Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Virginia Dwan

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.dwan84
Creators:
Dwan, Virginia
Stuckey, Charles F.
Dates:
1984 March 21-June 7
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
192 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Virginia Dwan conducted 1984 March 21-June 7, by Charles F. Stuckey, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Dwan speaks of her background and education; her early interest in art; starting her gallery in 1959 in Los Angeles; the early days of her gallery; the development of her circle of artists; early shows; financing the gallery; "shopping" for art and artists; public and critical reaction to her gallery's shows; the decision to go to New York, and getting established there; making decisions about what to show; collectors; the closing of the Dwan Gallery; and her life since. She also relates anecdotes about the creation and execution of Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" and reminisces about numerous artists with whom she was associated, including: Jean Tinguely, Robert Rauschenberg, Yves Klein, Ad Reinhardt, Ed Kienholz, Philip Guston, Arman, Robert Smithson, Franz Kline, Kenneth Snelson, Carl Andre, Sol Lewitt, Michael Heizer, Walter De Maria, and Robert Ryman.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Virginia Dwan (1931- ) is an art dealer from New York, New York.

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.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Conditions Governing Use
Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from Anne Kovach. Contact Reference Services for more information.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 10 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 19 digital wav file. Duration is 11 hr., 20 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Andre, Carl, 1935- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arman, 1928-2005 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Maria, Walter, 1935-2013 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Guston, Philip, 1913-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heizer, Michael, 1944- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kienholz, Edward, 1927- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Klein, Yves, 1928-1962 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kline, Franz, 1910-1962 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ryman, Robert, 1930-2019 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithson, Robert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Snelson, Kenneth, 1927-2016 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tinguely, Jean, 1925- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dwan Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dwan Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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