Oral history interview with Benny Andrews
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 12 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006
label: Interviewer
content: Ghent, Henri, 1926-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: African American military personnel
label: Topic
content: African American painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This interview is 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: Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006
label: Interviewer
content: Ghent, Henri, 1926-
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Benny Andrews (1930-2006) was a painter and lecturer from New York, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 29 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1968 June 30
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.andrew68
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Benny Andrews conducted 1968 June 30, by Henri Ghent, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Andrews remembers his childhood on a sharecropping farm in Georgia, difficulties he faced being light-skinned, and his struggle to get an education. He speaks of the role of the 4-H Club in his escape from that life and his attempts at painting using improvised materials. Andrews describes how he worked his way to college and joined the Air Force. He recalls passing himself off as white in certain situations, the insights into race relations he was able to gain that way, and his consciousness of being black as it affects his art. He notes the importance of other artists who encouraged him, and ends with a general characterization of his work.