Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ruth Armer, 1974 August 14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Ruth Armer conducted 1974 August 14, by Paul J. Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art. Armer speaks of her early interest in art; her education; moving to New York City in 1918; studying at the Art Students League under John Sloan, Robert Henri and George Bellows, and the influences of Leo Stein and Max Weber. She discusses her early work in portrait painting; returning to San Francisco and working as a commercial artist; becoming a teacher; and her opinions of San Francisco art and the art market.
Biographical / Historical:
Ruth Armer (1896-1977) was a painter and art collector from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 39 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
The records of Owen Gallery measure 9.4 linear feet and 0.093 GB and date from 1929-2010, bulk 1980-2010. The gallery, which operated from 1986 to 2009 in New York, specialized in late nineteenth and early twentieth century American art with an emphasis on The Eight, Ashcan, and early American modernism. Michael Owen and James Yost owned and directed the gallery. Found within the records are exhibition files; inventory and sales records; printed and digital material; and records regarding painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Material dating from before 1986 when the gallery was established is research related to an artwork's provenance.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Owen Gallery measure 9.4 linear feet and 0.093 GB and date from 1929-2010, bulk 1980-2010. The gallery, which operated from 1986 to 2009 in New York, specialized in late nineteenth and early twentieth century American art with an emphasis on The Eight, Ashcan, and early American modernism. Artists represented include Thomas Hart Benton, Arthur B. Davies, William Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, and others. Michael Owen and James Yost owned and directed the gallery. Found within the records are exhibitions files; inventory and sales records; printed and digital material; and records regarding painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Material dating from before 1986 when the gallery was established is research related to an artwork's provenance.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series
Missing Title
Series 1: Exhibition Files, 1989-2010 (2.1 linear feet; Box 1-3, 0.001 GB; ER01)
Series 2: Inventory and Sales Records, 1929-2010, bulk 1980-2010 (5.7 linear feet; Box 3-8, 0.092 GB; ER02-ER04)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1994-2008 (0.4 linear feet; Box 8-9)
Series 4: Records Regarding Yasuo Kuniyoshi, circa 1955-2000 (1.2 linear feet; Box 9-10)
Biographical / Historical:
Owen Gallery, a New York gallery specializing in late nineteenth and early twentieth century American art, operated from 1986 to 2009 and was owned and directed by Michael Owen and James Yost. The gallery represented many artists associated with The Eight, Ashcan, and American modernism. Although exhibitions and the retail gallery have closed, the business remains in operation.
Provenance:
The Owen Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2015 and 2016 by Michael Owen and James Yost.
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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Alexander Calder, 1971 October 26. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Karl Schrag, 1970 October 14-20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Katherine Schmidt, 1969 December 8-15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
