Oral history interview with Paul Vanderbilt
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 38 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Vanderbilt, Paul
label: Interviewer
content: Doud, Richard Keith
label: Names
content: New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
label: Names
content: United States. Farm Security Administration. Historical Section
label: Names
content: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985
label: Names
content: Stryker, Roy Emerson, 1893-1975
topic: label: Topic
content: Documentary photography
label: Topic
content: Archivists -- Wisconsin -- Madison -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Librarians -- Wisconsin -- Madison -- Interviews
acqinfo: 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: Vanderbilt, Paul
label: Interviewer
content: Doud, Richard Keith
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Paul Vanderbilt (1905-1992) was a librarian, curator, and photographer active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 27 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1964 November 10
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.vander64
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 2021 the Archives retranscribed the original audio and attempted to create a verbatim transcript. This interview was audited and edited by Allison Tracy-Taylor in 2025.
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 with Paul Vanderbilt conducted 1964 November 10, by Richard K. Doud, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Vanderbilt speaks of his background and education in art history at Harvard, his work with books and in libraries before getting involved with the Farm Security Administration project; starting with the FSA and developing a plan to get its work organized; the goals and philosophies of the FSA, and the realities of its accomplishments; what the photographs produced by the project say about America; and the project's relevance to current times. He recalls Edwin Rosskam and Roy Stryker.