Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Arline Custer, 1975 April 7. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Arline Custer conducted 1975 April 7, by Garnett McCoy, for the Archives of American Art.
Custer speaks of the early years of the Archives of American Art in Detroit.
Biographical / Historical:
Arline Custer (1909-1975) was a librarian from Detroit, Michigan. She worked for the Archives of American Art when it first began.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav file. Duration is 45 min.
Provenance:
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 others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Archives of American Art and Jam Handy Organization, Inc. For the Record, ca. 1960. For the Record [motion picture] / presenter, Archives of American Art; director, James Slayden; narrator, Brian O'Doherty, circa 1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
1 Film reel (Duplicate (25 min.), sd., col., 16 mm.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Film reels
Video recordings
Date:
1985
Scope and Contents:
Motion picture made in cooperation with the Michigan Foundation for the Arts and the support of the Michigan Council for the Arts. The film documents the sculpture project undertaken by David Barr, an invisible tetrahedron spanning the inside of the Earth with the outer four corners just protruding from the crust of the Earth. The visible corners are located in Easter Island, South Africa, New Guinea, and Greenland. Barr chose the locations as areas untouched by Western technology and in remote areas in order to bridge diverse cultures. Also included is a cassette and transcript of a portion of the sound portion of the film, and a summary of the project by Barr.
1 Film reel (Original (20 min.), sd., col., 16mm.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1960
Scope and Contents:
Narrator Brian O'Doherty discusses the role the Archives of American Art plays in art historical research through a selection of historical documents which he describes, including a letters, photographs, a sketchbook, diary, and oral history interviews. Dr. Harlan Phillips and E.P. Richardson appear briefly to discuss the Archives.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Detroit : The Jam Handy Organization, [ca. 1960].
General:
Presented by the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
Transferred from 16 mm motion picture film to videocassette (VHS) in 1992. Videocassette was later digitized.
Archives of American Art and David John Barr. In Celebration: The Four Corners Project by David Barr, 1985. In celebration [motion picture] : the four corners project by David Barr / Archives of American Art; editors, Charles F. Cirgenski and Linda Abramsky, 1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
For the Record [motion picture] / presenter, Archives of American Art; director, James Slayden; narrator, Brian O'Doherty, circa 1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
David John Barr and Archives of American Art. In celebration: the four corners project, 1985. In celebration [motion picture] : the four corners project by David Barr / Archives of American Art; editors, Charles F. Cirgenski and Linda Abramsky, 1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
5 Items (1 16mm film and 4 videos (ca. 25 min.): 1 U-Matic and 3 VHS, sd., col.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
1985
Scope and Contents:
Video documentary on the Archives of American Art, a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution holding original source material and microfilm relating to American artists and art history. The video describes the holdings of the archives, the collecting process and the value of the resources to researchers. Appearing in the video are director Richard Murray, regional collector Robert Brown, curator Garnett McCoy, and other staff, and sculptor George Rickey. The video was made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Charitable Trust.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institution, Office of Telecommunications, 1985.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Barbara G. Fleischman, 2011 Dec. 27-2012 Jan. 23. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
The papers of art collectors, art patrons, and philanthropists Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman measure 4.9 linear feet and date from 1837 to 1984, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1935-1979. The papers are comprised mostly of correspondence with artists, museums, and arts organizations. Also found are scattered biographical materials, artists' autograph letters purchased by the Fleischmans, exhibition files, notes and writings, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art collectors, art patrons, and philanthropists Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman measure 4.9 linear feet and date from 1837 to 1984, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1935-1979. The papers are comprised mostly of correspondence with artists, museums, and arts organizations. Also found are scattered biographical materials, artists' autograph letters purchased by the Fleischmans, exhibition files, notes and writings, printed material, and photographs.
One folder of biographical material includes a biographical account and a certificate of appreciation from the Common Council for the City of Detroit.
The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence documenting the Fleischman's art related activities and interests primarily during the 1950s and 1960s. Individual correspondents include Aaron Bohrod, Charles E. Burchfield, Charles B. Culver, Philip Evergood, Earl Krentzin, John Marin, Jr., Abraham Rattner and Esther Gentle, Peter Pollack, Edgar P. and Constance Richardson, Charles Coleman Sellers, and Franklin Watkins. One letter from Charles E. Burchfield includes four etching plates used to create the color print of Hot September Wind.
Arts organizations and galleries represented in the correspondence include the American Federation of Arts, the Archives of American Art, the Arts Commission of the City of Detroit, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Detroit Institute of Art, Kennedy Galleries, M. Knoedler and Co., Inc., Kraushaar Galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Midtown Galleries, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the School of the Society of Arts and Crafts, the United States Information Agency, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Winterthur Museum.
Autograph letters purchased by the Fleischmans include letters written by artists Washington Allston (addressed to Thomas Sully), Albert Pinkham Ryder, and John Taylor Arms.
Exhibition files document the various exhibitions of art work from the Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman Collection at the University of Michigan Museum of Art; the Detroit Institute of Art; in Central and South America; in Greece, Israel and Russia; and at the Milwaukee Art Center. The files contain letters, notes, printed material, and photographs.
Three folders of notes and writings include "Introduction to Earl Krentzin Catalog" by Lawrence Fleischman and "Selection of Excerpts from the Soviet Press and Radio Attacking U. S. Culture" by unidentified authors.
Scattered printed material includes miscellaneous clippings and catalogs not connected with the Exhibition Files series. There is also a book John Marin: The Man and his Work by E. M. Benson that was autographed by Marin to the Fleischmans in 1953.
Photographs include portrait photographs of Lawrence Fleischman, photographs of Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman with colleagues, of art work from the Fleischman Collection, of Truman and Grace Bailey in their studio, and a copy photograph of Thomas Eakins as a boy.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1958 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-1984 (Boxes 1-4, 7; 3.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Autograph Letters, 1837-1942 (Box 4; 4 folders)
Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1953-1960 (Boxes 4-5, 7; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1957-1962 (Box 5; 3 folders)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1935-1969 (Box 5-6; 6 folders)
Series 7: Photographs, 1953-1965 (Box 6; 13 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Lawrence Fleischman (1925-1997) of New York City was an American art collector, patron, philanthropist, and benefactor. He and his wife, Barbara Greenberg Fleischman, assembled an impressive collection of art and artifacts that they shared with the public as part of their philanthropic activities aimed at fostering a wider appreciation of the arts around the world.
Lawrence Fleischman was born on February 14, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Stella and Arthur Fleischman, the owner of a large carpet business. He attended the Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois, and studied engineering at Purdue University. In 1942, he interrupted his studies to volunteer for service in the U.S. Army during World War II. While serving in France, he met a doctor who further fostered Fleischman's ever growing interest in American art. Following the war, he graduated with a degree in physics from the University of Detroit. Fleischman met Barbara Greenberg in Detroit and they were married in 1948.
Beginning in the late 1940s, Fleischman established a fledgling television station, developed holdings in real estate, and began purchasing art work. Initially the Fleischmans collected undervalued 20th century American art and were friends with several artists, including John Marin, Charles Burchfield, Stuart Davis, and Ben Shahn. They also expanded the scope of their collection to include 19th century American works.
During the 1950s, Lawrence Fleischman realized how there were few American art historians and college departments, as well as a lack of primary source material. Fleischman worked with Edgar P. Richardson, then director of the Detroit Institute of Art, to raise funds and they founded the Archives of American Art at the Detroit Institute of Art in 1954. The Archives of American Art was, and still is, dedicated to the collection, preservation, and study of primary source records that document the history of the visual arts in the United States. Lawrence A. Fleischman is a founding Trustee of the AAA and served as the Chairman of the Board from 1958 to 1966. His wife, Barbara joined the Board of Trustees in 1997 and served as Chair from 2003 to 2007. She is a Trustee Emerita.
Lawrence Fleischman's business and philanthropic interests included the Arthur Fleischman Carpet Company, the Lee Plaza Hotel-Motel in Detroit, Art Adventurers, the Art School of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit, the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Cultural Committee of the United States Information Agency, and the Art Commission of Detroit, which governed the Detroit Institute of Art. He also served as an officer of the Board for many of the arts-related organizations.
In 1996, the Fleischmans moved their family from Detroit to New York City, where Lawrence Fleischman became a partner in the Kennedy Galleries.
The Fleischmans philanthropic activities include generous support of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Art, the Cleveland Museum, the British Museum, the Vatican Museum, and lifelong support of the Archives of American Art.
Lawrence Fleischman died on January 31, 1997 in London, England. Barbara Fleischman lives in New York City and continues to be an active supporter of the visual arts.
Related Materials:
Among the Archives holdings are two oral history interviews with Lawrence A. Fleischman. The first was conducted by Paul Cummings in 1970 and the second conducted by Gail Stavitsky in 1994 . Both interviews have transcripts available.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming, the majority of which was later donated, except for five letters on reel D197. These include one postcard from Constance Richardson, 1956; one letter from Constance Richardson, 1957; one letter from Franklin Watkins, 1955; one letter from Lawrence Fleischman to Wilbur H. Hunter, 1960; and one letter from Richard D. Tucker, 1960. This material remains with lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman papers were donated in several accretions by Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman from 1954 to 2007. Letters were also loaned for microfilming in 1965, but nearly all of them were subsequently donated.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
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