Usage conditions may apply for digital images, video, and sound recordings linked within SOVA collections. While digital content may be restricted, SOVA collection descriptions and catalog records are available CC0 for re-use. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Archives of American Art
Oral history interview with Dorothy C. Miller
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.miller70
- Creators:
-
Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003Cummings, Paul
- Dates:
-
1970 May 26-1971 Sept. 28
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
260 PagesTranscript18 Itemssound files (20 hrs., 42 min.)digital, wav
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
An interview of Dorothy Miller conducted 1970 May 26-1971 Sept. 28, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Miller speaks of her childhood and family background; the beginning of her career in museums; her first trip to Europe; the Depression and its effect on the art world; the establishment of the WPA Federal Art Project; the scandal over the Diego Rivera mural in Rockefeller Center; getting started with the Museum of Modern Art in its early years; working with Alfred Barr; early exhibitions at the MOMA; meeting Mark Tobey and Morris Graves; meeting Holger Cahill; Cahill's background; Cahill's involvement with the WPA Federal Art Project, and the Project's early years; post-war changes in American art and the post-war years at the MOMA; Shaker design; some of her colleagues at the MOMA.
Scope and Contents
She recalls Duncan Phillips, Rene D'Harnoncourt, Jackson Pollock, Edward M.M. Warburg, Nelson Rockefeller, Mark Rothko, Louise Nevelson, Alexander Calder, Lyonel Feininger, Walker Evans, and Edwin Dickinson.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Dorothy C. Miller (1904-2003) was an art museum curator from New York, N.Y.
Administration
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript: 35mm microfilm reel 4210-4211 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These interviews are 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.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Transcript: Available on microfilm.
More Information
General
General
Originally recorded on 10 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 18 digital wav files. Duration is 20 hrs., 42 min.
Keywords
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-7950
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions