Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Betty Parsons

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.parson69
Creators:
Parsons, Betty
Cummings, Paul
Dates:
1969 June 4-9
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
44 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Betty Parsons conducted 1969 June 4-9, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Parsons speaks of her family background; her years in Paris; living in California for four years; teaching sculpture and drawing; the Wakefield Gallery; the establishment of her own gallery, and some of her clients and artists; a pre-Columbian show at her gallery; the New York gallery scene; her own collection; her affiliation with Arshile Gorky and John Graham; the importance of The Club; and the influence of critics and art magazines. She recalls Kenzo Okada, Barnett Newman and Sidney Janis.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Betty Parsons (1900-1982) was a painter and art dealer from New York, N.Y.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
These interviews are 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 others.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 7 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gorky, Arshile, 1904-1948 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Graham, John, 1887-1961 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Janis, Sidney, 1896-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Okada, Kenzo, 1902-1982 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Betty Parsons Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Club (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wakefield Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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