Oral history interview with Fletcher Benton
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 9 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Benton, Fletcher, 1931-
label: Interviewer
content: Karlstrom, Paul J.
label: Names
content: Brown, Joan, 1938-1990
label: Names
content: McLaughlin, John, 1898-1976
topic: label: Topic
content: Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States
label: Topic
content: Kinetic sculpture, American. -- California -- San Francisco
label: Topic
content: Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These interviews are 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: Benton, Fletcher, 1931-
label: Interviewer
content: Karlstrom, Paul J.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Fletcher Benton (1931-2019) was a painter and sculptor from San Francisco, California.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 150 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1989 May 2-4
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.benton89
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 available on line.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Fletcher Benton conducted 1989 May 2-4, by Paul J. Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's studio, in San Francisco, California.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Benton speaks of his education in the Midwest and the decision to pursue an art career in California, and the problems of regionalism and provincialism in art. He describes the art scene in San Francisco in the 1950s, and talks about the effect of the San Francisco environment on him. He also speaks of art dealers and their methods, art criticism and museum politics. He discusses his methods and materials, his early ventures into sculpture, his involvement with kinetic sculpture, his work in watercolor. He recalls his acquaintance with John McLaughlin and discusses the influence of Joan Brown's work on his own.