Oral history interview with Grace M. Mayer
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 4 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Mayer, Grace M.
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
label: Names
content: Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973
topic: label: Topic
content: Art, American
label: Topic
content: Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Art and photography -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These interviews are 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: Mayer, Grace M.
label: Interviewer
content: Cummings, Paul
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Grace M. Mayer (1901-1996) was a curator and collector from New York City. She worked with photography collections and exhibitions at the Museum of the City of New York and the Museum of Modern Art.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 128 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1970 May 11-28
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.mayer70
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 Grace M. Mayer conducted 1970 May 11-28, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Mayer discusses her education; working at the Museum of the City of New York early in her career; her focus on photography collections and exhibitions; conducting historical research; prints and photographs by Currier and Ives, Jacob Riis, and Alexander Alland. She discusses her career move to the Museum of Modern Art and her long working relationship with Edward Steichen and Rene d'Harnoncourt. She also recalls Hardinge Scholle, Lessing Rosenwald, Harry Bland, Harry Newman, Alfred Stieglitz, and Reginald Marsh, among others. She discusses major exhibitions at MOMA, including the Family of Man photography exhibition. She discusses the Print Council of America, the Steichen Archive, and associations with dealers and galleries in New York City.