Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with William Cumming

Summary

(Electronic Resource)

Oral history interview with William Cumming, 1965 April 3, Transcript
Collection ID:
AAA.cummin65
Creators:
Cumming, William
Bestor, Dorothy K., 1913-
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
Dates:
1965 April 3
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
27 Pages
Transcript
Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
An interview of William Cumming conducted by Dorothy Bestor on 1965 April 3 for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Cumming speaks of getting on the Federal Art Project; meeting Morris Graves; problems with the way the project was administered and supervised; destruction of some of the art work produced by the project; his feelings about federal support for the arts; his existential philosophy on life; and his views on current trends in painting. He recalls Jacob Elshin, Robert Bruce Inverarity, Mark Tobey, Denise Farwell, Guy Anderson.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
William Cumming is a painter from Seattle, Washington.
Administration
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript: 35mm microfilm reel 3418 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Digital Content

(Electronic Resource)

Oral history interview with William Cumming, 1965 April 3, Transcript
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
More Information
General
General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 29 min.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Federal aid to the arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art and state Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anderson, Guy, 1906-1998 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Elshin, Jacob Alexander, 1891-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Farwell, Denise Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Graves, Morris, 1910- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inverarity, Robert Bruce, 1909-1999 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tobey, Mark Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federal Art Project (Wash.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions