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Oral history interview with I.J. (Isaac J.) Sanger

Archives of American Art

Object Details

General
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 6 min.
Interviewee
Sanger, I. J. (Isaac J), 1899-1986
Interviewer
Pennington, Estill Curtis
Names
American Institute of Graphic Arts
Columbia University -- Students
University of Virginia -- Students
YMCA of the USA
Dow, Arthur W. (Arthur Wesley), 1857-1922
Heckman, Albert
Pins, Jacob, 1917-
Von Groschwitz, Gustave, 1906-1991
Occupation
Furniture designers -- New York (State) -- New York
Topic
Painters -- Maryland -- Interviews
Painting, Modern
Printmakers -- Maryland -- Interviews
Prints
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 others.
Interviewee
Sanger, I. J. (Isaac J), 1899-1986
Interviewer
Pennington, Estill Curtis
Sponsor
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
I. J. Sanger (1899-1986) was a painter and printmaker of Marlow Heights, Md.
Extent
16 Pages (Transcript)
Date
1981 November 17
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.sanger81
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Genre/Form
Sound recordings
Interviews
Scope and Contents
Interview of I.J. (Isaac) Sanger, conducted 1981 November 17, by Estill Curtis "Buck" Pennington, for the Archives of American Art, in New York, N.Y.
Sanger speaks of his first encounters with art as a child growing up in rural Virginia, and of his first industrial art classes, taken at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville while he was still attending high school in Free Union. After graduating, he received what he describes as his first real training in art while working for the carpentry shop at Columbia University in New York in the early 1920s. While attending Columbia, he found work as a furniture designer for the YMCA [Young Men's Christian Association]. Sanger also worked for his professor Albert Heckman, doing linoleum cuts for "Aesop's Fables," which Heckman was illustrating. He explains that it was Heckman who encouraged him to continue practicing print making. Until then, he had been working in oil and water color while studying "Art Structure" with Arthur Dow.
When the Depression hit in 1929, Sanger lost his position with the YMCA and worked odd jobs until Albert Heckman introduced him to Gustave von Groschwitz, who brought him on to the WPA. During the 1930s, he received widespread recognition for his work; his prints were selected by the American Institute of Graphic Arts for their "50 Prints of the Year" show in 1928 and 1929. Following his work with the WPA, Sanger served the army in World War II at Camp Kearns in Utah. He explains how he continued expanding his portfolio throughout the War, and once it was over, spent 25 years as a commercial artist. He relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1951 and became a member of the Washington Print Society while Prentiss Taylor was secretary. In D.C., he was a graphic designer for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, but kept up his own private work, which Jacob Pins featured at the Smithsonian Castle. After formally retiring in 1966, Sanger decided to dedicate his time to travel, but adds that he still makes print making, painting, and furniture design a priority.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1596310284398-1596310284400-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90ccde882-8ce2-4d68-a03a-12d87b79700f
View Oral history interview with I.J. (Isaac J.) Sanger, 1981 November 17, Transcript
Oral history interview with I.J. (Isaac J.) Sanger, 1981 November 17, 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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