Oral history interview with Charles Henry Alston, 1968 October 19

Object Details

interviewee

Alston, Charles Henry, 1907-1977

interviewer

Murray, Albert

Subject

Bearden, Romare

Blackburn, Robert Hamilton

Place of publication, production, or execution

United States

Physical Description

25 Pages, Transcript

General Note

Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 7 minutes.

Access Note / Rights

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Summary

An interview of Charles Henry Alston conducted 1968 October 19, by Al Murray, for the Archives of American Art.

Alston speaks of his family background, early interest in art, and education at Columbia University; the social and cultural scene in Harlem in the late 1920s, and the street life there; coming into contact with some of the most important figures of the Harlem Renaissance; the differing problems faced by black and white artists; teaching; commercial art; figurative and abstract art. He recalls Romare Bearden and Robert Blackburn.

Citation

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Charles Henry Alston, 1968 October 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Additional Forms

Transcript available on-line.

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.

Biography Note

Charles Henry Alston (1907-1977) was a painter and educator from New York, New York.

Language Note

English .

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 others. Funding for this interview provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.

Location Note

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

Record number

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11460

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212620

AAA_collcode_alston68

Type

Sound recordings

Interviews

Theme

African American

Archives of American Art

Topic

African American artists

African American painters

African American art -- African influences

African American educators

Theme

African American

Record ID

AAADCD_oh_212620

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply