Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Chaim Gross

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.gross81
Creators:
Gross, Chaim, 1904-1991
Brown, Milton W. (Milton Wolf), 1911-1998
Dates:
1981 May 26- 27
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Sound cassettes
Sounding recording
49 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Chaim Gross conducted 1981 May 26-27, by Milton Wolf Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Gross speaks of his early background and youth in Austria; his family's experiences when the Russian Army invaded Austria in 1914; his experiences in a refugee camp; escaping to Vienna and to Budapest; being imprisoned in Budapest and sent back to Austria; immigrating to the United States in 1921; his education at the Educational Alliance and the Beaux Arts Institute; teaching himself wood carving; selling his first works; coming to work for the WPA and later for the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts; meeting and marrying his wife Renée; influences, and sculptors whose work he admires; Judaic themes in his work; his art collection; and the changes in American culture during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Chaim Gross (1904-1991) was a sculptor from New York, N.Y.

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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Wyeth Endowment for American Art.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript: 35mm microfilm reel 3197 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
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.

Digital Content


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gross, Renée Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Soyer, Moses, 1899-1974 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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