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The Zorach family papers

Creator:
Zorach Family  Search this
Names:
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Brooklyn Museum  Search this
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this
Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976  Search this
Ipcar, Dahlov, 1917-2017  Search this
Newman, Arnold, 1918-2006  Search this
Partridge, Roi, 1888-1984  Search this
Zorach, Marguerite, 1887-1968  Search this
Zorach, Tessim  Search this
Zorach, William, 1887-1966  Search this
Extent:
4.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Prints
Articles
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Notes
Writings
Date:
1900-1987
Summary:
The Zorach family papers measure 4.4 linear feet and consist of materials relating to the lives and careers of sculptor and painter William Zorach, his wife painter and weaver Marguerite, and their children, painter and multi-media artist Dahlov Ipcar and collector and art dealer Tessim Zorach. The bulk of the papers consists of letters to Tessim regarding his parent's artwork. Additional materials include scattered letters to William Zorach; writings and notes by William, Marguerite, and Tessim; a sketchbook and drawings by William; prints by Marguerite; Marguerite's scrapbook; printed materials; and photographs of the Zorach family and of William Zorach in his studio and at work.
Scope and Content Note:
The Zorach family papers measure 4.4 linear feet and consist of materials relating to the lives and careers of sculptor and painter William Zorach, his wife painter and weaver Marguerite, and their children, painter and multi-media artist Dahlov Ipcar and collector and art dealer Tessim Zorach. The bulk of the papers consists of letters to Tessim regarding his parent's artwork. Additional materials include scattered letters to William Zorach; writings and notes by William, Marguerite, and Tessim; a sketchbook and drawings by William; prints by Marguerite; Marguerite's scrapbook; printed materials; and photographs of the Zorach family and of William Zorach in his studio and at work.

The majority of correspondence is between Tessim Zorach and various museums and galleries concerning exhibitions and donations of his parents' works of art. There are scattered letters to William Zorach among the correspondence. Business records consist of materials relating to the Collection of the Zorach Children, including lists of works of art by the Zorach's, a file relating to an exhibition of Zorach artwork at the Brooklyn Museum, and photographs of works of art considered for donation.

Writings and Notes include a typescript of an article written by Marguerite Zorach, writings by William Zorach, a typescript of Young Poems by William and Marguerite, as well as articles written by others about the Zorachs. Artwork by Marguerite Zorach includes two prints and a tracing. Also found is one sketchbook, and additional drawings by William Zorach. There is one unsigned lithograph.

The majority of exhibition announcements, catalogs, and clippings concern William and Marguerite Zorach although there are two announcements for Dahlov Ipcar. There is one scrapbook of clippings about Marguerite.

The papers include photographs of Marguerite and William Zorach, their parents, baby photos of Tessim and Dahlov, family pictures of the Zorachs, and of Marguerite and William in their studios. There are several folders of William Zorach working in his studios and additional photos of him carving a relief sculpture and a sculpture for the Southwest Bank. Most of these photographs contain detailed annotations written by William Zorach about the work. There is one folder of photographs of William in France in 1910-1911, including one of Zorach in Roi Partridge's studio. There is one photograph of Zorach taken by Ansel Adams in Yosemite, a photo of Zorach working by Arnold Newman, and several taken by Imogen Cunnigham.

Other photographs are of works of art, most of which depict William's works.

Artifacts include Marguerite's batik tools and approximately fifty commercially made printing blocks.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 9 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Information, circa 1907-1969 (Box 1, 6; 3 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1982 (Box 1-2; 1.75 linear feet)

Series 3: Business Records, 1967-1971, circa 1960s-1970s (Box 2-3; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1930s-1973, 1987 (Box 3; 8 folders)

Series 5: Artworks, 1900-circa 1920s (Box 3, 6; 12 folders)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1922-1953 (Box 3; 1 folder)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1912-1982 (Box 3; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, 1908-1966 (Box 3-5; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 9: Artifacts, circa 1910s, circa 1950s (Box 4; 0.5 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
William Zorach (1887-1966) was a modernist painter and sculptor working primarily in New York city, along with his wife Marguerite (1887-1968) who worked as a fauvist painter, printmaker, and textile artist. Their children were painter Dahlov Ipcar (1917-) and art collector Tessim Zorach (1915-1995.)

Born in Lithuania, William Zorach immigrated to the United States where his family settled in Cleveland, Ohio. An early interest in art led to a printmaking apprenticeship. He then moved to New York City and enrolled in the National Academy of Design where he studied painting and drawing. In 1910, Zorach traveled to Paris to study and where he met his wife Marguerite Thompson at the La Palette art school. Marguerite grew up in Fresno, California and studied art at Stanford University. Both artists were heavily influenced by the fauvist and cubist art movements.

Returning to America, Marguerite and William married and both continued to create and experiment with varied media. Their paintings were featured in the 1913 New York City Armory Show and they are credited with being among the first artists to introduce European modernist styles to American modernism. The Zorachs were very close both as a couple and as working active artists.

In the 1920s, Marguerite began to experiment with textiles and created large, fine art tapestries and hooked rugs. Also, she used batik dying techniques on fabrics. William also expanded his genre by creating direct sculpture in 1918, which would become his primary medium.

In 1915, William and Marguerite started a family with their son, Tessim. Two years later, their daughter Dahlov was born. The Zorachs divided the year and lived in New York City, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. In 1923, the family bought a farm on Georgetown Island, Maine where they lived, worked, and entertained friends.

Dahlov and Tessim were exposed to art from an early age. Dahlov showed artistic promise as a child and her parents supported her creativity by allowing her to express herself without formal training. Dahlov pursued painting and later became an illustrator for children's books. Additionally, she wrote fantasy novels and short stories. Dahlov married Adolf Ipcar in 1936. Like the rest of his family, Tessim Zorach developed an interest of art and along with his wife Peggy, he amassed a large private collection of ancient to modern art.

William and Marguerite continued to sculpt and paint until their deaths in 1966 and 1968, respectively.

Together, Dahlov and Tessim established the Collection of the Zorach Children which coordinated donations of their parents' art to many museums throughout the United States and the world. The artwork of both artists is found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Delaware Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Farnsworth Art Museum, Portland Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Philips Collection, and educational institutions such as Colby College, University of Vermont, Williams College, Bowdoin College, and the University of Virginia. In addition William has works associated with many public buildings, among them: Radio City Music Hall, New York City Municipal Court, the U.S. Post Office in Washington D.C. as well as Farleigh Dickinson University.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds the Dahlov Ipcar papers, 1906-1997. Also found is one oral history interview with William Zorach conducted by by John D. Morse on April 2, 1959 and an oral history interview with Dahlov Ipcar conducted by Robert F. Brown on November 13, 1979.

The bulk of William Zorach's papers are held by the Library of Congress.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming on reels NY59-1-NY59-4 and NY59-19. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are now held by the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division. This material is not described in the collection container inventory or finding aid.
Provenance:
William Zorach lent papers for microfilming to the Archives of American Art in 1959. Tessim Zorach donated materials between 1976-1987.
Restrictions:
Use of originals 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.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Weavers  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Artist couples  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Prints
Articles
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Notes
Writings
Citation:
The Zorach Family papers, 1900-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.zorazora
See more items in:
The Zorach family papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99b759247-30c2-4d06-9c75-1c7b0054f5d5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-zorazora

Henry Botkin papers

Creator:
Botkin, Henry, 1896-1983  Search this
Names:
American Abstract Artists  Search this
Artists Equity Association  Search this
Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors  Search this
Gallery 256 (Provincetown, Mass.)  Search this
Arlen, Harold, 1905-1986  Search this
Botkin, Benjamin Albert, 1901-1975  Search this
Brice, Fanny  Search this
Brice, William, 1921-2008  Search this
Gershwin, George, 1898-1937  Search this
Gershwin, Ira, 1896-1983  Search this
Godowsky, Frances  Search this
Gross, Chaim, 1904-1991  Search this
Hasegawa, Saburō, 1906-1957  Search this
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this
Knaths, Karl, 1891-1971  Search this
Laurent, Toinette Botkin  Search this
Mocsanyi, Paul  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Putnam, Wallace, 1899-1989  Search this
Rattner, Abraham  Search this
Robus, Hugo, 1885-1964  Search this
Schoenberg, Arnold, 1874-1951  Search this
Shadbolt, Jack, 1909-  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this
Von Wicht, John, 1888-1970  Search this
Extent:
3.5 Linear feet ((on 10 microfilm reels))
4 Sound tapes (7 & 5 in.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tapes
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Date:
1917-1979
Scope and Contents:
Biographical material (1945-1965), letters (1917-1979), notes (1950-1970), writings (1944-1970), business records (1927-1977), art works (1932-1964), subject files (1952-1955), scrapbook (1927-1939), printed material (1923-1977), and photographs (1922-1968) documenting Botkin's career and his friendship with George and Ira Gershwin and other entertainment and artistic figures.
Among the correspondents and subjects of photographs or letters are: George and Ira Gershwin, their sister Frances Godowsky, Botkin's brother Benjamin, Botkin's daughter Toinette Botkin Laurent, and grandson Alexander Laurent, composer Harold Arlen, Fanny Brice and her son William Brice, artists Chaim Gross, Saburo Hasegawa, Hans Hofmann, Karl Knaths, Paul Manship, Paul Mocsanyi, Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Pablo Picasso, Wallace Putnam, Abrahmam Rattner, Hugo Robus, Arnold Schoenberg, Jack Shadbolt, John Von Wicht, and Abraham Walkowitz. Also included are photographs of Botkin's studio, night picnic in Provincetown attended by many artists; and material relating to American Abstract Artists, New School Art Center, Provincetown Art Association, and the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors. [See Finding Aid for information on location of items on the microfilm].
UNMICROFILMED: 3 untranscribed interviews of Botkin, 1 done for the "Today" show, NBC, June 4, 1965; 1 for Colette Roberts "Meet the Artist" Program, undated, and 1 by an unidentified interviewer. Also included is an untranscribed monologue, Oct. 11, 1970.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New York, N.Y. and Provincetown, Mass. Born in Boston and attended art schools there from 1913-1917. From 1917-1920, he attended the Art Students League and was employed as an illustrator for prominent magazines until 1929. Traveling abroad between 1926 and 1933, he attained his first one-man show in 1927 at the Billiet Galleries in Paris. Through his cousin, composer George Gershwin, Botkin became acquainted with people active in the performing arts, such as Harold Arlen, Fanny Brice, Harry Kurnitz, and Bert Lahr. Botkin was also involved in the American Abstract Artists, Artists Equity Association, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, and Gallery 256 in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Related Materials:
Henry Botkin papers also at Syracuse University.
Provenance:
Donated 1969-1982 by Henry Botkin and by his son Glenn and his assistant Rene Barilleaux. Many items were returned to Botkin after microfilming.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy. Use of untranscribed tapes requires an appointment at the Washington, D.C. office.
Occupation:
Composers  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown  Search this
Topic:
Art, Abstract  Search this
Function:
Artists' studios -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Identifier:
AAA.botkhenr
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9556a5d7f-65c5-4c7f-827f-d4664d1cfc35
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-botkhenr

Oral history interview with John Wilson, 1993 March 11-1994 August 16

Interviewee:
Wilson, John Woodrow, 1922-  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Subject:
Aronson, David  Search this
Bengtz, Ture  Search this
Gaither, Edmund B.  Search this
Hurwitz, Sidney  Search this
Kay, Reed  Search this
Kramer, Jack  Search this
Léger, Fernand  Search this
Lewis, Elma  Search this
Rivera, Diego  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this
Zerbe, Karl  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Boston University. School of Fine and Applied Arts  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John Wilson, 1993 March 11-1994 August 16. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American printmakers  Search this
African American sculptors  Search this
Theme:
African American  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11501
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216507
AAA_collcode_wilson93
Theme:
African American
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216507

Oral history interview with John Wilson

Interviewee:
Wilson, John, 1922-2015  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Boston University. School of Fine and Applied Arts  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Aronson, David, 1923-2015  Search this
Bengtz, Ture, 1907-1973  Search this
Gaither, Edmund B.  Search this
Hurwitz, Sidney, 1932-  Search this
Kay, Reed  Search this
Kramer, Jack  Search this
Lewis, Elma  Search this
Léger, Fernand, 1881-1955  Search this
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this
Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this
Extent:
497 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1993 March 11-1994 August 16
Scope and Contents:
An interview of John Woodrow Wilson conducted 1993 March-1994 August, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Wilson discusses his childhood as a member of a family of middle class Black people from British Guiana (now Guyana); his father's grave disappointments in the face of racial discrimination; his parents' push for their children to succeed; early urge to read and draw; encouragement by School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston students who taught at the Roxbury Boys Club; his secondary education; and friends.
He talks about his education at the MFA School, Boston, and comments on such teachers as Ture Bengtz and Karl Zerbe and compares their exacting methods with those of Fernand Leger, his teacher in Paris.
His work of the 1940s prior to going to Paris; the importance of early awards and sales received while still a student at the MFA School; the excitement of sharing a studio with fellow students, Francesco Carbone and Leo Prince; and encouragement to stay in school during WW II with the promise of a European study fellowship after the war.
The great impact of his years in Paris (1948-49); the lack of racial prejudice; the liberating effect of Leger's teaching; his awe of the work of Masaccio and Piero della Francesca during a trip to Italy; and the deep impression made on him by seeing tribal art in the Musee de l'Homme, Paris.
Continued discussion of Leger; his teaching methods; and influences on his work.
His first teaching position at the MFA School; his involvement in civil rights in Boston; his gregariousness and the use of his studio as a meeting place for artists and political activists; his involvement with socialism in Boston and New York; and working in a socialist children's camp. He remembers meeting Paul Robeson, Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, and Bob Blackburn, who was then setting up his printmaking atelier in New York; marriage to a fellow socialist (June 1950); move to Mexico on a fellowship to study with Jose Orozco on the advice of Leger, only to find that Orozco had died; terrors of travel as an interracial couple through the U.S.; and different racial attitudes in Mexico and the U.S.
Living in Mexico (1950-56) and anecdotes of David Alfaro Siqueiros and Diego Rivera; his wife's meeting with Frieda Kahlo and seeing her collection of folk art; their free and cosmopolitan, if impoverished, life in Mexico; his work in a printmaking atelier and on the production of frescoes, and a lengthy aside about his brilliant brother, Freddie, who because he was black was not allowed to pursue his first love, geology, for many years.
Continued discussion of his experiences in Mexico; the dreary year (1957) he spent doing commercial art for a meatpackers' union in Chicago, a city he disliked; his move to New York in 1958, taking on commercial work to support his family, and teaching anatomy at the Pratt Institute.
Teaching art at a junior high school in the Bronx, and his gaining respect of students through special projects; teaching drawing at Boston University (1965-86), his approach to teaching including his demanding standards, the seriousness of the students, his opposing rigid attendance and grading rules, and colleagues, such as David Aronson who had created the School, Reed Kay, Jack Kramer, Sidney Hurwitz, and the University president, John Silber.
Working with the black arts entrepreneur, Elma Lewis, in setting up a visual arts program for the Boston black community (late 1960s-1970s), including the selection of a curator, Edmund Barry Gaither, a young art historian, who eventually established a museum of African-American art; his participation in various black art exhibitions, despite his belief that art should be seen regardless of the ethnic origins of artists; his move toward sculpture, beginning in the early 1960s, as a medium most expressive of black persons, culminating in the 1980s in a series of colossal heads and a statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. for the U.S. Capitol (1985-86); and why he makes art and will so long as he is able.
Biographical / Historical:
John Wilson (1922- ) is an African American painter, sculptor, illustrator, printmaker, and educator from Boston, Massachusetts. Full name John Woodrow Wilson.
General:
Originally recorded on 11 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 22 digital wav files. Duration is 16 hr., 2 min.
Uneven transcription reflects Wilson's unusual speech pattern.
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. Funding for the transcription and microfilming of the interview provided by the Newland Foundation.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Educators -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Printmakers -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American printmakers  Search this
African American sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.wilson93
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f3601751-82e4-488d-b246-deda68bea613
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wilson93
Online Media:

Katharine Lane Weems papers

Creator:
Weems, Katharine Lane, 1899-1989  Search this
Names:
Brookgreen Gardens  Search this
World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) -- Photographs  Search this
Cornell, Katharine, 1893-1974  Search this
Cresson, Margaret French, 1889-1973  Search this
Gildersleeve, Basil L. (Basil Lanneau), 1831-1924  Search this
Grafly, Charles, 1862-1929  Search this
Hancock, Walker Kirtland, 1901-1998  Search this
Huntington, Anna Hyatt, 1876-1973  Search this
Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974  Search this
Lane, Gardiner M., 1859-1914  Search this
Lane, Katharine Ward, 1862-1893  Search this
Manship, Paul, 1885-1966  Search this
Marans, Moissaye, 1902-1977  Search this
Monjo, Enric, 1895-1976  Search this
Putnam, Brenda, 1890-1975  Search this
Weinman, Adolph A. (Adolph Alexander), 1870-1952  Search this
Wong, Anna May, 1905-1961  Search this
Extent:
14.8 Linear feet
3 Items (rolled docs)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Place:
Saranac Lake N.Y. -- Photographs
Date:
1865-1989
Scope and Contents:
Biographical material, extensive diaries, correspondence, notes, writings, business records, sketchbooks and drawings, project files, scrapbooks, printed materials, photographs and slides, motion picture film, and videotape relating to Weem's education and career as a sculptor. Also included are ca. 1 foot of papers of Weems' aunt, watercolorist Katharine Ward Lane (1862-1893), including letters, diaries, sketchbooks and photographs.
REEL 724: Biographical sketch, 1974; letters from Frederic Bartlett, George Demetrios, Walker Hancock, Leon Kroll, Lee Lawrie, Moissaye Marans, Adolph Alexander Weinman, and others; four sketchbooks, 1954-1965, containing pencil drawings of animals; a scrapbook of clippings, 1924-1941; and printed material.
UNMICROFILMED: Biographical material includes sketches and documents, and biographical information on Weems grandfather, Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, and father, Gardiner Lane. Diaries (74 v.), 1906-1983, contain entries relating to art studies and her development as a sculptor; some include clippings and photographs. Correspondence, 1898-1989, includes letters from Gifford Beal, Margaret French Cresson, Charles Grafly, John Gregory, Walker Hancock, Malvina Hoffman, Anna Hyatt-Huntington, Paul Manship, Brenda Putnam, Gurdon Tarbox, and Adolph Weinman, discussing Weems' work and participation in various sculpture organizations. There are four notebooks on art history; recipes for clay and plaster; notes on patinas for bronze; lecture notes; lists of Weems' works and exhibitions; an exhibition guest book, 1931-1957; poems, 1933-1981; invoices and receipts, 1919-1981; copyright records, 1928-1978; and art work, including 15 v. of sketchbooks, 1913-1964, drawings and tracings of animal figures. and a copper printing plate mounted on a wood block.
Fourteen project files contain letters, drawings, photographs, and printed material on: an enlarging machine, the Saltus Medal for Merit, the frieze and Rhinoceros sculpture for the Biological Laboratories at Harvard, 1930-1942, including 7 reels of 16mm motion picture film (with script transferred to VHS), the Lotta Fountain, 1939-1974, Legion of Merit Medal, 1949-1952, War Department project, 1946, Goodwin Medal, 1949-1952, Wallace Goodrich Plaque, 1954, Hospital Teaching Clinic, 1955, Boston Museum of Science, 1964-1965, "Dolphins by the Sea" for the New England Aquarium, 1969-1979, Heredities Limited, 1971-1974, and the Museum School, 1977.
Included are two scrapbooks, one of clippings about the work of other artists and one containing poems, clippings of landscapes, animals, works by others, and autographed photographs of actresses Katharine Cornell and Anna May Wong and sculptor Brenda Putnam. Printed material includes clippings, 1911-1989; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1922-1981; bulletins, programs, brochures on artists, organizations, Brookgreen Gardens, and supplies; reproductions of art works, and the books, Odds Were Against Me (1985, Weems autobiography, and Enrique Monjo (1955), inscribed by Mongo.
Photographs and slides, 1902-1988, are of Weems, family members, artists Charles Grafly, Walker Hancock, and Anna Hyatt-Huntington, Weems' house "The Chimneys," her studio, gardens, animals, works of art by Weems and others, exhibit installations, and views of New York City, Washington, D.C., Monticello, the University of Virginia, and Brookgreen Gardens. Nine albums, 1920-1980, contain photographs of an art class, Weems in her studio, her home, her friends, scenic views, and works of art. Videos and film include a videotape (5 min., U-matic) of an interview of Weems; a film, "From Clay to Bronze," showing the creation of Weems' sculpture "Dark Warrier" (transferred to VHS); motion picture film of the making of the sculpture "Rhinoceros" (transferred to digital betacam, VHS and DVD), and a home movie of a day at the beach, circa 1935.
The papers' of Weems' aunt, Katharine "Kitty" Ward Lane (d. 1893), include Lane's letters, 1898-1893, to her brother (Weems' father) and to other family members; a travel diary from Germany, 1886; notes; financial records, 1891-1892; 10 sketchbooks; printed material; and photographs, 1865-1893, of Lane, early views of Saranac Lake, and 9 views of the Columbia Exposition, 1893.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor; Boston, Mass. Died 1989. Specialized in animal sculpture. Studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Charles Grafly, Anna Hyatt-Huntington, George Demetrios, and Brenda Putnam. She married F. Carrington Weems in 1947. Named after her aunt, watercolor painter Katharine Ward Lane, who died in 1893.
Provenance:
Material on reel 724 lent for microfilming by Weems, 1974. The four sketchbooks on reel 724 were subsequently donated in 1989. Unmicrofilmed papers were donated 1975 and 1982 by Weems, and in 1989 by her estate. Eighteen diaries (1961-1965, 1967-1976 [1969 not included], 1978, and 1981-1983) and an apppointment book for 1966 donated by the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, 1991.
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:
Animal sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Watercolorists -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Animal sculpture  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Identifier:
AAA.weemkath
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96c1a0919-a71e-4b49-9b63-7e7e27c9052f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-weemkath

William Robert Pearmain and Pearmain family papers

Creator:
Pearmain, William Robert, 1888-1912  Search this
Names:
Industrial Workers of the World  Search this
Berkman, Alexander, 1870-1936  Search this
Bowditch, Nancy Douglas  Search this
Brooks, John Graham, 1846-1938  Search this
Brush, George de Forest, 1855-1941  Search this
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910  Search this
Dole, Charles F. (Charles Fletcher), 1845-1927  Search this
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this
Pearmain, Alice  Search this
Pearmain, Jack  Search this
Pearmain, Margaret  Search this
Pearmain, Mary  Search this
Pearmain, Summer  Search this
Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966  Search this
Sanger, William, b. 1888?  Search this
Trautmann, W. E. (William Ernst), b. 1869  Search this
Upton, Sarah  Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Writings
Photographs
Sketches
Watercolors
Diaries
Date:
1888-1955
Summary:
The papers of painter and activist William Robert Pearmain (1888-1912) and the Pearmain family measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1888-1955. Papers are found for William Robert Pearmain, his wife Nancy Douglas Brush (later Bowditch), their daughter Mary "Polly" Pearmain, and other members of the Pearmain family. There are biographical materials; family correspondence; a watercolor; a travel diary and school essays by Pearmain; printed materials, including clippings and two publications by the Industrial Workers of the World; and photographs of the Pearmain family and artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter and activist William Robert Pearmain (1888-1912) and the Pearmain family measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1888-1955. Papers are found for William Robert Pearmain, his wife Nancy Douglas Brush (later Bowditch), their daughter Mary "Polly" Pearmain, and other members of the Pearmain family. There are biographical materials; family correspondence; a watercolor; a travel diary and school essays by Pearmain; printed materials, including clippings and two publications by the Industrial Workers of the World; and photographs of the Pearmain family and artwork.

Scattered biographical information includes materials concerning the Pearmain and Upton families including a wedding invitation, school transcripts, biographical sketches and a debutate ball program from 1931.

Much of the correspondence is from William Robert Pearmain to his family written while in school and in Europe. Pearmain's correspondence with his family discusses his career, marriage, daughter, travel, and political views. Later correspondence is from both Robert and Nancy to family members. Other family correspondence is between Nancy, Polly, Sarah Upton, Sumner, Alice, Margaret, and Jack Pearmain.

There are a few incoming letters to Robert, including one from Margaret Sanger. There are condolence letters to Nancy from John Graham Brooks, Rockwell Kent, William Sanger, and Alexander Beckman. A letter from George de Forest Brush to Robert's mother, possibly dated 1906, discusses her unhappiness about Robert leaving Harvard and staying with the Brushs' in Italy. A photocopy of a letter from Samuel Clemens to George de Forest Brush is found. Additional correspondents include Charles F. Dole and William E. Trautmann.

Artwork consists of one watercolor by William Robert Pearmain. Writings and notes include one diary written by Robert while in Europe (1907), school essays, and a list of European trip expenses. Printed materials include clippings, and one issue each of Solidarity , and Mother Earth. Photographs are of a drawing of William Robert Pearmain by Will Loring and family snapshots of Robert, Nancy, and Polly Pearmain in New Hampshire (1911).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1888-circa 1955 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1899-1955 (Box 1; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 3: Artwork, circa 1910 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1900-1908 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1907-1913 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1900-1911 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Biographical Note:
William Robert Pearmain (1888-1912), known as Robert, was a painter and political activist working in Boston and New York City. Born to a wealthy family in New England, Pearmain attended Harvard University to study architecture and studied painting in Italy under George de Forest Brush.

Between 1907 and 1908, Pearmain travelled through France and Italy studying with Brush and other artists. Upon returning to the United States, Pearmain married the eldest daughter of his mentor, Nancy Douglas Brush in Dublin, New Hampshire. Also an artist, Nancy settled with Robert in Boston and later in New York City. While in New York, Pearmain worked as an assistant to muralist Barry Faulkner. In 1911, the Pearmains welcomed their daughter Mary Alice, whom they called Polly.

While in New York, Pearmain grew dissatisfied with his artistic career. He discovered an interest in the conditions of the working class and his social and political viewpoints became increasingly radical. Despite his privilaged upbringing, he immersed himself in the world of manual labor. Leaving his wife and daughter behind, Robert walked from New York City to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to work at the Westinghouse Electric Company. Additionally, Pearmain became associated with the Industrial Workers of the World organization and participated in anarchist demonstrations.

Soon after arriving in Pittsburgh, Pearmain's health started to fail. His family believed the hard working conditions caused his illness and a doctor suggested that he return to Massachusetts to recover. In September of 1912, Robert Pearmain died of leukemia. Later, Nancy remarried Dr. Harold Bowditch.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is the Nancy Douglas Bowditch papers, circa 1900s-1970s that contain materials relating to her first husband, William Robert Pearmain and an oral history interview with Nancy Douglas Bowditch conducted on January 30, 1974 by Robert F. Brown.
Separated Material:
That Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 4589) including a drawing by Will Loring of William Robert Pearmain as a child. This item was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Nancy Bowditch and Edward F. McClennen, Pearmain's widow and grandson, donated the William Robert Pearmain and Pearmain family papers in 1973 and 1974. The photograph of the drawing on microfilm reel 4859 was lent for microfilming by William Robert Pearmain, Pearmain's nephew, in 1974.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Travel -- Europe  Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Political activists -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Political activists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Writings
Photographs
Sketches
Watercolors
Diaries
Citation:
William Robert Pearmain and Pearmain family papers, 1888-1955. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.pearwill
See more items in:
William Robert Pearmain and Pearmain family papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c699b73b-1ebc-499d-adf7-6aa4f30956bc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-pearwill
Online Media:

Gardner Cox papers, 1920-1995

Creator:
Cox, Gardner, 1906-1988  Search this
Massachusetts Art Commission  Search this
Subject:
Forbes, Edward Waldo  Search this
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus  Search this
Shaw, Robert Gould  Search this
Morison, Samuel Eliot  Search this
Stevens, Austin  Search this
Driver, Phoebe Barnes  Search this
American Academy in Rome  Search this
Saint Botolph Club (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Putnam & Cox, (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Portraits (Firm: New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Boston Arts Festival  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Citation:
Gardner Cox papers, 1920-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Portrait painting -- 20th century -- Massachusetts  Search this
Politicians -- Portraits  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8156
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210327
AAA_collcode_coxgard
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210327

Perry Townsend Rathbone papers

Creator:
Rathbone, Perry Townsend, 1911-2000  Search this
Names:
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc.  Search this
City Art Museum of St. Louis  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Beckmann, Max, 1884-1950  Search this
Faison, S. Lane (Samson Lane), 1907-2006  Search this
Gonzalez, Xavier, 1898-1993  Search this
Howe, Thomas Carr, 1904-1994  Search this
Moore, Lamont  Search this
Parkhurst, Charles  Search this
Ritchie, Andrew Carnduff  Search this
Sabersky, Jane, 1911-1983  Search this
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Swarzenski, Hanns, 1903-1985  Search this
Valentin, Curt, 1902-1954  Search this
Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold, 1880-1958  Search this
Willard, Marian, 1904-  Search this
Wittmann, Otto, 1911-2001  Search this
Extent:
4.3 Linear feet (5 boxes, 1 OV)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Transcripts
Photographs
Interviews
Date:
1929-1985
Summary:
The papers of museum director Perry Townsend Rathbone measure 4.3 linear feet and date from 1929 to 1985. The papers document Rathbone's career as museum director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and his later work with Christie's New York office. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence with friends and colleagues, writings, professional and project files, printed materials, and photographs, mostly of exhibitions.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of museum director Perry Townsend Rathbone measure 4.3 linear feet and date from 1929 to 1985. The papers document Rathbone's career as museum director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and his later work with Christie's New York office. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence with friends and colleagues, writings, professional and project files, printed materials, and photographs, mostly of exhibitions.

Biographical materials contain curriculum vitae, biographical sketches, citations for honorary degrees and for Rathbone's appointment as Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, a passport, a transcript of an interview with Rathbone and articles written by others about Rathbone, including one by S. Lane Faison.

Correspondence is with Rathbone's friends and colleagues. Notable correspondents include Max Beckmann, Xavier Gonzalez, Hanns Swarzenski, Curt Valentin, Jane Sabersky, William R. Valentiner, and Marian Willard, among others. Rathbone knew several art historians and conservators who served in the U.S. Army as members of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section, also known as the Monuments Men. Correspondence with these colleagues is arranged together as a subseries and includes correspondence with S. Lane Faison, Thomas Carr Howe, Lamont Moore, Charles Parkhurst, Andrew Ritchie, George Leslie Stout, and Otto Wittman. Most of the correspondence with other Monuments Men is post World War II.

Writings by Rathbone consist of student papers, typescript drafts of articles and entries for exhibition catalogs, notes and notebooks from European trips, and lectures.

Professional files encompass a range of documents related to Rathbone's museum directorships, projects, travels and professional affiliations. The folders about his work at the City Art Museum of St. Louis and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston include correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, press releases and notes. There are also folders on specific projects such as the renovation of the historic Dederer-Blodgett House and Rathbone's membership on various art commissions and committees. Also found within this series are correspondence, notebooks, receipts, itineraries and vouchers for Rathbone's business trips to Europe and other locations while working for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Printed materials include news clippings, articles, press releases, a few art magazines and exhibition catalogues, and invitations to events. There are also black and white photographs of exhibitions, including a Max Beckmann exhibit, and a few images of Rathbone.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1930-1982 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1985 (1.1 linear feet; Box 1-2)

Series 3: Writings, 1929-1967 (0.8 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 4: Professional Files, 1938-1984 (2 linear feet; Box 2-4, OV 6)

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1954-1975 (0.2 linear feet; Box 4-5, OV 6)

Series 6: Photographs, 1936-1972 (0.1 linear feet; Box 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Perry Townsend Rathbone (1911-2000) was a prominent museum director who worked primarily in Boston and New York City. He was an early supporter of German Expressionism in America.

Rathbone was director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis from 1940-1955, moving on to direct the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 1954-1972, where he led a period of extensive reform. After retiring from the museum, he worked for one year for the Chase Manhattan Bank as an art consultant. Rathbone worked as director and senior vice president of Christies USA auction house from 1973-1987. After 1987, he continued working at Christies as a consultant.

Rathbone was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1911 and grew up in New Rochelle, New York. He attended Harvard College, majoring in Art History and graduating in 1933. He then completed the graduate "museum course" taught by Professor Paul Sachs in 1934. The Paul Sachs museum course was famous for cultivating future directors at some of this country's most prestigious museums. After Harvard, Rathbone was appointed as curator of Alger House (later renamed the Grosse Pointe War Memorial), a branch of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Rathbone directed the ''Masterpieces of Art'' exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The success of the exhibit led to his appointment as director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis, Missouri in 1940 at the age of 29, making him the youngest American museum director at the time.

During World War II, Rathbone served in the U.S. Navy from late 1942-1945. He was a commissioned officer in charge of the Navy Art and Poster Section, Office of Public Relations in Washington, D.C. He supervised five Navy "combat artists," who painted naval battles and depicted the daily lives of soldiers. He also served as an officer in New Calcedonia. He separated from service as a Lieutenant Commander in late 1945. This collection does not contain records directly related to his military service. In 1945 Rathbone married Euretta de Cosson while on leave in Washington, D.C. They had three children together: Peter, Eliza, and Belinda.

Rathbone resumed his position as the director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis after the war. The Detroit Institute of Arts director William R. Valentiner introduced Rathbone to German Expressionism. Rathbone helped the German Expressionist painter Max Beckmann, labeled a ''degenerate artist'' by Hitler, and his wife immigrate to America and then arranged a teaching position for Beckmann at Washington University. Rathbone and Beckmann became close, and in 1948, Rathbone organized a Beckmann retrospective at the City Art Museum. Beckmann made a portrait of Rathbone and one of his wife Euretta. Rathbone gave the eulogy at Beckmann's funeral in 1950.

In 1955 Rathbone became the director of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston. During his tenure there he expanded the museum by 80,000 square feet, doubled the staff, and oversaw the renovations of 57 of the Museum's 189 galleries. He mounted exhibitions of Rembrandt, Matisse, Modigliani, Cezanne, van Gogh and Courbet. The Boston Museum's first acquisitions of Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Constantine Brancusi, Paul Klee, Alberto Giacometti and other works by 20th-century artists occurred under Rathbone's directorship. Rathbone also served as curator of paintings and wrote the catalog essays for many of the museum's exhibitions. Working with Frances Weeks Hallowell, he established the first "Ladies Committee" for the museum, which substantially increased membership. He was appointed as Chevalier de Légion d'Honneur by the French government in 1964.

In 1969, the Museum of Fine Arts purchased what was believed to be a Raphael portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga, 1505, from a Genoa art dealer. The work was meant to be the highlight of the museum's centennial celebration. However controversy arose when the Italian government alleged that the work was smuggled out of the country and the museum was forced to return the painting to the Italian government. The situation caused Rathbone to resign in 1972.

At the request of David Rockefeller, Rathbone became an art consultant to Chase Manhattan Bank for one year. In 1973, he became director of Christie's auction house in New York and senior vice president in 1977, working there until 1987, when he retired but still worked as a consultant.

Perry Townsend Rathbone died on January 22, 2000 at the age of 88.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Perry Townsend Rathbone conducted in 1975-1976 by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art's oral history program.
Provenance:
Perry Townsend Rathbone donated his paper to the Archives of American Art in 1977 and 1988.
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:
Museum directors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Genre/Form:
Transcripts
Photographs
Interviews
Citation:
Perry Townsend Rathbone papers, 1929-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.rathperr
See more items in:
Perry Townsend Rathbone papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99ceffd13-4519-4277-b68d-2369944ef893
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-rathperr
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Irene Rice Pereira

Creator:
Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice), 1902-1971  Search this
Interviewer:
Selvig, Forrest  Search this
Names:
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Extent:
123 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Date:
1968 August 26-27
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Irene Rice Pereira conducted 1968 August 26-27, by Forrest Selvig, for the Archives of American Art.
Pereira speaks of her family background and youth in Boston and Great Barrington, Massachusetts; the Art Students League; travels to Europe and Africa; her theories on light; the relationship between her poetry and her painting; the importance of dreams on her work; painting on glass; difficulties with the Museum of Modern Art; efforts to counter current art trends; abstract expressionism.
Biographical / Historical:
Irene Rice Pereira (1902-1971) was a painter, writer, and educator in New York, New York.
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:
Patrons must use transcript.
Topic:
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.pereir68
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9296bec02-dff6-4d68-bae3-750f072015dd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-pereir68

Oral history interview with Harold Tovish

Interviewee:
Tovish, Harold, 1921-2008  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Pineda, Marianna, 1925-1996  Search this
Extent:
3 Items (sound cassettes (4 hr., 42 min.), analog.)
94 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1997 November 13-1998 April 7
Scope and Contents:
Interview of Harold Tovish, conducted by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution on November 13, 1997 at his home and studio in Boston, Massachusetts.
Tovish speaks of his kinetic sculpture of the 1960s; his return to kinetic work in the 1970s and early 1980s; his creative process; acceptance of death; his confidence in the role of art and his own work, despite the lack of a traditional broad base of support; his experience as a sculptor-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome, 1966; slow working procedures; his disenchantment with most modern art that employs technology; admiration for the formal economy of Minimalist art and its influence on him; the absence in his work, for the most part, of overtly political themes, yet the presence of moral stances stemming from his Depression-era background and anti-Vietnam War protests; his left wing political views; the artificiality of exhibitions; the desirability of artists organizing for mutual benefit and discourse; the transitory nature of fame; avoidance of friendships with museum curators; comparisons of his teaching experience at Boston University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; his 1990 exhibition at Boston University and Terry Dintenfass Gallery, NYC; self-portraits and variations on them; prints and drawings curator at the Boston Public Library, regarding Boston artists; the neglect of Boston area artists by other Boston art institutions; his 1988 retrospective at the Addison Gallery of American Art; the importance of a balanced and frank working relationship with his late wife, the sculptor Marianna Pineda; the professional mores that infused their generation of artists; the major change in his sculpture in the early 1980s; a subsequent period of drawing in the late 1980s which was triggered by attacks of vertigo; interest in anatomical parts; the infrequency of sculpture exhibits; a consistent thread of "darkness" or apprehensiveness in his work; and his acceptance of his first commission, a monument to the painter John Singleton Copley for Boston's Copley Square. Tovish also recalls Hyman Bloom, William Zorach, Sinclair Hitchings, Philip Guston, Doris Lessing, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Harold Tovish (1921-2008) was a sculptor in both Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 42 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:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire audio recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.tovish97
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98781373c-c3eb-4daa-b925-a45f0ef682ac
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-tovish97
Online Media:

Albert Alcalay papers

Creator:
Alcalay, Albert, 1917-2008  Search this
Extent:
2 Microfilm reels (877 items on 2 microfilm reels)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Scrapbooks
Date:
1944-1978
Scope and Contents:
The microfilm Albert Alcalay papers contain autobiographical and biographical writings; correspondence; teaching notes and lecture texts; and a scrapbook (1946-1970) containing printed materials about Alcalay's career and photographs of Alcalay and his paintings. Also included are price lists of work by Alcalay (1950s-1978); exhibition catalogs and announcements; and additional printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Albert Alcalay (1917-2008) was an abstract expressionist painter and educator in Boston, Massachusetts. Alcalay was born in Paris to Serbian parents. During WWII, he was in the Yugoslavian army and was imprisoned as a prisoner of war. Once free, he settled in Rome and in 1951 he and his family moved to the United States. He was a 1959 Guggenheim fellow and taught at Harvard University from 1960 until 1982. He exhibited his work in many United States institutions, as well as abroad.
Related Materials:
Also held at the Archives of American Art is the oral history interview with Albert Alcalay, 1979 January 17-October 19 conducted by Robert F. Brown.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1978 by Albert Alcalay.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Educators -- Massachusetts  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Albert Alcalay papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.alcaalbe
See more items in:
Albert Alcalay papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92a944776-1604-4c31-9fcb-5da1623720dd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-alcaalbe

Oral history interview with Bernard Chaet

Interviewee:
Chaet, Bernard  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Boris Mirski Gallery (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Yale University. School of Art  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this
Extent:
5 Items (sound files (3 hrs., 30 min.), digital, wav file)
92 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1997 June 18-August 15
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Bernard Chaet conducted 1997 June 18-August 15, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art, at Chaet's home in Rockport, Massachusetts.
Chaet briefly speaks of his life growing up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and his family, in particular his father, before segueing into his early beginnings as an artist and his acceptance into the School of the Museum of Fine Arts; he discusses his training there, as well as the three-year interim after he quit and before he completed his education at Tufts University when he worked alone; he refers to his teacher and the head of the Department of Painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Karl Zerbe, often, including his falling out with Zerbe, citing this as the reason his quit the school; he recalls his relationship with Boston art gallery owner Boris Mirski, who supported him from an early stage and sent him to Europe when he was young, the evolution of his relationship with Mirski, and the reason for their eventual falling out; Chaet describes his trip to Europe, where he traveled for several months with friends, at length, including the art museums and the suffering he witnessed in Italy and Spain, as well as accidentally meeting Picasso in Antibes, and the influence the trip had on his work; he recalls how he became an art teacher, how he was hired by Josef Albers at Yale, his tenure at Yale, some of the students there, including Chuck Close, Nancy Graves, and Richard Serra, as well as the internal politics and his accomplishments; he discusses his own evolution as an artist, including his use of watercolors, as well as his return to certain themes, such as his painting of cows (and how, more generally, artists do return to themes throughout their lives), and the balance between teaching and being an artist; Chaet mentions the beginnings of Artists Equity and Cold War politics. Chaet also recalls his wife, the artist Ninon Lacey, his former roommate, the artist David Aronson, and art world figures: Hyman Swetzoff, Edith Halpert, Dorothy Adlow, Charles Sawyer, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Hyman Bloom, Willem de Kooning, Rico Lebrun, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Bernard Chaet (1924-2012) was a painter and teacher from New Haven, Connecticut and Rockport, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 29 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:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire audio recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Connecticut -- Interviews  Search this
Art teachers -- Connecticut -- New Haven -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.chaet97
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ece6734d-fae8-47b2-b7af-301c64a1ccdd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-chaet97
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Ralph Coburn

Interviewee:
Coburn, Ralph, 1923-  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Boris Mirski Gallery (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- Students  Search this
Kelly, Ellsworth, 1923-  Search this
Nelson, Carl Gustaf, 1898-1988  Search this
Netsch, Walter  Search this
Plaut, James S. (James Sachs), 1912-1996  Search this
Polonsky, Arthur  Search this
Saltonstall, Nathaniel, 1903-1968  Search this
Swetzoff, Hyman Wulf, 1920-1968  Search this
Wilson, John, 1922-2015  Search this
Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this
Extent:
48 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
1995 May 25-June 23
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Ralph Coburn conducted 1995 May 25 and 1995 June 23, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art, in Coburn's home, Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Coburn talks about his parents and his childhood in Miami Beach, Florida; his early schooling; and entering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1941, in its 5-year architecture program. He recalls Walter Netsch, a classmate at MIT, who later became a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who introduced Coburn to modern design and to avant-garde music. He also recalls the painter and head of painting at the Museum of Fine Arts School, Karl Zerbe, his teacher in the course of his work for advanced MIT architecture students. He talks about his return to Florida as a draftsman for an aircraft equipment company in Miami, outfitting planes for the African campaign, and his foreman, a son of Al Capone; then returning to Massachusetts to work with an electrical company making secret military components.
Coburn discusses returning to and dropping out of MIT; working at the Institute of Modern Art in Boston through Hyman Swetzoff; following Swetzoff to the Boris Mirski Gallery; studying at Mirski's art school with Esther Geller and John Wilson and friends made at the school, including Ellsworth Kelly, Arthur Polonsky, and Reed Kaye. He recalls Carl Nelson, one of his teachers. He talks about the change in atmosphere at the Institute with the replacement of Thomas Metcalf by James Plaut and Nathaniel Saltonstall who changed the Institute's name to Institute of Contemporary Art and the protest surrounding the name change.
Biographical / Historical:
Ralph Coburn (1923- ) is an architect, painter, and designer currently living in Gloucester, Massahusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 36 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:
Architects -- Massachusetts  Search this
Topic:
Architecture -- Study and teaching  Search this
Designers -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester -- Interviews  Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.coburn95
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9bdafcb74-8cc1-4eb9-a579-5765ce77d004
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-coburn95
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Jason Berger

Interviewee:
Berger, Jason, 1924-2010  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Art Institute of Boston -- Faculty  Search this
Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School -- Faculty  Search this
State University of New York at Buffalo -- Faculty  Search this
United States. Army  Search this
Benda, Clemens E. (Clemens Ernst), 1898-  Search this
Bengtz, Ture, 1907-1973  Search this
Bloom, Hyman, 1913-  Search this
Fiedler, Leslie A.  Search this
Levine, Jack, 1915-2010  Search this
Powers, Marilyn, 1925-1976  Search this
Swetzoff, Hyman Wulf, 1920-1968  Search this
Zadkine, Ossip  Search this
Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this
Extent:
2 Items (Sound recording: 2 sound files (2 hr., 5 min.), digital, wav file)
47 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place:
France -- description and travel
Date:
1979 January 12-1980 February 1
Scope and Contents:
Interview of Jason Berger, conducted 1979 January 12 and 1980 February 1, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Berger speaks of growing up in Massachusetts; serving in the Army during World War II; studying and teaching at the Museum School in Boston; marrying his wife, Marilyn Powers; studying sculpture in France; exhibiting at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston and other galleries; the art collective Direct Vision; being fired from the Museum School; and teaching at SUNY Buffalo and the Art Institute of Boston. Berger also recalls Karl Zerbe, Ture Bengtz, Hyman Bloom, Hyman Swetzoff, Jack Levine, Leslie Fiedler, Clemens Benda, Ossip Zadkine, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Jason Berger (1924-2010) is a painter and printmaker from Brookline, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 5 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Printmakers -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture -- Study and teaching  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.berger79
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9652d0b09-4b9e-4cbe-a848-52ae40aea227
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-berger79
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Conger Metcalf

Interviewee:
Metcalf, Conger, 1914-1998  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Wood, Grant, 1891-1942  Search this
Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this
Extent:
2 Items (sound cassettes. Sound recording)
41 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1982 Feb. 24
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Conger Metcalf conducted 1982 Feb. 24, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Metcalf speaks of studying with Grant Wood and Karl Zerbe; his career as a teacher of painting and drawing at Boston University; and his figural subject matter and method of working.
Biographical / Historical:
Conger Metcalf (1914-1998) was a painter and educator from Boston, Mass.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 28 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this
Art teachers -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.metcal82
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9111bd16c-30c3-479a-8fae-386e0d5d83c8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-metcal82
Online Media:

Judith Weinshall Liberman papers

Creator:
Liberman, Judith Weinshall  Search this
Extent:
8.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Video recordings
Date:
circa 1940-2003
Summary:
The papers of artist Judith Weinshall Liberman measure 8.6 linear feet and date from circa 1940-2003. The papers consist of biographical material regarding Liberman's family and art history; images, ephemera, and correspondence related to Liberman's artwork, exhibitions, and creative process, especially related to her Holocaust Wall Hangings series; sound and video recordings of interviews, lectures, pannel discussions, and show openings; papers related to her career as a writer; and some papers related to her academic career.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist Judith Weinshall Liberman measure 8.6 linear feet and date from circa 1940-2003. The papers consist of biographical material regarding Liberman's family and art history; images, ephemera, and correspondence related to Liberman's artwork, exhibitions, and creative process, especially related to her Holocaust Wall Hangings series; sound and video recordings of interviews, lectures, panel discussions, and show openings; papers related to her career as a writer; and some papers related to her academic career.

The bulk of the collection was in labeled binders upon donation; the contents of these binders were kept intact. The binders were created by Judith Liberman circa 2003, and each consists of introductions to the material as well as a rough table of contents. The binders cover a variety of topics including biographical and geneological histories; records of Liberman's donated material; papers related to Liberman's major series of works and exhibitions; and photographs and slides of Liberman's work. This collection also includes videocassette and audiocassette tapes containing lectures, interviews, pannel discusions, and show openings.

In addition to Liberman's career as an artist, material related to Liberman's education as a lawyer as well as her life-long interest in writing fiction and non-fiction is found in this collection. Academic papers consist of ephemera, transcripts, correspondence, and resumes; and material related to Liberman's writing includes drafts, published copies, interviews, and reviews. Most notable are a published copy of her children's book The Bird's Last Song, with related interviews, and an edited manuscript of Miriam's Diary.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 5 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1940-2003 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 9-10)

Series 2: Writings, circa 1947-2003 (14 folders; Box 2)

Series 3: Art Projects, 1987-2003 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 9)

Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1972-2003 (8 folders; Boxes 7, 9)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1960-2003 (1.0 linear foot; Boxes 7-8)
Biographical / Historical:
Judith Weinshall Liberman (1929- ) is a painter, ceramicist, and illustrator in Boston, Massachusetts.

Born in Haifa, Israel (then Palenstine), Judith Weinshall Liberman came to the United States after completing high school in Haifa. She earned four American degrees, including a J.D. degree from the University Chicago Law School and an LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School. After settling in the Boston area in 1956, she studied art at the Art Institute of Boston, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, DeCordova Museum School, and the Massachusetts College of Art. She also received an M.F.A. degree in Art Education from Boston University School for the Arts.

Liberman explored a variety of materials and techniques throughout her career including oil and acrylic paint, block printing, transfer printing, sewing, embroidery, and ceramics. Her major series of work, Holocaust Wall Hangings, Holocaust Paintings, and Self Portraits of Holocaust Artist--received critical acclaim as she exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Israel. She eventually donated a majority of her artwork to private, public, and religious institutions.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Judith Weinshall Liberman in 2003.
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 audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Ceramicists -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Illustrators -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Topic:
Jewish artists  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women ceramicists  Search this
Women illustrators  Search this
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Video recordings
Citation:
Judith Weinshall Liberman papers, circa 1940-2003. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.libejudi
See more items in:
Judith Weinshall Liberman papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b6762526-8efe-45f2-8924-064d5f67e24f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-libejudi

Robert S. Neuman papers

Creator:
Neuman, Robert S.  Search this
Names:
Mills, Daniel Quinn  Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Date:
1950-2007
Scope and Contents:
A transcript of an interview of Neuman conducted by D. Quinn Mills; and printed material relating to Neuman.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert S. Neuman (1926- ) was an abstract painter and art instructor who lived and worked in San Francisco, Germany, Spain, and Boston.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives is material relating to Neuman that was lent for microfilming in 1990 (reels 4544-4545), including biographical material; a proposal by D. Quinn Mills for a book "The Paintings and Drawings of Robert S. Neuman"; an essay by Mills "Pedazos Del Mundo; three interview transcripts of Neuman conducted by Mills (one of these subsequently donated); three scrapbooks containing clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and photographs; and photographs of Neuman, his works of art, and of others.
Provenance:
Material on reels 4544-4545 lent for microfilming 1990 by Robert S. Neuman. One interview transcript was subsequently donated along with printed material (not previously lent) in 2011 by Christina Godfrey, Neuman's granddaughter.
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 teachers -- Massachusetts  Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.neumrobe
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98d1a2fbc-dbf3-4fd6-aa69-aff299d3c425
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-neumrobe

Oral history interview with Lee Winslow Court

Interviewee:
Court, Lee Winslow, 1903-1992  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Extent:
4 Items (sound cassettes)
65 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1982 January 27-April 13
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Lee Winslow Court conducted 1982 January 27-April 13, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Court speaks of his education at the Massachusetts School of Art; painting in Rockport, Massachusetts; working as a designer for department stores; his involvement with art associations in Boston; his other work.
Biographical / Historical:
Lee Winslow Court (1903-1992) was a painter from West Townsend, Vermont.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 9 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Vermont -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.court82
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9350b99e8-7cb8-48b0-8cc6-f1f64c444215
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-court82
Online Media:

John Wilson papers

Creator:
Wilson, John, 1922-2015  Search this
Interviewer:
Trachtenberg, Alan  Search this
Extent:
5 Microfilm reels
1 Cassette (Sound recording, analog)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Cassettes
Drawings
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Sound recordings
Date:
circa 1939-1993
Scope and Contents:
This microfilm collection of the papers of African American painter, sculptor, illustrator, printmaker, and educator John Woodrow Wilson contains biographical material such as autobiographical notes, school records, personal documents, and a bibliography; personal and business correspondence, undated and 1938-1993; files on the New York City Board of Education, 1959-1965, regarding his teaching; and project files, including Wilson's submission for the competition for a Frederick Douglass statue, Eternal Presence, Father and Child Reading, and Wilson's monuments and bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. Correspondents represented include the Albany Institute of History and Art, Atlanta University, Carnegie Institute, Ebony, David Porter of the G Place Gallery, the Institute of Modern Art, Alain Locke, Gloria May, the Museum of Modern Art, Frederick G. Rice, and Hale Woodruff.

Also included in the collection are files on exhibitions; notebooks, 1958-1960; lesson plans, 1959, 1963; notes, writings, and lectures, circa 1945-1993; transcripts of interviews of Wilson and related correspondence, 1978-1987; legal material, 1978; financial records 1944-1991, including a notebook of sales and expenses 1945-1950; photographs, 1940-1990, of Wilson, his work, sculpture, and exhibition installations; a scrapbook, 1939-1967; artwork, including sketchbooks, 1970-1992, life studies completed as a student, 1939-1947, and miscellaneous art work, 1939-1992; and printed material, 1939-1993, including exhibition catalogs, illustrated books and book jackets, and ephemera. The collection also includes a copy of a sound recording of an interview of Wilson conducted by Alan Trachtenberg, circa 1979 (untranscribed).
Biographical / Historical:
John Woodrow Wilson (1922-2015) was an African American painter, sculptor, illustrator, printmaker, and educator in Boston, Massachusetts. Wilson studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Ture Bengtz and Karl Zerbe, graduating in 1945. He lived in Paris through the MFA fellowship and studied with modern artist Fernand Leger. He then attended Tufts University, graduating in 1947. Wilson received a John Hay Whitney fellowship and lived in Mexico for five years with his wife, Julie Kowtich. After his return from Mexico in 1956, Wilson made artwork for Chicago labor unions and taught in New York City before returning to teach at Boston University in 1964. During his career, Wilson won competitions to execute statues of Martin Luther King, Jr. for the city of Buffalo, New York and for the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1993 by John W. Wilson, except for the 1979 sound recording which he lent for copying.
Restrictions:
Microfilm portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of untranscribed interview requires an appointment.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Educators -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
African American artists  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.wilsjohn
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ea018d94-6ec4-4d8f-9d56-9428d4c92e78
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wilsjohn

Oral history interview with Francis Sumner Merritt

Interviewee:
Merritt, Francis Sumner, 1913-2000  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Cranbrook Academy of Art  Search this
Flint Institute of Arts  Search this
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts  Search this
Extent:
61 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1979 May 25-June 25
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Francis Sumner Merritt conducted 1979 May 25-June 25, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Merritt speaks of his education at art schools in Boston and at Yale; his career as a painter during the Depression; teaching at the Cranbrook Academy of Art; his tenure at the Flint (Michigan) Institute of Arts, 1947-1951; and the development of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts at Liberty and then at Deer Isle, Me.
Biographical / Historical:
Francis Sumner Merritt (1913-2000) was a painter, designer, art administrator, and the founder of Haystack Mountan School of Craftsof Deer Isle, Me. He studied at the Vesper George School of Art, the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts, the Massachusetts School of Art, and the Yale Univ. School of Fine Arts. Merritt taught at Bradford Junior College and was head of art department. He died Dec. 27, 2000, at age 87.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 14 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Maine -- Interviews  Search this
Arts administrators -- Maine -- Deer Isle  Search this
Topic:
Designers -- Maine -- Interviews  Search this
Educators -- Maine -- Interviews  Search this
Depressions -- 1929  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.merrit79
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f2d52f5a-ab64-4c80-b616-50293ff9ad91
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-merrit79
Online Media:

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