Sandra Leonard Starr papers related to California assemblage art, 1960-1995, bulk 1986-1988, bulk 1986-1988

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Summary

Creators:

Starr, Sandra Leonard, Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993, Hedrick, Wally Bill, Brown, Joan, Berman, Tosh, 1954-, Jahrmarkt, Joan, Herms, George, 1935-, Smith, Hassel, 1915-2007, Mason, Fred, Cameron, Marjorie, 1922-1995, Brittin, Charles, Berman, Shirley, and Alexander, Robert

Abstract:

The collection contains art historian, curator and gallery director Sandra Leonard Starr's papers related to her 1988 exhibition and catalog titled, Lost and Found in California: Four Decades of Assemblage Art. Included are her research files on artists, production material for the exhibition and publication, and audio recordings and transcripts of Starr's interviews with 12 significant figures in the California art scene from 1940 to 1987, including artists Robert Alexander, Cameron, Richard Diebenkorn, George Herms, and Edward Kienholz.

Extent:

4.2 Linear Feet (8 boxes)

Language:

Collection material is in English.

Preferred citation:

Sandra Leonard Starr papers related to California assemblage art, 1960-1995 (bulk 1986-1988), The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2011.M.22

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2011m22

Background

Scope and content:: The collection contains Starr's papers related to her 1988 exhibition and catalog titled, Lost and Found in California: Four Decades of Assemblage Art. The first series contains audio recordings and transcripts of Starr's interviews in 1986 and 1988 with significant figures in the California art scene from 1940 to 1987, including artists Robert Alexander, Cameron, Richard Diebenkorn, George Herms, and Edward Kienholz. Among the subjects discussed are the artists' relationships with Wallace Berman, and Man Ray's influence on the movement. The most extensive interviews are with Alexander and Herms. The second series contains production material and press clippings from the 1988 exhibition and publication, including drafts of Starr's catalog essays, exhibition checklists and didactics. In the third series are research files on artists, as well as topics more broadly related to California art, which include notes, photocopied articles and clippings. While much of the research material is undated, dated materials span from 1960 to 1995.
Biographical / historical:: Art historian and curator Sandra Leonard Starr was the longtime director of the James Corcoran Gallery in Santa Monica, California. She has written extensively on Joseph Cornell, among other topics, and in 1988 she mounted a three-part exhibition on California assemblage art titled, Lost and Found in California: Four Decades of Assemblage Art. The exhibition featured assemblage works by artists active in California from 1940 to 1987, and was held concurrently in three Santa Monica venues from July 16 to December 7, 1988. The exhibition was presented chronologically, beginning with "The First Generation, 1940-1962" at the Corcoran Gallery. The later years were divided into "The Second Generation: The Narrative, 1957-1987" at Shoshana Wayne Gallery, and "The Second Generation: Form and Idea, 1960-1987" at Pence Gallery. The exhibition catalog, considered a significant contribution to scholarship on the history of California art, and assemblage art in particular, was edited by Starr and includes two essays by her: "Assemblage Art: A Pocket History" and "Assemblage Art in California: A Collective Memoir 1940-1969."
Acquisition information:: Gift of Sandra Starr. Acquired in 2011.
Processing information:: The collection was initially re-housed by the Registrar's Office in 2011. In 2014, graduate students Danielle Goynes and Julie Kalmar completed the processing and wrote the finding aid as a class project for UCLA IS 438B, under the supervision of Andra Darlington, Holly Deakyne and Nancy Enneking. Goynes is reponsible for Series I, while Kalmar is responsible for Series II and Series III. They both contributed to the collection-level notes and access points.
Arrangement:: Arranged in three series: Series I. Oral history interviews, 1986-1988; Series II. Lost and Found in California, 1988; Series III. Research files, 1960-1995.
Physical location:: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.
Rules or conventions:: Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:: Open for use by qualified researchers with the exception of audio cassettes, which are unavailable until reformatted.
Terms of access:: Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.