Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Margret Craver Withers, 1983-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview with Margret Craver Withers conducted 1983-1985, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Withers discusses her childhood in Kansas; early education; and aptitude for drawing.Education in art and design, including studying crafts at the University of Kansas, 1925-29; her position as a grade school teacher in Kansas and as a crafts instructor at Wichita Art Association, 1930s; study with various master metalworkers, including Arthur Nevill Kirk, Arthur J. Stone, Leonard Heinrich and Wilson Weir in the USA, and Baron Erik Fleming in Sweden.Development of Hospital Service Program, with the support of Handy and Harman, precious metal refiners, during World War II, to train army therapists in metalworking for soldiers with disabilities; supervision in post-War period of Handy and Harman's Craft Service Department, producing films on hand-wrought silver, a traveling exhibition of outstanding contemporary silver, instructional brochures, and a series of workshops for American silversmiths, taught by European masters.Marriage in 1950 to Charles Withers, president of Towle Silver, and that company's policy of employing top designers; Towle's commissioning of works in silver from top modern sculptors; her making of silver holloware and jewelry for private clients; her re-invention of the en resille process for enameling (1959) and in the early 1980s her invention of a process for combining enamel, glass, and silver and gold leaf in jewelry; and her involvement in crafts organizations.She discusses her en resille enameling technique. [The 1985 session is transcribed, and is accompanied by slides of the work discussed].
Biographical / Historical:
Margret Craver Withers (1907-2010) was a silversmith in Boston, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 58 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.
An interview of Heikki Seppä conducted 2001 May 6, by Lloyd Herman, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in the artist's home and studio, Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Seppä speaks of his early childhood in Finland and being placed in a children's home (twice) in the Karelian Isthmus; his mother's move to Canada; his parents' divorce; his educational background including his course of study at the goldsmith school in 1940 and 1941, at age 14, and his lack of role models; the postwar growth of the metal industry; his participation in an exchange program with Denmark; his athletic accomplishments, especially kayaking; his service in the Finnish Army; his employment in Helsinki; producing objects for Georg Jensen; the state of Nordic decorative arts in the 1950s; his marriage and move to British Columbia; working with refrigeration systems; obtaining Canadian and American citizenship; teaching metalsmithing in a community center; winning prizes for metal pieces in Canadian national exhibitions; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art; introducing reticulation to Cranbrook; and his Cranbrook classmates Stanley Lechtzin, L. Brent Kington, Leslie Motch, and teachers Richard Thomas and Alma Eicherman. Seppä describes in detail the history of and process for producing a reticulated surface; he refers to crimping and spraying metal; teaching at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1965 to 1992; the origin of his spiculum and shell forms; his books, "Form Emphasis for Metalsmiths" (Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1978) and "From Silversmith's Workshop" (1996 or 1998); commissions; his gradual withdrawal from juried and competitive exhibitions; his use and limitations of preliminary drawings; the silversmith as a maker of expressive objects; and repairs he made to silver pieces made by metalworkers who did not understand silver. He discusses a difficult period marked by his early retirement in 1992, his wife's death in 1993, and declining commissions.
He talks about becoming reacquainted with metalsmith Laurie Lyall in 1997 and moving to Bainbridge Island, where he now lives with Lyall. SNAG (the Society of North American Goldsmiths), its founders, membership, and five-year dormancy are discussed as is the organization's revitalization. Seppä speaks about stylistic influences; technique and style; his work-related travel; and his admiration for Jack da Silva's sculpture. He comments on the homogenization of the arts; the difference between jewelers and metalsmiths trained in art schools and vocational schools; the distinction between art and craft; the desire of craftsmen to be called artists; the function of critical writing and the lack thereof; Metalsmith magazine; Bruce Metcalf as critic; his commissioned ecclesiastical pieces, including a triangular chalice for an Episcopal church in St. Louis; metalsmiths and manufacturing companies; Fabergé-trained metalsmiths; reticulation at Fabergé's shop; enamel and enamelers at Fabergé; and gemology. Seppä also speaks about his future pursuits and artistic contributions; silver as an expressive medium; and silver as a material for utilitarian objects. He recalls Eero Saarinen, Aline Saarinen, Loja Saarinen, Nellie Peterson, Alma Eicherman, Robert Ebendorf, Michael Good, David Jaworski, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Heikki Seppä (1927-) is a jeweler and metalsmith from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Lloyd Herman (1936-) is a former director of the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery and from Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 51 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.
An interview with Ronald H. Pearson conducted 1979 May 31-1981 Nov. 23, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Pearson discusses his early training in design from his father, Ralph Pearson, an artist and writer; his education in political science at the University of Wisconsin; World War II duty in the merchant marine; training at the School for American Craftsmen; early exhibitions; and development of production pieces.
Biographical / Historical:
Ronald H. Pearson (1924-1996) was a silversmith from Deer Isle, Me.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel and 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 55 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 available on the Archives of American Art website.
Interview of Frederick J. Dockstader conducted 1970 June 16-July 2, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Frederick J. Dockstader (1919-1998) was an art consultant, museum director, and silversmith from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 51 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.
An interview of L. Brent Kington conducted 2001 May 3-4, by Mary Douglas, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Kington's home and studio, Makando, Illinois.
Kington describes his childhood and the impact of the Depression; his adopted sister Kay; and his hyperactivity and difficulty accomplishing schoolwork. He comments on his high school teachers; his academic and athletic accomplishments at University of Kansas (UK); his studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art with Richard (Dick) Thomas "the intellectual silversmith" and his "mentor"; Hugh Acton and the GM Tech Center; and fellow metalsmiths Fred Fenster, Mike Jerry, Stanley Lechtzin, and Heikki Seppä.
He discusses exhibitions including "Kansas Designer Craftsmen," "Michigan Designer Craftsmen," "Fiber, Clay, Metal," "Creative Casting, Young Americans 1962," and "Objects: USA." He talks about Ashanti gold weights; Scandinavian design; teaching at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois (SIU) and Illinois State University (ISU), and taking students to the Saint Louis Art Museum to see granulation in Mycenaean gold. He comments at length on his toys and experimenting with ideas about toys.
Kington also describes blacksmithing workshops held at SIU and the "renaissance" of blacksmithing in the United States. He recalls his involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), American Craft Council (ACC), World Crafts Council (WCC), Artist Blacksmith's Association of North America (ABANA), the Kentucky School of Craft, the National Ornamental Metal Museum, and other organizations. He discusses his weathervane pieces and other series such as Icarus, Crozier, Europa, and Axis Mundi. He comments on the influence of Mircea Eliade's book "The Forge and the Crucible" (1979), considers the blacksmith's role in various cultural mythologies, and evaluates publications such as "Anvil's Ring" and "American Blacksmith."
He comments on the current state of affairs in metalsmithing; his retirement from SIU and teaching in the University of Georgia-Cortona program; the impact of Cyril Stanley Smith's insights and the importance of his book "A History of Metallography" (1960); his appreciation of Daryl Meier's work; exploring new techniques such as mokume gane, kuromido, shibuichi, rokusho (patination process); encouraging Mary Lee Hu to pursue wire structuring; and his enthusiasm for sharing information. He recalls John Allgood, Philip Baldwin, Robert Ebendorf, Phil Fike, Maija Grotell, Marvin Jensen, Richard Mawdsley, Lee Nordness, Ron Pearson, Bob Peterson,Gene and Hiroko Pijanowski, Jim Wallace, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
L. Brent Kington (1934-) is a metalsmith from Makanda, Illinois. Mary Douglas (1956-) is a curator at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, N.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 54 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.
Topic:
Metal-workers -- Illinois -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Earl Krentzin conducted 2002 August 30-31, by Jan Yager, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.
Krentzin speaks of his family and childhood; the education he received in Detroit, Michigan; attending Wayne State University then Cranbrook Academy of Art; deciding to major in metalwork; being exposed to Dick Thomas at Cranbrook; meeting his wife, Lorraine Wolstein at Wayne; their son Alexander; receiving a Fulbright in 1957 and 1958 and traveling to the Royal College of Art in London; visiting the museums in England and traveling throughout Europe during their time abroad; the different places he has lived in the United States; winning the Founder' Prize at the Michigan Craft Show as well as the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award; the different types of things that he and his wife collect; a gallery manager named Margaret Conzelman; Lawrence Fleischman and his insistence on Krentzin having a show in New York; the James Graham & Sons Gallery and Kennedy Gallery; and the "Young Americans Show" at the American Craft Museum and "Fiber, Clay and Metal" in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He also discusses, his interest in the English magazine, "Country Life;" flea markets in the Detroit area; trades and barters with fellow artists; the 1964 World Crafts Conference at Columbia University, organized by Stanley Lechtzin; the Michigan Silversmiths Guild; the Henry Ford Museum and Detroit Historical Society; how his process has remained the same and his pieces have only gotten a little bit larger; the commission for the Westland Shopping Center in Westland, Michigan; the jewelry he creates; the little figures, he calls "creatures," in his work; Larry Fleischman and his Krentzin collection; the important encouragement from his wife Lorraine; the significance of university training, and his disapproval of students immediately attending RISD or Cranbrook after high school; his fascination with Medieval European metalwork, Japanese metalwork, and the Bauhaus as well; the Archives of American Art and its beginnings in Detriot; he concludes with a discussion about natural objects, such as ivory or exotic woods, and the debate of their usage, then and now. Krentzin also recalls Robert Eaton, Dick Thomas, Lillian Wallick Elliott, Karl Fox, Mike Vizzini, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Earl Krentzin (1929- ) is a metalsmith from Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Jan Yager is an artist from Phildelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 54 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Metal-workers -- Michigan -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Carlyle H. Smith conducted 1994 August 8, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Smith discusses his childhood in Torrington, Connecticut, his early interest in jewelry design, education at the Rhode Island School of Design in jewelry making and silversmithing, and teaching at the Rhode Island College of Education. He recalls working in the metal craft shop of Augustus Rose on jewelry design and repair, and studying with English master silversmith, William Bennett, at his workshop in 1947. Smith speaks of teaching metal arts in the Providence, R.I., public schools and setting up the first American university-level metal arts curriculum at the University of Kansas, 1947-1977. He describes his liberal approach to teaching by setting general assignments and working alongside students. He comments on his work, 1930-1993.
Biographical / Historical:
Carlyle H. Smith (1912-2004) was a metal worker, jewelry designer, silversmith, and educator of Providence, R.I. and Lawrence, Kansas
General:
Originally recorded 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 46 min.
Accompanied by 14 illustrations (7 slides and 7 photocopies).
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.
An interview of Herman Glendenning conducted 1979 Aug. 9-Oct. 31, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Herman Glendenning (1906-1997) was a silversmith from Westminster, Mass. Before working on his own, Glendenning apprenticed at Arthur J. Stone Associates in Gardner, Mass., a workshop patterned after English silversmith shops stressing traditional techniques and hand wrought designs.
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.
An interview of Hans Christensen conducted 1981 December 11-1982 December 3, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art and a tape recording of a slide presentation given by Christensen.
Biographical / Historical:
Hans Christensen (1924-1983) was a silversmith from Rochester, New York. Full name Hans-Jorgen Thorvald Christensen.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 8 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.
An interview of John Paul Miller conducted 2004 August 22-23, by Jan Yager, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Brecksville, Ohio.
Mr. Miller speaks of spending summers with his grandparents in central Pennsylvania; growing up in Cleveland, Ohio; taking art classes as a child at the Cleveland Museum of Art and in school; participating in theater and set design; attending the Cleveland School of Art and majoring in industrial design; meeting fellow student Fred Miller; working as a film editor; directing a documentary in Alaska; painting murals while in the army; exhibiting early jewelry in the "May Show;" traveling cross-country with silversmith Baron Erik Fleming; researching and experimenting with the granulation process; visiting museums in Europe; teaching at the Cleveland School of Art; being influenced by various books; choosing to work with metal; and pricing and selling his pieces. Mr. Miller also speaks of the enameling process; exhibiting in various local, national, and international shows; sharing a studio with Fred Miller; making gold granules; his work in museum collections; being inspired by Fabergé; making functional, wearable jewelry; the role of nature in his artwork; assembling his pieces; corresponding with German jeweler Elizabeth Treskow; working at Potter and Mellen; traveling throughout Europe; moving to Brecksville, Ohio, and building a home studio; participating in the American Craft Council; making films on metalsmith techniques; subscribing to craft publications; how crafts have changed since he started working; how American and international jewelry compare; his design philosophy; plans for the future; and balancing teaching with studio work. Mr. Miller also recalls Otto Ege, Kenneth Bates, Viktor Schrekengost, Harry Bertoia, Margret Craver, Alma Eikerman, Margaret De Patta, Toshiko Takaezu, Robert von Neumann, Peter Voulkos, Alexander Calder, John Marshall, William Harper, Solve Holquist, Anni Albers, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
John Paul Miller (1918- ) is a jeweler, enamelist, goldsmith, and educator from Brecksville, Ohio; Jan Yager is a jeweler and metalsmith from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 6 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 58 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.
1 Sound recording (1/4" tape, seven-inch reel, recorded at 7.5 ips, 33 minutes 09 seconds)
Container:
Box 24
Type:
Archival materials
Audio
Sound recordings
Date:
created: 10/10/1974, aired: 10/27/1974
Scope and Contents:
Pat Sterling, Stan Campbell, "Jackson"; Interview (fades in and out)
Unidentified Song ("My Heart Tells Me Stay" perhaps?); Pat Sterling & the Silversmiths, "Hey Pass Me By" (blends into next one); A Jimmy Rodgers song, no title given;The Silversmiths, "Mr. Moon";The Silversmiths, unidentified song ("Almost Persuaded" perhaps?)
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research and access to user copies of tapes, on site by appointment.
Collection Rights:
Copyright restrictions. Fritzi and Madi Horstman retain all rights to these recordings. Contact the Archives Center for more information.
Collection Citation:
Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show Recordings, 1959-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
The papers of silversmith and arts administrator Margret Craver Withers measure 9.6 linear feet and 0.002 GB and date from 1908 to 2016. The papers document her career as an silversmith and jeweler through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and art organizations; manuscripts, notes, lectures, and other writings; professional activity records with various organizations; photographs, printed material, correspondence related to specific subject materials such as individuals or organizations; exhibition catalogs, clippings, published articles, and other printed materials; designs, sketches, sketchbooks, and other artwork; and personal photographs, some in digital format, and photographs and slides of works and works by other artists.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of silversmith and arts administrator Margret Craver Withers measure 9.6 linear feet and 0.002 GB and date from 1908 to 2016. The papers document her career as an silversmith and jeweler through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and art organizations; manuscripts, notes, lectures, and other writings; professional activity with various organizations; photographs, printed material, correspondence related to specific subject materials such as individuals or organizations; exhibition catalogs, clippings, published articles, and other printed materials; designs, sketches, sketchbooks, and other artwork; and personal photographs, some in digital format, photographs and slides of works and works by other artists.
Biographical material includes copies of a transcript for an oral history conducted by Columbia University, awards, and artist statements. Correspondence includes letters to friends, colleagues, and organizations. Also included are numerous personal letters between Craver and her husband. Writings include draft manuscripts for articles and booklets, transcripts for various lectures, and notes and notebooks.
Professional material includes film reels and corresponding transcripts, about sliversmithing techniques; grooved disk recordings of interviews with artists and silversmithing techniques; scrapbooks; invoices; commissioned work; and exhibition related materials for various museums.
Subject Files were organized by Craver on specific individuals or organizations. The files contain documents such as correspondence, printed material, and photographs. Printed material includes exhibition announcements and catalogs, newspaper and magazine clippings, a scrapbook, and published articles and booklets by Craver.
Artwork consists of sketches, designs, and sketchbooks by Craver. Included are some pieces by other artists. Photographic material consists of personal photographs and digital photographs of Craver with family and friends, photographs and slides of her artwork, and photographs of works by other artists.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945-1988 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1935-2016 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Writings, 1929-1988 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 4: Professional Activity Files, 1941-1996 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 9, FC 14-20)
Series 5: Subject Files, 1926-1991 (0.7 linear feet; Box 4)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1935-1997 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 4-5, 9-10)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1937 (0.4 linear feet; Box 5, OV 11-13)
Series 8: Photographs, 1908-2002 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 6-8, 0.002 GB; ER01)
Biographical / Historical:
Margret Craver Withers (1907-2010) was a silversmith and arts administrator in Boston, Massachusetts.
Withers was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1907. She became interested in metal working while studying at the University of Kansas. After graduation she traveled to Europe where she trained under Baron Erik Fleming, court silversmith to the King of Sweden. In 1935 Withers established the department of jewelry and metalsmithing at the Wichita Arts Association. In the 1940s and 1950s Craver developed and taught a series of workshops on metalsmithing as occupational therapy for wounded veterans. In 1949, she married Charles Withers. She continued to be known professionally under her unmarried name, Margret Craver. Withers is credited with reviving the technique of en resille, in which enamel-coated metal foil is embedded in glass. Withers died in 2010.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Margret Craver Withers conducted by Robert F. Brown between 1983 and 1985.
Provenance:
The Margret Craver Withers papers were donated in several installments between 1971 and 2019. Donations between 1971 and 1998 were done by Marget Craver Withers. Three film reels were donated in 1975 by Handy and Harman. Donations in 2011 were by Josephine Withers, daughter of Margret Craver Withers. Donations between 2014 and 2019 were made by Judith Childs, friend of Margret Craver Withers.
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 born-digital records or 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:
Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
Silversmiths -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
Margret Craver Withers papers, 1908-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
85 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2012 June 4-7
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Randy James Stromsöe conducted 2012 June 4-7 by Jo Lauria, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Stromsöe's home and studio, in Templeton, California.
Biographical / Historical:
Randy James Stromsöe (1951- ) is a metalsmith, and craftsman in Templeton, California. Jo Lauria (1954- ) is a curator and writer in Sherman Oaks, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 47 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Topic:
Silversmiths -- California -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Transcription of this oral history interview was made possible by a grant from the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
An interview of Richard Reinhardt conducted 1991 Aug. 22, by Marina Pacini, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.
Reinhardt discusses Virginia Cute and her classes in jewelry making at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art in the 1940's; Margret Craver Withers and the late 1940's Handy & Harman workshops where Baron Erik Fleming taught new silversmithing techniques; exhibition of work produced during the 1948 workshop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in that year; changes in the Pennsylvania Museum School over the years; and crafts in Philadelphia.
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Reinhardt (1921-1998) was a jewelry maker, industrial designer, furniture maker, and educator from Philadelphia, Pa.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 19 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics, and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Jewelers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Silversmiths -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Educators -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Topic:
Silversmiths -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews Search this
Jewelry makers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews Search this
An interview of John Prip conducted 1980 Oct. 20 and 1981 Nov. 21, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Prip speaks of his training in Denmark, teaching at the School of American Craftsmen and at the Rhode Island School of Design, and designing for industry.
Biographical / Historical:
John Prip (1922-2009) was a silversmith and teacher from Rehoboth, Mass.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 49 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
The papers of influential blacksmith, sculptor, metalsmith and educator, L. Brent Kington, measure 9 linear feet and date from 1944 to 2012. The collection provides a valuable overview of Kington's career through correspondence relating primarily to exhibitions, subject files, drawings, photographs of Kington and his artwork, printed matter and audiovisual material. An additional 5.2 linear feet of papers was accessioned from 2007 to 2012 and remains unprocessed.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of influential blacksmith, sculptor, metalsmith, and educator, L. Brent Kington, measure 9 linear feet and date from 1944 to 2012. The collection provides a valuable overview of Kington's career through correspondence, subject files, drawings, photographs of Kington and his artwork, printed matter and audiovisual material.
Correspondence in Series 1 relates primarily to exhibitions in the United States at institutions such as the the American Craft Museum, the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, and the National Ornamental Metal Museum, in which Kington's work was represented.
Kington's education at Cranbrook Academy of Art, his career at Southern Illinois University, his involvement with various professional organizations, his appearances at conferences and workshops, and his relationships with individual galleries, are more fully represented in Series 2: Subject Files.
The collection also includes printed matter, including exhibition announcements and catalogs for group and solo exhibitions in which Kington's work was featured, and publications containing articles about Kington.
Photographs in the collection include images of Kington's artwork and also picture Kington at various stages throughout his career. Audiovisual material includes an oral history interview with Kington from 2001, and two video recordings of a blacksmith workshop and a program entitled Brent Kington: Image of an Artist.
An additional 5.2 linear feet of papers was accessioned from 2007 to 2012 and remains unprocessed.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series. Original arrangement has generally been maintained throughout the collection, with some merging of chronological correspondence in Series 1 to facilitate access.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1955-2004, undated (box 1; 0.8 linear ft.)
Series 2: Subject Files, 1956-2005, undated (box 1-3; 1.6 linear ft.)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1952-2003, undated (box 3-4, OV 5; 0.9 linear ft.)
Series 4: Photographs, circa 1944-2001 (box 4; 0.4 linear ft.)
Series 6: Unprocessed Addition to the L. Brent Kington Papers, 1956-2012 (boxes 6-12, OV 13; 5.2 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
L. Brent Kington was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1934. He received a BFA from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, in 1957 and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1961. Kington began his career primarily as a silversmith working with small-scale objects such as jewelry, silverware, and toys, and then became interested in using forged iron to create sculpture. He sought the help and instruction of the few blacksmiths he could find working in a "traditional" style and began working with large-scale sculptures forged in iron and steel, weathervanes, and other kinetic sculpture. Kington's subsequent research, such as his exploration of forge welding techniques of iron and his experimentation with laminated, non-ferrous alloys, constituted an important contribution to the resurgence of traditional blacksmithing and was highly influential in the fields of blacksmithing and metalsmithing in general.
Kington served as Director of the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale from 1981 to 1994. He was a lecturer at SIU from 1961 to 1962, assistant professor from 1962 to 1967, associate professor from 1967 to 1972, professor from 1972 to 1996, and is currently professor emeritus. A committed educator and an avid spokesman for the arts, he has been honored many times as a guest lecturer, visiting artist, exhibit juror, workshop demonstrator, and panelist in the United States and abroad. In 1987 he spent a summer in Cortona, Italy as guest professor in the University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program.
Since 1962, Kington's sculpture and metalwork has been shown in more than 350 group and solo exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, Mexico, and South America. Over the years Kington has served in various professional organizations. He has been a Trustee of the American Craft Council, Director of the Artist-Blacksmith Association of North America (ABANA), and President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). In 1978 he was elected to the American Craft Council's Academy of Fellows and has been the recipient of two Artist Fellowship grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kington continues to work from his home and studio in Makando, Illinois.
Related Material:
The Archives also has a transcribed interview of L. Brent Kington, conducted May 3-4, 2001 by Mary Douglas for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. The interview was conducted in Kington's home and studio in Makando, Illinois.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in installments by L. Brent Kington from 2001 to 2012. Materials donated from 2007 to 2012 remain unprocessed.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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.
The papers of designer, silversmith, and educator Hans Christensen measure 12.3 linear feet and date from 1924 to 1989 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1955 to 1983. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, personal business records, teaching files for the Rochester Institute of Technology, printed and broadcast materials, artwork, photographic materials, and sound and video recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of designer, silversmith, and educator Hans Christensen measure 12.3 linear feet and date from 1924 to 1989 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1955 to 1983. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, personal business records, teaching files for the Rochester Institute of Technology, printed and broadcast materials, artwork, photographic materials, and sound and video recordings.
Biographical materials include address books, card files, 27 appointment books, awards and certificates, official documents from Denmark, interviews, legal records, and records of his memorial service. Correspondence is with Christensen's mother and wife, colleagues, the International Institute of Arts and Letters, the National Rochester Society, and others. Writings consist of Christensen's essays on hollow ware and RIT; lectures at the Memorial Art Galleries, Women's Council, and the American Craft Council; and notes and a notebook on an array of subjects. Writings by others are by Eileen Quinn and a student paper.
Personal business records are divided into general, activities, and commission files that pertain to Christensen's career outside of teaching. Teaching files include alumni files, contracts, correspondence, course outlines, records for the International Trade Fair of Rennes, grievance committee files, a financial ledger, meeting records, program information, reports, studio floor plan, and student files.
Printed materials include a broadcast recording, a scrapbook, booklets, business cards, clippings, and exhibition material that mainly feature Christensen and his work. Artwork consists of one sketchbook, a portfolio, and numerous sketches and templates. Photographic materials include photographs, negatives, and slides of Christensen, his first and second wives, Betten and Els, and home life, his family in Denmark, travel, students and colleagues, and works of art. Unidentified sound recordings consist of 17 sound cassettes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1924-1983 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1, 2, 13, OV 15)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-1986 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1952-1982 (0.4 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1953-1983 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 3-6, 13, OVs 16-17)
Series 5: Teaching Files, 1954-1983 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 6-8, 13, OV 16)
Series 6: Printed and Broadcast Materials, 1950s-1989 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, 14, OV 15)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1970s (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 9, 13-14, OVs 15-24)
Series 8: Photographic Materials, circa 1940-1983 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 9-11, 13, OV 25)
Series 9: Unidentified Sound Recordings, circa 1960s-1970s (0.4 linear feet; Box 12)
Biographical / Historical:
Hans Christensen (1924-1983) was a designer, silversmith, and educator in Rochester, N.Y.
Christensen was born to Holger and Valborg Christensen in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he also lived with his brother Per. Christensen attended the School for Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen and in Oslo, Norway. He began his career working for renowned Danish silversmith, Georg Jensen. In 1952, Christensen made his first visit to the United States representing Jensen's works at an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. He emigrated to the United States in 1954 and began his professorship of metalsmithing and jewelry at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). At RIT, he held the Charlotte Fredericks Mowris Professorship in Contemporary Crafts and was posthumously awarded the Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching.
Over the span of his career, Christensen completed numerous commissions including works for the Vatican, royal families of Europe and Iran, RIT, Xerox, and others. He was a member of the International Institute of Arts and Letters in Switzerland, the College of Fellows of the American Crafts Council, the Society of North American Goldsmiths, and the Nathaniel Rochester Society.
Christensen was married to Astrid Elizabeth Sandum, called "Betten," from 1953 to 1965. In 1968, Christensen married Elisabeth "Els" Christensen, née Meijer. He died in a car accident in 1983 in Rochester, N.Y.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview and slide presentation with Hans Christensen conducted by Robert Brown for the Archives of American Art from December 11, 1981 to December 3, 1982.
Provenance:
The Hans Christensen papers were donated in 1982 by Christensen and in 1984, 1988-1992 by his widow, Elisabeth Christensen.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Occupation:
Designers -- New York (State) -- Rochester Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- Rochester Search this
Silversmiths -- New York (State) -- Rochester Search this
Professional material includes film reels and corresponding transcripts about sliversmithing techniques; grooved disk recordings of interviews with artists and silversmithing techniques; scrapbooks; invoices; commissioned work; and exhibition related materials for various museums.
Collection 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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Margret Craver Withers papers, 1908-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Massachusetts Fieldwork: Interview with Archie Nahman of Greenfield (machinist, menorah maker), George and Peter Erickson of Gardner (silversmiths) by Heidi Gitelman and Betty Belanus
Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Festival of American Folklife. Massachusetts Program 1988 Washington, D.C. Search this
Side A: Archie Nahman, Machinist/ Artist, Makes Religous Art, Talks Of Jewish/South African Background And Its Influence.(Greenfield) Side B: George And Peter Erickson, Silversmiths.(Gardner,Ma)
Local Numbers:
FP-1988-CT-0035
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Massachusetts, United States, July 21, 1987.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
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.
