Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Oscar Chelimsky

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.chelim90
Creators:
Chelimsky, Oscar
Plante, Michael
Dates:
1990 August 28-September 5
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
48 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Oscar Chelimsky conducted 1990 August 28-September 5, by Michael Plante, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Chelimsky recalls his studies at Cooper Union, the Art Students League (1939-1943), and the Hans Hofmann School of Art (1946-1947) and describes Hofmann's teaching methods. Chelimsky discusses his decision to go to Paris in 1948; his brief studies at the Fontainebleu School and the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere; his studio in Paris; the French attitude toward Americans in postwar Paris; a proposed exhibition of American painters in France at the Galerie des Beaux Arts in 1963; Americans exhibiting at the various salons and galleries in Paris; and the founding of the cooperative Galerie Huit and the artists involved including Bill Rivers, Jules Olitski, Reginald Pollack, Robert Kulicke, Sidney Geist, and Paul Keene. Chelimsky also discusses the evolution of his style, his move back to the United States in 1970, and his continuing investigation of the "open form" in his paintings.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Oscar Chelimsky (1923-2010) was a painter.

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 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.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 34 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, Modern -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- France -- 20th century -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Interviews Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Geist, Sidney Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Keene, Paul F., Jr., 1920-2009 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kulicke, Robert M. (Robert Moore), 1924-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Olitski, Jules, 1922-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pollack, Reginald Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rivers, Haywood Bill, 1922-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Galerie Huit Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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