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Interviewee:
Biddle, George, 1885-1973  Search this
Interviewer:
Phillips, Harlan B., 1920-1979,  Search this
Subject:
Bacon, Peggy  Search this
Benton, Thomas Hart  Search this
Billings, Henry  Search this
Bruce, Edward  Search this
Cahill, Holger  Search this
Demuth, Charles  Search this
Evergood, Philip  Search this
Grosz, George  Search this
Halpert, Edith Gregor  Search this
Hartley, Marsden  Search this
Marsh, Reginald  Search this
Miller, Kenneth Hayes  Search this
Orozco, José Clemente  Search this
Rivera, Diego  Search this
Robinson, Boardman  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this
Sterne, Maurice  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred  Search this
Tamayo, Rufino  Search this
Weber, Max  Search this
Zorach, William  Search this
Cassatt, Mary  Search this
Pascin, Jules  Search this
Poor, Henry Varnum  Search this
Curry, John Steuart  Search this
Bouché, Louis  Search this
Kroll, Leon  Search this
Zorach, William  Search this
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
239 Pages, Transcript
General Note:
Originally recorded 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 13 hr., 56 min.
Access Note / Rights:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Summary:
An interview of George Biddle conducted in 1963, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.
Biddle speaks of his background in Philadelphia; his Harvard education in preparation for a law career; literary acquaintances; travel; the beginning of his art career; his preoccupation with portraiture; his tragic and pleasant works; the importance of mood; his drawing techniques; drawing from nature; color experimentation; Stieglitz's circle; the susceptibility of artists to change during the 1930s; his involvement with the Public Works of Art Project; government censorship of his murals; his involvement with artists overseas during World War II; and his aesthetic philosophy. He recalls Max Weber, Maurice Sterne, George Grosz, William Zorach, Kenneth Hayes Miller, Peggy Bacon, Marsden Hartley, Charles Demuth, Edith Halpert, Boardman Robinson, Reginald Marsh, Thomas Hart Benton, Henry Billings, Ned Bruce, Holger Cahill, Philip Evergood, Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, David Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with George Biddle, 1963. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Biography Note:
George Biddle (1885-1973) was a painter and sculptor, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Art -- Censorship  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
New Deal  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12696
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213269
AAA_collcode_biddle63
Theme:
New Deal
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213269