Judith Wechsler papers, circa 1940-2003, bulk 1971-1994

Production material in this series are from episodes of Wechsler's documentary series . Episodes that are represented in this series include "Part 1: The Training of Painters," "Part 2: The Arrested Moment," featuring David Hockney; "Part 4: Portraits," featuring Philip Pearlstein and Joel Meyerowitz; "Part 5: Abstraction," featuring Frank Stella; and "Part 6: Painting and the Public," featuring the de Menil Gallery. A few elements for which the episode is unidentified are arranged at the end of the series.

The generation or type of production material found is different for each episode, and could include original sound recordings, work print picture and soundtrack, outtakes, trims, A and B roll, negative, and/or video copies. In addition, film lab records are found for "Abstraction," and photographs of original film containers, discarded during processing, are included for reference. A video copy of the edited work is found for each of the episodes except "The Training of Painters." No material appears to be present in the collection for episode 3 of the series, "The Artist and the Nude."

Notable content includes interviews with David Hockney, Philip Pearlstein, Joel Meyerowitz, Frank Stella, Jo Spench, Yolanda Sonnabend, Dominique de Menil, and Walter Hopps, found on the original sound recordings, as well as studio footage of Hockney, Pearlstein, and Yolanda Sonnabend. Digital photographs of original film containers, which were replaced during processing of the collection, have been included with the paper records.

Series contains original and work print picture and soundtrack elements from the documentary , made by Wechsler with Hans Namuth's production company, Museum at Large, in 1989. The documentary combines recorded interviews with Johns by both Wechsler and Namuth, footage of John Cage giving a public reading, and other sound footage from various sources, with motion picture footage of Johns working on artworks. Johns is shown working in two settings: at his Houston Street studio in New York City, where he worked on his in 1971, and at Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), working on prints in 1989. Footage shot in 1971-1972 was shot by Hans Namuth and Paul Falkenberg. Namuth may also have been involved with the 1989 shoot but much of the later footage appears to have been shot by Wechsler and her assistants.

Interviews with Johns conducted by Wechsler and Namuth are found in their sound track film reel form, and the Namuth interview from 1972 is also found in its original sound reel format. Additional sound footage includes an unedited sound recording of the ULAE shoot, an interview with Marc Rosenthal, clips of Johns and others quoted in the documentary, and a copy of an interview with Johns conducted by Ann Hindry obtained by Wechsler. Copies of the edited work are found in the form of a work print rough cut and a re-mastered sound track of the edited work.

Series includes mainly production records from the creation of the film , including original sound recordings, film outtakes, trims, a fine cut work print, and a video copy of the final work. Also found is a flyer describing the documentary, a letter to the film lab (which also refers to the Harry Callahan documentary), and a letter from someone interested in accessing the material for research. Interviews with Siskind conducted for the documentary are available in their entirety among the original sound reels, which also contain wild sound (shot without picture) and voiceover recordings. A partial transcript of the interview material is also available. Film elements are found for sequences labeled "Hartford Reception" and "Highway Footage" and for additional unnamed sync, silent, and soundtrack elements. Photographs of original film containers, discarded during processing, show the filmmaker's original box labels.

Series includes mainly production elements for Wechsler's documentary about the photographer Harry Callahan. An original sound recording of a 1992 panel discussion at the Museum of Modern Art (NY) with Callahan, Peter Galassi, and Douglas McGill is found, as well as an interview of Callahan conducted the following day, presumably by Judith Wechsler. Original, unedited sound reels recorded for the documentary in 1993 are also found, which contain synchronous sound (shot with picture), wild sound (shot without picture) and voiceover sound material. Brief logs of sound reels reels from 1993 link them to synchronous picture reels and briefly describe content.

Additional production elements include work print of the MoMA panel discussion and interview, outtakes from the interview, and work print and outtakes from other components of the film. A video copy of the edited work is also found.

Additional material in the series includes a flyer describing the finished work and photographs of the filmmaker's original film containers, which were replaced with archival film cans during processing.

A letter from Wechsler to the film lab filed is series 2 also makes reference to Harry Callahan material.

Series contains two reels of magnetic soundtrack and photographs of their original containers, all labeled "Two Photographers." Also found is one unidentified film labeled "Demonstration Film" from the 1940s. Details of the content are unknown.