Oral history interview with Wendell Castle
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 27 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Castle, Wendell, 1932-2018
label: Interviewer
content: Brown, Robert F.
label: Names
content: School for American Crafts
label: Names
content: Esherick, Wharton
topic: label: Occupation
content: Furniture designers -- New York (State)
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- New York (State)
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Decorative arts -- United States
label: Topic
content: Industrial design
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: Castle, Wendell, 1932-2018
label: Interviewer
content: Brown, Robert F.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Wendell Castle (1932-2018) was a furniture designer, sculptor, and educator from Rochester, New York. He taught at the School for American Craftsmen and Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 145 Pages (Transcript)
label: Extent
content: 1 Item (sound file (2 min. 21 sec.) Audio excerpt, digital)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1981 June 3-December 12
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.castle81
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 online.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Wendell Castle, conducted 1981 June 3-December 12, by Robert F. Brown, in Scotsville, New York, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Castle speaks of his early work, in Kansas, in industrial design and sculpture; the transition he made in the early 1960s from sculpture to furniture design; teaching furniture design at the School for American Craftsmen, Rochester, New York; Wharton Esherick; the importance of creative design and sound workmanship; exhibitions and commissions; current interest in French 18th Century and Art Deco furniture; the evolution of his work from laminated pieces to an elegant style; and efforts to gain fine art status for his furniture.