Finding aid for the Betty Turnbull interviews with Southern California artists
and related ephemera
Ellen Colvin and Hannah Mandel.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Betty Turnbull interviews with Southern California artists and related
ephemera
Date (inclusive): 1960-1988
Number: 2015.M.28
Creator/Collector:
Turnbull, Betty,
1924-2010
Physical Description:
2.6 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The collection consists of interviews
with leading Southern California artists conducted by Betty Turnbull, in preparation for her
1976 exhibition The Last Time I Saw Ferus, which documented
the circle of artists and art figures surrounding the Ferus Gallery. Also included are
ephemera, photographs and correspondence relating to the exhibition and other
projects.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials
described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Language: Collection material is in
English.
Biographical Note
Betty Turnbull (1924-2010) was the first curator of exhibitions for the Newport Harbor Art
Museum (now the Orange County Museum of Art), serving from 1968 to 1981. She also served as
acting director of the museum from 1972 to 1973. She operated the TLK Gallery with Phyllis
Lutjeans and Victoria Kogan from 1982 to 1985.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers. Audiovisual materials unvailable until
reformatted.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Betty Turnbull interviews with Southern California artists and related ephemera, 1960-1988,
The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2015.M.28.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2015m28
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Glenda Winterbotham in memory of Betty Turnbull.
Processing history
Processed and described in March 2017 by Hannah Mandel and Ellen Colvin under the
supervision of Kit Messick.
Digitized Material
C19 Craig Kauffman Laguna Beach, 1976 January 13, was digitized in 2018. Access is
available only to on-site readers and Getty staff.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection comprises interviews, photographs, and ephemera related to southern
California artists, art dealers and curators in the mid 1970s and 1980s, including Robert
Irwin, Ed Ruscha and Ed Kienholz. The bulk of the collection relates to the organization of
Turnbull's 1976 exhibition at the Newport Harbor Art Museum,
The Last
Time I Saw Ferus
, which was focused on the legacy of Los Angeles' recently closed
Ferus Gallery (1957-1966) and the artists affiliated with it. Also present are materials
relating to other projects by Turnbull, such as the TLK Gallery, which Turnbull operated
jointly with Phyllis Lutjeans and Victoria Kogan from 1982 to 1985, and articles written by
and about Turnbull from the late 1970s and 1980s.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series: ; and .Series I.
Interviews, 1975-1988
Series II. Papers and ephemera,
1960-1985
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Names
Ruscha, Edward
Plagens, Peter
Kienholz, Edward,
1927-1994
Hopps, Walter
Irwin, Robert, 1928-
Glicksman, Hal
Blum, Irving, ,
1930-
Kauffman, Craig,
1932-2010
Bischoff, Elmer,
1916-1991
Park, David, 1911-1960
Strombotne,
James
Harden, Marvin,
1935-
Henderson, Victor,
1939-
Oliveira, Nathan,
1928-2010
Lutjeans, Phyllis
Bengston, Billy Al
Subjects - Corporate Bodies
Orange County Museum
of Art (Calif.)
Ferus Gallery
(Los Angeles, Calif.)
Subjects - Topics
Art -- California -- Exhibitions
Art, American -- California -- Exhibitions
Art, American -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century
Artists -- California -- Interviews
Artists -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century
Art museum curators -- Interviews
Genres and Forms of Material
Printed ephemera -- California
Sound recordings
Contributors
Turnbull, Betty,
1924-2010
Henderson, Victor,
1939-
Lutjeans, Phyllis
Series I.
Interviews,
1975-1988
Physical Description:
1 Linear
Feet
(2 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
This series contains twenty-eight audiocassettes created between 1975 and 1988 of
interviews conducted by Betty Turnbull with leading Southern California artists of the
time, including Ed Kienholz, Robert Irwin and Ed Ruscha. Titles are transcribed from the
cassette labels. Audio materials are unavailable until reformatted.
Arrangement
Material is arranged chronologically.
box 1, Cassette C1
KCET Nick Williams' Roundtable w/ Peter Plagens, Pastier, C. Polack and
Murphy,
1975 February
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C2
Auping / Stein / Turnbull Interview,
1975 April 4
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C3
Ed Kienholz Hope,
1975
September 25 - 1975 September 27
Ed Kienholz Hope, 1975 September 25 - 1975 September 27 (digitized version
available on-site only)
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C4
Irving Blum NY,
1975 October 6
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C5
Walter Hoppes [sic],
1975 October 4
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C6
Hoppes [sic] New York,
1975
October 4
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C7
Ed Ruscha / Billy Al Bengston,
1975
October 7 - 1975 October 8
Ed Ruscha / Billy Al Bengston, 1975 October 7 - 1975 October 8 (digitized version
available on-site only
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C8
Hal Glicksman,
1975 October 12
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C9
Bob Alexander,
1975 October 29
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C10
Turnbull Re: Moss,
1975 November 12
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C11
Rob[ert] Irwin, Westwood Cal.,
1975 December 31
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C12
1st Part of Chronology, BT Intro to Herms,
circa
1975
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C13
Berlant Excerpts / Berlant Revised,
circa
1975
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C14
Gene Summers,
circa 1975
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C15
Marvin Harden,
circa
1975
Marvin Harden, circa 1975 (digitized version available on-site only)
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 1, Cassette C16
Mike Davis Plaza 58 Ex Cat,
circa
1975
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C17
Nate Olivera Essay,
circa
1975
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C18
Wonner / Brown,
circa
1975
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C19
Craig Kauffman Laguna Beach,
1976 January 13
Craig Kauffman Laguna Beach (digitized version available on-site only): 1976
January 13
Scope and Content Note
1 sound cassette : analog, 1 5/16 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C20
Elmer Bischoff / Tom Jefferson Re: David Park,
1977
January-March
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in. Side A: 1977 January Side B:
1977 March 5
box 2, Cassette C21
Victor Henderson Takes a Walk,
1978
November 2 - 1978 November 12
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
Cassette tape is printed with label reading: Victor Henderson Takes a Walk /
Copyright 1979 / Editing Assistance from Michael Lenhart. Front of cassette contains
handwritten note: Dear Betty +++ We had fun together. I hope we can do it again. Love
Vic. Back of cassette is printed with the following text: This 60 minute tape covers a
150 mile 10 day walk across Los Angeles, starting at the ocean in Venice, California,
through the city, across the desert, finishing on Mount San Jacino near Palm Springs,
California. This performance was sponsored by the Newport Art Museum, Newport Beach,
California.
box 2, Cassette C22
J[ames] Strombotne,
1979 January 25
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C23
Paul Dillon: Informal Discussion Re: Exhibition,
1979 10 October
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C24
Richard Turner Discussion and Plan for November Exhibition,
1982 August
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C25
Richard Turner Continued Discussions,
1982 October
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C26
Janice Roper Reading at Tea and Sympathy,
1987 August 1
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
Cassette box also contains business card from Tea and Sympathy with handwritten note.
Front of business card reads: Proprietor: Nancy Williams - 714/645-4860 - English
Antiques with Tea Room - Tea and Sympathy - (Tustin at 17th), 369 E. 17th Street,
Costa Mesa, CA 92627. Back of business card contains pencil note reading Janice Roper
- August 1 - 1:30 + 2:00.
box 2, Cassette C27
Turnbulls on Holloway Dec 1987 (Copy),
1987 December
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
box 2, Cassette C28
KUCI / Arts O.C,
1988 January 6
Scope and Content Note
1 audiocassette : analog, 1 7/8 ips ; 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.
Back of box contains insert reading: Interview-Betty Trumball - 1-6-88/KUCI ARTS IN
OC @ Paul
Series II.
Papers and ephemera,
1960-1985
Physical Description:
1.6 Linear
Feet
(2 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Series consists of ephemera, photographs and correspondence relating to the 1976
exhibition
The Last Time I Saw Ferus and other
projects.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Correspondence,
1960-1985
box 3, folder 1
General,
December
1969-November 1984
Scope and Content Note
Contains materials related to Betty Turnbull, including handwritten letter from
Wallace Berman, letter from Ken Tyler regarding Gemini GEL resignation, copies of
letters, and invoices for art purchases.
box 3, folder 2
Support Letters,
May 1980-September
1981
Scope and Content Note
Contains professional and personal letters written in support of Betty Turnbull
upon her dismissal from the Newport Harbor Art Museum in May 1981.
box 3, folder 3
TLK Gallery,
July 1982-October
1985
Scope and Content Note
Also contains notes, invoices, and letters relating to TLK Gallery operated by
Betty Turnbull, Phyllis Lutjeans, and Victoria Kogan.
David Park material,
1960-1977
box 3, folder 4
Photographs,
1977
Scope and Content Note
From David Park retrospective at Newport Harbor Art Museum. Contains photographs of
paintings by David Park.
box 3, folder 5
Research material,
1960-1977
Scope and Content Note
Also contains information about Richard Diebenkorn and Dennis Hare.
box 3, folder 6
Ferus Party,
March 5, 1976
Scope and Content Note
Contains the dinner menu for the Newport Harbor Art Museum opening of
The Last Time I Saw Ferus.
box 3, folder 7
Walter Hopps interview transcript,
October 4, 1975
box 3, folder 8
Writings about Betty Turnbull and Southern California art,
April 1966-March
1985
Scope and Content Note
Contains miscellaneous articles by and about Betty Turnbull and art in Southern
California and PR done for the TLK gallery.
box 3, folder 9
Writings by Betty Turnbull,
November 1984
box 4
Newspaper clippings,
May 1973-December
1981
