Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Mary Frank

Summary

(Electronic Resource)

Oral history interview with Mary Frank, 2010 Jan. 10- Feb. 3, Transcript
Collection ID:
AAA.frank10
Creators:
Frank, Mary, 1933-
Richards, Judith Olch
Dates:
2010 Jan. 10- Feb. 3
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
8 Items
Sound recording: 8 memory cards (6 hr., 43 min.)
secure digital
1.25 in.
135 Pages
Transcript
Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
An interview interview with Mary Frank conducted 2010 Jan. 10, 11, and Feb. 3, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art, at Frank's home and studio, in New York, N.Y.
Scope and Contents
Ms. Frank speaks of her childhood in England and her evacuation to Brooklyn during WWII; her initial intention of becoming a professional dancer and studying with the Martha Graham Dance Company; her marriage and travels with photographer Robert Frank; the difficulties of women teaching art; teaching methods; her time at The New School and Queens College; western and non-Western influences; mushroom hunting; solar cookers; her works in clay, sculpture, painting, drawing, monoprint, and triptych installations; her relationships with the galleries Zabriskie, Midtown Payton and DC Moore; Frank also recalls Willem de Kooning, Ruben Nakian, Allan Kaprow, Marjorie Ponce Israel, Joe Chaikin, Paul Cadmus, Henrietta Mantooth Bagley, Joan Snyder, Elanor Munro, Jean-Louise Bourgeois, and others.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Interviewee Mary Frank (1933- ) is a figurative sculptor and painter in New York, N.Y. She is married to musicologist Leo Treitler. Interviewer Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is former Executive director of iCI in New York, N.Y.
Administration
Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
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

(Electronic Resource)

Oral history interview with Mary Frank, 2010 Jan. 10- Feb. 3, Transcript
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women ceramicists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women sculptors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cadmus, Paul, 1904-1999 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kaprow, Allan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nakian, Reuben, 1897-1986 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Snyder, Joan, 1940- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Martha Graham Dance Company Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.) -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Zabriskie Gallery 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