Oral history interview with James Penney
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 12 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Penney, James, 1910-1982
label: Interviewer
content: Trovato, Joseph S., 1912-1983
label: Creator
content: New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
label: Names
content: Federal Art Project (N.Y.)
label: Names
content: New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
topic: label: Topic
content: Mural painting and decoration
label: Topic
content: Federal aid to the arts
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This interview 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.
label: Provenance
content: 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 administrators.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Penney, James, 1910-1982
label: Interviewer
content: Trovato, Joseph S., 1912-1983
label: Creator
content: New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: James Penney (1910-1982) was a painter, mural painter, and educator in Clinton, N.Y.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 18 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1964 May 19 and July 27
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.penney64
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The original transcript was edited. In 202 the Archives retranscribed the original audio and attempted to create a verbatim transcript. Additional information from the original transcript that seemed relevant was added in brackets and given an –Ed. attribution. This interview was audited and edited by Ellen Brooks in 2024.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of James Penney conducted 1964 May 19, by Joseph S. Trovato, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Penney speaks of his experiences as a mural painter for the WPA Federal Art Project; painting murals for schools and hospitals; the administration of the FAP; his background and education; coming to New York City during the Depression; the influence of the Mexican and Italian muralists; and important collections which include his work.