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Archives of American Art
Oral history interview with Charles H. Sawyer
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.sawyer64
- Creators:
-
Sawyer, Charles Henry, 1906-2005Ehrlich, HeywardNew Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
- Dates:
-
1964
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
14 PagesTranscript
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
An interview of Charles Henry Sawyer conducted in 1964, by Heyward Ehrlich, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Sawyer speaks of how he first got involved in art after being offered a job teaching art and operating a museum in Andover by a family friend; how he became involved with the Federal Art Project; the early stages of the Project, and the difficulties they encountered, including the primary motivation of the Project, deciding where the work was to be assigned, and other administrative problems; the changes that occurred as the Federal Arts Project developed; the artists involved with the Project, such as Karl Knaths and Jack Levine; the shows that were put on by the Project; the end of the Federal Art Project; and his thoughts on the project in retrospect. Sawyer recalls Francis Taylor, Karl Knaths, Jack Levine, Howard Gibbs, John Stuart Curry, Herbert Waters, Karl Zerbe, Howard Cook, Hail Woodworth, and many others.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Charles Henry Sawyer (1906-2005) was a museum director in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Administration
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Digital Content
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
More Information
General
General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 3 min.
Keywords
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions