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Oral history interview with Abraham Walkowitz, 1958 December 8-22

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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Walkowitz, Abraham, 1880-1965  Search this
Interviewer:
Cowdrey, Mary Bartlett, 1910-1974  Search this
Subject:
Lerner, Abram  Search this
Bliss, Lizzie P. (Lizzie Plummer)  Search this
Boswell, Peyton  Search this
Cézanne, Paul  Search this
Chase, William Merritt  Search this
Cox, Kenyon  Search this
Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen)  Search this
Duncan, Isadora  Search this
Epstein, Jacob, Sir  Search this
Hassam, Childe  Search this
Kuhn, Walt  Search this
Monet, Claude  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia  Search this
Pach, Walter  Search this
Weber, Max  Search this
"291" (Gallery)  Search this
Society of Independent Artists (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Armory Show (1913: New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
66 Pages, Transcript
General Note:
Sound has been lost on tape reels; reels discarded.
Access Note / Rights:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Summary:
An interview of Abraham Walkowitz conducted by Abram Lerner and Mary Bartlett Cowdrey for the Archives of American Art.
Walkowitz discusses his childhood and schooling; travelling abroad; influence of Claude Monet exhibit; his book, "Artists of Walkowitz: 100 Portraits"; Paul Cezanne's death; meeting artists in Europe; his 1908 exhibition of modern art at the Julius Haas Gallery, New York; getting Max Weber a show at the Haas Gallery; Steiglitz and his "291" Gallery; the Armory Show, especially the roles of Arthur B. Davies, Walt Kuhn, and Walter Pach; reactions to Nude Descending a Staircase; the Society of Independent Artists; thoughts on criticism of his work; his relationship with the critic Peyton Boswell; the importance in his work of dancer Isadora Duncan; opinions on American art, modern art, art schools, students and patrons; good art versus bad art; and the role of critics. Among others he recalls are Lizzie Bliss, William Merritt Chase, Kenyon Cox, The Eight, Jacob Epstein, Childe Hassam, and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Abraham Walkowitz, 1958 December 8-22. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript available on line at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/walker65.htm
Biography Note:
Abraham Walkowitz (1880-1965) was a painter in New York, New York.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Eight (Group of American artists)  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13176
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214156
AAA_collcode_walkow58
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_214156