Oral history interview with Alfred Victor Frankenstein

OralHistoryResource

Oral history interview with Alfred Victor Frankenstein

1965 Nov. 9

An interview of Alfred Victor Frankenstein conducted 1965 Nov. 9, by Mary McChesney, for the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project. Frankenstein speaks of the WPA mural project and its value; problems with the project; Hans Hofmann's influence; the influence of surrealism; the Coit Tower murals and the controversy surrounding them; the easel painting project and its value; political problems with the Federal Art Project; the project's relevance to current problems; art in architecture; the Index of American Design. He recalls Beniamino Bufano.

1 sound tape reel ; 5 in.; Transcript: 18 p.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7559437

Archives of American Art

Related Entities

There are 6 Entities related to this resource.

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project.

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Federal Art Project (Calif.)

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The Federal Art Project (FAP) fell under the jurisdiction of Federal Project No. 1 of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA was established in May 1935 specifically as a work relief program for the millions of individuals left unemployed during the Depression. Its name changed to the Work Projects Administration in 1939 when it fell under the administrative hand of the newly created Federal Works Agency. The FAP was created in August 1935 to aid unemployed artists, following the prece...

Index of American Design

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The Index of American Design was a part of the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project, which gathered information on significant artifacts in 35 states in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In Texas the effort was headquartered in San Antonio. Original watercolors of the artifacts were housed at the National Gallery of Art. From the description of Index of American Design Texas artifacts records collection 1937-1956. (University of Texas Libraries). W...

Frankenstein, Alfred V. (Alfred Victor), 1906-1981

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Art historian; San Francisco, Calif. From the description of Alfred Victor Frankenstein interview, 1965 Nov. 9. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220193439 Music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. From the description of Alfred Frankenstein collection, [ca. 1930-1932]. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 39146032 Art critic, art historian; San Francisco, Calif. Died 1981. From the description of Alfred Victor Frankenst...

Bufano, Beniamino, 1898-1970

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Beniamino Bufano, a sculptor, was born in San Fele, Italy in 1886, and the fourteenth of fifteen children. He immigrated to New York with his family when he was a boy. As an adult he lived all over the world, but mostly in San Francisco. He married in 1925 to Virginia Bufano Lewin. They had one son Erskine. Virginia and Bufano divorced in 1932. Sponsors included Albert Bender and Trader Vic Bergeron. Bufano died in 1970 in San Francisco. From the description of Beniamino Bufano autob...

McChesney, Mary Fuller

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Mary Fuller McChesney, sculptor and art historian of San Francisco and Petaluma, Calif. From the description of Oral history interview with Mary Fuller McChesney, 1994 Sept. 28. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 77979777 McChesney, also known as Mary Fuller, is an art historian, writer, and sculptor. Her book, A Period of Exploration, San Francisco, 1945-1950, was published in 1973 in conjunction with the accompanying exhibition at the Oakland Museum. From the descr...