Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Vera Klement

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.klemen15
Creators:
Klement, Vera, 1929-
Silverman, Lanny
Dates:
2015 June 12 and 14
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3 Items
Sound recording: 3 sound files (3 hr., 24 min.)
digital, wav
140 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview with Vera Klement conducted 2015 June 12 and 14, by Lanny Silverman, for the Archives of American Art's Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project, at Klement's home and studio in Chicago, Illinois.
Scope and Contents
Klement speaks of her early childhood in Danzig (now, Gdansk, Poland) on the eve of World War II; her family's immigration to New York; her early experiences with music and art; her decision to become a painter; her interactions within New York's art community of the 1950s; the change in New York's art scene after the emergence of Pop art; her move to Chicago and subsequent difficulties in showing her work; her involvement within the Chicago art community; the founding of the women's artist cooperative, Artemisia; her involvement with the women's movement in the 1970s; teaching at the University of Chicago; her conception of her artwork as representational and apolitical; her literary influences; and her distaste for the contemporary art world. Klement also recalls Dennis Adrian, Dore Ashton, Marianne Deson, Angelo Ippolito, Miyoko Ito, Phyllis Kind, Harold Rosenberg, Ralph Shapey, Theodoros Stamos, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Vera Klement (1929-2023) was an Expressionist painter in Chicago, Illinois.
Biographical / Historical
Lanny Silverman (1947- ) is a curator at the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago, Illinois.

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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript available online.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

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

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded as 3 sound files. Duration is 3 hr., 24 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, American -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, American -- Illinois -- Chicago Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women's rights Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Adrian, Dennis, 1937- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ashton, Dore Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Deson, Marianne Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ippolito, Angelo Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ito, Miyoko, 1918-1983 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kind, Phyllis, 1933-2018 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rosenberg, Harold, 1906-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shapey, Ralph, 1921-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artemisia Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Chicago -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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