The papers of arts educator James A. McGrath measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1950-2011. Included are McGrath's papers concerning his artist's residencies and workshops for the United States Information Agency (USIA) in the Yemen Republic, Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of the Congo, 1990-1995. Also found are McGrath's papers concerning artist William Wiley. These papers date from Wiley's high school days and includes correspondence, writings, student files, printed materials, photographs, and artwork. Letters from Wiley to McGrath span several decades and provide details about his artwork, family, and travels.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of arts educator James A. McGrath measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1950-2011. Included are McGrath's papers concerning his artist's residencies and workshops for the United States Information Agency (USIA) in the Yemen Republic, Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of the Congo, 1990-1995. Also found are McGrath's papers concerning artist William Wiley. These papers date from Wiley's high school days and includes correspondence, writings, student files, printed materials, photographs, and artwork. Letters from Wiley to McGrath span several decades and provide details about his artwork, family, and travels.
James McGrath's papers regarding his artist's residencies and workshops are currently unprocessed.
Wiley's high school student files consist of exams and two Columbia High School yearbooks with contributions from Wiley. Correspondence includes mostly letters written from Wiley to McGrath, some of which are illustrated. There are also Christmas cards, postcards, prints and a wedding invitation and photograph of Wiley and his wife Mary. Wiley writes about his artwork, family, travels and his mother's death. There are also letters to McGrath from Wiley's first and second wives, Dorothy and Mary, his mother, and artists Robert Rauschenberg and Mark Tobey.
Printed materials include exhibition catalogs and announcements, news and magazine clippings, and the books Distraction, Lyrica and Almost Old/New Poems, all illustrated by Wiley.
Artwork by Wiley includes block prints, sketches and drawings, poems, paintings, prints and posters. Photographs are of Wiley's high school yearbook staff, art work and exhibitions, and a dinner honoring Wiley. There is a signed high school photograph of Wiley and a booklet of photographs of an exhibition of McGrath's art. There are also slides of artwork by Wiley, Bob Hudson and Bill Allan.
Arrangement:
The papers are arranged as 2 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: James A. McGrath Papers Concerning William T. Wiley (Box 1-3, OVs 4-6; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 2: Unprocessed James A. McGrath Papers, circa 1990-1995 (Boxes 7-9, OVs 10-12)
Biographical Note:
Arts educator James A. McGrath was a high school art teacher at Columbia High School in Richland, Washington where he taught William T. Wiley in the mid-1950s. They remained life-long friends. Later, McGrath worked at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe as Director of Arts, Professor of Painting, and Dean. In 1973 he became Director of Arts, Humanities and Culture in the Department of Defense and was stationed in Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines. He also worked for the United States Information Agency in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the Republic of the Congo. He continues to be active as an arts education specialist.
William T. Wiley (1937-2021) was a contemporary artist painting and teaching primarily in the San Francisco area. His artwork is associated with the Bay area Funk Movement. Wiley studied at the California School of Fine Arts and completed his MFA in 1962. One year later he joined the faculty of the UC Davis art department along with artists Robert Arneson and Roy DeForest. Wiley's students included Bruce Nauman and Deborah Butterfield.
Wiley's first solo exhibition was held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1960, and he had works in the Venice Biennial (1980) and Whitney Biennial (1983), as well as major exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. His artwork is in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among many others. Wiley was the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship Award in 2004 and, in 2009, the Smithsonian American Art Museum presented a retrospective exhibition of Wiley's career.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds several collections related to William T. Wiley including an oral history interview conducted by Paul J. Karlstrom, October 8-November 20, 1997 and the William T. Wiley illustrated journals on microfilm reel 910. The University of Washington also holds papers of James A. McGrath.
Separated Material:
Six Documenta catalogs, originally donated to AAA with the James A. McGrath Papers Concerning William T. Wiley, were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by James A. McGrath in five accessions between 2010-2015. A drawing on tree bark was donated by William T. Wiley in 2016.
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.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Performance artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Illustrators -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Poems
Prints
Postcards
Paintings
Sketches
Illustrated letters
Christmas cards
Photographs
Citation:
James A. McGrath papers, 1950-2011. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Photographs of artists, many from the San Francisco Bay Area, taken by Mimi Jacobs.
Artists photographed: Ansel Adams, Robert Arneson, Ruth Asawa, Billy Al Bengston, Fletcher Benton, Robert Bechtle, J. B. Blunk, William Brice, Joan Brown, Imogen Cunningham, Jay De Feo, Eleanor Dickinson, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Archeliat Esherick, Sam Francis, David Gilhooly, Joseph Goldyne, Robert Graham, Henry Hopkins, Robert B. Howard, John Ihle, Robert Irwin, Allen Jones, Alvin Light, Lee Mullican, Isamu Noguchi, Howard Paris, Joseph Raffael, Fred Reichman, Ed Ruscha, Betye Saar, Raymond Saunders, Richard Shaw, Louis Siegriest, Nell Sinton, Wayne Thiebaud, DeWain Valentine, Leo Valledor, Carlos Villa, Peter Voulkos, William T. Wiley, Emerson Woelffer.
Photographs of Mark Adams, William Allan, Jeremy Anderson, Ruth Armer, Charles Arnoldi, Dennis Beall, Bruce Beasley, Tony Berlant, Elmer Bischoff, Vija Celmins, Judy Chicago, Bruce Conner, Roy de Forest, Tony DeLap, Guy Dill, Claire Falkenstein, Gerald Gooch, Russell Gordon, Wally Hedrick, Tom Holland, Robert Hudson, Robert Emory Johnson, Frank Lobdell, Robert Craig Kaufman, Richard McLean, Bill Martin, Manuel Neri, Bruce Nauman, Nathan Oliveira, Mel Ramos, Sam Richardson, Michael Todd, Julius Wasserstein, Paul Wonner and Norman Zammitt.
In 1999, additional photographs were donated including many duplicates of the previous donations. These include 50 mounted photographs of West Coast artists, twenty-four of which were exhibited in 1980 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and published in 50 West Coast Artists: A Critical Selection of Painters and Sculptors (1981, Chronicle Books). Photographs are of Ansel Adams, Robert Arneson, Billy Al Bengston, Robert Bechtle, Fletcher Benton, J. B. Blunk, William Brice, Joan Brown, Imogen Cunningham, Jay De Feo, Eleanor Dickinson, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Archeliat Esherick, Sam Francis, David Gilhooly, Joseph Goldyne, Robert Graham, Henry Hopkins, Robert Howard, John Ihle, Robert Irwin, Allen Jones, Alvin Light, Lee Mullican, Isamu Noguchi, Howard Paris, Joseph Raffael, Fred Reichman, Ed Ruscha, Betye Saar, Richard Shaw, Louis Siegrist, Nell Sinton, Wayne Thiebaud, De Wain Valentine, Leo Valledor, Carlos Villa, Peter Voulkos, William Wiley, and Emerson Woeffer.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer; Kentfield, Calif.; b. 1911; d. April 1, 1999. Known in the San Francisco Bay Area for her portraits of prominent local figures, many of whom were artists. She eventually expanded her scope beyond Northern California to included artists in the Los Angeles region as well. These images were widely reproduced in books and in exhibitions and in many cases became the portraits by which the individuals were best known. Among her subjects were Ed Ruscha, Robert Graham, Peter Voulkos, Joan Brown, Isamu Noguchi, Jay DeFeo, Wayne Thiebaud, Imogen Cunningham, and Richard Diebenkorn. Several exhibitions were devoted to the photographs as independent works of art, an acknowledgement of their pictorial qualities as well as their value as documents.
Provenance:
Donated 1976-1992 by Mimi Jacobs. Additional photos, many of them duplicates of previous donations, were donated in 1999 by Leslie Fleming, Jacobs' daughter, for the Estate.
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.
An interview of James Newman conducted 1974 May 13, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art. Newman speaks of his initial interest in art at Stanford University; meeting Walter Hopps and opening his first gallery with him in the 1950s; the history of the Dilexi Gallery in San Francisco; and his philosophy of collecting. He recalls Robert Craig Kauffman, William T. Wiley, and Jeremy Anderson.
Biographical / Historical:
James Newman (1933- ) is an art dealer from San Francisco, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 48 min.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives of American Art are the records of the Dilexi Gallery, 1957-1971, founded and directed by James Newman.
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:
Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
An interview of William T. Wiley conducted 1997 October 8-November 20, by Paul J. Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, in Woodacre, California.
Wiley discusses the importance of the rural setting of his Marin County studio/home and his corresponding lifestyle to his world view and its reflection in his art. He describes his itinerant youth and experience at the San Francisco Art Institute, and his teaching years at UC Davis, which had attracted a faculty that included Robert Arenson and Wayne Thiebaud. Among the graduate students was Bruce Nauman, who he discusses in length and credited with influencing some of his own ideas at the time. He also acknowledges the influence of the assemblage movement through relationships with George Herms and Bruce Conner.
The final session addressed the communal nature of the Bay Area art scene and the differences between East and West Coast art worlds. The interview ends with a discussion of Wiley's iconography and motifs frequently encountered in his works and how their changing meaning are intended to encourage thoughts on visual and verbal complexities as reflections of shifting perception and experience.
Biographical / Historical:
William T. Wiley (1937-2021) was a painter and helped found the funk art movement. He was also an educator at U.C. Davis. Wiley lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay area.
General:
Originally recorded on 8 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 32 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.
The papers of Wally Goodman and William Stanton Picher measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1940-1982. Included are correspondence, printed material, subject file concerning Christo's "Running Fence" project, business records, art works, notes, and photographs.
Correspondence (1966-1981) concerns Goodman's and Picher's collecting activities and friendships with artists, including letters from Fred Martin, Nathan Oliveira, Joseph Raffael, Mel Ramos, and William T. Wiley and a greeting card decorated with an Oliveira print (1940). The "Running Fence" file contains correspondence, including 2 letters from Christo, summaries of the project, receipts, clippings, and photographs.
Business records include loan requests from museums (1966-1981), bills of sale (1950-1982), insurance and appraisal lists of works and their values (1967-1981), conservation reports (1970-1976), and files concerning the "Mexican Masters Suite", Christo print documentation (1970-1972), and appraisers Butterfield and Butterfield (1979-1981).
Original art work includes rubber stamp designs by Phil Pasquini, a booklet made by Lout Sue, an illustrated booklet by William T. Wiley (1975) and 2 collages by Harold Paris (1976). Among the printed material are reproductions of works collected, clippings (1966-1981), and exhibition catalogs (1967-1981). Photographs are of the wedding of Tom Garver and Natasha Nicholson at Goodman and Picher's home.
Also included are records documenting Goodman's and Picher's Asian Collection, consisting of a few letters (1964-1971), bills of sale (1948-1978), receipts and photographs of works, loan forms (1969-1979), 2 appraisal forms (1971), "non-American" receipts, miscellaneous financial material, and notes (1946-1971), clippings (1969-1979), and photographs and slides of works.
Biographical / Historical:
Wally Goodman (1922-2008) and William Stanton Picher were art collectors in San Francisco, California.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the papers of Patrick Duffy and Wally Goodman.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Wally Goodman.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
The microfilmed Allen Memorial Art Museum records contain general correspondence (1931-1958); business correspondence of the director (1916-1958), curators (circa 1929-1967), correspondence with dealers (1941-1953); and files of Clarence Ward, Director from 1917 until 1950, much of which relate to lectures. Also included are exhibition data (1929-1963) including correspondence and lists; financial ledgers (1938-1955); material related to a bequest from Elisabeth Severance Prentiss (Mrs. F. F. Prentiss); and miscellany. The Charles F. Olney file which includes correspondence, a catalog of the Olney collection, a list of art objects and furniture in the collection, and an index to the material; a photograph file showing the interior and exterior of the Museum, the staff, classrooms, studio, and others; and files on artists including Joseph Cornell, Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Morris, Claes Oldenburg, and William T. Wiley are also present.
Biographical / Historical:
The Allen Memorial Art Museum (founded 1917) is an academic art museum at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. The museum's collection contains over 15,000 works of art.
Provenance:
Lent for microfiliming in 1973 by the Allen Memorial Art Museum.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Two stills from the Robert Nelson and William Wiley's b&w film "Plastic Haircut," 1963, of William Wiley and R.G. Davis; 12 photographs taken by Jack Fulton, 1966, during the filming of Nelson and Wiley's film "The Great Blondino" (1967), picturing Wiley, Nelson, Chuck Wiley, Lew Welch, Dan Welch, and Sandra Juste, and one still from "The Great Blondino" of Chuck Wiley.
Provenance:
Donated 1999 by Robert A. Nelson.
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 Elmer Bischoff conducted 1977 August 10-September 1, by Paul J. Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Bischoff speaks of his family background; the influence of art teachers and attitudes at the University of California, Berkeley in the 1930s; his years of teaching at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco Art Institute), first under the directorship of Douglas MacAgy and then under Ernst Mundt and Gurdon Woods; his fellow faculty members Clyfford Still, David Park, Clay Spohn and Hassel Smith, and their work in abstract expressionism. He recalls some of his most successful students, including Joan Brown, Manuel Neri, and William T. Wiley.
Bischoff explains his turning away from abstract expressionism toward figurative painting, and cites the influence of David Park. He credits George Staempfli as the first New York art dealer to be interested in Bay Area figurative painting. He discusses the origins of the Bay Area funk movement. He speaks of teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, and reflects on the differences between teaching in a university environment and an art school. He discusses his move away from the figure to large scale abstraction.
Biographical / Historical:
Elmer Bischoff (1916-1991) was a painter and educator from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 24 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.
0.5 Linear feet ( (partially microfilmed on 4 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
[ca. 1925]-1982
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; biographical data; notebooks; files on exhibitions; photographs; exhibition announcements and catalogs; printed material; and miscellany.
REELS 3170-3173: Correspondence, 1947-1981, with Alan Shean, Terry Allen, Howard Lipman, Bruce Oxford, Frederic Ossorio, William T. Wiley, Irene Burke, Dennis Adrian, Kenneth Price, Allan Frumkin, and others, and family correspondence including illustrated letters from Westermann to his wife, Joanna Beall, 1958-1979, letters from Joanna Beall, 1958-1971, and letters from his son, Greg Westermann, 1962-1981; biographical data; documents related to Westermann's employment in the U.S. Marine Corp., 1942-1958; obituaries, 1981-1982; 4 notebooks containing lists of sculpture sold and income and expenses, 1954-1964; 4 files on exhibitions, ca. 1970s; photographs, ca. 1925-1970's, of Westermann, his family and friends, and his works of art; material relating to his Tamarind Fellowship; exhibition announcements and catalogs, some of which relate to Joanna Beall; and printed material.
UNMICROFILMED: Photographs of Westermann and his work; exhibition announcements and catalogs; magazine and newspaper articles; 2 posters; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor; Brookfield, Conn.; d. 1981.
Provenance:
Material on reels 3170-73 lent for microfilming and unmicrofilmed material donated 1984 by Joanna Beall Westermann.
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:
Sculptors -- Connecticut -- Brookfield Search this
Journals containing ideas for Wiley's paintings, accounts of days, and puns and word games. One journal is from a summer spent in Italy (1971) and includes some sketches. The remaining four journals (1971-1974) are filled with watercolors and sketches.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; San Francisco Bay area, California. Achieved international recognition for highly imaginative and unconventional art. Studied at California School of Fine Art 1956-1962 with Frank Lobdell and other exponents of Abstract Expressionism.
Provenance:
Lent 1975 by William T. Wiley.
Restrictions:
ACCESS RESTRICTED; use requires written permission. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Painting, Abstract -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
An interview of Wayne Thiebaud conducted 2001 May 17-18, by Susan Larsen, for the Archives of American Art, in New York.
Thiebaud discusses his childhood in Long Beach, California and his evolving interest in art; his long time friendship with sculptor Robert Mallary who encouraged Thiebaud to become a painter; his career as an artist and teacher; and the creations of his paintings of food, objects arranged in display counters and paintings of contemporary people in plain abstracted space. Thiebaud recalls Richard Diebenkorn, William Wiley, and Roy de Forest.
Biographical / Historical:
Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021) was a painter and art teacher from Sacramento, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 53 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.
The Diana Fuller papers and gallery records measure 67.9 linear feet and date from 1958 to 2004. The records shed light on the operations of Hansen-Fuller Gallery, Hansen-Fuller-Goldeen Gallery, Fuller-Goldeen Gallery, and Fuller-Gross Gallery through administrative files, correspondence files, artists' files, dealer and institution files, exhibition and event files, financial records, printed materials, photographic materials, as well as some audiovisual and born digital materials. Diana Fuller's papers concern her work with the Bay Area Consortium for the Visual Arts, her book, Art/Women/California, 1950-2000: Parallels and Intersections (2002), and include scattered project files, photographic materials, and more. Also present are correspondence files, artists' files, exhibition material, and financial records generated by Arts Unlimited and Hansen Galleries.
Scope and Contents:
The Diana Fuller papers and gallery records measure 67.9 linear feet and date from 1958 to 2004. The records shed light on the operations of Hansen-Fuller Gallery, Hansen-Fuller-Goldeen Gallery, Fuller-Goldeen Gallery, and Fuller-Gross Gallery through administrative files, correspondence files, artists' files, dealer and institution files, exhibition and event files, financial records, printed materials, photographic materials, as well as some audiovisual and born digital materials. Diana Fuller's papers concern her work with the Bay Area Consortium for the Visual Arts, her book, Art/Women/California, 1950-2000: Parallels and Intersections (2002), and include scattered project files, photographic materials, and more. Also present are correspondence files, artists' files, exhibition material, and financial records generated by Arts Unlimited and Hansen Galleries.
Administrative files include job descriptions, inventories of artwork, addresses, and contact lists; papers relating to foundries, photographers, framers, and printers; advertising records, property records, travel files, and one gallery guestbook. Correspondence files document the galleries' relationship with collectors, clients, art organizations, and consultants. The files include some sales records, agreements, printed material, and photos of artwork as well. Artists' files include biographical information, artist statements, correspondence, client lists, exhibition materials, loan and consignment records, and more. Among the artists featured extensively is Beth Van Hosen, William T. Wiley, Roy DeForest, Robert Arneson, Tom Holland, Robert Hudson, Marilyn Levine, and Joan Brown.
Exhibition and event files shed light on solo and group shows held at Fuller galleries, Art Unlimited and Hansen Gallery, and outside galleries, museums, and institutions; art fairs held in the U.S. and abroad, and auctions. Files related to film screenings, tours, luncheons, and other special events held at Fuller galleries are also present. Dealer and institution files consist of correspondence, loan and consignments records, bills of sale, commission agreements and contracts, printed material, price lists, and some photographic materials. Financial records contain account ledgers, invoices and receipts, gallery checks, and sales records. Also present are donation records, appraisal reports, and some financial records from Arts Unlimited and Hansen Gallery.
Diana Fuller's papers include project files, appraisal records, membership records, correspondence, and photographic materials. Records related to the Bay Area Consortium for the Visual Arts consist of administrative records, project files, grant applications, 1989 earthquake disaster relief material, and organization finances. Files relating toParallels and Intersections and its accompanying exhibition contain artist files, author files, correspondence, publishing agreements, drafts, cassette tapes, DVDs, and more.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1969-1992 (Box 1-3; 2.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence Files, 1963-1993 (Box 3-8; 5.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Artists' Files, 1959-1993 (Box 8-37; 28.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Exhibition and Event Files, 1967-1993, 2001 (Box 37-45; 8.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Dealer and Institution Files, 1965-1992 (Box 45-51; 6.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Financial Records, 1958-1990 (Box 51-58, 68-70; 7.9 linear feet)
Series 7: Diana Fuller Personal and Professional Papers, 1970s-2004 (Box 58-67; 9.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
The Diana Fuller galleries were contemporary art galleries in San Francisco, California, from 1969 to 1990. During this period, the gallery changed name and ownership on several occasions: Hansen-Fuller Gallery (1969-1979), Hansen-Fuller-Goldeen Gallery (1979-1982), Fuller-Goldeen Gallery (1982-1986), and Fuller-Gross Gallery (1987-1990). The three gallerists who partnered with Fuller were Wanda Hansen, Dorothy Goldeen, and Brian Gross. Among the artists represented by Fuller galleries were Beth Van Hosen, William T. Wiley, Roy DeForest, Robert Arneson, Tom Holland, Robert Hudson, Marilyn Levine, and Joan Brown. Fuller galleries held performance and conceptual art exhibitions, music performances, screened films, and rented its space out for luncheons and other special events. The gallery also exhibited at art fairs in the U.S. and Europe.
Diana Burgess Fuller is a curator, editor, and filmmaker who was previously a gallerist and art dealer. Diana Burgess worked at Saks Fifth Avenue when she married author Blair Fuller in 1965. Around 1967, she began working for Wanda Hansen's contemporary art gallery, which changed names from Art Unlimited to Hansen Galleries (sometimes Gallery). In 1969, Fuller and Hansen opened the Hansen-Fuller Gallery. That same year, Blair Fuller and novelist Oakley Hall started the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. Diana Fuller has been involved with Squaw Valley since its inception, and currently serves as director of its screenwriting program. Fuller continued in the retail art business for a short period after closing the gallerey in 1990. In the late 1990s, Fuller began working on the seminal exhibition and book catalog, Art/Women/California, 1950-2000: Parallels and Intersections (2002), documenting more than 90 women artists working in California in the second half of the twentieth century. Fuller was the former president of the Film Arts Foundation and former chair of the Roxie Theater; she currently serves on the board of Artists in Residence Program at Recology.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is the Dorothy Goldeen Gallery records.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Diana Fuller, 1991-1995 and 2022.
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.
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:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California
Citation:
Diana Fuller Papers and Gallery Records, 1958-2004. 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.
Letters, both personal and business, to Keesling from artists, museums, galleries and others in the art community of the San Francisco Bay area. Among the correspondents are David Anderson (8 items), Richard and Phyllis Diebenkorn (4 letters), Gerald Norland (18 letters), Gordon Onslow-Ford (4 items), David Gilhooly (3 letters), Philip Guston (3 letters), William T. Wiley (3 letters), Richard Shaw ( 1 letter), Frank Lobdell (2 letters), Grace McCann Morley (2 letters), William Allan (7 letters), and Christo (1 letter).
Biographical / Historical:
Collector, art patron; San Francisco, Calif; b. 1914.
Provenance:
Donated 1997 by Mary Heath Keesling.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California -- San Francisco Search this
An interview of Robert David Brady conducted 2008 March 10-12, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Berkeley, California.
Brady speaks of growing up in Reno, Nevada and developing a fondness for the desert and mountain environment around him; his first discovery and fascination with clay during junior high; a deep interest in symbols and the abstraction of language and how he has incorporated that into his work; studying art at California College of Arts and Crafts; continuing on to Mills College for graduate school; being drafted into the war and having to postpone his attendance to Mills College; finishing a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Davis; wanting to become a college professor; teaching at California State University in Sacramento; wanting to depart from dependency on the vessel; exploring with figurative objects; abandoning the vessel and adapting an interest in object making and mixed media; the influence of Mexico, in particular, the imagery of the Day of the Dead, on his work; firing techniques he learned in Mexico; the influence from Hal Riegger toward his education and development; specific works and the inspiration and process behind them; his departure from clay and experimenting with wood; various shows and his experiences working with different galleries and curators; his trip to Guatemala and the emergence of angels and other religious motif in his work; other traveling experiences and the influence each had on his work; his desire to return to clay and continue making pots; the craft community; the influence of Japanese pots; his personal beliefs toward academically trained and non-academically trained artists; and his opinion toward various art and craft magazines. Brady also recalls Vernon Coykendall, Robert Arneson, William Wiley, Manuel Neri, Debbie Butterfield, John Buck, Dick Notkin, Nancy Rubins, Roy de Forest, Hal Riegger, Dale Chihuly, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert David Brady (1946- ) is a sculptor of wood and ceramics and a teacher from Berkeley, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 47 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Topic:
Sculptors -- California -- Berkeley -- Interviews Search this
Three black and white photos taken by Julie Bozzi of Jimmy Jalapeeno and William T. Wiley taken during a stage production of "Out Our Way," a variety show produced by the Art and Drama Dept, University of California, Davis. During the performance, Jalapeeno was narrator and Wiley appeared as his alter-ego, "Mr. Unnatural", a character he used in his drawings.
Biographical / Historical:
Julie Bozzi (1943- ) is an artist and author who was a student at University of California, Davis.
Provenance:
Donated 2013 by Julie Bozzi.
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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with William T. Wiley, 1997 October 8-November 20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Bruce Nauman conducted 1980 May 27-30, by Michele D. De Angelus, for the Archives of American Art.
Nauman discusses his family, childhood interests, education and training as an artist, influences, his early work, teaching, filmmaking, video work, performances, exhibitions, dealers, his relationship with the art world, his current world, and his personal life. He recalls Santos Zingale, Stephen French, Wayne Taylor, Wayne Thiebaud, Bob Arneson, Bill Wiley, Man Ray, Frank Lobdell, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Bruce Nauman (1940- ) is sculptor of Pecos, N.M.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 32 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
An interview of Carlos Villa conducted 1995 June 20-July 10, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Villa discusses his "progress" from Filipino background to his art world identity; the phenomena and individuals who contributed to the new awareness in the mid-1970s: "El Movimiento," Chicano "Rasquache," Rupert Garcia, Amalia Mesa-Baines; the idea of "recuperation," and the sense of Asian-American identity and community as a basis for his art. Villa recalls growing up in San Francisco; his early life; living in the Tenderloin district and his exposure to racism; the influence of his cousin, artist Leo Valledor; growing up Filipino in California and the difficulties that accompanied it. Villa discusses popular (black) culture, jazz "guapo," zoot-suit style as role models and basis for aesthetic/art; his admiration for black self-esteem; his aesthetics; viewing art as a way out of the ghetto and an escape from racism.
Villa discusses his introduction to the California School of Fine Arts (soon thereafter the San Francisco Art Institute); his need to be part of the artist community; CSFA and other students and teachers; and his self-conception as a modernist. He discusses the technical aspects of his art; the influence of various Bay Area artists on his work; his investigation of Filipino art history and his role models; the role of the women at the CSFA and women as role models. Villa recalls his first show at Pointdexter in New York; his associations with minimalists and the Park Place Gallery group; his New York minimalist phase and his need to escape the New York environment after six years. He discusses his return to the Bay Area and his use of identity/politics as subjects for his art.
Villa recalls or mentions Rupert Garcia, Leo Valledor, Manuel Neri, Joan Brown, Bill Morehouse, David Stone Martin, Wallace Berman, William Wiley, Bob and Dona Hudson, Bill Allen, Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, Ralph DuCass, Walter Kuhlman, Wally Hedrick, Bruce Conner, Alvin Light, Claire Falkenstein, Bob McFarlane, Hayter, Tapies, Fred Martin, Nathan Oliveira, Jennifer Bartlett, Dick Maclean, Elizabeth Murray, Alfred Neumeyer, Mark Rothko, Kenneth Noland, Sol Lewitt, Mark di Suvero, Robert Grovesnor, Tom Seligman, Kurt Schwitters, Robert Rauschenberg, Angela Davis, and Moira Roth.
Biographical / Historical:
Carlos Villa (1936-2013) was a Filipino American painter, curator, and educator in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 8 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 40 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco Search this
