Oral history interview with Ira Spanierman
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 21 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Spanierman, Ira
label: Interviewer
content: McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952-
label: Names
content: Cooper-Hewitt Museum
label: Names
content: Savoy Gallery
label: Names
content: Spanierman Gallery
label: Names
content: Syracuse University -- Students
label: Names
content: Adler, A. M. (Abraham M), 1902-1985
label: Names
content: Fraad, Daniel
label: Names
content: Fraad, Rita
label: Names
content: Gerds, Abigail
label: Names
content: Goodrich, Lloyd, 1897-1987
label: Names
content: Halles, Bruce
label: Names
content: Halles, Diane
label: Names
content: Heinrich, Hans
label: Names
content: Hirsch, Norman
label: Names
content: Leroy, Roy
label: Names
content: Newington, Barbara
label: Names
content: Noortman, Rob
label: Names
content: Novak, Barbara
label: Names
content: Poskas, Peter
label: Names
content: Terra, Daniel J., 1911-1996
label: Names
content: Thaw, Eugene Victor
label: Names
content: Warner, Jack
label: Names
content: Wilson, Peter
label: Names
content: Woodner, Ian
topic: label: Topic
content: Art, American -- 19th century
label: Topic
content: Art, American -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Art -- Collectors and collecting
label: Topic
content: Ashcan school of art
label: Topic
content: Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Hudson River school of landscape painting
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 administrators.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Spanierman, Ira
label: Interviewer
content: McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952-
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Ira Spanierman is a gallery owner from New York, New York. James McElhinney (1952- ) is a painter and educator from New York, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 63 Pages (Trancript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2007 June 6-12
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.spanie07
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Ira Spanierman conducted June 6-12, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, in the Spanierman Gallery, New York, New York. Spanierman speaks of growing up and living in New York City his whole life; the influence of working in his father's antique store; studying English at Syracuse University; how he got involved in the art business; becoming an auctioneer at Savoy Gallery working with silver and arms and armor; his collecting preferences; the influence of the Internet and technology; changes in the art market among buyers and collectors; the development and growth of art auctions; opening his first gallery and what kind of art he showed; interest in dealing 19th and 20th century American art; the kind of clientele he attracted; the Spanierman Gallery catalogues and publication program; publishing and distributing the catalogue raisonné; working and collaborating with other institutions like the Cooper-Hewitt; working with a panel of scholars to identify work that was fraud; the various kinds of collectors he has dealt with in the past and what kind of collectors he prefers to work with; opening a contemporary and modern wing to the gallery and the motivation behind that; relationships with artists; exhibiting members of the Ashcan School, the Ten, and the Hudson River School; trying to find artists that have been overlooked in the past and promoting a re-emergence of these figures and their work; a number of mentors in his life including Abe Adler and Roy Leroy; advice for younger collectors; what he sees in the future for the art market; a shift in privately owned art being turned over to museums; the educational aspect of his gallery; future goals of his gallery; the role of the museum today; what he has contributed to the art world; and how he would like to be remembered and thought of in the future. Spanierman also recalls Peter Wilson, Gene Thaw, Lloyd Goodrich, Abigail Gerds, Peter Poskas, Hans Heinrich, Daniel Terra, Jack Warner, Diane and Bruce Halles, Daniel and Rita Fraad, Barbara Newington, Robert Noortman, Ian Woodner, Barbara Novak, Roy Leroy, Abraham Adler, Norman Hirsch and others.