Simmons to Robert Coggins regarding Ms. Whitney's paintings, 1972-1973.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter. Known as the first woman fresco painter in America. Studied at Pratt Institute. Using Cennino Cennini's fifteenth century book on fresco painting as a guide, Ms. Whitney devised her own fresco formulas that could better endure the harsh New York climate. Her career as a fresco painter ended, however, after a crippling fall but she was to continue to work in watercolors and oils. Ms. Whitney also decorated homes of the famous, restored old houses, and designed wallpaper (including restoration of the Williamsburg prints). She exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum, Fifteen Gallery, Pen & Brush Club, and others.
Ms. Whitney is a direct descendant of William Penn and Eli Whitney.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1985 by Robert P. Coggins.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
Textile designers -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
Texile design -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
1 Microfilm reel (130 items on partial microfilm reel)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1906-1960
Scope and Contents:
The microfilm collection of the Vincent Aderente papers contains correspondence (1910-circa 1934), including four letters from Edwin Blashfield; 5 sketches by Aderente; and notes and printed material on three mural commissions executed by Aderente. Commissions include murals at the main post office in Flushing, NY depicting local historical events; at the general court house in Jamaica, NY (circa 1942-1943) depicting the different periods of law from Egyptian to American; and at the main branch of the Lincoln Savings Bank in Brooklyn, NY depicting Lincoln's life. Also included in the collection is a list of portraits and murals by Aderente, including works by Edwin Blashfield on which Aderente worked as an assistant; a photograph of Aderente; and printed material, including many reproductions of Aderente's murals and graphic work, and a series of booklets on the history of the Detroit Library.
Biographical / Historical:
Vincent Aderente (1880-1941) was an Italian American muralist. He studied at the Art Students League and was Edwin Blashfield's assistant. Aderente's work can be found across the United States, including at St. Matthew's Cathedral; the Detroit Public Library; the United States Post Office in Flushing, Queens; the Queens County Court House; and the Long Island Savings Bank.
Related Materials:
The Detroit Public Library Burton Historical Collection holds the Vincent Aderente papers, 1899-1965.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1969 by Mrs. Vincent Aderente, widow of Aderente.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The papers of New York artists Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 2005 to 2015. Drawings, correspondence, four scrapbooks, and fifteen sketchbooks document Alvarez and Lozano's graffiti and public art careers.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York artists Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 2005 to 2015. Drawings, correspondence, four scrapbooks, and fifteen sketchbooks document Alvarez and Lozano's graffiti and public art careers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano papers, 2005-2015 (Boxes 1-2; 1.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Jari "WERC" Alvarez (1980- ) is a graffiti artist who was born in Mexico and raised in Texas. Geraldine "Gera" Lozano (1981- ) is a public artist from New Jersey. They both reside in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Alvarez and Lozano produce artwork independently but have collaborated on public works of art in Mexico, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, New York, and Texas. Their mural, Portal Flow, done as part of the Gateways to Newark initiative in Newark, N.J., is the largest mural on the east coast. As collaborators, they focus on beautifying public environments through creating work that honors the surrounding communities.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in 2015 by Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Graffiti artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographs of the paintings, sketches and murals Egri did for Brooklyn College, a project of the FAP.
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Egri (1913-2010) was a mural painter and sculptor from New York, N.Y. and Taos, N.M. Taught at Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Wyoming. Preferred media: metal, wood, and mixed media.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by Ted Egri.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts -- New York N.Y. -- Photographs Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- New York N.Y. -- Photographs Search this
Art and state -- New York (State) -- New York -- Photographs Search this
Mural painting and decoration, American -- Photographs Search this
