Oral history interview with Mary-Anne Martin
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 51 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Martin, Mary-Anne
label: Interviewer
content: McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
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: Martin, Mary-Anne
label: Interviewer
content: McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952-
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Mary-Anne Martin (1943- ) is founder of Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, a gallery specializing in Mexican and Latin American art, in New York, N.Y. James McElhinney (1952- ) is an artist, writer, and educator in New York, N.Y.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3 Items (wav files (3 hr., 51 min.), digital)
label: Extent
content: 71 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2009 July 8-22
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.martin09
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 Mary-Anne Martin conducted 2009 July 8 and 22, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, at Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, in New York, N.Y. Interview with Mary-Anne Martin, conducted by James McElhinney for the Archives of American Art, at her gallery located at East 73rd Street in Manhattan, New York on July 8th and 22nd, 2009. Martin speaks of switching her major from English to Art history; her time at Sotheby's; creating the first Latin American auctions and department at Sotheby's; the success of these auctions; the creation of her gallery in 1982; the creation of a more accessible and international market for Latin American art with her gallery and influence at Sotheby's; the evolution of Latin American art being recognized with their American or European contemporaries; the newfound celebrity and recognition of Frida Kahlo; the increasing market for forgeries of Latin American art, Martin references the FBI intervention of the Siquieros Chicago show and the Noyola publication Finding Frida Kahlo; the increasing protectionism of Mexican art by becoming labelled "national patrimony"; discovering her childhood neighbors were Spanish rebels and artists associated with Diego Rivera; the increasing marketability and competition for Latin American art; how art is more international; and the cyclical nature of art. Martin also recalls David Nash, Julius Held, Alfred Taubman, Daniel Wildenstein, Barbara Duncan, Edward Sullivan, Eleanore Saidenberg, Mary Boone, Bob Littman, Rachel Adler, Cecila Torres-Garcias, William Sheehy, Bill Lieberman, Jose "Pepe" Escuder, America "Skippy" Escuder, Ella Wolfe, Lucienne Bloch and others.