Fidel Danieli papers
name: label: Creator
content: Danieli, Fidel
label: Names
content: Almaraz, Carlos
label: Names
content: Antin, David
label: Names
content: Antin, Eleanor
label: Names
content: Bell, Larry, 1939-
label: Names
content: Berman, Wallace, 1926-1976
label: Names
content: Bettelheim, Judith, 1944-
label: Names
content: Brigante, Nicholas P., 1895-1989
label: Names
content: Delano, Annita, 1894-
label: Names
content: Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978
label: Names
content: Flavin, Dan, 1933-
label: Names
content: Graham, Robert, 1938-
label: Names
content: Kaprow, Allan
label: Names
content: Krasnow, Peter, 1886-1979
label: Names
content: Langsner, Jules, 1911-1967
label: Names
content: Lloyd, Gary, 1943-
label: Names
content: McLaughlin, John, 1898-
label: Names
content: Pettibone, Richard, 1938-
label: Names
content: Pettibone, Shirley
label: Names
content: Plagens, Peter
label: Names
content: Rosenthal, Rachel, 1926-2015
label: Names
content: Saar, Betye (1926)
label: Names
content: Smith, Alexis, 1921-1993
topic: label: Occupation
content: Authors -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Art critics -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Fidel Danieli papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1990 by Sage Stormcreek, executor of Danieli's estate.
creator: label: Creator
content: Danieli, Fidel
setName: label: See more items in
content: Fidel Danieli papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Los Angeles art critic and writer, art historian, professor, collector, and artist Fidel Danieli (1938-1988) measure 8.4 linear feet and date from 1962 to 1987.  Found within the papers are writing and research files, and 108 sound recordings of interviews with or about 45 Los Angeles artists conducted by Danieli in 1974-1975 for the U.C.L.A. oral history project "L.A. Community Artists." There are also sound recordings of art performances and art talks, and printed materials, including numerous exhibition announcements.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Fidel Danieli (1938-1988) was an art critic and writer, art historian, educator, and artist based in Los Angeles, California.  Danieli received his B.A. in 1960 and M.A. in 1965 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  For nearly 22 years, he taught at the Los Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys. He also taught and lectured at the California State College in Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley State College in Northridge.

Danieli was perhaps best known for his work as an art critic and writer, notably his reviews for Artforum from 1963-1968 that brought national recognition to many modern Southern California artists, such as Billy Al Bengston, Bruce Nauman, Robert Graham, and George Herms.  Danieli was a member of the editorial committee of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art's (LAICA) Journal, a contributing editor to Artweek, and writer and reviewer for ArtScene and Images and Issues.

Danieli's special interest was in the early Los Angeles Modernists and he received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant around 1974 to fund research on the subject.  From 1974-1975, he was also an interviewer for the UCLA oral history project "Los Angeles Art Community."  The project culminated in the 1974 exhibition Nine Senior Southern California Painters at LAICA.

Danieli was also a painter, sculptor, and collector.  His extensive art collection included photographs, paintings, ceramics, and prints.  He bequeathed the bulk of his collection to the Oakland Museum and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and a few private collectors who were friends.  His art library was donated to Los Angeles Valley College.

He was briefly married to Edie Ellis though they later separated.  He suffered ill health for several years and passed away in North Hollywood on March 26, 1988, at the age of 49.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8.4 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1962-1987
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.danifide
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 3 series.

Series 1: Writing and Research Files, 1962-1987 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-4)

Series 2: Los Angeles Artist Interviews and Performances, 1974-1975 (3.1 linear feet; Boxes 4-7)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1969-1985 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 7-9)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Rihoko Ueno in 2015 with funding support by the Council on Library and Information Resources' "Hidden Collections" grant program.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: A few of the sound recordings in this collection have been copied for research access and are available in the Archives of American Art offices.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Los Angeles art critic and writer, art historian, professor, collector, and artist Fidel Danieli (1938-1988) measure 8.4 linear feet and date from 1962 to 1987.  Found within the papers are writing and research files, and 108 sound recordings of interviews with or about 45 Los Angeles artists conducted by Danieli in 1974-1975 for the U.C.L.A. oral history project "L.A. Community Artists." There are also sound recordings of art performances and art talks, and printed materials, including numerous exhibition announcements. 

Writing and research files consist of articles and reviews written by Fidel Danieli and supporting documentation and printed material.  Files cover individual artists, exhibitions, and other scattered topics.  Files on reviews of  artists Danieli wrote include typescripts and handwritten drafts, printed materials, and photographs.  Artists covered include Carlos Almarez, Larry Bell, Wallace Berman, Lorser Feitelson, Dan Flavin, Robert Graham, Jules Langsner, Richard Pettibone, Rachel Rosenthal, Alexis Smith, and John White, among many others.  The file for Richard Pettibone includes 2 original sound cassettes and duplicates. Writings for exhibition catalogs and reviews of exhibitions focus primarily on Los Angeles area exhibitions or exhibitions of California artists.  These files include notes, typescripts, and printed materials.  Also found are files for magazine articles written by Danieli.  Research files include a set of index cards documenting a chronology of Los Angeles art and 9 sound cassettes of television shows that focus on California art. 

Interviews of and performances by Los Angeles comprise 108 sound cassettes.  The majority of the cassettes are artist interviews conducted by Danieli in 1974-1975 for the U.C.L.A. oral history project "L.A. Community Artists," but there are also scattered recordings of art talks, panel discussions, and performances.  Artists include David Antin, Eleanor Antin, Judith Bettelheim, Nick Brigante, Annita Delano, Allan Kaprow, Peter Krasnow, Peter Plagens, Gary Lloyd, John McLaughlin, Shirley Pettibone, Betye Saar, and John White, among many others. 

Printed material consists primarily of exhibition announcements about California artists and exhibitions.