Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Joseph Liss

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.liss82
Creators:
Liss, Joseph
Ashton, Dore
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project
Dates:
1982 Aug. 10
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
16 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Joseph Liss conducted 1982 Aug. 10, by Dore Ashton, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Scope and Contents
Liss relates anecdotes about Mark Rothko, including ones about a painting Liss bought, a fishing trip with Harold Rosenberg, a portrait of Liss painted by Rothko, and Rothko's visits with Liss in the country. He reads passages from his writings, including an account of why Rosenberg and Rothko ceased to be friends which incorporates Rosenberg's own words.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Joseph Liss (1911-1988) was a writer from East Hampton, Long Island and a, friend of artist Mark Rothko and other Long Island artists.

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
35mm microfilm reel 4937 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
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, Stanley Kunitz, 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.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Transcript: Use requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use
Passage cited from "Afternoon With the De Koonings" book written by Liss: The interviewee has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 43 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
Rosenberg, Harold, 1906-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
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