Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with H. Harvard Arnason

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.arnaso70
Creators:
Arnason, H. Harvard
Cummings, Paul
Dates:
1970 March 3-9
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
44 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of H. Harvard Arnason conducted 1970 March 3-9, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Arnason speaks of his family and educational background; the influence of the WPA Federal Art Project on museums; lecturing at the Frick Collection and Hunter College; his work as U.S. representative of UNESCO; his teaching positions and his roles as director of the Walker Art Center and trustee and vice president of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. He comments on Frank Lloyd Wright's design for the Guggenheim Museum building; competition among New York museums; conceptual art and museums; and the museum as a research center. He recalls Holger Cahill, Thomas M. Messer, Hilla Rebay, James Johnson Sweeney and others. Arnason also describes his writing projects, including his "History of Modern Art."

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
H. Harvard Arnason (1909-1986) was an historian, writer, and a former director of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
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.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 30 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Museum architecture -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum directors -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Messer, Thomas M. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rebay, Hilla, 1890-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sweeney, James Johnson, 1900- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Walker Art Galleries (Minneapolis, Minn.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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