Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Peter and Paula Lunder

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.lunder17
Creators:
Lunder, Peter H.
McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952-
Dates:
2017 October 19-20
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5 Items
sound files (2 hr., 41 min.) Audio
digital, wav
64 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An oral history interview with Peter and Paula Lunder conducted 2017 October 19-20, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art and the Center for the History of Collecting in America at the Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection, at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Scope and Contents
Mr. and Ms. Lunder discuss their time living in Waterville and Dexter, Maine and Mr. Lunder's work as a partner at the Dexter Shoe Company; their exposures to art and culture while growing up in Boston and Chicago; their initial interests in art collecting and the shift of their focus from European art to American art; their associations with Hugh Gourley and other directors and curators at the Colby College Museum of Art; the relationships they made with fellow art collectors, museum curators, art dealers and gallery owners while growing their collection and when working on finding a home for their collection; their relationship with the former director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Betsy Broun; Mr. Lunder's initial interest in Southwestern art and the development of their collection to include a wide range of American art; and Mr. Lunder's partial ownership of the Boston Red Sox beginning in 1977. Mr. and Ms. Lunder also describe living part-time in Florida and their patronage of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach; their desire to endow their collection to a Northeast regional museum in Maine; their belief in the importance of art conservation and their focus on having the collection be used for teaching; Ms. Lunder's work as a volunteer docent at the Colby Art Museum; and their work with the Clark Art Institute to support a place for art conservation in the region. Mr. and Ms. Lunder also recall Max Stern; Jere Abbott; Bro Adams; Thomas Colville; Margaret MacDonald; Sharon Corwin; Ann and Gil Maurer; Alice Walton as well as Jay Cantor; Seelye Bixler; Michael Greenbaum; George Gurney; Cy Twombly; Stephen Hannock; Doug Baxter; Christa Gaehde; and Michael Conforti, among others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Peter Lunder (1933-) and Paula Lunder (1934- ) are art collectors and philanthropists in Boston, Massachusetts. James McElhinney (1952- ) is a painter and educator of New York, New York.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by Barbara Fleischman.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
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.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
System Details
Recorded on Zoom H2n.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Philanthropists -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women art collectors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lunder, Paula Crane Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stern, Max, 1903-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Broun, Elizabeth Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abbott, Jere Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gourley, Hugh J. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Colville, Thomas L. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Twombly, Cy, 1928- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Walton, Alice, 1949- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Corwin, Sharon Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cantor, Jay E. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bixler, Julius Seelye, 1894-1985 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Greenbaum, Michael D. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gurney, George Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian American Art Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Norton Gallery and School of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Colby College. Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Boston Red Sox (Baseball team) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art Collectors: A Project in Partnership with the Center for the History of Collecting in America at The Frick Collection Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions