Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Diana Crane, 1983 April 12. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Diana Crane conducted 1983 April 12, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Crane speaks of her background and education; the beginning of her career as an artist's model; her interests in filmmaking and serigraphy; her first teaching job; posing for Mark Adams, Beth Van Hoesen, Wayne Thiebaud, William Theoophilus Brown, Gordon Cook, and Charles Griffin Farr; erotic aspects of nude modeling; the effect of her work upon her personal life; her self-portraiture; her photographic work.
Biographical / Historical:
Diana Crane (1946-) is a photographer and artist's model from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 34 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Occupation:
Photographers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Artists' models -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Gordon Cook, 1981 May 11-June 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Elmer Bischoff, 1977 August 10-September 1. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with William T. Brown, 2010 August 23-24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
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.
Scrapbooks, photograph albums, sketchbooks, correspondence, manuscripts, and printed material reflect Brown's work as a painter, and his ties with contemporary musical and literary figures.
REEL 877: Four scrapbooks, 1946-1972, containing: photographs of composers Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith, artist Don Bachardy and Brown; letters and notes to Brown from musicians Stravinsky, Hindemith, John Cage, and Samuel Barber; drawings and photographs of works by Brown; clippings; and manuscript material by John Cage and Francis Poulenc.
REEL 921: Eight photograph albums, 1941-1971, including photos of Brown's work; photos of Brown at MacDowell Colony working on a series of self-portraits; of Brown, friends, and other artists, including Paul Wonner, Sonia Sekula, John McLaughlin, Jack Zajac, Sterling Holloway, Richard Diebenkorn, Mary Callery, David Park, Robert Shaw, poet May Sarton, playwright William Inge, composers Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith, author Christopher Isherwood, and others.
REELS 1095 and 1116 (photographs only): Correspondence, ca. 1923-1974; with artists, musicians, writers, composers, and others; privately published letters of Brown's grandfather; sketchbooks, including two from his early years, 1926 and 1930-1934, and six done in Europe, 1945; one sketch by Brown and one each by Paul and Gertrude Hindemith; manuscripts; photographs of family, friends, and associates; photographs of drawings; catalogs and announcements; printed papers; legal documents; and 2 clippings relating to Igor Stravinsky.
REEL 1095: Correspondents include: Eugene Anderson, Cecil Beaton, James Broughton, Van Deren Coke, Robert Craft, Jay DeFeo, Elaine De Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Donovan, Vladimir Golschmann, George H. Hamilton, Thomas B. Hess, Gertrude Hindemith (36 letters), Paul Hindemith, David Hockney, Bart Howard, William Inge, Christopher Isherwood, Dorothy Jenkins, Frank Johnson, Gavin Lambert, Jo Lathwood, Amy Loomis, Ben Masselind, Everett Meeks, Nathan Oliveira, Mary Petty, Josephine Carson Rider, Muriel Rukeyser, Eva Marie Saint, Leo Schrade, Bruce Simonds, Helen Stone, Vera Stravinsky, Richard Swift, Ann Tardos and Wayne Thiebaud; many are represented with only one letter.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; San Francisco, Calif. Associated with the late 1950s movement of Bay Area figurative painting. Had particularly close ties with contemporary musical and literary worlds.
Provenance:
Material on reels 877 and 921 lent for microfilming and remainder donated 1974 by William T. Brown. Catalogs on reel 1095 were transferred to NMAA/NPG Library after microfilming.
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.
Included are a scrapbook, 1956-1968, of clippings about Wonner; photographs of Wonner, his friends, and colleagues and ca. 300 hundred photographs of works of art by Wonner; exhibition announcements, catalogs, and other printed material; and miscellany. Also included is a scrapbook, 1958-2005, of clippings and other printed material concerning painter William Theophilus Brown, long time friend and colleague of Wonner's.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; San Francisco, Calif.; b. 1920.
Provenance:
Donated 2006 by Paul Wonner.
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:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
An interview of Gordon Cook conducted 1981 May 11-1981 June 2, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Cook speaks of figurative art in California; his concern for the model's personality and expression; poses and props; interaction between the artist and the model; Patty Jordan as a model; professional and non-professional models. Cook also speaks of the San Francisco arts community and his association with Mark Adams, Elmer Nelson Bischoff, Joan Brown, William Theophilus Brown, Alvin Light, George Lloyd, Manuel Neri, Wayne Thiebaud, Beth Van Hoesen, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Gordon Cook (1927-1985) was a painter from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 59 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: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Artists' models -- California -- San Francisco Search this
An interview of William T. Brown conducted 2010 August 23 and 24, by Jonathan Weinberg, for the Archives of American Art at Brown's home, in San Francisco, California.
Biographical / Historical:
William T. Brown (1919-2012) was a painter in San Francisco, California. Jonathan Weinberg (1957-) is an artist and art historian in New Haven, Connecticut.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 39 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:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
David Hockney. David Hockney letter to William Theo Brown, 1972 Apr. 12. William Theo Brown papers, 1845-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Richard Diebenkorn, Paul Wonner, and William Theo Brown at Berkeley, 1955 January. William Theo Brown papers, 1845-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
William Theo Brown. Photograph of a sketch featuring a Nazi after being searched, 1945 March 19. William Theo Brown papers, 1845-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
William Theo Brown. Photograph of a sketch of Elsdorf, 1945 March 3. William Theo Brown papers, 1845-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
