Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Cynthia Bringle

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.bringl92
Creators:
Bringle, Cynthia, 1939-
Kirwin, Liza
Dates:
1992 January 22
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
51 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Cynthia Bringle conducted 1992 January 22, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Bringle discusses her childhood and education in Memphis, Tennessee; her admiration for Memphis artist Dorothy Sturm; meeting Francis Merritt, the director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and his assistant William (Bill) Brown; attending Haystack in Liberty, Maine in 1960 as a scholarship student; her graduate studies in ceramics at Alfred University; attending a Shoji Hamada workshop in Seattle in 1963; building the first gas kiln at the Penland School of Crafts in Penland, North Carolina; teaching at Penland; establishing a pottery studio in Tennessee; Brown's management style as the director of Penland from 1962 to 1983, and conflicts with the Board of Trustees that led to his resignation; Verne Stanford's tenure as director of Penland from 1984 to 1989; Hunter Kariher's role as the director of Penland after Stanford's resignation; and Penland in comparison with other craft schools including Haystack, Arrowmont, and Anderson Ranch. She recalls Lucy Morgan (the founder of Penland), Bonnie Ford (Penland administrator), Jane Brown, Joy Stanford, Harvey Littleton, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Cynthia Bringle (1939- ) is a potter, in Penland, N.C.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for the transcription of this interview provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Women's Committee.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript available on line at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/bringl92.htm
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 on 2 sound tape cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 20 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Ceramicists -- North Carolina Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art school directors -- North Carolina Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- North Carolina Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women ceramicists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women educators 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
Brown, William J. (William Joseph), 1923-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Morgan, Lucy, 1889-1981 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kariher, Hunter Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brown, Jane Brennan, 1931- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ford, Bonnie Willis, 1907-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stanford, Verne Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stanford, Joy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Penland School of Handicrafts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Alfred University -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anderson Ranch Arts Center Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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