Oral history interview with George Earl Ortman
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 4 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 52 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Ortman, George, 1926-
label: Interviewer
content: Baker, Richard Brown
label: Names
content: Brodie, Gandy, 1925-1975
label: Names
content: De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997
label: Names
content: Hayter, Stanley William, 1901-1988
label: Names
content: Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966
label: Names
content: Mitchell, Joan, 1926-1992
label: Names
content: Oliveira, Nathan, 1928-2010
label: Names
content: Ward, Eleanor, 1912-1984
label: Names
content: Wise, Howard
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Michigan -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Printmakers -- Michigan -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Sculptors -- Michigan -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: 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.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Ortman, George, 1926-
label: Interviewer
content: Baker, Richard Brown
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: George Earl Ortman (1926- ) is a painter, sculptor, and printmaker from Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 211 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1963 Sept. 19-Nov. 5
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.ortman63
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: 35mm microfilm reel 3612 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of George Earl Ortman conducted 1963 Sept. 19-Nov. 5, by Richard Brown Baker, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Ortman speaks of critics' reviews of his work; his reactions to the early abstract expressionists; his family background and early experiences; his education; the California environment and its influence on him; his U.S. Navy service; the art scene in San Francisco in the 1940s; other artists he was acquainted with; coming to New York; influences on contemporary artists; pop art; establishing a reputation as a printmaker; studying under William Hayter; his time spent in France; development of his style; problems of making a living in art; his work in theatrical design; realism versus abstraction; his teaching career; exhibits he has had. He recalls Eleanor Ward, Howard Wise, Willem de Kooning, Nathan Oliveira, Gandy Brodie, Hans Hofmann, and Joan Mitchell.