Oral history interview with Charles Henry Alston
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 7 minutes.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Alston, Charles Henry, 1907-1977
label: Interviewer
content: Murray, Albert
label: Names
content: Bearden, Romare (1911-1988)
label: Names
content: Blackburn, Robert Hamilton, 1920-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: African American painters
label: Topic
content: African American art -- African influences
label: Topic
content: African American educators
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 others. Funding for this interview provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Alston, Charles Henry, 1907-1977
label: Interviewer
content: Murray, Albert
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Charles Henry Alston (1907-1977) was a painter and educator from New York, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 25 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1968 October 19
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.alston68
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 Charles Henry Alston conducted 1968 October 19, by Al Murray, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Alston speaks of his family background, early interest in art, and education at Columbia University; the social and cultural scene in Harlem in the late 1920s, and the street life there; coming into contact with some of the most important figures of the Harlem Renaissance; the differing problems faced by black and white artists; teaching; commercial art; figurative and abstract art. He recalls Romare Bearden and Robert Blackburn.