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Oral history interview with Jere Osgood

Archives of American Art

Object Details

General
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 46 min.
Interviewee
Osgood, Jere, 1936-
Interviewer
Gold, Donna, 1953-
Creator
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Names
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Topic
Furniture design
Woodworkers -- New Hampshire -- Interviews
Decorative arts
Furniture making
Provenance
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art 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 administrators.
Interviewee
Osgood, Jere, 1936-
Interviewer
Gold, Donna, 1953-
Creator
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. 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.
Biographical / Historical
Jere Osgood (1936- ) is a woodworker from Wilton, N.H. Donna Gold (1953- ) is an art writer from Stockton Springs, Maine.
Extent
64 Pages (Transcript)
Date
2001 September 19-October 8
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.osgood01
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Genre/Form
Sound recordings
Interviews
Scope and Contents
An interview of Jere Osgood conducted 2001 September 19 and Oct. 8, by Donna Gold, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Osgood's home, in Wilton, N.H.
Osgood describes his early childhood years in Staten Island, N.Y.; the influence of his architect grandfather and handyman father; his early interest in architecture; visiting museums with his mother and aunt; Vermont vacations; high school; and reading "Popular Science," "Popular Mechanics," and "Wildlife Magazine." He describes his architecture studies at the University of Illinois and the subsequent use of parabolic and catenary curves when making bowls; attending the School for American Craftsmen in the 1960s when it was "thriving"; selling bookends at America House; exhibiting in "Young Americans" (Museum of Contemporary Crafts, 1962); teaching at Boston University; studying bookbinding and weaving in a folk art school in Denmark in 1960; the distinction between "furniture makers" and "furniture designers" in Denmark; working in his father's basement workshop; setting-up a workshop in Connecticut; the appeal of root forms; developing lamination techniques; making curved forms; and experimenting with various woods. Teaching at the Philadelphia College of Art, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and Boston University are discussed in detail, as are his typical workday, his design process and means of evaluating form, the growing craft industry, and sculptural furniture. Osgood recalls his teacher Tage Frid.
He also discusses his works of art including Elliptical Shell Desks, a walnut Semainaire, Writing Desk (1986), Angels in the Snow (1986), and Cylinder Front Desk (1989). He comments on selling his work at Pritam & Eames (East Hampton, N.Y.); the influence of Wharton Esherick on his career in the late 1950s; commissions; furniture making at RIT and the North Bennett School in Boston; his experiences teaching at Penland, Haystack, Arrowmont, and Peters Valley Craft Center; his involvement with organizations such as the New Hampshire Furniture Masters' Association, American Craft Council, and The Furniture Society; the importance of good photography; the economics of the craft business; and his appreciation of pure form.
Related Materials
Oral history: Renimiscenses of Jere Osgood; Columbia University. Oral History Research Office, Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1596375088768-1596375088771-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw920115902-1269-4b86-92af-d819c54daddd
View Oral history interview with Jere Osgood, 2001 September 19-October 8, Transcript
Oral history interview with Jere Osgood, 2001 September 19-October 8, Digital Sound Recording (Excerpt)
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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