Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Hedda Sterne

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.sterne81
Creators:
Sterne, Hedda, 1910-2011
Tuchman, Phyllis
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project
Dates:
1981 December 17
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
27 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Hedda Sterne conducted 1981 December 17, by Phyllis Tuchman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Scope and Contents
Sterne remembers Mark Rothko's personality and relations with other artists. She recalls her involvement with a roundtable discussion in 1950, and describes seeing Rothko shortly before his death. Sterne goes on to speak about her childhood in Romania, art education in Paris and Vienna, and emigration to America in 1941. She describes the New York gallery scene of the 1940s and 1950s, the evolution of her work through the years, and her painting habits. She recalls Peggy Guggenheim, Clyfford Still, Milton Avery, Ad Reinhardt, Barney Newman, Clement Greenberg, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Hedda Sterne (1910-2011) was a painter from New York, N.Y.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation. 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 was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Jack Kufeld, Katharine Kuh, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.

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 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 19 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abstract expressionism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Avery, Milton, 1885-1965 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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