Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Herbert Palmer

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.palmer04
Creators:
Palmer, Herbert Bearl, 1915-2006
Ehrlich, Susan, 1942-
Dates:
2004 Dec. 6-22
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
56 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Herbert Palmer conducted 2004 Dec. 6 and 22, by Susan Ehrlich, for the Archives of American Art, in West Hollywood, Calif.
Scope and Contents
Palmer discusses his family background and childhood in New York City; early exposure to art exhibitions; music appreciation; attending New York University; taking classes with Winhold Reiss, Meyer Shapiro, Richard Offner, and Heinrich Wolfflin; his master's thesis on Paul Cezanne's paintings of Mount Saint Victoire; moving to California; learning to fly; meeting Lillian, his wife; founding Feigen-Palmer Gallery with Richard Feigen; other galleries in the area, including Irving Blum, David Stuart, Felix Landau, Charles Garabedian, and Joan Ankrum; Monday Night Art Walks; John Cage and David Tudor performance pieces; the many artists he's exhibited; Andy Warhol's "The Kiss"; 1968 split with Richard Feigen to become the Herbert Palmer Gallery; the theft of a Picasso sculpture in Dec. 1981 and the ensuing legal case, which involved numerous galleries and collectors; his longstanding friendships with Gordon Onslow Ford, Lee Mullican, and Wolfgang Paalen; membership to the Art Dealers Association of California; and his enjoyment of discovering art, old and new. Palmer also recalls Henriette Riess, Harold Stevenson, Lucienne Bloch, Bridget Riley, Vasa Mihich, Maillol, Red Grooms, Norman Bluhm, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Herbert Palmer (1915-2006) owned the Herbert Palmer Gallery of West Hollywood, Calif. Interviewer Susan Ehrlich is an art historian from Beverly Hills, Calif.

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.
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
Use requires an appointment.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 4 mini discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 35 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art thefts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gallery owners -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Offner, Richard, 1889-1965 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reiss, Winold, 1886-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Feigen, Richard L., 1930- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shapiro, Meyer Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Garabedian, Charles Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ankrum, Joan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tudor, David, 1926-1996 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stevenson, Harold, 1929-2018 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Onslow-Ford, Gordon Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paalen, Wolfgang, 1907- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mullican, Lee, 1919-1998 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Callahan, Harry M. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bluhm, Norman, 1921-1999 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Grooms, Red Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Maillol, Aristide, 1861-1944 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vasa Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bloch, Lucienne, 1909-1999 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wölfflin, Heinrich, 1864-1945 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reiss, Henrietta Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Riley, Bridget, 1931- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New York University -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
David Stuart Galleries Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ankrum Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Felix Landau Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Feigen Palmer Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Irving Blum Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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