Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Thomas M. Messer

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.messer70
Creators:
Messer, Thomas M.
Cummings, Paul
Dates:
1970 Sept. 22
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
35 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Thomas M. Messer conducted 1970 Sept. 22, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Messer speaks of his childhood in Czechoslovakia; his early interest in art and music; coming to the United States; his education at Boston University; directing a museum, in Roswell, N.M., for three years; going to the American Federation of Arts and becoming director there; moving on to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston; the development of his interest in Latin American art and culture; becoming the director of the Guggenheim Museum; his philosophy on museum acquisitions; the current art market; what makes exhibitions successful or unsuccessful; and the future of museums.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Thomas M. Messer (1919- ) is a museum director from New York, N.Y.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript: 35mm microfilm reel 3417 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
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: Patrons must use microfilm copy.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 9 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art museum directors -- United States -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art museums -- United States Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Federation of Arts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Roswell Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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