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Oral history interview with John Coplans, 1975 April 4-1977 August 4

Archives of American Art

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Object Details

interviewee
Coplans, John Rivers, 1920-2003
interviewer
Cummings, Paul, 1933-1997
Subject
Alloway, Lawrence
Blum, Irving
Fried, Michael
Hopps, Walter
Leider, Philip
Rose, Barbara
Artforum
Place of publication, production, or execution
New York (State)
Physical Description
133 Pages, Transcript
General Note
Originally recorded on 4 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 8 hr., 6 min.
Access Note / Rights
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Summary
An interview of John Coplans conducted 1975 April. 4-1977 August 4, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art, in New York City.
Coplans speaks of his educational background; the founding and development of ARTFORUM magazine; ARTFORUM staff writers including Lawrence Alloway, Michael Fried, Philip Leider, and Barbara E. Rose; and the influence of Irving Blum and Walter Hopps on California artists and collectors. Coplans also discusses the art market in New York and in California, and talks about his career as a teacher, editor, gallery director, critic, and museum curator.
Citation
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John Coplans, 1975 April 4-1977 August 4. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms
Transcript available on line.
Funding
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.
Biography Note
John Coplans (1920- 2003) was an art administrator, editor, photograph, and educator of New York, New York. Born in London, England; died in Manhattan, New York.
Language Note
English .
Provenance
These interviews are 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.
Location Note
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Record number
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12787
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212318
AAA_collcode_coplan75
Type
Sound recordings
Interviews
Archives of American Art
Topic
Art publishing -- New York (State) -- New York
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
Museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
Record ID
AAADCD_oh_212318
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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