The collection was donated by Molly Saltman in 1986.
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Isabelle Murphy in 2018.
Molly Saltman "Art and Artists" Interviews, 1966-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Researchers must obtain copyright clearance from interviewees prior to publication or airing.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the
The Molly Saltman "Art and Artists" radio program was broadcast on KPAL radio station in Palm Springs, California from November 2, 1966 to March 4, 1967 on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:30AM. Molly Saltman (1915-2010), the producer and interviewer for this broadcast, was a well-known Palm Springs artist during this time. Specializing in abstract watercolors, her work was featured in a number of local art shows as well as exhibited in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Palm Springs Desert Museum, and the Hartfield Gallery in Los Angeles. She was also closely involved with the Desert Mental Health Association and served as Chairwoman of the Jewish Family Service in Palm Springs, California.
The Molly Saltman "Art and Artists" interviews measure 2.4 linear feet and contain 62 sound recording interviews and lectures with art collectors, teachers, actors, and artists. The interviews were conducted by Molly Saltman from 1966-1967 as part of the "Art and Artists" radio series broadcast on the KPAL radio station in Palm Springs, California. Additional recordings of KPAL content and nonbroadcast content were discovered upon digitization, including a Los Angeles Art Association anniversary event and a Charles White slide lecture.
Due to the small size of this collection the sound recordings are arranged as one series.
All of the sound recordings in this collection have been copied for research access and digital copies are available in the Archives of American Art offices.
A list of interviewees is available in all Archives of American Art offices.
This series contains 62 interviews (only one transcribed) conducted as part of the "Art and Artists" radio broadcast series by Molly Saltman between 1966 and 1967, each approximately 20 minutes long. The interviewees include art collector Bart Lytton, teachers, such as Lorser Feitelson and Arthur Secunda, actors Vincent Price and Dennis Hopper, composer Harry Partch, and a wide-variety of artists, including Claire Falkenstein, Richard Hamilton, Jack Levine, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Joseph Nyiri, Otto and Gertrude Natzler, June Wayne, and Charles White.
Also found in this series are other events and programs on subjects related to the contemporary art world of Southern California, and other Palm Springs local programs, which may be present due to the practice of recycling audio tape. These include an additional lecture by Edward Biberman, a slide lecture by Charles White, a Los Angeles Art Association anniversary event, a lecture an performance by composer Henri Tamianka, and a lecture by an unknown speaker on the topic of Early Western Artists. Additional local programs found include a candidate forum, a weekly report by local congressman John Tunney, and a teen program broadcast on KPAL.
Unless otherwise indicated, the content listed below consists of interviews.
The "Art and Artists" interviews are arranged alphabetically by interviewee's last name. Programs found in addition to the "Art and Artists" series are listed in logical order by name or subject; note that these additional programs typically share tapes with other content.
This lecture takes place at the Joslyn Museum and is by an unknown speaker on the subject of Early Western Artists
Sound cassette is an access copy
Found on tape with Carpenter interview (reel 1, side 2)
Found on side 2 of tape with Charles White lecture.
Sound cassette is an access copy
Broadcast version includes programming announcements and introductory material not present in original recording (Box 3, item 4).
Speakers include Helen Wurdeman, Nick Brigante, Peter Krasnow, and Lorser Feitelson, among others, recounting stories in the history of the association for an anniversary event. Recording is fragmentary and shares tape with multiple programs, including Gill (reel 2, side 2), Kaplan (reel 1, side 2), Partch (reel 1, side 2), and Raboff (reel 1, side 2).
Found on side 2 of tape with Maure interview.
Found on tapes with Feitelson interview.
Found on same tape as reel 2 of Hatfield program.