Oral history interview with H. Harvard Arnason
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 30 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Arnason, H. Harvard
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
label: Names
content: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
label: Names
content: Walker Art Galleries (Minneapolis, Minn.)
label: Names
content: Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960
label: Names
content: Messer, Thomas M.
label: Names
content: Rebay, Hilla, 1890-1967
label: Names
content: Sweeney, James Johnson, 1900-
label: Names
content: Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
topic: label: Topic
content: Museum architecture -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Museum directors -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- 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.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Arnason, H. Harvard
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: H. Harvard Arnason (1909-1986) was an historian, writer, and a former director of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 44 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1970 March 3-9
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.arnaso70
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 H. Harvard Arnason conducted 1970 March 3-9, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Arnason speaks of his family and educational background; the influence of the WPA Federal Art Project on museums; lecturing at the Frick Collection and Hunter College; his work as U.S. representative of UNESCO; his teaching positions and his roles as director of the Walker Art Center and trustee and vice president of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. He comments on Frank Lloyd Wright's design for the Guggenheim Museum building; competition among New York museums; conceptual art and museums; and the museum as a research center. He recalls Holger Cahill, Thomas M. Messer, Hilla Rebay, James Johnson Sweeney and others. Arnason also describes his writing projects, including his "History of Modern Art."