Oral history interview with Francis Speight, 1987 April 4-5

Collection Information

Size: 118 Pages, Transcript

Format: Originally recorded 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 40 min.

Summary: An interview of Francis Speight conducted 1987 April 4-5, by David Sellin, for the Archives of American Art.

Speight speaks of his family background; early aspirations; his studies at the Corcoran School of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; the faculty and administration at the Academy including Arthur B. Carles, Hugh Breckenridge, Henry McCarter, Daniel Garber, and Hobson Pittman; his scholarships and fellowships; teaching at the Academy; the Academy's summer school at Chester Springs; painting in Manayunk; and his experiences as a juror. Speight's wife Sarah Blakeslee is also present during a portion of the interview and describes her studies at Chester Springs.

Biographical/Historical Note

Francis Speight (1896-1989) was a painter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in North Carolina.

Provenance

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.

Language Note

English .

Funding

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.