Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Stanley Kunitz

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.kunitz83
Creators:
Kunitz, Stanley, 1905-2006
Berman, Avis
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project
Dates:
1983 Dec. 8
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
43 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Stanley Kunitz conducted 1983 Dec. 8, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Scope and Contents
Kunitz recalls meeting Mark Rothko in the early 1950s, his later friendship with him, and the changes he observed in Rothko's personality. He mentions their plans for a poetry and art collaboration, eventually abandoned, and describes Rothko's feelings for Russian literature. Kunitz relates anecdotes from their time in Provincetown, remarking on Rothko's dislike for nature and his feelings about religion. He speaks about particular Rothko works and Rothko's intentions for the Foundation.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006) was a poet 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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Jack Kufeld, Katharine Kuh, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 12 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Abstract expressionism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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