Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Eleanor M. Garvey

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.garvey97
Creators:
Garvey, Eleanor M.
Brown, Robert F.
Dates:
1997 February 28-June 13
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
76 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Eleanor M. Garvey conducted 1997 February 28-June 13, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art in Garvey's office, Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Scope and Contents
Garvey discusses her childhood in Worcester, Massachusetts; majoring in art history at Wellesley College under Serape der Nersessian, Alexander Campbell, Agnes Abbott, and Kenneth Conant; study of education at Clark University, with drawing classes at the art school of the Worcester Art Museum; and the extremely useful experience working at the Museum under Charles Sawyer and Louisa Dresser.
Scope and Contents
Working as an art librarian and museum curator at Wellesley College (1947-1952), and art history professors John McAndrew, Sidney Freedberg, James O'Gorman; moving on to the Newark Museum (1952-1953) and its collections and administration under Katherine Coffey.
Scope and Contents
Joining the Dept. of Printing and Graphic Arts of the Houghton Library in 1953 beginning as secretary to curator Philip Hofer; Hofer's work on illustrated books; the development of the Houghton Library from the so-called "Treasure Room" of the main Harvard Library under the direction of George Parker Winship; Garvey's close relationship with William Bentinck-Smith, a Houghton patron and an authority on type design; the status of women professionals at Harvard.
Scope and Contents
Continued discussion of Houghton patron William Bentinck-Smith; publications and exhibitions while at Houghton, including: "The Artist and the Book, 1860-1960" (1961), "The Turn of a Century, 1885-1970" (1970), "Henry Hobson Richardson and His Office: Selected Drawings" (1974), and "Artists of the Book in Boston, 1890-1910" (1988), as well as her current project producing a catalog of 18th century Venetian illustrated books and her involvement in seminars on artists' books.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Eleanor M. Garvey (1918- ) is a curator and writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes as X digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 30 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Artists' books Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Book design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Illustrated books -- 19th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Illustrated books -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum curators -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women museum curators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abbot, Agnes Anne, 1897-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bentinck-Smith, William, 1914- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Campbell, Alexander Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Campbell, Louisa Dresser, 1907-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coffey, Katherine, d. 1972 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Conant, Kenneth J. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Der Nersessian, Sirarpie, 1896-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Freedberg, S. J. (Sydney Joseph), 1914-1997 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hofer, Philip, 1898-1984 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McAndrew, John Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
O'Gorman, James F. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Richardson, H. H. (Henry Hobson), 1838-1886 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sawyer, Charles Henry, 1906-2005 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Winship, George Parker, 1871-1952 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clark University (Worcester, Mass.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Houghton Library Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newark Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wellesley College Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Worcester Art Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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