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

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