Oral history interview with Dorothea Tanning
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 16 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Tanning, Dorothea, 1910-2012
label: Interviewer
content: Shikler, Barbara
label: Names
content: Ernst, Max, 1891-1976
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Surrealism -- New York (State) -- New York
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. Funding for this interview was provided by The John Sloan Memorial Foundation, Inc.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Tanning, Dorothea, 1910-2012
label: Interviewer
content: Shikler, Barbara
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) was a painter, designer, and writer from Galesburg, Illinois. She lived and worked in New York City. Her early work was in the surrealist style. She was married to fellow artist Max Ernst (1891-1976).
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 187 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1990 July 11-November 5
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.tannin90
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 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 Dorothea Tanning conducted 1990 July 11-November 5, by Barbara Shikler, for the Archives of American Art. Tanning discusses life in Illinois, New York, Arizona, and France. She recalls artists Max Ernst,to whom she was married; Andre Breton, Julien Levy, George Balanchine, Yves Tanguy, and Kay Sage. She discusses her past jobs in commercial art and department store art; working on ballet sets and with costumes; her writing, including her book, "Birthday," in addition to her painting. She discusses her process, materials, and exhibitions. She also recalls her work in sculpture and collage. She also recalls her experiences the era of McCarthyism.