Rose (Barbara) papers, 1940-1993 (bulk 1960-1985), bulk 1960-1985

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Summary

Title:
Barbara Rose papers
Dates:
1940-1993 (bulk 1960-1985), bulk 1960-1985
Creators:
Motherwell, Robert, Merton, Thomas, 1915-1968, Stella, Frank (1936-2024), Arikha, Avigdor, 1929-2010, Rose, Barbara, 1936-2020, and Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967
Abstract:
The Barbara Rose papers represent a selection from her archive and document her research in post-war and contemporary American art. The bulk of the papers date from 1960 through 1985. Included are sound recordings and videos, most of which are interviews by Rose of American artists active in the 1960s.
Extent:
11 Linear Feet (40 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Barbara Rose papers, 1940-1993 (bulk 1960-1985), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 930100.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa930100

Background

Scope and content:

The Barbara Rose Papers represent a selection from her archive and document her research in post-war and contemporary American art. The bulk of the papers date from 1960 through 1985.

Manuscript and research files on American artists, primarily of the post war era, and especially rich for the New York art world contain Rose's research notes, some correspondence (primarily from others), photographs and slides, and drafts of manuscripts for articles, catalogues and books, some unpublished. The most extensive files concern research (1978-1979) for an exhibition and catalogue on the artist Patrick Henry Bruce for the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1979, and files about collaborations between science and art, including the Experiments in Art and Technology (Organization) project to build the Pepsi-Cola Pavilion at the 1970 Exposition in Osaka, and the related art and technology program at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1967-1971.

Much of Rose's research consists of interviews with artists, and a few dealers, curators and printmakers. These date from ca. 1960 through ca. 1990. More than 100 interviews are here in transcriptions, some partial and heavily edited, and on cassette tapes and 1/4 inch audio tape reels. The Claes Oldenburg interviews are the most extensive with ca. 50 transcript pages and 21 cassette tapes. Six videotapes document exhibits, symposia and lectures.

Correspondence with artists, curators and historians is scattered throughout the research files. In addition there are several concentrated files (ca. .5 linear ft.) of correspondence from Avigdor Arikha and his wife Anne, 1962-1977, and Mark Di Suvero, 1972-1973, 1975. Two letters from Robert Motherwell, 1966, discuss the post-war New York art scene. There are 4 letters from Frank Stella, with 2 short manuscripts about painting, and photographs of Islamic decoration taken during a trip to Iran.

Complementing these files are ca. 200 black & white photographs of artists dating from ca. 1940 through 1992. Oldenburg's "Ray Gun" poster, signed and dated 1971, is an artifact from The Store

Biographical / historical:

Barbara Rose was an American art historian and critic, born in 1938 and educated at Smith College, Barnard College and Columbia University. She was known primarily for her writings on 20th-century American art. She taught (at Hunter College, the Universtiy of California at San Diego and Irvine, and Sarah Lawrence College), curated exhibitions and made films.

Through her marriage to Frank Stella and friendships with many other New York artists, she was a well-positioned observer of the American art world, particularly in the active New York scene of the 1960s and 1970s. Her first book, American Art Since 1900, published 1967, was followed by more than twenty monographs on artists, many more exhibition catalogue essays and hundreds of pieces of art journalism.

Acquisition information:
This collection comprises selected papers acquired from Barbara Rose in 1993.
Processing information:

The collection was processed, arranged and described by Jocelyn Gibbs, October 1994. Published books within the papers have been separated to the core collection of the Getty Research Institute Library.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized in five series: Series I. Correspondence received, 1941-1977; Series II. Transcripts of interviews with artists, critics, dealers, ca. 1960-1990; Series III. Manuscript and research files, ca. 1967-ca. 1991; Series IV. Photographs of artists, ca. 1940-1993; Series V. Interviews, lectures and symposia on audio and video tapes, ca. 1960-1991.

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.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Jocelyn Gibbs.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-18 14:01:18 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.

Preferred citation:

Barbara Rose papers, 1940-1993 (bulk 1960-1985), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 930100.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa930100

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website