Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Charles Henry Alston

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.alston68
Creators:
Alston, Charles Henry, 1907-1977
Murray, Albert
Dates:
1968 October 19
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
25 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Charles Henry Alston conducted 1968 October 19, by Al Murray, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Alston speaks of his family background, early interest in art, and education at Columbia University; the social and cultural scene in Harlem in the late 1920s, and the street life there; coming into contact with some of the most important figures of the Harlem Renaissance; the differing problems faced by black and white artists; teaching; commercial art; figurative and abstract art. He recalls Romare Bearden and Robert Blackburn.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Charles Henry Alston (1907-1977) was a painter and educator from New York, New York.

Administration

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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript available on-line.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
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. Funding for this interview provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 7 minutes.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American art -- African influences Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American educators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bearden, Romare, 1911-1988 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blackburn, Robert Hamilton, 1920- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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