Oral history interview with Allan Rohan Crite
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 4 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 8 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Crite, Allan Rohan (1910-2007)
label: Interviewer
content: Brown, Robert F.
label: Interviewee
content: Thompson, Susan
label: Names
content: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School
label: Names
content: Rambusch (Firm)
label: Names
content: Rambusch Glass and Decorating Company
label: Names
content: Society of Independent Artists (New York, N.Y.)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Occupation
content: Illustrators -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Topic
content: Art, American
label: Topic
content: Christian art and symbolism
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: African American painters
label: Topic
content: African American military personnel
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: Crite, Allan Rohan (1910-2007)
label: Interviewer
content: Brown, Robert F.
label: Interviewee
content: Thompson, Susan
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Allan Rohan Crite (1910-2007) was a painter and illustrator from Boston, Massachusetts.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 179 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1979 January 16-1980 October 22
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.crite79
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 Allan Rohan Crite conducted 1979 January 16-1980 October 22, by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art. Also participating in the interview is Crite's assistant, Susan Thompson.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Crite describes his family background and his youth in Boston. He gives great detail about his childhood interest in art and the art classes he took as a child, sharing drawings he did then with the interviewer. He remembers his art education at the Museum of Fine Arts School and involvement with the Society of Independent Artists. Crite discusses his ideas about the Episcopal church, his religious beliefs, and his interest in the liturgy and spirituals in his artwork. He recounts his engagement in the Navy, participation in the WPA, and work with the Rambusch Company. Crite describes paintings he did of street life in Black communities of Boston in the 1930s, a series of portraits, and paintings he did to illustrate spirituals and the Episcopal liturgy. He speaks about race relations and explains his motivations for an educational project in progress entitled, "The Cultural Heritage of the United States: a Rediscovery," promoting a multicultural view of American history. The last segment of the interview includes Susan Thompson, a fabric artist and close friend collaborating with Crite on projects mostly of a religious nature, including vestments and altar cloths.