Oral history interview with Dong Kingman, 1965 Jan. 12

Collection Information

Size: Sound recording: 1 sound cassette ; (1 hour 30 min.)

Transcript: 19 p.

Format: Transferred from original acetate tape reel. Sound quality is poor.

Summary: An interview of Dong M. Kingman conducted 1965 Jan. 12, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.

Kingman speaks of his childhood in Oakland, Calif.; his education in Hong Kong; his early exposure to art and the development of his talent; early gallery exhibitions; the beginning of the Federal Art Project (FAP) and his involvement with it; working on a mural in Chinatown in San Francisco; the opportunity to develop his technique; problems with the project; his methods; artists who were his colleagues on the project; and his opinion of the FAP overall.

Biographical/Historical Note

Dong Kingman (1911-2000) was a painter and illustrator from the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. Kingman taught at Columbia University and Hunter College. Worked for the Works Progress Administration.

Provenance

Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.

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.

Transcript: microfilm reel 3949 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Use requires an appointment.

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Dong Kingman, 1965 Jan. 12. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.