Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012
| title | Oral history interview with Ivan C. Karp, 1969 Mar. 12. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Ivan C. Karp conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art at the Leo Castelli Gallery on 1969 March 12. Karp speaks of growing up in the boroughs of New York City, his reading and writing interests, commercial film making, his work for the Hansa Gallery and Martha Jackson, summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the art scene in New York City in the late 1950s. Karp discusses the invention of the names "O.K. Harris" and "Green Gallery"; his work for Leo Castelli including gallery exhibitions, expenses, collectors, critics and staff; the work of Richard Artschwager, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Cy Twombly, Gerry Vanderweil, Andy Warhol, and others; The Club; "soft art"; and the art market. He recalls Richard Bellamy, Ileana Sonnabend, Robert C. Scull and others. |
| extent | 1 sound tape reel (2 hours 30 min.) ; 7 in. Transcript: 123 p. |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript Online Transcript |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-ivan-c-karp-11717#transcript |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Sound Recording and transcript available on the repository's web site. |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:49 |
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| title | Ivan C. Karp interview, 1986 Apr. 18 - 1988 Oct. 18. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Ivan C. Karp conducted by Ronny Cohen for the Archives of American Art. Karp discusses his background, working at the Leo Castelli Gallery from 1959 to 1969; starting the O.K. Harris Gallery in 1969; collectors and the nature of art collecting; the New York art scene; how art work is priced; artists he considers to be overvalued; and how one knows which art works have value. He mentions Leo Castelli, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Mark Rothko, David Salle, and Anselm Kiefer. Paul Henry Brach (painter, New York, N.Y.) joins the discussion on the third tape recorded on October 18, 1988. Biographical/Historical Note: Art dealer and director of the OK Harris Gallery, New York, N.Y. |
| extent | 3 sound cassettes. |
| formats | Sound Recording |
| access | Untranscribed; use requires an appointment. |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-ivan-c-karp-12283 |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Transcript available on the repository's web site. |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 01/09/2015 11:46:04 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Ivan C. Karp, 1963 Oct. 18. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Ivan C. Karp conducted 1963 Oct. 18, by Richard Brown Baker, for the Archives of American Art. The interview focuses on Karp's time as co-director of the Hansa Gallery from 1956 to 1958. Karp talks about the general character and co-operative structure of the gallery; its mailing list and operation practices; how it located new talent; its sales; its location; critics and collectors who visited the gallery; coverage of the gallery in the art and general press; the make-up of its membership and his co-director Richard Bellamy. He discusses artists who were affiliated with the gallery: Richard Stankiewicz; Jane Wilson; Jan Müller; George Segal; Jean Follett; Myron Stout; Lilly Brody: Allan Kaprow; Miles Force; and Fay Lansner. He also mentions unaffiliated artist who exhibited in group shows at Hansa: Alfred Lesie, Robert Richenburg, Walasse Ting and the New Sculpture Group. Collectors mentioned are Horace Richter, Charles Carpenter and Liz Parkinson [ph]. Biographical/Historical Note: Ivan C. Karp (1926-) is an art dealer from New York, N.Y. Worked at the Hansa Gallery two seasons under Richard Bellamy. Later became director of the O.K. Harris Gallery. This interview is part of the Archives' 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. |
| extent | 1 sound tape reel (1 hour) ; 7 in. |
| formats | Interview Sound Recording Online Transcript Transcript |
| access | Untranscribed; use requires an appointment. |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-ivan-c-karp-13094#transcript |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Transcript available on the repository's web site. |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 01/09/2015 11:43:52 |
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| title | Robert Scull interviews, 1972 June 15-1972 June 28. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Interview of Robert Scull conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art. Scull speaks of his early life and education in New York City; attending night classes at the Art Students League; the importance of museum visits; becoming assistant art director for Saks 34th Street; financially successful ventures; the start of his collection in 1954; his criteria for acquisition; his relationships with artists; the pop art scene; portraits of Scull by various artists; the effects of publicity surrounding his collection; his interest in the future of art; the disposition of his collection; critics; relationships with dealers and museums. He recalls Barnett Newman, Richard Bellamy, Franz Kline, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist, George Segal, Andy Warhol, Alfred Leslie, Ivan Karp, Mark Di Suvero, Michael Heizer, Walter De Maria, Milet Andrejevic, and Judith Rutherford. |
| extent | 3 sound tape reels ; 5 in. (69 p. transcript) |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript |
| access | Use requires an appointment. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:57 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Leo Castelli, 1969 May 14 - 1973 June 8. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Interview of Leo Castelli conducted 1969 May 14 - 1973 June 8, by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art. Castelli speaks of his background; fleeing Europe, 1940-1941; his U.S. Army service; The Club; establishing his New York galleries; his first wife, Ileana Sonnabend, and her success as an art dealer; galleries in the 1940s and 1950s; his staff; prints; commissioned works; exhibitions and sales of works by Dan Flavin, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Bruce Nauman, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, and others; collectors including Philip Cortelyou Johnson, Vera G. List, Peter Ludwig, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scull, and Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tremaine. Castelli recalls Alfred H. Barr, Richard Bellamy, John Cage, René Drouin, Ivan C. Karp, and Alan Robert Solomon. |
| extent | Sound recordings: 3 sound tape reels ; 7 in. Sound recordings: 5 sound tape reels ; 5 in. Transcript: 266 p. |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript Online Transcript |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Online Transcript |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:57 |
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| title | Colette Roberts interviews with artists, 1961-1971. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Bauermeister, Duchamp (spring 1963 interview only), Hultberg, Lam (Apr-May 1968 only), Lindner (1965 only), and Nevelson (1968 only): are transcribed. One hundred and forty-nine interviews of seventy-eight contemporary New York artists conducted by New York art critic Colette Roberts. Also included is one tape Colette Roberts made of herself and an interview of Grand Central Moderns Gallery founder Erwin S. Barrie. There are 31 tapes of interviews with Marcel Duchamp from 1961-1968. Some of these duplicate each other in part because Roberts created new recordings by taking and combining excerpts from various other recordings. There is a partial recording of Duchamp giving a lecture on his readymade sculpture at MOMA in 1961. Also included are 2 interviews with Duchamp and an unidentified male interviewer and 3 interviews of Duchamp for BBC radio, two conducted by Richard Hamilton and one conducted by George Hamilton. Most of the tapes are poor in audio quality. New York art critic and former director of the Grand Central Moderns Gallery, New York, N.Y. Some of the interviews are in French. |
| extent | Sound recording: 159 sound tape reels ; 3 in. Sound recording: 3 sound tape reels ; 5 in. Sound recording: 10 sound tape reels ; 7 in. Sound recording: 3 sound cassettes |
| formats | Sound Recording Interviews |
| access | Untranscribed interviews; use requires an appointment. Some interviews are ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission is required. |
| record source | http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/ |
| finding aid | A finding aid is available in all Archives of American Art offices |
| acquisition information | Donated 1970 by Colette Roberts. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:57 |
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| title | Irving Harry Sandler papers, circa 1944-2007, bulk 1944-1980. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Interviews, membership files, minutes of meetings from the Club, an organization Sandler directed, writings, photographs, and printed material relating to the career of Irving Sandler as an art critic, historian, and educator. Sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with Stephen Antonakis, Elise Asher, Alice Baber, Richard Barringer, Nell Blaine, Ilya Bolotowsky, G. Campbell, Brad Davis, Lois Dodd, John Fischer, Miles Forst, Rhonda Garelick, Michael Goldberg, Leon Golub, Carl Holty, Alfred Jensen, Howard Kanovitz, Wolf Kahn, Aristodimos Kaldis, Ivan Karp, Lila Katzen, Robert Kaupelis, Lyman Kipp, Marcia Marcus, George McNeil, Corinne Robins, Salvatore Romano, Edwin Ruda, Nancy Spero, Richard Stankiewicz, May Stevens, William Underhill, and Esteben Vicente conducted by Sandler and his students for seminars taught by Sandler at New York University and Yale University from the 1960s through the 1980s; a transcript of colloquium, "Critics Colloquium" regarding the content of abstract art, moderated by Sandler and including discussants Robert Murray, Joseph Solman, Wolf Kahn, Thomas Bouchard, Kyle Morris, Earnest Briggs, Jack Tworkov, Robert Morris, and Stephen Greene, Jack Sonnenberg, Robin Cembalest, Idelle Weber; nine interviews, both transcribed and untranscribed, conducted by Sandler for radio station WRFM in New York on March 26, 1962- April 8, 1963 with Sherman Drexler and Jack Kroll, John Ferren, Carl Holty, Harry Holtzman, Adolph Gottlieb, Perle Fine, Stanley W. Hayter, Man Ray, and Maurice Sievan; and a 2007 interview on CD and transcript with Myra Lehr conducted by Sandler. Writings include papers by Sandler's students. Photographs are of works of art and of artist Robert Rauschenberg. Bio / His Notes: Irving Sandler (1925-) was an art critic, art historian, and educator in New York, N.Y. He was the art critic for ART NEWS, 1956-1962; for the NEW YORK POST, 1960-1965; and an instructor of art history at New York University, 1960-1971. During his career, he was director of the Tanager Gallery and the Club organizations. |
| extent | 1.6 linear ft. |
| formats | Interview Sound Recording Transcript Writings Photographs |
| access | Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use requires an appointment |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | The bulk of the collection was donated in 1981-1982 by Irving Sandler. He donated an additional interview with Myra Lehr in 2008. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:09 |
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| title | Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records measure 80.3 linear feet and are dated 1960-2014. The collection documents the operation and activities of the contemporary art gallery founded by Ivan C. Karp in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Exhibition files, artists' files, printed material, and photographic materials reveal the wide range of artists represented by OK Harris and the gallery's role in introducing Photo-realism to the public. Also included are administrative files, prints by OK Harris artists, business and personal correspondence, 39 journals by Karp spanning a period of 62 years, and other personal papers. Material pre-dating the 1969 establishment of OK Harris Works of Art consists of printed itrms and a few letters. Correspondence, both professional and personal, is with museums, galleries, art dealers, art collectors, and graudate students. Artists John Baeder, Deborah Butterfield, John Clem Clarke, John DeAndrea, Leonard Dufresne, Robert Ginder, Duane Hanson, and Tom Wesselmann are among the correspondents. Admininstrative files concern the daily operation of OK Harris Works of Art. Included are instructions regarding administrative functions and forms for routine activities to enable employees to conduct business in Ivan Karp's absence. Along with files about other items occasionally sold at the gallery, there are files about projects of interest to the Karps and sample announcements, invitations and advertisements. Exhibition files document group shows, collectibles and antique exhibitions, summer invitationals, and special event exhibitions at OK Harris Works of Art. The files include photographs and slides, schedules, lists of titles and prices, artists' resumes, installation layouts, reviews and publicity materials, and other items. Thirty-four linear feet of artists' files are comprised of biographical information, correspondence, publicity and other printed material, photographic materials, and records regarding transactions with OK Harris. John Baeder, Muriel Castanis, Don Celender, Ralph Goings, John Kacere, Richard McLean, Robert Rohm and John Salt are among the most extensively documented artists. Printed material produced by OK Harris Works of Art includes exhibition catalogs, exhibition announcements, invitations, checklists, price lists posters, and notices of gallery sponsored events and activities. Printed material from other sources consists of exhibition reviews, articles about Ivan and Marilynn Karp, OK Harris Works of Art, and the gallery's artists. These appeared in art and general periodicals, newspapers, exhibition catalogs, and books. Also found are posters, reproductions of artwork, and miscellaneous printed items. Artwork consists of 40 prints by artists affiliated with OK Harris. Most are signed; 2 are black and white prints, the remainder are color lithographs. Included is Radical Realism I, a set of 6 prints issued by Mother Lode Editions, 1972. Thirty-two linear feet of photographs, negatives, slides, transparencies and digital images are of artwork by OK Harris artists, exhibition installation views, and miscellaneous subjects. Photographs of artwork by 59 OK Harris artists are found in binders called "Artists' Photo Books." Installation views of exhibitions held at OK Harris Works of Art during its 45 year history fill 61 binders. Miscellaneous subjects include OK Harris office space, galleries and staff. Also found are photographs of group shows, art fairs, and gallery artists' exhibitions at other venues. The Ivan C. Karp papers consist mainly of photocopies of 39 of his journals covering the period 1950-2012 ( bulk 1991-2012). There are a number of obituaries from print and internet sources along with other biographical information, published versions of brief interviews conducted for various purposes, writings, a few materials relating to business and academic activities, and some photographs. Biographical Information OK Harris Works of Art specialized in a wide range of contemporary art and was known for its early support of Photo-realism. When it opened in 1969, the gallery was one of the first to operate in the SoHo area of Manhattan and its presence helped shape the neighborhood's development into a vibrant arts district. Ivan C. Karp (1926-2012), the founder of OK Harris Works of Art, established a reputation in the art world while co-director of Leo Castelli Gallery from 1959-1969. He is credited with launching the careers of Pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, John Chamberlain, Tom Wesselmann, and Claes Oldenburg. Karp wrote, published, and lectured extensively on art and the art business. Karp was the author of a novel about Pop artists, Doobie Doo (1965), and his short stories were published in literary reviews. Karp was actively involved in architectural preservation efforts in New York City. President of the Anonymous Arts Recovery Society, he helped to rescue and store cornices, capitals, gargoyles and other architectural fragments of historical and aesthetic interest from demolition sites. Many are displayed in his Anonymous Arts Museum, Charlotteville, NY and some some became part of a sculpture garden that Karp donated to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. While Leo Castelli Gallery was closed for summer vacations in 1963 and 1964, Karp ran his own contemporary art gallery in Provincetown. He named it OK Harris, a name he thought suggestive of a colorful, very American character. The gallery he opened in SoHo a few years later bore the name OK Harris Works of Art. A portrait of a bearded man titled "Oscar Klondike Harris" hung in Ivan Karp's office and "Mr. Harris" frequently assumed blame for delays, rejections, and other unwelcome news and decisions. OK Harris Works of Art (first at 469 West Broadway and later at 383 West Broadway) was a massive ground-floor space where as many as six concurrent solo exhibitions were presented every six weeks. The focus was on emerging artists and one or two of the galleries featured work by an unknown artist. The goal was "to exhibit the broadest spectrum of the most adventuresome art being offered." In addition to being at the forefront of the Photo-realist movement in 1969, OK Harris Works of Art was among the first galleries to exhibit the work of Duane Hanson, Deborah Butterfield, Manny Farber, Richard Pettibone, Robert Cottingham, Robert Bechtle, Marilyn Levine, Nancy Rubins, Malcolm Morley, Luis Jiminez, Jake Berthot, Jack Goldstein, Porfirio DiDonna, Al Souza and Arman. An approachable, friendly man who enjoyed sharing his knowledge, Karp usually sat at the gallery's front desk and was available to all. Unlike many dealers, he was willing to look at and discuss artists' slides, offered encouragement, and often followed up with studio visits. After her husband's death in 2012, Marilynn Gelfman Karp became gallery director. She ran the business with Ivan's oldest son, Ethan, who had worked at the gallery for several years. Mrs. Karp decided to close OK Harris Works of Art in 2014. Separated and Related Materials Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Ivan C. Karp conducted by Richard Brown Baker, 1963 October 18; by Paul Cummings, 1969 March 12; and by Ronny Cohen, 1986 April 17-1988 October 18. |
| extent | 80.3 linear feet |
| access | Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/ivan-c-karp-papers-and-ok-harris-works-art-gallery-records-16157/more |
| record source | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/ivan-c-karp-papers-and-ok-harris-works-art-gallery-records-16157 |
| finding aid | Available both in the repository and on the repository's web site. |
| acquisition information | Marilynn Karp, wife of Ivan C. Karp, donated scattered papers in 2011 and 2013, and the bulk of the collection in 2014. |
| updated | 01/09/2015 11:34:59 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Richard Bellamy, 1963 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Richard Bellamy, concerning the Hansa Gallery, conducted 1963, by Richard Brown Baker, for the Archives of American Art. Bellamy speaks of the Hansa Gallery's original organization by a group of Hans Hofmann's students; Hansa's location, purpose and program; and the definition of a cooperative gallery. Bellamy reminisces about his early life in Cincinnati, the influence of the Provincetown exhibition in 1949, becoming manager and director of Hansa Gallery and the gallery's move uptown. He discusses financial arrangements with artists, guest exhibitions, collectors, the gallery's location and its disadvantages in regard to visitors and critics, an Allan Kaprow exhibition, and the inclusion of Hansa artists in the Whitney Museum of American Art's annuals and other exhibitions. He comments on Hansa's reputation, ART NEWS notices, comparisons of the Hansa and Green galleries, the weaknesses of a cooperative gallery, the search for new artists, financial problems, reasons for closing the gallery, galleries where original Hansa artists now exhibit and the gallery's importance in the art life of the times. He recalls John Gruen, Richard Stankiewicz, Miles Forst, Jan Muller, Myron Stout, and Thomas Hess. Biographical/Historical Note: Richard Bellamy (1927-1998) was an art dealer from New York, N.Y. This interview is part of the Archives of American Art's 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 the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service. |
| extent | Sound recordings: 1 sound tape reel ; 7 in. Transcript: 70 p. |
| access | The transcript of this interview is in the public domain and may be used without permission. Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Richard Bellamy, 1963, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. |
| record source | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-richard-bellamy-12418 |
| finding aid | Sound recording and transcript available on the repository's web site. |
| updated | 01/09/2015 11:51:00 |
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| title | Oral history interview with John Clem Clarke, 1972 July 13 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | n interview of John Clem Clarke conducted 1972 July 13, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Clarke speaks of his education; playing football for Oregon State University; his early aspirations to teach art; his travels; his studio in Liverpool, England during the Pop Art period, 1962; action painting; his use of stencils and photography; a painting's "visual code"; his influences; his dealers including Ivan C. Karp and Jill Kornblee; and "old master subjects". Clarke also explains his color theory. Biographical/Historical Note: John Clem Clarke (1937-) is a painter from New York, N.Y |
| extent | Sound recording: 1 sound tape reel ; 5 in. Transcript: 31 p. |
| access | The transcript of this interview is in the public domain and may be used without permission. Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John Clem Clarke, 1972 July 13, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. |
| record source | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-john-clem-clarke-13251 |
| finding aid | Transcript is available on the respository's web site. |
| updated | 01/09/2015 11:56:18 |
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