Scope and Contents

The papers of art historian and author Hayden Herrera measure 5.8 linear feet and date from 1926-2006. Included are notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and sound recordings related to Herrera's writing projects, including her biography on abstract expressionist, Arshile Gorky.

Materials include detailed, handwritten notes and typed transcripts from interviews she conducted between 1970 and 2004, and sound recordings of notable figures in the art world and friends and family of Arshile Gorky that Herrera interviewed between 1977 and 2006. Among the sound recordings are interviews with Lucio Amelio, Mary Bauermeister, Wolfgang Becker, Bruno Bischofberger, Margaret Cogsell, Mary Frank, Christian Geelhaar, Olle Granath, Nigel Greenwood, Wolfgang Hahn, Werner Hofmann, Fred Jahn, Paul Jenkins, Jacob Kainen, R. B. Kitaj, Donald Judd, Peter Nestler, Lars Nittve, Peter Ludwig, Hans Mayer, Jorn Merkert, Franz Mayer, Dorothy Miller, Bryan Robertson, Werner Chmalenbach, Joan Snyder, Ileana Sonnabend, David Sylvester, Evelyn Weiss, and Rudolf Zwirner. Research files related to Arshile Gorky consist of photocopies of archival materials from various repositories including correspondence, interview transcripts, and photographic material; Herrera's interview transcripts and notes; correspondence; clippings; and photographs of Gorky, his friends and family, and his work. The bulk of the collection dates from 1984 to 1997.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged as two series:

Biographical / Historical

Hayden Herrera is an art historian and author in New York, N.Y. Herrera attended Barnard College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1965. While working on her PhD at the City University of New York (CUNY) she travelled to Mexico City where she was first exposed to Frida Kahlo's work. This trip inspired Herrera's thesis topic, which she published as her first book, "Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo." The book was adapted into a studio film, "Frida," starring Salma Hayek. Two years later Herrera published her biography of Arshile Gorky and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.