Oral history interview with Margaret Scolari Barr relating to Alfred H. Barr
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 46 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Barr, Margaret Scolari, 1901-1987
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
label: Names
content: Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981
label: Names
content: Clark, Stephen C. (Stephen Carlton), b. 1882
label: Names
content: D'Harnoncourt, Rene, 1901-1968
label: Names
content: Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, 1903-1987
label: Names
content: Johnson, Philip, 1906-2005
label: Names
content: Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Art museum directors -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women art historians
label: Topic
content: Women educators
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These interviews are part of the Archives' 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.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Barr, Margaret Scolari, 1901-1987
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Margaret Scolari Barr (1901-1987) was married to Alfred Barr, the director of the Museum of Modern Art and lived in New York. Mrs. Barr taught at Vassar (Italian) and the Spence School (art history), wrote several books, and translated others. She worked closely with her husband, on numerous of his projects.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 69 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1974 February 22-May 13
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.barr74
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript 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 Margaret Scolari Barr conducted 1974 February 22-1974 May 13, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: The interview primarily concerns her husband, Alfred Hamilton Barr, Jr., the director of the Museum of Modern Art, but also touches upon her childhood in Italy, her educational background, and teaching at Vassar. She discusses her husband's career with the Museum of Modern Art, including his travel and entertaining for the museum, borrowing works of art, installing exhibitions, his work methods and published writings, the Rescue Committee for European Artists in World War II, and the 1958 fire at the Museum of Modern Art. She describes Alfred Barr's firing from the Museum of Modern Art in 1943. She recalls Steven Clark, Rene D'Harnoncourt, Henry Russell Hitchcock, Philip Cortelyou Johnson, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, and others.