Castelli, Leo

Oral history interview with Leo Castelli, 1969 May 14 - 1973 June 8

Sound recordings: 3 sound tape reels ; 7 in.
Sound recordings: 5 sound tape reels ; 5 in.
Transcript: 266 p.

Interview of Leo Castelli conducted 1969 May 14 - 1973 June 8, by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art.

Castelli speaks of his background; fleeing Europe, 1940-1941; his U.S. Army service; The Club; establishing his New York galleries; his first wife, Ileana Sonnabend, and her success as an art dealer; galleries in the 1940s and 1950s; his staff; prints; commissioned works; exhibitions and sales of works by Dan Flavin, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Bruce Nauman, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, and others; collectors including Philip Cortelyou Johnson, Vera G. List, Peter Ludwig, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scull, and Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tremaine. Castelli recalls Alfred H. Barr, Richard Bellamy, John Cage, René Drouin, Ivan C. Karp, and Alan Robert Solomon.

These interviews are 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 others.

How to Use this Interview

• Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
• Transcript available on line at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/castel69may.htm
• A transcript of this interview is available online.
• A sound excerpt is available online
• For more information on using resources at the Archives of American Art, please visit our Ask Us page

Also in the Archives:

• Oral history interview with Leo Castelli, 1969 July
• Oral history interview with Leo Castelli, 1997 May 22