Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Bernarda Bryson Shahn

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.bryson95
Creators:
Bryson, Bernarda
Meecham, Pamela J.
Dates:
1995 July 3
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
39 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Bernarda Bryson Shahn conducted 1995 July 3, by Pamela J. Meecham, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Bryson Shahn talks about Ben Shahn's involvement in the Farm Security Administration's photographic project during the 1930s; her and her husband's involvement with socialism, unions, and the Communist Party during the 1930's; the removal of Diego Rivera's mural from Rockefeller Center; changes in Ben Shahn's critical status as a painter -- particularly during the Red Scare, and relative to the rise of Abstract Expressionism; her own career as an illustrator; the Jersey Homesteads and Ben Shahn's mural in Roosevelt, New Jersey; as well as her impressions of Italy and Japan.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Bernarda Bryson (1903-2004) was a painter from New Jersey. She was the wife of artist Ben Shahn.

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 administrators. Funding provided by Midtown-Payson Grant.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassette tapes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 39 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- New Jersey -- Roosevelt Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Printmakers -- New Jersey -- Roosevelt Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Illustrators -- New Jersey -- Roosevelt Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women printmakers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States. Farm Security Administration. Historical Section Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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