Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Ivan C. Karp

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.karp69
Creators:
Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012
Cummings, Paul
Dates:
1969 March 12
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Sound tape reel
Sound recordings: (2 hours 30 min.)
7 in.
78 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Ivan C. Karp conducted 1969 March 12, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art at the Leo Castelli Gallery.
Scope and Contents
Karp discusses the invention of the names "OK Harris" and "Green Gallery"; his work for Leo Castelli including gallery exhibitions, expenses, collectors, critics and staff; the work of Richard Artschwager, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Cy Twombly, Gerry Vanderweil, Andy Warhol, and others; The Club; "soft art"; and the art market. He recalls Richard Bellamy, Ileana Sonnabend, Robert C. Scull, and others. Karp speaks of growing up in the boroughs of New York City, his reading and writing interests, commercial film making, his work for the Hansa Gallery and Martha Jackson, summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the art scene in New York City in the late 1950s.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Ivan C. Karp (1926- ) is an art dealer and director of the OK Harris Gallery in 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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript available on line.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This interview is part of the Archives' 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


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Optical art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pop art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Soft sculpture -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
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
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artschwager, Richard, 1923-2013 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bellamy, Richard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Castelli, Leo Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Johns, Jasper, 1930- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rosenquist, James, 1933- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scull, Robert C. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sonnabend, Ileana Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Twombly, Cy, 1928- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Club (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Richard Green Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hansa Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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