Overview
Collection Information
Size: 187 Pages, Transcript
Format: Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 16 min.
Summary: An interview of Dorothea Tanning conducted 1990 July 11-November 5, by Barbara Shikler, for the Archives of American Art. Tanning discusses life in Illinois, New York, Arizona, and France. She recalls artists Max Ernst,to whom she was married; Andre Breton, Julien Levy, George Balanchine, Yves Tanguy, and Kay Sage. She discusses her past jobs in commercial art and department store art; working on ballet sets and with costumes; her writing, including her book, "Birthday," in addition to her painting. She discusses her process, materials, and exhibitions. She also recalls her work in sculpture and collage. She also recalls her experiences the era of McCarthyism.
Biographical/Historical Note
Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) was a painter, designer, and writer from Galesburg, Illinois. She lived and worked in New York City. Her early work was in the surrealist style. She was married to fellow artist Max Ernst (1891-1976).
Provenance
This interview is 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 administrators. Funding for this interview was provided by The John Sloan Memorial Foundation, Inc.
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. Funding for this interview was provided by The John Sloan Memorial Foundation, Inc. This interview received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool.
