Oral history interview with C. Jane and Jeffrey Camp, 1987 December 2-1988 January 15

Collection Information

Size: Sound recording: 4 Sound cassettes; 149 Pages, Transcript

Summary: An interview of C. Jane and Jeffrey Camp conducted 1987 Dec. 2-1988 Jan. 15, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.

The Camps speak of their family backgrounds and education; Jeffrey's training in public relations; his first wife Emily; opening their store, the American Folk Art Company, in Richmond, Va., in 1972; their early inventory; Emily's role and personality as business partner; the ethics of art dealing; meeting and marrying his second wife, C. Jane Simpson; representing woodcarver Miles B. Carpenter; Jane's role in the American Folk Art Company; dealers, including Randall and Shari Morris, Phyllis Kind, and Jay Johnson in New York, Judith Alexander in Atlanta, and Carl Hammer in Chicago; emotions felt when acquiring objects; their private collection; advice received from Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., Michael Hall, and Phyllis Kind about working with artists; discovering and learning about folk art; collecting trips with Hemphill and others; dealings and falling out with Howard Finster; and publications of the American Folk Art Company; specific pieces of art collected and sold; and changing prices in the folk art market.

Biographical/Historical Note

C. Jane Camp (1953- ) and Jeffrey Camp (1944- ) are folk art collectors from Richmond, Va. and Ross Shire, Scotland

Provenance

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.

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.