Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Elmer Bischoff

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.bischo77
Creators:
Bischoff, Elmer, 1916-1991
Karlstrom, Paul J.
Dates:
1977 August 10-September 1
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
82 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Elmer Bischoff conducted 1977 August 10-September 1, by Paul J. Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
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.
Scope and Contents
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

Biographical / Historical
Elmer Bischoff (1916-1991) was a painter and educator from San Francisco, 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
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.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 24 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, American Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abstract expressionism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Figurative art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brown, Joan, 1938-1990 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brown, William Theo, 1919-2012 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Geis, Bill Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hudson, Robert, 1938- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
MacAgy, Douglas, 1913- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neri, Manuel, 1930- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Park, David, 1911-1960 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Hassel, 1915-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Spohn, Clay Edgar, 1898-1977 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wiley, William T., 1937-2021 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of California, San Francisco. School of Fine Arts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
San Francisco Art Institute Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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