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Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, 1979 June 20

Interviewee:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Interviewer:
Haifley, Julie  Search this
Subject:
Cassatt, Mary  Search this
Baltimore Museum of Art  Search this
Walters Art Gallery (Baltimore, Md.)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, 1979 June 20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12907
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212154
AAA_collcode_breesk79
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212154
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, 1979 August 1-14

Interviewee:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Interviewer:
Haifley, Julie  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, 1979 August 1-14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13016
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212560
AAA_collcode_breesk79aug
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212560

Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin

Interviewee:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Interviewer:
Haifley, Julie  Search this
Names:
Baltimore Museum of Art  Search this
Walters Art Gallery (Baltimore, Md.)  Search this
Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926  Search this
Extent:
72 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1979 June 20
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Adelyn Breeskin conducted 1979 June 20 and August 1 and August 14, by Julie Link Haifley, for the Archives of American Art.
Breeskin speaks of her childhood and growing up in Baltimore; attending Bryn Mawr College and Radcliffe; her art work; the influence of Katherine B. Child; the Stuart Club; travel abroad; the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Gallery; prints and printmaking; teaching; the Garrett Collection of prints; her experience at the 1960 Venice Biennale; the art collectors Etta and Claribel Cone; and published writings on Mary Cassatt.
Biographical / Historical:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin (1896-1986) was an art historian and curator from Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 30 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art museum curators -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art museum directors -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Function:
Art museums -- Maryland -- Baltimore
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.breesk79
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94784c2c3-3595-46ac-b7f5-9f8351d9ca92
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-breesk79
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin

Interviewee:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Interviewer:
Haifley, Julie  Search this
Extent:
53 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1979 August 1-14
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Adelyn Dohme Breeskin conducted 1979 August 1-14, by Julia Haifley, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin (1986-1986) was a museum director and art historian from Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 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: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art museum curators -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art museum directors -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.breesk79aug
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw991f2d43f-8073-4316-81bf-30ec3cb6f837
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-breesk79aug
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, 1974 June 27

Interviewee:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, 1974 June 27. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13285
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212543
AAA_collcode_breesk74
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212543
Online Media:

Adelyne Dohme Breeskin papers

Creator:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Names:
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this
National Museum of American Art (U.S.)  Search this
Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this
Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926  Search this
MacIver, Loren, 1909-  Search this
Extent:
2.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
circa 1934-1986
Summary:
The papers of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington D.C. art historian and museum curator Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, measure 2.5 linear feet and date from circa 1934-1986. The papers provide scattered documentation of Breeskin's career, focusing on writings and lectures delivered in the United States and abroad, and briefly documenting her work as an art exhibition juror, as a consultant, and as a teacher of a community art course. The collection also includes papers documenting some of Breeskin's research on Loren MacIver, Mary Cassatt, and others, and is comprised of biographical material, personal and professional correspondence with artists, friends, and colleagues, manuscript and lecture notes and drafts, professional files, sound recordings, and a few photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington D.C. art historian and museum curator Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, measure 2.5 linear feet and date from circa 1934-1986. The papers provide scattered documentation of Breeskin's career, focusing on writings and lectures delivered in the United States and abroad, and briefly documenting her work as an art exhibition juror, as a consultant, and as a teacher of a community art course. The collection also includes papers documenting some of Breeskin's research on Loren MacIver, Mary Cassatt, and others, and is comprised of biographical material, personal and professional correspondence with artists, friends, and colleagues, manuscript and lecture notes and drafts, professional files, sound recordings, and a few photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1938-1986 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 4-6)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1970 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings and Lectures, circa 1934-1981 (1 linear foot; Boxes 1-2)

Series 4: Professional Files, 1945-1984 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Biographical / Historical:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin (1896-1986) was an art historian and museum curator in Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. She was the first woman to be named director of a major American museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Adelyn Dohme took her first museum job in the print department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she worked with Kathryn B. Child under the supervision of William Mills Ivins. She left the museum in 1920 to marry violinist Elias Breeskin, and the couple had three children before divorcing in 1930.

Following her divorce, Breeskin returned to her native Baltimore and took a position as a curator with the Baltimore Museum of Art. In 1942 she was appointed director of the museum and remained in that position until 1962. As director she gave Milton Avery and Mary Cassatt's graphics their first museum shows.

Breeskin served as commissioner for the American contingent of the Venice Biennale in 1960 and was director of the Washington Gallery of Modern Art from 1962-1964. She then became a special consultant in twentieth-century art for the Smithsonian's National Collection of Fine Art and served as the museum's curator of contemporary painting and sculpture from 1968 to 1974.

Breeskin authored two catalogue raisonnés of Mary Cassatt's work, and conducted extensive research for a monograph on Loren MacIver, although the monograph was ultimately not published. In 1985 Breeskin received the Smithsonian Institutions highest award, the Gold Medal for Exceptional Service, and at the time of her death in 1986, was senior curatorial adviser.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds oral history interviews with Adelyn Breeskin conducted by Paul Cummings in 1974, and Julie Haifley in 1979.
Provenance:
Portions of the collection were donated to the Archives of American Art in a series of gifts from Adelyn Breeskin, 1979-1985. Material relating to Loren MacIver was donated 1979-1987 by Breeskin and Robert Frash, who had possession of Breeskin's research materials on MacIver for an exhibition on MacIver he curated in California. Letters from Georgia O'Keeffe, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, and Lawrence Calcagno, an exhibition catalog for Calcagno, and the file on Milton Avery, were donated by the National Museum of American Art on January 28, 1981. The birthday book was a gift from Breeskin's daughter, Gloria Breeskin Peck, in 2015. The sound recordings were transferred from the National Museum of American Art, circa 1984.
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:
Art museum curators -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art museum directors -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin papers, circa 1934-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.breeadel
See more items in:
Adelyne Dohme Breeskin papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98710b071-3f06-4f02-a54b-d26d215a0ed4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-breeadel
Online Media:

Adelyne Dohme Breeskin papers, circa 1934-1986

Creator:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Subject:
MacIver, Loren  Search this
Cassatt, Mary  Search this
Avery, Milton  Search this
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this
National Museum of American Art (U.S.)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Adelyne Dohme Breeskin papers, circa 1934-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8422
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210596
AAA_collcode_breeadel
Theme:
Women
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210596
Online Media:

Sharon Frances Patton research material regarding Vincent Smith, 1968-2005

Creator:
Patton, Sharon F. (Sharon Frances), 1944-  Search this
Subject:
Smith, Vincent  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Sharon Frances Patton research material regarding Vincent Smith, 1968-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women arts administrators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
African American  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16071
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)355461
AAA_collcode_smitvinc
Theme:
Women
African American
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_355461
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Adelyn Dohme Breeskin

Interviewee:
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Extent:
29 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1974 June 27
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Adelyn Breeskin conducted 1974 June 27, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's office in Washington, D.C., 1974 June 27.
Biographical / Historical:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin (1896-1986) was a curator and art historian from Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 3 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art museum curators -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Art museum directors -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.breesk74
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw97f6a3978-ba4c-423f-bdbf-ecdbe38263c5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-breesk74
Online Media:

Sharon Frances Patton research material regarding Vincent Smith

Creator:
Patton, Sharon F.  Search this
Names:
Smith, Vincent, 1929-  Search this
Extent:
0.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
1968-2005
Summary:
The Sharon Frances Patton research material on the artist Vincent Smith measures 0.8 linear feet and dates from 1968-2005. Materials document Smith's career as an artist and include many letters as well as autobiographical writings by him. Also featured in this collection are many printed materials relating to his career including magazines, exhibition materials and clippings. This collection also includes three sound cassettes featuring a profile of Smith and his thoughts on music.
Scope and Contents:
The Sharon Frances Patton research material on the artist Vincent Smith measures 0.8 linear feet and dates from 1968-2005. The research materials document Smith's career as an artist and include many letters as well as autobiographical writings by him. Also featured in this collection are many printed materials relating to his career including magazines, exhibition materials and clippings. This collection also includes three sound cassettes featuring a profile of Smith and his thoughts on music.
Arrangement:
Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1980-2004 (3 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1982-1998 (2 folders; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, 1976-circa 1994 (5 folders; Box 1)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1968-2005 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 5: Sound Recordings, 1986-1989 (3 folders; Box 2)

The collection is arranged as 5 series:
Biographical / Historical:
Sharon Frances Patton (1944- ) is a art historian and museum director in Baltimore, Maryland. Vincent Smith (1929-2003) was a painter from New York City. His work was exhibited extensively and is now part of many distinguished collections.

Patton earned her BA in humanities with an emphasis on Studio Art from Roosevelt University in Chicago. This was followed by an MA from University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and a Ph.D. in African Art History at Northwestern University. During and after these degrees she was a professor at various colleges around the country as well as a curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Director of the Center for African American Studies at University of Michigan and the Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College. From 2003-2008 she was the Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. Throughout her career she has organized around 20 exhibitions, compiled catalogs (one of which was on Vincent Smith's "Riding on a Blue Note" exhibit), written articles and essays and given lectures. She has also written two books, Memory and Metaphor: The Art of Romare Bearden and African American Art.

Smith became a full-time artist in 1953 after stints as a hobo, in the army and as a post office worker. Around this time he studied art at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, New York City's Art Students League and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine on a scholarship. He also cited other African American artists as valuable resources for the development of his work. Much of his early work focused on the culture of jazz in New York City, but in the mid-1950s, with the start of the Civil Rights Movement, his work took on a more political tone. His first solo show was in 1955 at the Brooklyn Museum Art School Gallery and this was followed by many more solo and group shows throughout his career. His work is now in the collections of many museums as well as President Clinton, who was given one of Smith's pieces at his first inauguration. In 1980 he received a college degree from Empire State College at the State University of New York, Saratoga.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Sharon Frances Patton in 2012.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters  Search this
Art historians  Search this
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women arts administrators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Sharon Frances Patton research material regarding Vincent Smith, 1968-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.smitvinc
See more items in:
Sharon Frances Patton research material regarding Vincent Smith
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e2e73940-523d-440d-ac56-3842cf8f1889
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-smitvinc
Online Media:

Linda Bihun-Werner writings and interviews

Creator:
Bihun-Werner, Linda  Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1992
Summary:
The writings and interviews by Linda Bihun-Werner measure 0.4 linear feet and date to 1992. The interviews and unpublished typescript are part of a research project conducted by Linda Bihun-Werner concerning the Baltimore art scene while a student at John Hopkins University. Materials include an unpublished typescript, "The Baltimore Art Scene 1992: Visual Arts, Interviews with the Art Community" and 14 cassettes containing 18 interviews and 3 lectures concerning the Baltimore art scene.
Scope and Contents:
The writings and interviews by Linda Bihun-Werner measure 0.4 linear feet and date to 1992. The interviews and unpublished typescript are part of a research project conducted by Linda Bihun-Werner concerning the Baltimore art scene while a student at John Hopkins University. Materials include an unpublished typescript, "The Baltimore Art Scene 1992: Visual Arts, Interviews with the Art Community" and 14 cassettes containing 18 interviews and 3 lectures concerning the Baltimore art scene. Interviewees are: Paula Bauer, George Ciscle, Peter Bubeau, Michael Economos, John Fonda, Constantine Grimaldis, Leslie King-Hammond, Craig Hankin, Connie Imboden, Gary Kachadourian, Barbara Marcus, Raoul Middleman, Robin Miller, Bonnie North, Jordan Nye, Jim Paulsen, Nancy Scheinman, Peter Walsh. Also included are taped-recorded presentations delivered by Claudia Amory (School 33 Art Center), Jim Dockery (Artshowcase Gallery), and Mark Moreland (Katzenstein Gallery) as part of a workshop, "The Baltimore Art Scene," led by Nancy Scheinman, Maryland Institute College of Art, 1992.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series.

Series 1: Interviews, 1992 (0.4 linear feet; Box1)
Biographical / Historical:
Linda Bihun-Werner was a graduate student at John Hopkins University pursuing a Masters in Liberal Arts in 1992.
Provenance:
Donated 1993 by Linda Bihun-Werner. Bihun-Werner conducted the interviews and wrote the paper while a student in the MLA program at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
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:
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Linda Bihun-Werner Writings and Interviews, 1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.bihulind
See more items in:
Linda Bihun-Werner writings and interviews
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f8c00bda-3c57-43b4-b7f2-c5b1ccf1cd87
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bihulind

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