Oral history interview with Ruth Esherick and Mansfield Bascom on Wharton Esherick
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 40 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Bascom, Ruth Esherick
label: Interviewer
content: Pacini, Marina
label: Interviewee
content: Bascom, Mansfield
label: Names
content: Esherick, Wharton
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
label: Occupation
content: Cabinetmakers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
label: Occupation
content: Printmakers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
label: Occupation
content: Woodworkers -- Pennsylvania
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern
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 anda others.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Bascom, Ruth Esherick
label: Interviewer
content: Pacini, Marina
label: Interviewee
content: Bascom, Mansfield
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Ruth Esherick Bascom (1922-2018), from Paoli, Pennsylvania, was the daughter of Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), who was a sculptor, painter, printmaker, and furniture maker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was married to Mansfield "Bob" Bascom (1923-2020), an architect and strucutral engineer. The Bascoms founded and maintained the Wharton Esherick Museum. She also worked in theater design.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 130 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1991 March 26
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.bascom91
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 is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Ruth Esherick Bascom and Mansfield Bascom regarding Wharton Esherick, conducted 1991 March 26, by Marina Pacini, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Ruth Esherick Bascom and Mansfield Bascom speak about Wharton Esherick's family, his education, his "organic" life in Paoli, Pennsylvania, and his efforts to support himself through the sale of his paintings, furniture and sculpture. They discuss Esherick's work, its stylistic development, and changes in his prints and furniture, materials; clients such as the Hedgerow Theater, The Fischer family, Marjorie Content, Curtis Bok; Esherick's studio and his workshop; Esherick's relationship with Miriam Phillips and some of the clients she brought him; and contacts in New York City.