Oral history interview with Tommy Simpson
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 54 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Simpson, Tommy
label: Interviewer
content: Cooke, Edward S., 1954-
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: Boston University. Program in Artisanry -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Cranbrook Academy of Art -- Students
label: Names
content: Museum of Arts and Design (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: Northern Illinois University -- Students
label: Names
content: University of Hartford -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Castle, Wendell, 1932-2018
label: Names
content: Maloof, Sam
label: Names
content: Maruyama, Wendy, 1952-
label: Names
content: McKie, Judy Kensley, 1944-
label: Names
content: Newman, Richard, (Artist)
label: Names
content: Sepeshy, Zoltan, 1898-1974
label: Names
content: Smith, Paul J., 1931-
label: Names
content: Zucca, Edward
place: label: Place
content: China -- Description and Travel
label: Place
content: Europe -- description and travel
topic: label: Occupation
content: Cabinetmakers
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Connecticut
label: Topic
content: Decorative arts
label: Topic
content: Painting -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Furniture making
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: Simpson, Tommy
label: Interviewer
content: Cooke, Edward S., 1954-
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Tommy Simpson (1939- ) is a furniture maker and sculptor from Washington Depot, Connecticut. Edward S. Cooke, Jr. is a professor from Newtonville, Massachusetts.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6 Items (Sound recording: 6 sound files (3 hr., 54 min.), digital, wav)
label: Extent
content: 89 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2004 May 6-July 2
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.simpso04
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Tommy Simpson conducted 2004 May 6-July 2, by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Simpson speaks of growing up in rural Illinois; making things as a child; discovering his interest in art at Northern Illinois University; getting an MFA in painting at Cranbrook Academy of Art; using the wood shop at Cranbrook; exhibiting at various galleries in New York City and moving to Connecticut; showing work in the "Fantasy Furniture" exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design; visiting Europe; the New York studio furniture market in the 1960s; writing the book, "Fantasy Furniture"; exhibiting in "Objects USA;" working as artist in residence at the Fairtree Gallery; teaching at the University of Hartford; his work ethic and productivity; living and working in Greenwich, Connecticut; the constraints of being classified as a furniture maker; teaching briefly at the Program In Artisanry and other schools; the increased public interest in fine woodworking in the 1980s; changes in the craft market; writing the book, "Two Looks to Home"; the influence of events on his work; his current interest in making whole interiors; working on commission; the current public interest in craft; expressing themes in his work; his working process in his studio; the future of fine woodworking; the difficulties of working with galleries; designing rugs; and visiting China. Simpson also recalls Zoltan Sepeshy, Wendell Castle, Paul Smith, Sam Maloof, Edward Zucca, Wendy Maruyama, Richard Newman, Judy McKie, and others.