Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Asher, Betty
| title | Oral history interview with Betty M. Asher, 1980 June 30 and 1980 July 7 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Betty M. Asher conducted 1980 June 30 and 1980 July 7, by Thomas H. Garver, for the Archives of American Art. Asher speaks of her family; education; her marriage to Dr. Leonard Asher; buying her first prints and painting from the Associated American Artists Gallery; and early purchases at the Little, Bowinkle, and Green Galleries in Los Angeles. She discusses her interest in abstract expressionism; buying art in Mexico and New York; dealers including Irving Blum, Virginia Dwan, Paul Kantor, Felix Landau, Ernest Raboff, Esther Robles, and Ileana Sonnabend; activities and members of the Modern and Contemporary Art Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; her work for Maurice Tuchman; Walter Hopps and the Pasadena Art Museum; and exhibitions and funding of the Asher/Faure Gallery. Biographical/Historical Note: Betty M. Asher (1914-1994) was an art collector and art dealer of Beverly Hills, Calif. |
| extent | 4 sound cassettes; Transcript: 59 p. |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript Online Transcript |
| access | Online Transcript |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-betty-m-asher-12547 |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| 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 | Oral history interview with Joni Gordon, 2002 Jul. 8-Sep 23. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Joni Gordon conducted by Paul Karlstrom 2002 July 8 and Sept. 23 for the Archives of American Art, in Gordon's home, Los Angeles, Calif. She discusses her personal and educational background; the origins and purposes of Newspace Gallery; her experiences with the Ferus Gallery, Esther Robles Gallery, Frank Perls Gallery, and Felix Landau Gallery. Gordon also discusses her friendship with Betty Asher and Betty Parsons, who became her mentor in the gallery business. She relates that her interest in the promotion of local comtemporary artists led her along with her husband, Monte, and Robert Smith to organize the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art (LAICA). Bio / His Notes: Gallery owner, collector; Los Angeles, Calif.; b. 1936, Cleveland, Ohio; owner of Newspace Gallery Additional forms: Transcript available on line at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/gordon02.htm Funding Note: Funding for the transcription of this interview provided by Joni Gordon. |
| extent | 4 sound cassettes (120 min.): analog. Transcript: 61 p. |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript Online Transcript |
| access | Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | 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 the transcription of this interview was provided by Joni Gordon. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:06 |
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| title | George Herms interviews, 1993 Dec. 8, 10, 13 - 1994 Mar 10. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of George Herms conducted by Paul Karlstrom for the Archives of American Art. Herms discusses the development of his ideas and art. He recalls individuals and events associated with avant-garde art activity in California from the 1950s to present (1990s). He recalls Philip Lamantia, Charlie Parker, Wallace Berman, Robert Alexander, Ferus Gallery, Walter Hopps, Edward Kienholz, Virginia Dwan, Betty Asher, Michael McClure, and Diane di Prima, among others. Bio / His Notes: Assemblage and collage artist; Los Angeles and San Francisco, Calif. Central participant in the West Coast Beat culture. |
| extent | Sound recording: 8 sound cassettes (60 min.) : analog. Transcript: 162 p. |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1959 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:06 |
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| title | Betty Asher papers, 1860-1999. | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | The Betty Asher papers, including letters, photographs, posters, press clippings, collection records, and tea cup postcards, give a vivid sense of the Michael and Asher families, Betty Asher as collector, and the Los Angeles art world of the postwar years. Series I contains over 700 photographs, including formal studio portraits, color snapshots, baby albums and twenty photographs of the Asher family residence taken by Julius Shulman. Documenting Asher’s collecting interests are approximately 200 photographs of her art collection, part of which has now been donated to local museums, and part of which was sold at auction. Her ceramics and cup collection is also photo-documented. Many of these photographs depict pieces as they were originally installed in different areas of the various Asher homes. Several black and white and color photographs document the exhibition Limited Works by Important Artists (known as the "Multiples show") held at the Egg and the Eye Gallery in 1966. The exhibition featured Pop art prints, books, sculpture, ceramics and games by Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, and Robert Watts, among others. More than 200 photographs of Los Angeles gallery openings and art parties at Asher’s home in Los Angeles from the 1960s to the 1990s highlight her presence in the Southern California art scene, along with other pivotal figures such as Irving Blum, Stephanie Barron, Stanley and Elise Grinstein, and Patricia Faure. Series II includes family letters and professional correspondence not cataloged in individual artist files, as well as official documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, and business contracts. Asher’s favorite recipes are also preserved in this series. Business files in Series III include loan forms and invoices, chronicling the amassing of Asher’s collections of art and teacups. Also included is Asher’s collection of more than 1200 cup postcards in Series IV. Series V pertains to exhibitions of Asher’s cup collection. The Artist Files in Series VI include a wealth of material that traces Asher’s strong relationships with artists, which developed in tandem with her collecting activities. Asher’s artist files contain letters, postcards and gifts from artists such as George Herms, Dan Flavin, Joe Goode, Emerson Woelffer, William Copley, and Bruce Conner. A significant portion of the archive includes gallery announcements and over 300 posters, many of them signed by artists such as Billy Al Bengston and Edward Kienholz. Eighty of these posters are original announcements from the Ferus Gallery and Irving Blum gallery. Printed matter, such as clippings and announcements, when not included in the above series, may be found in Series VII. Biographical or Historical Notes: Betty Asher, trained as a nurse, became an important Los Angeles art collector and dealer, known for her contemporary art and cup collections. |
| extent | 69.6 linear ft. |
| formats | Business Papers Personal Papers Photographs Artist Files Printed Materials |
| access | Open for use by qualified researchers. |
| record link | http://archives2.getty.edu:8082/xtf/view?docId=ead/2009.M.30/2009.M.30.xml;query=;brand=default |
| record source | http://primo.getty.edu/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=GRI&afterPDS=true&institution=01GRI&docId=GETTY_ALMA21127955270001551 |
| finding aid | Preliminary inventory available in the repository; folder level control. |
| acquisition information | Gift of Michael Asher. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:14 |
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