Research files, photographs and slides, notes, and writings relating mainly to her work on Charles Sheeler, her interest in abstract expressionism, artists Clyfford Still, Arshile Gorky, Robert Jay Wolff, George McNeil, Mark Tobey, Arthur Dove, G. L. K. Morris, Carl Holty, Irene Rice Pereira, Charles G. Shaw, and Georgio Cavallon, and to "emblem books." There are typescripts of her dissertation on Sheeler, "Non-representational Painting in the U.S., 1930-1945," on 1930's Formalism, "A History of American Abstract Artists Association," and "The Mythical Character of Contemporary Art History."
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian; Buffalo, N.Y.
Provenance:
Bequeathed by Dochterman; received in 1968.
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.
An interview of George McNeil conducted 1968 Jan. 9-May 21, by Irving Sandler, for the Archives of American Art. McNeil speaks of why he became interested in art; his early influences; becoming interested in modern art after attending lectures by Vaclav Vytlacil; meeting Arshile Gorky; the leading figures in modern art during the 1930s; his interest in Cézanne; studying with Jan Matulka and Hans Hofmann; his experiences with the WPA; the modern artists within the WPA; the American Abstract Artists (A.A.A.); a group of painters oriented to Paris called The Ten; how there was an anti-surrealism attitude, and a surrealist would not have been permitted in A.A.A; what the A.A.A. constituted as abstract art; a grouping within the A.A.A. called the Concretionists; his memories of Léger; how he assesses the period of the 1930s; the importance of Cubism; what he thinks caused the decline of A.A.A.; how he assesses the period of the 1940s; his stance on form and the plastic values in art; his thoughts on various artists; the importance of The Club; the antipathy to the School of Paris after the war; how Impressionism was considered in the 40s and 50s; slides of his paintings from 1937 to 1962, and shows how he developed as an artist; the problems of abstract expressionism; organic and geometric form; the schisms in different art groups due to politics; his teaching techniques; why he feels modern painting declined after 1912; the quality of A.A.A. works; stretching his canvases, and the sizes he uses; his recent works, and his approaches to painting. He recalls Vaclav Vytlacil, Hans Hofmann; Arshile Gorky, John Graham, Jan Matulka, John Marin, Wassily Kandinsky, Mercedes Carles Matter, Albert Swinden, Fernand Léger, Stuart Davis, Burgoyne Diller, David Smith, Edgar Levy, Leo Manso, Irene Rice Pereira, Willem de Kooning, Ilya Bolotowsky, Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, Joan Miró, Robert Motherwell, George L.K. Morris, Albert Gallatin, Charles Shaw, John Ferrin, Ralph Rosenborg, Hananiah Harari, Agnes Lyall, Jean Helion, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
George McNeil (1908-1995) was a painter and printmaker from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 14 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Charles Green Shaw, 1968 April 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Interview of Charles Green Shaw conducted 1968 April 15, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Green Shaw (1892-1974) was a painter and writer from New York, New York.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Charles Green Shaw. Collage portrait of H.L. Mencken, ca. 1929. Charles Green Shaw papers, 1833-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Charles Green Shaw. Charles Shaw self-portrait, not before 1907. Charles Green Shaw papers, 1833-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Nickolas Muray. Nickolas Muray Christmas card to Charles Green Shaw, 1927. Charles Green Shaw papers, 1833-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
