Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Robert E. Meyerhoff

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.meyerh14
Creators:
Meyerhoff, Robert
McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952-
Dates:
2014 December 11-12
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
15 Items
sound files (3 hrs., 34 min.)
digital, wav
71 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview with Robert E. Meyerhoff conducted 2014 December 11-12, 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 Meyerhoff's Fitzhugh Farm in Phoenix, Maryland.
Scope and Contents
Meyerhoff speaks of his first experiences with art; his wife Jane; his background as an engineer, his family and philanthropy; the Maryland Institute College of Art; the Baltimore Museum; Professor Bates Lowry; his wife's interest in art; early purchases and the beginning of his collection; Rothko; the art world; collectors; becoming friends with artists; notes and tapes with his wife Jane discussing work and talking with artists; collecting five artists; agreement with the National Gallery; being friends with Robert Rauschenberg; art investment and speculation; displaying artwork; gallery and museum space and displaying art; star architects; spending time in New York; his home in Maryland; Baltimore; living with artwork; the collection; responding to art; touring of his gallery; planning the gallery; Irving Blum; interactions with dealers; Leo Castelli; art world friends; fake Pollock; Baltimore response to the Avant Garde; African Americans and museums; Meyerhoff scholars program; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Freeman Hrabowski; de-accessioning; buying based on eye and heart; record keeping; horses, Phoenix, Maryland; buying a Durer; Candida Hofer; video art; Walter's Art Museum; looking at art; art history; sharing his collection. Meyerhoff also recalls Dave Bergman, Sidney Janis, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Sella, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Bud Leake, Jackson Frost, Cy Twombly, the Duke of Pembroke, Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Gehry, Rose Ellen, Brice Marden, Phillip Guston, Roy Sargent, de Kooning, Franz Kline, Agnes Barton, Grace Hartigan, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff, Jeff Wall, Hans Hofmann; Vik Muniz, Lawrence Menifee, Jr., Leo Castelli, Ben Heller, Israel Rosen, Betty Parsons, Saul Bellow, Paula Cooper, James Goodman, Matthew Morrison, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Ruth Kuffman, Freeman Hrabowski, Rheda Becker, Thomas Struth, William Kentridge, Nina Sundell, and Allison Berkeley.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Interviewee Robert E. Meyerhoff (1924-) is a philanthropist and art collector in Phoenix, Md. Interviewer James McElhinney (1952- ) is a painter and educator in 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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
African American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Collectors -- Maryland Occupation 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

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