Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Joyce Anderson

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.andersj02
Creators:
Anderson, Joyce, 1925-
Gold, Donna, 1953-
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Dates:
2002 September 18-19
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
50 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Joyce Anderson conducted 2002 September 18-19, by Donna Gold, in Morristown, New Jersey, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Scope and Contents
Anderson describes her training in economics at New York University, and her interrupted career in that field; her childhood, "a good bringing-up," and her family; dating Edgar Anderson in high school, and marrying him after World War II; and on the early years of their partnership and her own self-education as a woodworker; the design and construction of their home, the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, and living briefly in Wright's Robie House in Chicago; Scandanavian furniture as an important early influence on their work, as well as the enduring influence of the local environment; the general spirit of the early period, infused with a sense of "breaking tradition"; the New Jersey Designer Craftsmen, and friends such as George Nakashima and Wharton Esherick; on her status as a woman in the movement, which was "never" problematic; projects executed for institutional clients, including furniture designed for public libraries, churches, and synagogues; private clients, and their relationships with clients; her design approach, which differs greatly from her husband's, as well as shared attitudes towards applied decoration and problem solving; her inclusion in the exhibition "Women Designers in the USA 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference," at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies; the difficulties of the spousal partnership, on her own health which was compromised by sawdust, and on the future of the house which is being donated to a preservation trust; large parties they hosted at the house, which included children in elaborate performances. She also recalls Tom Tibbs, Lou and Sandy Grotta, Sam Maloof, Hugh Wiley, Zelda Strecker, Emil Milan, Gustav Stickley, Bob Stocksdale, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Joyce Anderson (1925- ) is a woodworker from Morristown, New Jersey.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. 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 online.
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 administrators.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

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

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 16 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 50 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Furniture designers -- New Jersey Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Woodworkers -- New Jersey Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women designers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anderson, Edgar, approximately 1922- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Esherick, Wharton Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Maloof, Sam Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nakashima, George, 1905-1990 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stickley, Gustav, 1858-1942 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stocksdale, Bob, 1913-2003 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tibbs, Thomas S., 1917-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wiley, Hugh, 1884-1968 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New York University -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions