Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Lewis W. and Erica Beckh Rubenstein

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.rubens93
Creators:
Rubenstein, Lewis W. (Lewis William), 1908-2003
Polcari, Stephen
Rubenstein, Erica Beckh, 1914-2014
Dates:
1993 February 23
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Items
sound cassettes (1 hr. 45 min.)
analog.
50 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview with Lewis and Erica Rubenstein conducted 1993 February 23, by Stephen Polcari, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Lewis Rubenstein discusses his early career as a fresco painter, including his training in Italy and friendship with Rico Lebrun. He talks specifically about commissioned murals at the Fogg Art Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and assisting Jose Clemente Orozco on "portable murals" for the Museum of Modern Art. He talks of his move away from realism and the themes that interested him in the 1950s and 1960s. He remembers spending summers in Provincetown and taking classes with Hans Hofmann, his work teaching studio art at Vassar College, and briefly about the visiting artists program he ran there. Erica Rubenstein talks about the significance of 1930s mural paintings, the WPA movement, and government support of the arts in general.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Lewis W. Rubentstein (1908-2003) was a painter, printmaker, and teacher and teacher at Vassar College. He lived in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Erica Beckh Rubenstein (1914-2014) was an art historian, whose Ph.D. thesis at Harvard, "Taxpayers Murals," related to New Deal murals.

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.
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 audio recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 56 min.
General
Side B of Tape 1 is blank.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Mural painting and decoration, American Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art and state Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- Poughkeepsie -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians -- New York (State) -- Poughkeepsie -- Interviews Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- New York (State) -- Poughkeepsie -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Orozco, José Clemente, 1883-1949 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rubenstein, Erica Beckh, 1914-2014 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vassar College -- Faculty -- Interviews Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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