Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Billy Al Bengston

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.bengst80
Creators:
Bengston, Billy Al
Larsen, Susan C.
Dates:
1980 September 9
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
38 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview with Billy Al Bengston conducted 1980 September 9, by Susan Larsen, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Bengston speaks of his youth and education, the development of his interest in art, his short career in ceramics, his affiliation with the Ferus Gallery, the arts community in Los Angeles in the early 1950s, and his motives and methods of painting. He recalls Kenneth Price and Edward Ruscha.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Billy Al Bengston (1934-2022) was a painter from Venice, California.

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.
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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript: 35mm microfilm reel 3196 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 20 min.


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
Ceramicists -- California -- Los Angeles Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Price, Kenneth, 1935-2012 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ruscha, Edward Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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