Oral history interview with James Harithas
name: label: Interviewee
content: Harithas, James
label: Interviewer
content: Levy, Sandra Curtis
topic: label: Topic
content: Art, American
label: Topic
content: Museum directors -- United States -- 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: Harithas, James
label: Interviewer
content: Levy, Sandra Curtis
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: James Hartihas (1932- ) is a museum director and painter from Houston, Tex.
function: label: Function
content: Art museums -- United States
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Sound tape reel (Sound recording, 7 in.)
label: Extent
content: 106 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1979 Mar. 16-May 17
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.harith79
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound tape reels
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 3752 available for use 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 James Harithas conducted 1979 Mar. 16- 1979 May 17, by Sandra Curtis Levy, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Harithas speaks of his youth in Maine; his educational background and early interest in art; the first exhibit he was involved in; his first curatorial position; going to work for the Corcoran and becoming director there; some of the Corcoran's important exhibits; teaching at Hunter College; controversial activities he involved himself in; becoming curator at the Syracuse Museum; political programs and activities at Syracuse; moving to Houston and becoming curator of the Contemporary Arts Museum there; fundraising problems; the visual arts and their relationship to the media; ethnic exhibits; government support for the arts; trends in museums and collecting; Houston as an art community.