Oral history interview with José de Rivera
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 9 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: De Rivera, José Ruiz, 1904-1985
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
topic: label: Topic
content: Hispanic American artists
label: Topic
content: Sculpture, American
label: Topic
content: Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Sculptors -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This interview is part of the Archives' 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 the interview was provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: De Rivera, José Ruiz, 1904-1985
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: José de Rivera (1904-1985) was a sculptor in New York, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 60 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1968 February 24
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.derive68
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 José de Rivera conducted 1968 February 24, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. De Rivera recalls his childhood on sugar plantations in Louisiana; his early work in New Orleans and Chicago as a mechanic; his training as a commercial artist at Chicago's Studio School and taking life drawing classes with John Norton. He talks about freelancing as a commercial artist in Chicago; his military service during World War II; traveling in Europe and Egypt and relocating to New York. Cummings and de Rivera discuss de Rivera's sculpture in some depth, as well as de Rivera's interest in artists such as Brancusi and Mondrian.